AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012 !Poll, paper and unofficial MS (first post)!

Maths exam discussion - share revision tips in preparation for GCSE, A Level and other maths exams and discuss how they went afterwards.

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  • View Poll Results: How did you find the exam?
    Pshh I could do it in my sleep!
    14 5.56%
    Went pretty well
    29 11.51%
    It was okay... (maybe made silly mistakes?)
    82 32.54%
    62 24.60%
    I died.
    61 24.21%
    Fine I guess, couldn't careless.
    4 1.59%

  1. Cath-ay's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by kenau)
    Cathy are you going to get A* in maths?
    Erm I'm trying to get an A*, don't know if I actually will. I underachieved at AS but am now at the point where the ums between getting an A* and an A (overall) is pretty small, so might as well give it everything I've got and go for an A*. I did retake C2 but that didn't go as well as I hoped lol.
  2. kenau's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Cath-ay)
    Erm I'm trying to get an A*, don't know if I actually will. I underachieved at AS but am now at the point where the ums between getting an A* and an A (overall) is pretty small, so might as well give it everything I've got and go for an A*. I did retake C2 but that didn't go as well as I hoped lol.
    O i see. Actually the C2 paper is horrible.... So,I have to retake it in jan/2013 to get higher UMS.
    How was the C4 revision then?are you doing well on it?
  3. Cath-ay's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by kenau)
    O i see. Actually the C2 paper is horrible.... So,I have to retake it in jan/2013 to get higher UMS.
    How was the C4 revision then?are you doing well on it?
    You might not have done bad as you think? I'd say it's definitely a good idea to get as many ums as you can if worse comes to.
    Okay I guess, need to keep practicing. What about you? Been working on C3 etc?
  4. Dangerous Theory's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Cath-ay)
    You might not have done bad as you think? I'd say it's definitely a good idea to get as many ums as you can if worse comes to.
    Okay I guess, need to keep practicing. What about you? Been working on C3 etc?
    What UMS did you get for C3? I got 87 which means I need 93 in C4 for that A* (Going to be seriously difficult but an A* would get me a £1K scholarship for Bristol. Would be nice to have!)
  5. Cath-ay's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Dangerous Theory)
    What UMS did you get for C3? I got 87 which means I need 93 in C4 for that A* (Going to be seriously difficult but an A* would get me a £1K scholarship for Bristol. Would be nice to have!)
    I got 1 less ums than you hence needing 94 ums for an A*! What's gona be weird is the scaling of the raw marks to the ums i.e. 1 raw mark could be worth 1 ums in some cases but 2 ums in others! Will be losing my sanity over the next few weeks o.o
    Yeah, I suppose that A* would be worth saving £1k
    How's revision going for you?
  6. kenau's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Cath-ay)
    You might not have done bad as you think? I'd say it's definitely a good idea to get as many ums as you can if worse comes to.
    Okay I guess, need to keep practicing. What about you? Been working on C3 etc?
    It won't be too low,but I hope it won't be lower than low A But actually I think the boundary are going to be low..@@
    Yes,tmr I have MM1B,and the PHYA2 on friday,after these two exam i will work hard on C3 first,basically I have confident to get 90+ ums in C3..
    After that,I am going to concentrate on C4,then we can discuss together at that time
    Last edited by kenau; 23-05-2012 at 22:25.
  7. Dangerous Theory's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Cath-ay)
    I got 1 less ums than you hence needing 94 ums for an A*! What's gona be weird is the scaling of the raw marks to the ums i.e. 1 raw mark could be worth 1 ums in some cases but 2 ums in others! Will be losing my sanity over the next few weeks o.o
    Yeah, I suppose that A* would be worth saving £1k
    How's revision going for you?
    Oh right, nice job. I know right? The UMS scaling makes little sense to me - especially in Physics ISAs where up until a certain (high) mark you actually get less UMS than you do raw marks.

    Revision is so-so. I've got so many darn exams to revise for, I just end up cramming for each subject as they come. Decision 1 retake tomorrow (not to concerned), then FP2 next Thursday which is quite a mammoth subject.

    I'm doing reasonably well with C4 anyway, it's just those damn awful vector questions that throw me the most! What's your weakest topic?
  8. kenau's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Dangerous Theory)
    Oh right, nice job. I know right? The UMS scaling makes little sense to me - especially in Physics ISAs where up until a certain (high) mark you actually get less UMS than you do raw marks.

    Revision is so-so. I've got so many darn exams to revise for, I just end up cramming for each subject as they come. Decision 1 retake tomorrow (not to concerned), then FP2 next Thursday which is quite a mammoth subject.

    I'm doing reasonably well with C4 anyway, it's just those damn awful vector questions that throw me the most! What's your weakest topic?
    vector question should be easlier as you have already learn it in MFP4,won't you?
    Just practice more you will get itAlways need to find acute angle and shortest distance... something like that...@@
    My weakest question is some rate of change question,dy/dx directly proportional something= =lost lots of marks on that question....
  9. Cath-ay's Avatar
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    • Location: Surrey
    (Original post by kenau)
    It won't be too low,but I hope it won't be lower than low A But actually I think the boundary are going to be low..@@
    Yes,tmr I have MM1B,and the PHYA2 on friday,after these two exam i will work hard on C3 first,basically I have confident to get 90+ ums in C3..
    After that,I am going to concentrate on C4,then we can discuss together at that time
    Mmm, the grade boundaries shouldn't be lower than last year's, but you never know with aqa.
    Ok good luck on those, doubt you'd have a problem with them
  10. Dangerous Theory's Avatar
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    • Posts: 226
    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by kenau)
    vector question should be easlier as you have already learn it in MFP4,won't you?
    Just practice more you will get itAlways need to find acute angle and shortest distance... something like that...@@
    My weakest question is some rate of change question,dy/dx directly proportional something= =lost lots of marks on that question....
    MFP4 :O hell no, haha. I can't even imagine. My further Maths A level consists of FP1, FP2 and a mix of decision/mechanics/stats
    Last edited by Dangerous Theory; 23-05-2012 at 23:27.
  11. Cath-ay's Avatar
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    (Original post by Dangerous Theory)
    Oh right, nice job. I know right? The UMS scaling makes little sense to me - especially in Physics ISAs where up until a certain (high) mark you actually get less UMS than you do raw marks.

    Revision is so-so. I've got so many darn exams to revise for, I just end up cramming for each subject as they come. Decision 1 retake tomorrow (not to concerned), then FP2 next Thursday which is quite a mammoth subject.

    I'm doing reasonably well with C4 anyway, it's just those damn awful vector questions that throw me the most! What's your weakest topic?
    Lol thanks, you too. That might be due to many people achieving high marks? Who knows...

    Oh, how many exams have you got in total? Does cramming work for you? :/

    I was having trouble with those vector questions too. But I think I'm gradually getting the hang of it. You could too with some more practice. Most of the marks I lose are from silly mistakes, because I'm pro at doing that :/
  12. LemonadeRevival's Avatar
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    • Posts: 10
    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    Can anyone direct me to some articles or help for the exponential growth/decay part of the course?

    The one's on here seem to miss it out, so I'm presuming it's just an AQA thing.
  13. kenau's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by LemonadeRevival)
    Can anyone direct me to some articles or help for the exponential growth/decay part of the course?

    The one's on here seem to miss it out, so I'm presuming it's just an AQA thing.
    Yup,I have got the same problem as well brother
  14. Dangerous Theory's Avatar
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    • Posts: 226
    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Cath-ay)
    Lol thanks, you too. That might be due to many people achieving high marks? Who knows...

    Oh, how many exams have you got in total? Does cramming work for you? :/

    I was having trouble with those vector questions too. But I think I'm gradually getting the hang of it. You could too with some more practice. Most of the marks I lose are from silly mistakes, because I'm pro at doing that :/
    Had 8, 2 down (the two easiest - C1 and D1 retakes haha). The 6, in order, are: FP2 (31st May), PHYB4 (11 Jun), PC4 (14 Jun), PHYB5 (18 Jun), M2B & D02 (same day - 21st Jun). Really wish there was more even space between the exams. I prefer to revise prior to each one.

    Haha, "silly mistakes" is quite the catchphrase in my Maths group. It's hard to care enough about accuracy and checking over things when I'm practicing though. I save that for the exam
  15. tom472's Avatar
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    • Posts: 59
    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    I took this early in january and was kicking myself when I went over the paper, I think exam nerves got to me. It's worth going over early module content as they mixed in a discriminant question with trigonometry. The growth and decay question was quite hard though.
  16. Cath-ay's Avatar
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    (Original post by Dangerous Theory)
    Had 8, 2 down (the two easiest - C1 and D1 retakes haha). The 6, in order, are: FP2 (31st May), PHYB4 (11 Jun), PC4 (14 Jun), PHYB5 (18 Jun), M2B & D02 (same day - 21st Jun). Really wish there was more even space between the exams. I prefer to revise prior to each one.

    Haha, "silly mistakes" is quite the catchphrase in my Maths group. It's hard to care enough about accuracy and checking over things when I'm practicing though. I save that for the exam
    Jeeeeezz, are you stressed out at all? Guessing some are retakes from this jan? And fair enough, suppose maths modules require more practicing relative to time spent learning/remembering the content.

    Mhmm, can't blame someone for not being perfect I just can't check my work properly - have mental block when I attempt to do it, especially in the exam. Definitely something I need to work on.
  17. Dangerous Theory's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Cath-ay)
    Jeeeeezz, are you stressed out at all? Guessing some are retakes from this jan? And fair enough, suppose maths modules require more practicing relative to time spent learning/remembering the content.

    Mhmm, can't blame someone for not being perfect I just can't check my work properly - have mental block when I attempt to do it, especially in the exam. Definitely something I need to work on.
    Just one January retake - PHYB4. I do ocassionally worry that I'm not going to get the grades I need (I need AAB for Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Bristol), but that does no one any good haha. Just gotta keep working at it and stay rational. Maths is definitely more about the practice of methods, whereas physics really requires reading all the info in the book and having more knowledge.

    I know what you mean, I always think "I should really double check this is right" but at the same time I'm worried about time wasting so it's not easy!

    Anyhow, what subjects are you doing? Did I read you're trying to get into medicine? Stiff competition! AAA required?
  18. Cath-ay's Avatar
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    (Original post by Dangerous Theory)
    Just one January retake - PHYB4. I do ocassionally worry that I'm not going to get the grades I need (I need AAB for Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Bristol), but that does no one any good haha. Just gotta keep working at it and stay rational. Maths is definitely more about the practice of methods, whereas physics really requires reading all the info in the book and having more knowledge.

    I know what you mean, I always think "I should really double check this is right" but at the same time I'm worried about time wasting so it's not easy!

    Anyhow, what subjects are you doing? Did I read you're trying to get into medicine? Stiff competition! AAA required?
    Yeah true, can't really help it when so much depends on these exams. Good luck though! You seem like a smart guy, sure you'll be fine

    I do Maths, Biology and Chemistry. Biology will be death of me - literally at some point haha! Nah, medicine isn't for me. I'm going for Biochemical Engineering at UCL - they want AAB too.
  19. Dangerous Theory's Avatar
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    Re: AQA Core 4 Exam Discussion 14/06/2012
    (Original post by Cath-ay)
    Yeah true, can't really help it when so much depends on these exams. Good luck though! You seem like a smart guy, sure you'll be fine

    I do Maths, Biology and Chemistry. Biology will be death of me - literally at some point haha! Nah, medicine isn't for me. I'm going for Biochemical Engineering at UCL - they want AAB too.
    Ah, no idea where I got that idea from then lol. Biochem is far more interesting anyway! I gave up chem after scraping a C at AS, you've got to have the right mind for it . London living hm? Quite expensive

    Cheers, and best of luck with your exams too.
  20. Cath-ay's Avatar
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    (Original post by Dangerous Theory)
    Ah, no idea where I got that idea from then lol. Biochem is far more interesting anyway! I gave up chem after scraping a C at AS, you've got to have the right mind for it . London living hm? Quite expensive

    Cheers, and best of luck with your exams too.
    Ehh, I think electricity and electronics is pretty awesome! I contemplated going into that field but likewise, physics isn't one of my strongest subjects
    Erm I'm only planning to live out for first and last year to save money. That'll probably cost around the same amount as studying somewhere outside of london education>money anyway :3
    And thankss
    Last edited by Cath-ay; 24-05-2012 at 15:50.
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