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S2, M1 or D1?

I'm redoing a module for my AQA A level maths. I did S1 (A) and M1 (E). Chaning my M1 module to push up my grade:smile: please bare in mind that it's been 2 years since i've looked at S1 maths. (been told i dont need to know S1 to do S2 - is this correct???)


I HAVE 15 DAYS TO LEARN ONE MODULE SO GUYS SHOULD I TEACH MYSELF S2 OR D1? :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

please give your opinions as to why and please tell me which one is easiest to self teach :smile:
(edited 7 years ago)

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I you've done well in S1, S2 should be no problem. It is more difficult, but in a different sense -- the questions become more rigorous and calculation-heavy. If that sounds like something that you can handle, take S1 instead. If not, I'd recommend D1. I haven't done it personally, but it does look quite simple,
Reply 2
S2 is a good one :cute: IMO it's easier than M1.
S2 imo, if not, do D1.
Not familiar with AQA but you might be better off taking anything other than M1.
Reply 5
Original post by ETbuymilkandeggs
I you've done well in S1, S2 should be no problem. It is more difficult, but in a different sense -- the questions become more rigorous and calculation-heavy. If that sounds like something that you can handle, take S1 instead. If not, I'd recommend D1. I haven't done it personally, but it does look quite simple,


Its been a while since i've touched S1, almost two years. Do you still think i stand a good chance? i know about D1 being an easy option.
Reply 6
Original post by Imperion
S2 imo, if not, do D1.


Hey thank you for your reply! its been a while since ive touched S1, so would you still recommend s2? its either s2 or D1 i think which ill chose. Just not familiar with how D1 works. Apparently you have to be very accurate. Does D1 questions follow the same procedure every time?
D1 is pretty straight forward imo
Original post by Ameenk95
Hey thank you for your reply! its been a while since ive touched S1, so would you still recommend s2? its either s2 or D1 i think which ill chose. Just not familiar with how D1 works. Apparently you have to be very accurate. Does D1 questions follow the same procedure every time?


You can go through the syllabus and judge which you'd enjoy better but I would, S1 isn't that hard and the step to S2 isn't massive.
Reply 9
*Bump* need more opinions :smile:
Original post by Ameenk95
*Bump* need more opinions :smile:


I think M1 is the quickest to learn. 5 days ago I literally didn't know anything about it but after 3 days of revision it seems quite simple. im dreading S1.
Reply 11
For A Level Maths it took me about 2 - 3 months on average to learn a module except D1 which took me about a month at most, I got through 50 pages of a D1 book in under an hour understanding everything. I would highly recommend looking at the D1 syllabus and learning a topic to see how you get on with, if you're one of the people that really clicks with D1 it is the by far the easiest module.
To be honest during the mocks, in January the D1 class got much better grades compared to the S2 and M1 and seeing other people struggle with their modules made me realise that D1 was the easiest. My teachers tend to push you towards D1 if you dont take physics and didnt like S1.

D1 is simple and is basically just following rules, remember the rules and you can pretty much answer any question thrown your way.

If its been two years since you looked at S1, it may not be a good idea to tackle S2 straight away. If I were you I would check out D1 first before doing S2. D1 is extremely easy to learn by yourself and I did it using Mr Hegarty maths youtube videos. Literally took me maybe 3 days to get an A in it for my mock.
I don't know what S2 is like but D1 is so easy to grasp. Apparently people either do really well in its exams or really badly, but I find it quite nice and fun. :h:

M1 is a pain.
Reply 14
Original post by KloppOClock
I think M1 is the quickest to learn. 5 days ago I literally didn't know anything about it but after 3 days of revision it seems quite simple. im dreading S1.


It was the opposite for me, do you have a natural predisposition towards physics? because i dont! i failed M1 twice
Reply 15
Original post by SeemaG18
To be honest during the mocks, in January the D1 class got much better grades compared to the S2 and M1 and seeing other people struggle with their modules made me realise that D1 was the easiest. My teachers tend to push you towards D1 if you dont take physics and didnt like S1.

D1 is simple and is basically just following rules, remember the rules and you can pretty much answer any question thrown your way.

If its been two years since you looked at S1, it may not be a good idea to tackle S2 straight away. If I were you I would check out D1 first before doing S2. D1 is extremely easy to learn by yourself and I did it using Mr Hegarty maths youtube videos. Literally took me maybe 3 days to get an A in it for my mock.


Hearing this makes me happy! i may give D1 a chance then, its just that i have around 20 days to learn this inside and out so i'm a bit cautious. I may give both S2 and D1 a look into today, but youre right it will take me a day or two to get back into the drift of S1. Do you know if S2 is more harder?
Original post by Ameenk95
It was the opposite for me, do you have a natural predisposition towards physics? because i dont! i failed M1 twice


i dont take physics. For the first part of the year I was failing mechanics. I got a U in my mock for it. But I got someone to explain each part of it clearly and then it became a lot easier. Once you understand it, the questions become really easy as they are generally all the same.
Reply 17
Original post by KloppOClock
i dont take physics. For the first part of the year I was failing mechanics. I got a U in my mock for it. But I got someone to explain each part of it clearly and then it became a lot easier. Once you understand it, the questions become really easy as they are generally all the same.


I understand, yeah it was the same for me, but the exams were terribly difficult so i cant risk giving M1 another visit. I used to get Bs/Cs in the lesson and i understood the concepts well, but the nature of the questions were just too tricky!
Original post by Ameenk95
*Bump* need more opinions :smile:


Getting an A grade for M1 is really tough requires lots of practice(Giving M1 this wednesday)
If you've already done S1 and did well, then S2 is quite good to build on it, even if you did it a while ago. Having been more successful in S1 than M1 might suggest you're better suited to thinking through stats problems, so S2 may be better - although it's worth thinking about whether the issue was actually difficult circumstances etc. when studying M1.

Personally I loved M1, but I know it isn't for everyone. To find out what you'd rather do, it might be worth having a quick look at the syllabus for each to see what's involved, then deciding what you think sounds best. I've heard D1 is an easy option but having never done it myself, I can't say if this is true or not.

Given that you're planning to self-teach, it's probably also a good idea to see what resources are available. Obviously you can get course textbooks, but I know I relied on my teachers quite a lot when I couldn't see where I'd gone wrong, so looking for extra questions with fully worked answers etc. is probably a good idea.

Additionally, I don't know what you're planning to study at uni but if relevant, it might be worth picking something that has links to your course. Obviously if you're doing something very artsy then that doesn't necessarily apply, but some subjects do have links to different areas of maths. For example, biology often involves stats, so S2 may be more useful in the long run, even if it's a bit more work now. Physics links nicely to mechanics, so if you were doing that, spending the time to learn M1 might be more helpful. But as I say, this could be completely irrelevant to your degree, in which case it isn't so important.

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