Tips for higher?

dreamy_girl

I'm doing higher maths, english, biology, chemisty and physics this year, do you have any tips for these subjects, that haven't already been said above? :smile:

maths: do a little practice daily to keep your brain tuned into it.
english: i was crap cos i didn't enjoy it but, learn loads of quotes and know exactly how they make the text work better, near the exams do loads of essays on different past paper questions so your tuned in (i didn't take my own advice but never mind). Read at least one good quality newspaper a week (again i didn't but i don't care about english).
biology: i found quite boring at first but if i remember correctly it got better, just learn everything eg, for cells just remember what each thing in the cell is called and its function. Its very much a learn all 'this' information and you'll pass.
Chemistry:we had a teacher that didn't teach us very successfully so this is hard to comment on. We had the main chemistry teacher give us tutorials during the two weeks of study leave before the exam. Make sure you are able to do all the calculations from SG and learn how to do all the calculations at higher cos there are sometimes lots in the final exam and you can get lots of method marks. As with biology, learn 'this and that' and you'll pass.
physics:I found this quite easy but thats just me, its much easier now there is a formula book but learn the formulae cos if you learn them you know what each symbol means and how to get to the formula - don't rely on the formula book, use it as a last resort. i should have done the same at AH :frown:

. learn how things in the course work so you can give concise answers in the exam

If you get stuck - ask your teacher, if you still don't understand then find another teacher you can more easily understand (as my class did with chemistry). It is never too late to learn one extra piece of info, you never know it might be the mark that makes the difference between getting an A and a B

Reply 23

Acaila

17

For those saying you can't recover from bad prelims - definitely not true.
It's never too late to start working (well maybe the night before is a b it late :biggrin:

). That said, it's never too early to start working.
Working before your prelims will make your final revision a lot easier and will give you something to fall back on.

coss

It is never too late to learn one extra piece of info, you never know it might be the mark that makes the difference between getting an A and a B

Very true! An example - my higher geography prelim was postponed because of a snow day. Took place a week later, giving a thankful Acaila more time to revise which I really needed because I didn't start early enough. Pretty much everything I revised in that week came up. Every little helps

Reply 24

Working before prelims in maths really helped me. I should have done the same in physics but hmph. Whats done is done.
And it is possible to recover after bad prelims. I know people that failed their chemistry higher prelim and then got a C in the final exam. (again, back to fact we did the whole of the chemistry course in the two weeks before exam).

Reply 25

Thanks for the rep dreamy_girl

Reply 26

dreamy_girl

I'm doing higher maths, english, biology, chemisty and physics this year, do you have any tips for these subjects, that haven't already been said above? :smile:

So far, the subjects seem OK, on Monday they all seemed hellish and I was on the point of dropping biology (still am but let's not talk about that...), but now they are going alright. Although i've been nicely informed that they all get harder :smile:

, except physics which apparently gets easier :biggrin:

.

I'm doing my homework as I get it (had some maths this week that was awful, and apparently just credit?! :eek:

), and despite promising to read over notes every night... i haven't started that yet. But yeah, any advice :smile:

?

I took all of these subjects apart from biology at higher so hopefully I can help.

For maths, I would say that you have to make an important choice - do you want to make it through the exam (you can still get a solid A this way) or do you want to actually spend the year developing yourself as a mathematician? The thing with higher maths is that the exams always have the same type of questions so it's easy to identify the important parts of the course and make sure you can really nail these questions. It's not an ideal way to do the course but you can be sure of at least a B in the exam if you do this.
However, I would recommend that you develop yourself as a mathematician. This is what I done with myself last year, for example if your class is taught that y-b = m(x-a) then you should not only learn to use this formula but also why it works (i.e. see if you can prove it). I think that is what really helps with maths - understanding why stuff works. You can get through your higher without doing this, but I think its alot more fun to know why it works and its definately going to get you a better grade at the end of the course.

For chemistry, learn your PPAs. I didn't do any revising for my prelims (I'm lazy that way) and I got a bit of a shock when I opened up my chemistry prelim and found all these questions on these experiments that I could barely remember doing. They are actually easy marks, and they come up every year, so it's really important that you learn how to handle these questions (i.e. remember the colour changes involved etc.). Also with chemistry I think it's quite important that you do a little bit regularly, chemistry was probably the most memory-heavy subject I took last year and I certainly had a lot of catching up to do when it came to revising for my final exams.

For physics, don't worry about this too much, this course is ridiculously easy. If you can get through the first topic (kinematics) then you will have no bother with the course. Again I tried to make this course a bit more interesting by trying to understand why the formulas work from a mathematical sense (for example proving the equations of motion which requires only basic calculus), you may find this helps in developing your understanding of the subject. Also, there are a few things that crop up throughout the course that you need to remember - for example that the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction are measured from the normal - make sure that you make notes of all of these, I tended to come across 3 or 4 of these per unit and made notes of them on my formulae sheet.

As for English, I was not particularly good at this, but you can really improve your grades by reading a good quality newspaper and quickly analysing the opinion articles (structure, language, tone etc.) and this helps to develop your close reading skills. As for the essay, there is a formula, and I would recommend re-writing essays you don't get good marks in and asking your teacher to mark them again until you find exactly what the examiner is looking for.

In general I would say that for higher subjects there is a fair bit of information to digest so its quite important that you keep studying all year. Personally I didn't do this for the first half of the course but for the second half I did and it really helped. I found that if I stayed in most nights of the week I could get plenty of work done and if I went out at the weekend then I could relax too. It's important that you don't sit in studying every night, unless you have alot more focus than I do. One final bit of advice is start looking at past papers as soon as possible because for most subjects the exams are pretty much the same year in year out and the sooner you know what you're up against the better prepared you'll be :smile:

Reply 27

ad absurdum - that is pretty sound advice you're giving. I agree with what you have said. What are you taking this year. From what you have said it seems that you are a mathematician. Are you taking AH Maths and Physics?
That is what i took. The first part of the AH physics course is to understand where the formulae come from using calculus so you'll find that easy and the rest of the course (supposedly) gets easier as you go along. Most people get frightened of when they see topic 1 with integration and differentiation in!

In maths i have NEVER used y-b = m(x-a)! i just use y=mx+c and it has never caused any problems. If you are going to need to use it then they should teach it at standard grade. My standard grade teacher left near the end of 4th year but she showed us the formula and said "you'll need this at higher so it might be easier for you to start using it now." I didn't and the next teacher i had never uses it. she doesn't teach it as y=mx+c works and she can't see the point in teaching it. I guess its one of those things where it doesn't matter what method you use as long as you get the right answer. It all comes down to your teacher ways. My teacher (i have left school but anyway) can't do synthetic division - neither can i. she teaches it as so many other teachers use it but she hates it. she refers to her textbook every year!! If you plan to take AH maths i believe you should stay well clear of synthetic division as you then have to learn long division at A higher.

Fingers crossed all that made sense - i do ramble sometimes :rolleyes:

Reply 28

friendlyneutron

11

coss

ad absurdum - that is pretty sound advice you're giving. I agree with what you have said. What are you taking this year. From what you have said it seems that you are a mathematician. Are you taking AH Maths and Physics?
That is what i took. The first part of the AH physics course is to understand where the formulae come from using calculus so you'll find that easy and the rest of the course (supposedly) gets easier as you go along. Most people get frightened of when they see topic 1 with integration and differentiation in!

In maths i have NEVER used y-b = m(x-a)! i just use y=mx+c and it has never caused any problems. If you are going to need to use it then they should teach it at standard grade. My standard grade teacher left near the end of 4th year but she showed us the formula and said "you'll need this at higher so it might be easier for you to start using it now." I didn't and the next teacher i had never uses it. she doesn't teach it as y=mx+c works and she can't see the point in teaching it. I guess its one of those things where it doesn't matter what method you use as long as you get the right answer. It all comes down to your teacher ways. My teacher (i have left school but anyway) can't do synthetic division - neither can i. she teaches it as so many other teachers use it but she hates it. she refers to her textbook every year!! If you plan to take AH maths i believe you should stay well clear of synthetic division as you then have to learn long division at A higher.

Fingers crossed all that made sense - i do ramble sometimes :rolleyes:

I'd disagree re: synthetic division, I certainly used it a few times this year alongside long division. I've also used y-b = m(x-a) pretty often, I don't really see how you can always use y = mx + c?

Reply 29

coss

ad absurdum - that is pretty sound advice you're giving. I agree with what you have said. What are you taking this year. From what you have said it seems that you are a mathematician. Are you taking AH Maths and Physics?
That is what i took. The first part of the AH physics course is to understand where the formulae come from using calculus so you'll find that easy and the rest of the course (supposedly) gets easier as you go along. Most people get frightened of when they see topic 1 with integration and differentiation in!

In maths i have NEVER used y-b = m(x-a)! i just use y=mx+c and it has never caused any problems. If you are going to need to use it then they should teach it at standard grade. My standard grade teacher left near the end of 4th year but she showed us the formula and said "you'll need this at higher so it might be easier for you to start using it now." I didn't and the next teacher i had never uses it. she doesn't teach it as y=mx+c works and she can't see the point in teaching it. I guess its one of those things where it doesn't matter what method you use as long as you get the right answer. It all comes down to your teacher ways. My teacher (i have left school but anyway) can't do synthetic division - neither can i. she teaches it as so many other teachers use it but she hates it. she refers to her textbook every year!! If you plan to take AH maths i believe you should stay well clear of synthetic division as you then have to learn long division at A higher.

Fingers crossed all that made sense - i do ramble sometimes :rolleyes:

Thanks for the kind words on my advice. Yeah, I want to be a mathematician, hopefully a Cambridge one come 15 months. I'm doing advanced highers in pure maths, applied maths, physics, chemistry and music this year. What are you studying?

A couple of people in my class used y = mx+c all year too. I agree that they should teach y-b = m(x-a) at SG, it's just the same difficulty as y=mx+c but introducing two equations for the same thing is just needless confusion. Still it opens up the possibility of approaching the same problem different ways and getting the same answer, one of the beauties of maths in my opinion.

Reply 30

friendlyneutron

11

ad absurdum

Still it opens up the possibility of approaching the same problem different ways and getting the same answer, one of the beauties of maths in my opinion.

Spoken like a true mathmo!

Reply 31

ad absurdum

Thanks for the kind words on my advice. Yeah, I want to be a mathematician, hopefully a Cambridge one come 15 months. I'm doing advanced highers in pure maths, applied maths, physics, chemistry and music this year. What are you studying?

That is a lot of work you're taking on!!! For my 6th year (just finished) i did AH maths and Physics and did Advanced ECDL - all 4 modules (each is allowed a year).

I am going to study maths and physics at University from September. After teh first two years i might drop physics if i find i am not enjoying it enough. Atm i am heading towards maths - i strongly recommend "The Art of the Infinite" as a book to read. The librarian at our school gave it to me - how sweet.

So, i have just under 3 months of no studying :biggrin:

but i miss school :redface:

Should i really be saying that? I miss having classes with my maths teacher cos she is the best teacher i've ever come across and she doesn't believe me. Modesty!

ad absurdum

A couple of people in my class used y = mx+c all year too. I agree that they should teach y-b = m(x-a) at SG, it's just the same difficulty as y=mx+c but introducing two equations for the same thing is just needless confusion. Still it opens up the possibility of approaching the same problem different ways and getting the same answer, one of the beauties of maths in my opinion.

Different approaches to finding solutions is definately the beauty of mathematics :smile:

Reply 32

Dhesi

Ill be happy to help anyone with highers in Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Computing and English. If you want a hand with anything just send me a PM.

Mike

Reply 33

friendlyneutron

Spoken like a true mathmo!

coss

That is a lot of work you're taking on!!! For my 6th year (just finished) i did AH maths and Physics and did Advanced ECDL - all 4 modules (each is allowed a year).

I am going to study maths and physics at University from September. After teh first two years i might drop physics if i find i am not enjoying it enough. Atm i am heading towards maths - i strongly recommend "The Art of the Infinite" as a book to read. The librarian at our school gave it to me - how sweet.

So, i have just under 3 months of no studying but i miss school Should i really be saying that? I miss having classes with my maths teacher cos she is the best teacher i've ever come across and she doesn't believe me. Modesty!

Yeah it is quite alot of work but it should be fun, and I think I'll be able to manage (hopefully anyway). You have a good choice in subjects, and you seem to have exactly the same approach to maths w/ physics at uni as me :biggrin:

Thanks for the recommendation I'll check out The Art Of Infinite.

Well, I can't blame you for missing school but at least you've got university to look forward to! I've got three months of no studying then it's back to the same old place, so count yourself lucky :p:

Reply 34

I do in some cases but i think i may need to find a part time job - uni isn't a cheap option by any means!
Are there any topics in maths you like outside of the H/AH course? I have a fasination for prime numbers and there is a great section in The Art of the Infinite. On the back there is a recommendation for The Nothing ThatIs: A Natural History of Zero written by the same author. I may look into finding it as the author appeals to me.

Reply 35

coss

I do in some cases but i think i may need to find a part time job - uni isn't a cheap option by any means!
Are there any topics in maths you like outside of the H/AH course? I have a fasination for prime numbers and there is a great section in The Art of the Infinite. On the back there is a recommendation for The Nothing ThatIs: A Natural History of Zero written by the same author. I may look into finding it as the author appeals to me.

Yeah unfortunately it isn't :frown:

I quite like stuff like prime numbers too, in general number theory. Applications of mathematics has always been what I've focused on but I have interests in less useful stuff too like number theory. I also have a fascination with constants, both mathematical and physical ones.

I'll also look into that book aswell, because I haven't read that either. Seems like I've got plenty of reading material for this summer :smile:

Reply 36

Some constants are pretty nice

Reply 37

ImperceptibleNinja

13

Oooh, prime numbers are great :biggrin:

I got a bit over-enthusiastic recently though, it went something like this:
Them: Wow, happy birthday, you can get completely drunk and it'll all be legal! How does it feel, are you enjoying being 18?
Me: No. It's not prime.

...and that's completely irrelevant to the thread title... sorry :redface:

I doubt I'd be able to expand much on the advice other people have already given, it looks pretty sensible, useful stuff.

Reply 38