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Edexcel Maths higher boundaries A*-A

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Original post by Darwinion
Stupid, stupid mistakes!

Didn't read the midpoint question properly and calculated midpoint of M and P. Doh!!!
Didn't take 2m off the width of the room when calculating area so ended up with 70m2 instead of 50m2. Carried that mistake through but did rest of question OK.
I got 100-25PI for that question but didn't write it in the actual answer space. Only noticed it when flicking through the paper as it was handed in. Worked out the last question using Root 3 over 2 instead of root 3 over 3. So I ended up with an answer over 8. That's purely down to time pressure.

I reckon I scored 81 looking at that worked answer paper and I marked myself strictly.

Recently did a 2011 paper and got 100%. Smashed it to bits... but it was soooooo much easier then than the last 2 or three years.


I did the same mistake you did. In the last question, I got the right answer but didn't write it in the answer box but don't worry because I asked my teacher about it and she said it was fine and that they'll mark it anyway if it's right.

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I don't think the A grade will be any higher than 130


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Reply 42
This paper was easier than last years but harder than June 2014. I think
What mark would you need in each paper for an A?
Original post by Faizanasif
Haha! Some people were mistaken of it being x. At that point I was realizing why they were even bothered to take this exam :biggrin: At the same time I'm worried because the future for mathematics isn't good...


If I'm honest, the only place I feel at home with regards to GCSEs is when I'm talking with my "#ocrlatin" buddies...

But on a serious note, no. Mathematics is going downhill way too quickly.
Then again...it will be interesting to see how they're going to integrate (sorry!) iteration into the GCSE syllabus when people can't even work out the volume of a prism with the area already given to you...
Original post by TeenPolyglot
If I'm honest, the only place I feel at home with regards to GCSEs is when I'm talking with my "#ocrlatin" buddies...

But on a serious note, no. Mathematics is going downhill way too quickly.
Then again...it will be interesting to see how they're going to integrate (sorry!) iteration into the GCSE syllabus when people can't even work out the volume of a prism with the area already given to you...


That's so true haha! :biggrin:

By the way, I'm really surprised Histograms, Cumulative Frequency, Frequency Polygons, Simultaneous Equations or interior angles didn't come up! I'm almost certain that they saved these topics for the calculator exam.

I can almost guarantee you that the last question of the calculator will be a Simultaneous Equation question, where it would include doing quadratic formula etc. :wink:
Original post by Faizanasif
That's so true haha! :biggrin:

By the way, I'm really surprised Histograms, Cumulative Frequency, Frequency Polygons, Simultaneous Equations or interior angles didn't come up! I'm almost certain that they saved these topics for the calculator exam.

I can almost guarantee you that the last question of the calculator will be a Simultaneous Equation question, where it would include doing quadratic formula etc. :wink:


I had forgotten about all of these!

Either way I only need to revise ext and int angles...

But based on how unprepared I am for the calculator exam...

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to revise everything.
Original post by TeenPolyglot
I had forgotten about all of these!

Either way I only need to revise ext and int angles...

But based on how unprepared I am for the calculator exam...

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to revise everything.


Interior angles and exterior angles is simple, it won't take you long learning that!

Interior angles: (n-2)x180
Exterior angles: 180 - interior angle

That's all you need to know! :smile:
Original post by Darwinion


Didn't take 2m off the width of the room when calculating area so ended up with 70m2 instead of 50m2. Carried that mistake through but did rest of question OK.



I did that as well, I did the rest of the question how it should have been done but I wasn't sure if I'd not get any marks for that mistake. I only realised afterwards when my friends were talking about how she needed an extra 2.5 litres and I thought she needed an extra 6.5:s-smilie:
Original post by Faizanasif
Interior angles and exterior angles is simple, it won't take you long learning that!

Interior angles: (n-2)x180
Exterior angles: 180 - interior angle

That's all you need to know! :smile:


Thanks! I'll take note of this- sums it up nicely :smile:
Original post by TeenPolyglot
Thanks! I'll take note of this- sums it up nicely :smile:


I haven't really explained that well at all have I haha! :biggrin:

n is the number of sides.

When you do (n-2) x 180, it is the sum of the interior angles in that regular polygon. Then all you have to do is divide that total number by the amount of sides then that's each interior angle. For example, a regular triangle would be 3-2) x 180, and that is 180. And we already know that interior angles in a regular triangle add to 180. 180 divided by 3 gives us each interior angle of a regular triangle, which is 60

As angles on a straight line add to 180, to find out the exterior angle, all you need to do is 180 - the interior angle, not the total number of interior angles in the polygon. For example, we know the interior angle of a regular triangle is 60. 180 - 60 is 120, so each exterior angle of a regular triangle is 120!

I hope that helps even more! :smile:
Original post by Faizanasif
I haven't really explained that well at all have I haha! :biggrin:

n is the number of sides.

When you do (n-2) x 180, it is the sum of the interior angles in that regular polygon. Then all you have to do is divide that total number by the amount of sides then that's each interior angle. For example, a regular triangle would be 3-2) x 180, and that is 180. And we already know that interior angles in a regular triangle add to 180. 180 divided by 3 gives us each interior angle of a regular triangle, which is 60

As angles on a straight line add to 180, to find out the exterior angle, all you need to do is 180 - the interior angle, not the total number of interior angles in the polygon. For example, we know the interior angle of a regular triangle is 60. 180 - 60 is 120, so each exterior angle of a regular triangle is 120!

I hope that helps even more! :smile:


Well, yes, it certainly has! I could never quite remember which was interior and exterior, so you've summed it up perfectly!

(Oh, and with reference to the "angles in a triangle add up to 180"...It all becomes much more fun with Euclidean geometry :wink:)
Original post by TeenPolyglot
Well, yes, it certainly has! I could never quite remember which was interior and exterior, so you've summed it up perfectly!

(Oh, and with reference to the "angles in a triangle add up to 180"...It all becomes much more fun with Euclidean geometry :wink:)


Haha, they are the best! Whenever they come in past papers, I just smile :smile:

It is really likely that will come up in the calculator paper :wink:
Original post by Faizanasif
Haha, they are the best! Whenever they come in past papers, I just smile :smile:

It is really likely that will come up in the calculator paper :wink:


My smile question is trial and improvement; it allows me to just relax and press a few buttons for a while.
Original post by TeenPolyglot
My smile question is trial and improvement; it allows me to just relax and press a few buttons for a while.


Haha so true!

In my maths trial exam in March, I lost 2 MARKS out of 4 just because I didn't do 'testing'. Basically, it was something like x=3.4 or x=3.5, and it was so obvious that it was x=3.4, so I made differences and the lowest one was the answer, but apparently I have to do x=3.45 to get it. Geez I hate my teacher. I did get an A* in that, but I could've got 90 hadn't it been this :angry:

Apart from that, I strongly agree that trial and improvement are the best just so you can play around with the calculator without wasting time :biggrin:
Original post by Faizanasif
Haha so true!

In my maths trial exam in March, I lost 2 MARKS out of 4 just because I didn't do 'testing'. Basically, it was something like x=3.4 or x=3.5, and it was so obvious that it was x=3.4, so I made differences and the lowest one was the answer, but apparently I have to do x=3.45 to get it. Geez I hate my teacher. I did get an A* in that, but I could've got 90 hadn't it been this :angry:

Apart from that, I strongly agree that trial and improvement are the best just so you can play around with the calculator without wasting time :biggrin:


Exactly!

I mean, that sigh of relief everyone has when they can just relax and play with the calculator.

I'm just happy to have learnt how to give quadratic points on the calculator :colondollar:
Original post by TeenPolyglot
Exactly!

I mean, that sigh of relief everyone has when they can just relax and play with the calculator.

I'm just happy to have learnt how to give quadratic points on the calculator :colondollar:


Ahaha! I am actually buzzing for the calculator paper now - I really wanna know what's in it! This will be an easy one, as the harder topics were already in the non calculator paper.

When I opened my non calculator paper, I was so scared because the first question looked hard, but it was just volume haha :biggrin: The first few pages were scary because it contain big pictures, especially the transformation one! Now I know that past papers that have little graph isn't the case in the real ones, I was really pissed off with edexcel as there was so much space for a bigger graph!
Original post by GCSEICT
The grade boundaries need to decrease because this was the hardest exam in 5 years we need to make a petition complain about those shitty A* questions or the ones at the end also the one at the start where it said ESTIMATE????? WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAKE IT CLEARER YOU MEAN THE ANSWER ORRR THE WORKINGS? So ye there are 2 answers for that I just put something like 60


The exaggeration...
Original post by Faizanasif
Ahaha! I am actually buzzing for the calculator paper now - I really wanna know what's in it! This will be an easy one, as the harder topics were already in the non calculator paper.

When I opened my non calculator paper, I was so scared because the first question looked hard, but it was just volume haha :biggrin: The first few pages were scary because it contain big pictures, especially the transformation one! Now I know that past papers that have little graph isn't the case in the real ones, I was really pissed off with edexcel as there was so much space for a bigger graph!


Yes! With the transformations I turned over and literally felt so intimidated...this is why I shouldn't take A Level :u:

But I find that the smaller they are, the less scary they look. Thankfully, the typical "this guy/girl wants to ........, and they need x tins to do this; each tin costs £C; do they have enough?" is one of my absolute favourite ways to gain 4 or 5 marks in 2 minutes :biggrin:
Original post by TeenPolyglot
Yes! With the transformations I turned over and literally felt so intimidated...this is why I shouldn't take A Level :u:

But I find that the smaller they are, the less scary they look. Thankfully, the typical "this guy/girl wants to ........, and they need x tins to do this; each tin costs £C; do they have enough?" is one of my absolute favourite ways to gain 4 or 5 marks in 2 minutes :biggrin:


Yeah! By the way, for the tin question, it was quite obvious calculating in your head that it won't fit at all! The units they chose was quite strange from Edexcel to be honest...

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