D2 or M2?

You may not need to get 90+ in M2 for that A* in FP because you only need to get 270+ in any 3 A2 modules in FP.

I did Edexcel and I self-taught myself D2. According to what I've learned, D2 is much more difficult and challenging that D1. And is definitely more tiresome than M2. Damn, that D2 book is a monster.. its even larger than FP3.

Also if you're doing Pure maths at uni then I suggest doing M2. Because D2 won't develop your mind as well as M2 would. Decision maths is just mechanical and robotic and all about implementing algorithms you've learnt. No really good thinking is required.

Also self teaching D2 is a nightmare. It really is. It takes time and effort to realise what is actually needed to be learnt and it's tiresome to discover every chapter all by yourself. I self taught M4 and M5 as well, and these were much easier to grasp than D2.

For example, If you're doing edexcel then get hold of the D2 textbook and go through the chapter on linear programming (that simplex tableau thing). It really is one huge scary chapter at first...difficult to grasp at first...much difficult if you're self-teaching but at the end...it seems like a simple piece of came and what you've got to do in the actual exam is very much easier than first thought.

So I advise against self teaching D2 if you have M2 as the other end of the choice.

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Reply 4

OP

Original post by Motorbiker

D2 is easy to get 95+ums in imo.

Why did you do badly in M1 though? Just not good at understanding the physics or just bombed the exam?

If your school allows you to self teach D2 then that's what I would do.

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Mainly due to not understanding vectors, it was taught near the end of the year and rushed through. The M1 paper this year also happened to be the one where I made the most errors in working out so that dropped me a lot of marks along with the 8 marker vectors question I didn't understand.

Reply 5

Original post by Motorbiker

D2 is easy to get 95+ums in imo.

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Really? :confused:

95 in D2 is around 73-74 and one small arithmetic mistake (which is highly likely) is gonna bust you.

Reply 6

OP

@_Adam_ I see, that's what I was leaning for but I just needed more opinions on the matter.

@TheKingOfTSR I agree about M2 being more beneficial for my mind that D2 if I was planning to study pure mathematics at uni, I'm just very unsure if I'd drop a ton of UMS and get only 73 like I did with M1. Though I could amend that by actually trying to understand everything in M2 unlike with vectors in M1, I've still got that uncertainty factor at the back of my head when I eventually get to the exam. I did enjoy learning M1 this year so I'm not uncomfortable with mechanics but I feel like I would do better in D2 so I wouldn't have to worry about not meeting entry requirements.

Reply 7

Motorbiker

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Original post by TheKingOfTSR

Really?

95 in D2 is around 73-74 and one small arithmetic mistake (which is highly likely) is gonna bust you.

Well, I was always good at simple arithmetic and less good at complex maths, C3/c4 stuff, and got my highest ums in d1and d2. Just be very careful and check things a lot.

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Reply 8

Original post by Rising_Mikado

@_Adam_ I see, that's what I was leaning for but I just needed more opinions on the matter.

@TheKingOfTSR I agree about M2 being more beneficial for my mind that D2 if I was planning to study pure mathematics at uni, I'm just very unsure if I'd drop a ton of UMS and get only 73 like I did with M1. Though I could amend that by actually trying to understand everything in M2 unlike with vectors in M1, I've still got that uncertainty factor at the back of my head when I eventually get to the exam. I did enjoy learning M1 this year so I'm not uncomfortable with mechanics but I feel like I would do better in D2 so I wouldn't have to worry about not meeting entry requirements.

Oho I see. Why not just attend a few M2 lessons and see how you do in them. There is no vectors in M2 AFAIK...

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Reply 9

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Original post by TheKingOfTSR

Oho I see. Why not just attend a few M2 lessons and see how you do in them. There is no vectors in M2 AFAIK...

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That's exactly what I was planning, no point switching modules unless I see what's within both. Just like Motorbiker I'm better with simple arithmetic than complex maths but I should see which one suits my personal learning preference more when I get back in September. Out of curiosity how long did it take you to self teach D2?

Reply 10

Original post by Rising_Mikado

That's exactly what I was planning, no point switching modules unless I see what's within both. Just like Motorbiker I'm better with simple arithmetic than complex maths but I should see which one suits my personal learning preference more when I get back in September. Out of curiosity how long did it take you to self teach D2?

Erm yeah. If you just want the UMS and a safe way to uni then D2 is the option to choose I guess. You might enjoy M2 but won't get the mark required :dontknow:

. If vectors were the main difficulty for you in M1 then perhaps M2 would be much easier to get marks on. Just try both. What I don't like about D2 is the risk of making simple arithmetic mistakes cause there is so much of arithmetic... you've got to use the Cal very carefully!! But with M2, if you know the concepts well then there is no way you could get a low grade/mark :smile:

I took around a month to study D2, working about 1.5-3 hours on it every day, and a few days of no D2 work. And then it was all revision. Well, I am not a typical student.. you could take 3-8 months to learn it. Are you doing Edexcel?

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Reply 11

OP

Original post by TheKingOfTSR

Erm yeah. If you just want the UMS and a safe way to uni then D2 is the option to choose I guess. You might enjoy M2 but won't get the mark required :dontknow:

. If vectors were the main difficulty for you in M1 then perhaps M2 would be much easier to get marks on. Just try both. What I don't like about D2 is the risk of making simple arithmetic mistakes cause there is so much of arithmetic... you've got to use the Cal very carefully!! But with M2, if you know the concepts well then there is no way you could get a low grade/mark :smile:

I took around a month to study D2, working about 1.5-3 hours on it every day, and a few days of no D2 work. And then it was all revision. Well, I am not a typical student.. you could take 3-8 months to learn it. Are you doing Edexcel?

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You're right about the concept thing, when I was doing past papers for M1 I usually always got 70+/75 and if I got below it was usually because of vectors. If vectors aren't in M2 then I should be able to do a lot better in it although in hindsight I should've spent more time practising vectors instead of putting it off.

Yep you're not a typical student indeed :tongue:

I'm doing Edexcel.

Reply 12

Original post by Rising_Mikado

You're right about the concept thing, when I was doing past papers for M1 I usually always got 70+/75 and if I got below it was usually because of vectors. If vectors aren't in M2 then I should be able to do a lot better in it although in hindsight I should've spent more time practising vectors instead of putting it off.

Yep you're not a typical student indeed :tongue:

I'm doing Edexcel.

Yeahh, you got to tackle vectors. Vectors is there in C4 Edexcel, and then in FP3 in detail :eek:

, and it's no use aspiring to do pure maths in uni if you have a dislike for vectors. Why not retake M1 after having learnt C4 and FP3. You could easily get 95+ ums :yy:

.

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Reply 13

OP

Original post by TheKingOfTSR

Yeahh, you got to tackle vectors. Vectors is there in C4 Edexcel, and then in FP3 in detail :eek:

, and it's no use aspiring to do pure maths in uni if you have a dislike for vectors. Why not retake M1 after having learnt C4 and FP3. You could easily get 95+ ums :yy:

.

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Its not that I dislike vectors, enjoyed them a lot at GCSE. Just made no real effort to understand them properly in M1, I'm seeing where the problem lied as I'm typing this haha. Thankfully I've done good enough in my other modules to have no need to retake M1 but I'll still try my hardest going over vectors again. What revision/learning resources did you use for FP3? I normally use examsolutions, past papers and the textbook to learn and practise but since examsolutions doesn't have many video's on FP3 I'm sorta lost on what to do when I get to revising it during study leave.

Reply 14

Original post by Rising_Mikado

Its not that I dislike vectors, enjoyed them a lot at GCSE. Just made no real effort to understand them properly in M1, I'm seeing where the problem lied as I'm typing this haha. Thankfully I've done good enough in my other modules to have no need to retake M1 but I'll still try my hardest going over vectors again. What revision/learning resources did you use for FP3? I normally use examsolutions, past papers and the textbook to learn and practise but since examsolutions doesn't have many video's on FP3 I'm sorta lost on what to do when I get to revising it during study leave.

Anyway you're going to get a taste of vectors again in FP3, so time to get interested again :biggrin:

I tried using examsolutions vids as revision material but didn't like it. :frown:

I use only the textbook, past papers, mark schemes, the edexcel website and some teachers :biggrin:

For me the past papers are too much as well, never got to finish them all...though for FP3 I finished all the papers set from 2008 onwards. :ahee:

. During study leave the best way of revising, IMO, is to go through theory again and tackle very difficult questions such as those in the Solomon papers... :smile:

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