[JuxtaposedJames]

Just a revision thread for this exam.

How are we all preparing?

What topics do you find hardest?

[Groat]

(Original post by JuxtaposedJames)
Just a revision thread for this exam.

How are we all preparing?

What topics do you find hardest?

Past papers are the best way forward!

[ArsLongaVitaBrevis]

(Original post by Groat)
Past papers are the best way forward!

As always, Groat speaks the truth.

Past papers, past papers and more past papers, broken up only by a careful analysis of your mistakes.

He also has a wolf as his avatar - that's awesome.

[NorwichtoBristol]

(Original post by Groat)
Past papers are the best way forward!

This. Past papers are one of the most important ways of practising maths.

My gut feeling about this exam is that it's going to be a difficult one as the Jan one wasn't too tough.

I really hope the trig isn't going to be too difficult as otherwise, I won't do well. Nor do I hope that there will be the bit in differentiation where you have to create your own equations.

[Syntax Error]

Practice as much past papers as you can [solomon, elmwood, zigzag] all of them.

[arnab]

IS there any practise papers? Like the ones for C4 where are there are 4 "Practise Papers" to do.....

[star*]

Something I've always found really useful for the edexcel maths exams is to do all the end of topic questions or the review exercises from the textbook, then to do 2 past papers a day. At the end of the day, carefully go through all the mistakes made on the paper and correct them in red pen and write notes in another colour (e.g. I write all notes about questions in green pen, like writing a note saying "use cos2a here"), as it helps when flicking back through your papers when trying to find a similar question. Also, I find its best to work from the last year on the spec up to the newest year, don't go the other way as the questions from ages ago do tend to pop up (such as the thrust force question in the M1 paper last week, which hadn't come up for years), and if you don't have enough time to do all the past papers you'll have practice of some of the less common ones

[star*]

(Original post by arnab)
IS there any practise papers? Like the ones for C4 where are there are 4 "Practise Papers" to do.....

There are past papers, the sample papers which you can sometimes find are not very useful. go on the edexcel website and you can find all the old past papers and mark schemes

[arnab]

can i just confirm, for the current syllabus, the past papers only back up to jan2006? Is that correct?

[Syntax Error]

(Original post by arnab)
can i just confirm, for the current syllabus, the past papers only back up to jan2006? Is that correct?

june 2006

[-James-]

June 07 8c) is one ***** of a question! -_-

[arnab]

(Original post by Syntax Error)

june 2006

Thanks......anyone else care to confirm this?

[StraightUpG]

Find in terms of pi, the solutions of the equation:

Sin(5X) + Sin(X) =0

for the x interval, 0<=(X)<pi

This is straight off a Solomon paper, and was wondering if a question like this can come up in an edexcel paper for C3 as I havent seen a question like it in any past papers.

[XxAmxX]

starting my c3 revision today and want to cry! Forgot how hard it is damnit! X

[Waqar.]

(Original post by Syntax Error)
Practice as much past papers as you can [solomon, elmwood, zigzag] all of them.

Thanks for the tip, I never even knew about elmwood or zigzag papers. Which of the three is most usefull and which is the hardest? I'll probably try them all but it's nice to know which to spend more time on.

[Syntax Error]

i would say zigzag

[JenniS]

Hi, could someone help me with this, given that 2y=x-sinxcosx show that dy/dx=sin^2x
Thanks

[grazie]

(Original post by JenniS)
Hi, could someone help me with this, given that 2y=x-sinxcosx show that dy/dx=sin^2x
Thanks

So

But

Therefore

I usually use or remember the trig identities in the Formula Book and derive the ones I've used here. I used the derived ones now for brevity.

However, the above is long winded. I thought the Product Rule in Differentiation was C4, but it isn't so using it makes the solution much easier.

[StraightUpG]

Find in terms of pi, the solutions of the equation:

Sin(5X) + Sin(X) =0

for the x interval, 0<=(X)<pi

This is straight off a Solomon paper, and was wondering if a question like this can come up in an edexcel paper for C3 as I havent seen a question like it in any past papers.

[0range]

Had to stop revising for C3/ C4 for about 2 weeks because of resits, now gotta hit the past papers!!!