Any tips for 100 ums in Core 1?

So the core 1 exam is on the 10th or 11th of January (Can't remember which) and so far I've been going through a few of the miscellaneous exercises in my OCR textbook and a few past papers.

I would have thought this would have sufficed to bag full marks in my practice but no! I always seem to slip up on a few marks and those few marks stop me from getting over 90% sometimes.

Does anybody have any tips so that I can try not to make these little mistakes everytime I do a paper?

Thanks :colondollar:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 1

keever1104

Get all the questions right

Reply 2

Dededex

OP

10

Original post by keever1104

Get all the questions right

If only

Learn to add.

Loads of past papers until you stop doing those silly mistakes. There's nothing else you can do really.

Also, don't forget that you don't necessarily need 100% raw marks to get 100 UMS - it depends how well all the other candidates have done.

Reply 5

win5ton

6

Read the question three times. Then backwards. Then ask the invidulator for the answer. If he refuses then say you have his daughter in your car. Tied up. Now that you have two brains attacking the question you are sure to get 100 ums!

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 6

Oasis Jnr

im also doing C1 but with edexcel
im not bothered if i get 100ums, i just want to repeat my 94% in my mock exam again for the real thing.

all u gotta do is look through past papers and questions in ur exercise book.
good luck

Reply 7

Dededex

OP

10

Original post by Farhan.Hanif93

You should really be aiming for 90UMS tbh. 100 UMS is simply a case of knowing how to avoid making mistakes. For the record, I didn't get 100 UMS on C1 due to silly mistakes (I am THE WORST for arithmetic errors).

Yeah I tend to make stupid mistakes such as forgetting to square root a number or something because I'm not concentrating properly.

I understand what you mean though.

Reply 8

ily_em

17

Original post by Dededex

Yeah I tend to make stupid mistakes such as forgetting to square root a number or something because I'm not concentrating properly.

I understand what you mean though.

Do you do your practice papers to the time limit? If there's loads of time left over in the exam (which there should be, C1 was easy) you should be able to go through and double check for any errors like that.

Reply 9

dnumberwang

12

I've done a few C1 papers and the mistakes I've made have included, thinking 3 x 3 = 6, thinking 4 x 5 = 25, not writing to 3 sig figs, integrating 8/x^2 as (8/3)x^-3

So check your working after you've finished. I always find C1 integration a bit of a pain

Reply 10

Dededex

OP

10

Original post by ily_em

Do you do your practice papers to the time limit? If there's loads of time left over in the exam (which there should be, C1 was easy) you should be able to go through and double check for any errors like that.

You have a good point there.

I will check through in the actual exam; at home I SHOULD check through it's just that once you finish the paper you tend to feel naturally inclined to mark it - then you find that god damn arithmetic mistake :mad:

Good point though I should still check through regardless of whether it's in the actual exam or at home :smile:

Reply 11

Dededex

OP

10

Original post by dnumberwang

I've done a few C1 papers and the mistakes I've made have included, thinking 3 x 3 = 6, thinking 4 x 5 = 25, not writing to 3 sig figs, integrating 8/x^2 as (8/3)x^-3

So check your working after you've finished. I always find C1 integration a bit of a pain

Aah, there isn't any integration in Core 1 OCR :P But it's in Core 2 so :smile:

Reply 12

Farhan.Hanif93

18

Original post by Dededex

Yeah I tend to make stupid mistakes such as forgetting to square root a number or something because I'm not concentrating properly.

I understand what you mean though.

There's actually a fair bit of luck involved in getting 100 UMS in the sense that you need to be fortunate enough to not make silly sign errors or 'slips of the pen' etc.
I've only managed it twice (on C2 and C4) because I finished the exams early enough to be checking through it rigorously for about 40 minutes i.e. using my calculators to calculate the numerical integrals etc.

Reply 13

dnumberwang

12

Original post by Dededex

Aah, there isn't any integration in Core 1 OCR :P But it's in Core 2 so :smile:

Oh, we do Edexcel and it's a bit crap. There's no integration in C3 though, I think there is with all the other exam boards

Reply 14

lukas1051

18

Learn every single trick. Check and check and check for small arithmetic errors. Read the questions carefully. Show all working. Everyone makes tiny mistakes.

Past papers.

Original post by Farhan.Hanif93

You should really be aiming for 90UMS tbh. 100 UMS is simply a case of knowing how to avoid making mistakes and being extra careful. For the record, I didn't get 100 UMS on C1 due to silly mistakes (I am THE WORST for arithmetic errors).

Agree, agree :yes:

2 x 3 = 5
That gets me everytime :mmm:

Makes me wonder why I even pass :mmm:

metacognate.

I'm assuming the source of your loss of marks is just careless mistakes, and not the inability to actually do the question;

Finish the paper, then go back and recheck your answers. It's just C1; the answers will look right/wrong if you stare at it long enough. One thing to look out for is if your answer is some weird fraction, say, a 3-digit one, since C1 answers tend to just be integers, surds, and simple fractions. If your awarding body doesn't allow calculators for C1, then this should be even more true. Remember, they intend to award you based on your understanding of the subject, and not your ability to carry out complicated calculations.

Don't forget all the ways to verify your answers: Differentiate to verify an integral, and never forget the +C! Double check sketched translations; plug the coordinates of translated point back into the given translation, and you MUST get back your original point. Check your mathematical operations; sometimes it is possible to get them downright wrong, such as seeing 4^4 but computing 4*4 instead. There are tons of careless mistakes to be made, and the only antidote is tedious checking.

Reply 19

Kolya

17

Original post by Dededex

So the core 1 exam is on the 10th or 11th of January (Can't remember which) and so far I've been going through a few of the miscellaneous exercises in my OCR textbook and a few past papers.

I would have thought this would have sufficed to bag full marks in my practice but no! I always seem to slip up on a few marks and those few marks stop me from getting over 90% sometimes.

Does anybody have any tips so that I can try not to make these little mistakes everytime I do a paper?

I wouldn't say it has much to do with the paper or the topics - it's just your mathematical fluency. So I simply suggest you do some deliberate practice of maths each day (not necessarily C1 past papers, but just some sort of relevant maths). The more comfortable you are working through algebraic problems, and the more experience you have, the fewer mistakes you will make.

Any tips for 100 ums in Core 1?

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