Doing M2 M3 next year. How hard are they

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Original post by naxiv

So decided to chose this over S1 S2 etc.

After having done M1 and found it quite hard at the start but decent pre-exam, how will i cope?

Are these hard? Teaching not very good so mostly self teaching.

How big are the books for m1&2?

How long will content take?

How is M1 to M2 & M2 to M3.

Any advice? Will it be hard?

Should i go by the book? Is there a lot of resources for M3?

M2 is harder than M1, but the real pressure comes from M3

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 2

OP

Original post by TeeEm

M2 is harder than M1, mut the real pressure comes from M3

Ive heard SHM is quite hard. Is this true

Reply 3

Original post by naxiv

Ive heard SHM is quite hard. Is this true

some people find it hard

Reply 4

OP

Original post by TeeEm

some people find it hard

Can you answer pls the above Qs

Reply 5

Original post by naxiv

Can you answer pls the above Qs

I have already answered the only question you asked.

Reply 6

Original post by TeeEm

M2 is harder than M1, mut the real pressure comes from M3

Why are they hard, do you think? Is it the exams or the material itself that makes it hard?

Reply 7

Original post by gagafacea1

Why are they hard, do you think? Is it the exams or the material itself that makes it hard?

The material is harder and the general ability of students attempting these modules is getting weaker.
I am not claiming that the students are intrinsically weaker year after year but the preparation from a young age is still getting watered down.

Reply 8

fatherdougal

1

Original post by naxiv

So decided to chose this over S1 S2 etc.

After having done M1 and found it quite hard at the start but decent pre-exam, how will i cope?

Are these hard? Teaching not very good so mostly self teaching.

How big are the books for m1&2?

How long will content take?

How is M1 to M2 & M2 to M3.

Any advice? Will it be hard?

Should i go by the book? Is there a lot of resources for M3?

1) difficulty depends on how much of an aptitude you have for it I found. I have had friends who could the hardest fp3 questions but struggle with basic m1 questions. Some people find the applied maths easier to grasp than the pure stuff but that depends on you
2) they're about the same size as c3 c4 not that large
3)I taught myself m1 to myself pretty quickly but that was possible because I did physics and a lot of the content covered in m1 was exactly the same. I'd say you can get through m1 pretty easily. M2 takes some time. And m3 roughly the same amount as m2.
4) m1 and m2 is a leap. You'll feel like m1 is so ridiculously easy in comparison to m2 like c3 compared to c1. M2 to m3 is a pretty reasonable jump
5) I'd say m1 will be a breeze and you'll start coming across really challenging stuff partway through m2. M3 will be the most difficult obviously but it's so interesting you get over it. If I have any advice it's don't skip over details. Making minor mistakes in mechanics can murder you on marks, but they're the avoidable mistakes that you have after coming out of an exam that you kick yourself for. Oh and stay positive and keep working at it. You'll come across roadblocks but once you get past them the satisfaction will be insurmountable. Hope this helped :smile:

I'm someone who had to teach himself all of m1-m3 in y13 just so you know where I'm coming from

Reply 9

Original post by TeeEm

The material is harder and the general ability of students attempting these modules is getting weaker.
I am not claiming that the students are intrinsically weaker year after year but the preparation from a young age is still getting watered down.

I totally agree with you on the watering down thing. But to be honest I think the system set up, at least for maths is really not that good. I have a 9 year old sister and the way they teach her math just bewilders me. I mean when I did it you learned addition, subtraction then multiplication, then division and only after being able to multiply and divide 4 digit numbers, you learned fractions. For her, they start learning about fractions before even knowing the damn multiples of 7!! It's honestly a mess.

Reply 10

Original post by gagafacea1

I totally agree with you on the watering down thing. But to be honest I think the system set up, at least for maths is really not that good. I have a 9 year old sister and the way they teach her math just bewilders me. I mean when I did it you learned addition, subtraction then multiplication, then division and only after being able to multiply and divide 4 digit numbers, you learned fractions. For her, they start learning about fractions before even knowing the damn multiples of 7!! It's honestly a mess.

... but there is a bright side of things to all this if you are a mathematician or a mathematician to be..
the "mathematics Club" becomes more and more exclusive.

Reply 11

Original post by TeeEm

... but there is a bright side of things to all this if you are a mathematician or a mathematician to be..
the "mathematics Club" becomes more and more exclusive.

But do we really want that? I do like the fact that it's more exclusive but I feel a bit guilty about it.

Reply 12

Original post by gagafacea1

But do we really want that? I do like the fact that it's more exclusive but I feel a bit guilty about it.

it is an inevitable consequence, so you have to look at the "positives"

Reply 13

Original post by TeeEm

it is an inevitable consequence, so you have to look at the "positives"

True.

Reply 14

OP

Original post by TeeEm

M2 is harder than M1, but the real pressure comes from M3

Which is harder, in your opinon and experience,

M3 vs FP2?
M4 vs FP3?

Also what skills would i need for M4?

Reply 15

EDEXCEL A LEVEL UNITS.pdf15.3KB

Original post by naxiv

Which is harder, in your opinon and experience,

M3 vs FP2?
M4 vs FP3?

Also what skills would i need for M4?

I teach usually middle top students (very rarely top or gifted)

M3>FP2
M4>FP3

but of course individuals can vary enormously

have a look at this chart (not mine) which shows broader comparisons.

Reply 16

Scarlet Sword

2

have fun losing 10% of your raw marks for every small slip up you make in the mechanics modules
literally 4 questions in a whole paper, and some parts of a question are worth like 10 marks alone out of a 72 mark paper, if you get something wrong enjoy getting at most 1 mark for the whole question.

Reply 17

rayquaza17

17

M1 is easy.
M2 is okay.
M3 is really hard.

I probably would have found M3 easier if I didn't just bury my head in the sand and ignore the questions in the books because I found them too hard lol.

Reply 18

OP

Original post by rayquaza17

M1 is easy.
M2 is okay.
M3 is really hard.
I probably would have found M3 easier if I didn't just bury my head in the sand and ignore the questions in the books because I found them too hard lol.

Yeah i know.
Its my choice but i can ignore mechanics and just do S1 & S2, which are easier? But i wanna do Engineering

Reply 19

OP