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AEA Preparation Thread 30 June 2017

This thread is for discussions regarding this year's AEA examination.

General Information
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WHAT is AEA? Advanced Extension Awards are qualifications aimed at the top 10% of A-level candidates.
WHEN does the exam take place? 30 June 2017, a.m.
HOW long is the exam? 3 hours
WHAT do I need to bring? The usual mathematical instruments. Calculators are NOT allowed.

Preparing for AEA
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Past exam papers (with solutions) can be found under "Course Materials" at
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-a-levels/advanced-extension-award-mathematics-2008.html
which also includes a specimen paper from 2002. Past papers are the best form of preparation for AEA. After trying a few you'll notice that variants of certain questions appear regularly. For example, there is always a question on trigonometry near the beginning of the paper. Another common question asks you to point out fallacies in a mathematical argument, and then provide a correct version of said argument. Questions like this that are often repeated should be given the most attention.

Other sites that are relevant for this exam are:
www.madasmaths.com - a fantastic source of more interesting questions, with detailed solutions.
www.m4ths.com - good website with A-level extension papers, however no solutions are available.

It is also a good idea to learn the exact values of the trigonometric ratios (see table).
(edited 7 years ago)
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Thank you!
If anyone would like me to, I could post some extra exam-style questions to help you all prepare.
Yes please!
Warwick University Maths department have extended solutions for 2002 - 2013 with lots of explanation on their website:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/statistics/courses/aea/
Does anyone know what formulas will be given during the exam? I'm doing past year papers and there is a booklet called 'Mathematical Formulae including Statistical Formulae and Tables' provided stated in the front of the paper. Does anyone have access to what it is?
Original post by theeconomistkid
Does anyone know what formulas will be given during the exam? I'm doing past year papers and there is a booklet called 'Mathematical Formulae including Statistical Formulae and Tables' provided stated in the front of the paper. Does anyone have access to what it is?


It's the standard Edexcel formula book.
Original post by theeconomistkid
Does anyone know what formulas will be given during the exam? I'm doing past year papers and there is a booklet called 'Mathematical Formulae including Statistical Formulae and Tables' provided stated in the front of the paper. Does anyone have access to what it is?


I thought it was just the pink formula booklet that you would usually get for Maths exams (I do Edexcel; don't know if it's different for others). Under the "Materials required for examination", it says "Mathematical Formulae (Pink)" . If you type in "pink formula booklet" on google, (on the first link I think), there's a pdf with all the formulas you would usually get for Edexcel maths exams. I've been using this one for the past AEA papers that I've been doing.
Original post by -Phoenix-
I thought it was just the pink formula booklet that you would usually get for Maths exams (I do Edexcel; don't know if it's different for others). Under the "Materials required for examination", it says "Mathematical Formulae (Pink)" . If you type in "pink formula booklet" on google, (on the first link I think), there's a pdf with all the formulas you would usually get for Edexcel maths exams. I've been using this one for the past AEA papers that I've been doing.


Thank you!!!! Is it C1-C4 formulas I presume?
Original post by theeconomistkid
Thank you!!!! Is it C1-C4 formulas I presume?


Yup, that's the one I've been using as well:smile:. Hope revision is going well:h:
Original post by years101
Yes please!

I'll post some proper exam-style questions nearer the exam, in the meantime here's a neat little question that should get you thinking more about trigonometry :smile:

Find the integer n such that\mathrm{Find \ the \ integer} \ n \ \mathrm{such \ that}

(1+tan⁡(1∘))(1+tan⁡(2∘))(1+tan⁡(3∘))…(1+tan⁡(45∘))=2n[br](1+\tan(1^\circ))(1+\tan(2^\circ))(1+\tan(3^\circ))\ldots(1+\tan(45^\circ)) = 2^{n}[br]
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by theeconomistkid
Does anyone know what formulas will be given during the exam? I'm doing past year papers and there is a booklet called 'Mathematical Formulae including Statistical Formulae and Tables' provided stated in the front of the paper. Does anyone have access to what it is?

It's the standard A-level formula booklet, which (I think?) can be found on the Edexcel website. It would be a good idea to learn the formulae for C1-4 though. The main ones for AEA are the trigonometric formulae (sum to product etc.).
Original post by A Slice of Pi
I'll post some proper exam-style questions nearer the exam, in the meantime here's a neat little question that should get you thinking more about trigonometry :smile:

Find the integer n such that\mathrm{Find \ the \ integer} \ n \ \mathrm{such \ that}

(1+tan⁡(1∘))(1+tan⁡(2∘))(1+tan⁡(3∘))…(1+tan⁡(45∘))=2n[br](1+\tan(1^\circ))(1+\tan(2^\circ))(1+\tan(3^\circ))\ldots(1+\tan(45^\circ)) = 2^{n} [br]


I got n=23 n=23, is that right?
Original post by NotNotBatman
I got n=23 n=23, is that right?

Yes
Are differential equations a topic in the AEA exam? I did some really old papers and they were a common topic but it is not common in recent papers..
Original post by theeconomistkid
Are differential equations a topic in the AEA exam? I did some really old papers and they were a common topic but it is not common in recent papers..

I noticed this too, so yes it may appear in this year's paper. If it is one of the longer questions, it will probably also be in context (e.g. chemical leaking out of a conical container into another container), so it may be wise to practice similar questions from C4 past papers.
.
Original post by theeconomistkid
Are differential equations a topic in the AEA exam? I did some really old papers and they were a common topic but it is not common in recent papers..


It could appear, but it would only be C4-level, of course. I think that it's odd that it hasn't appeared recently, to be honest.
Reply 17
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AAls
15
I'm unable to prepare properly for this as I need to focus on A levels. Is 2 day solid revision before the exam too little for a merit?
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by AAls
I'm unable to prepare properly for this as I need to focus on A levels. Is 2 day solid revision before the exam too little for a merit?

Depends on what topics come up. If you're revising for C3/C4, then you could always try and do one AEA question on each topic that you're revising.
Reply 19
Avatar for AAls
AAls
15
Original post by A Slice of Pi
Depends on what topics come up. If you're revising for C3/C4, then you could always try and do one AEA question on each topic that you're revising.


Yeah I'll give that a go

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