AQA A2 Mathematics (Old Spec) - Pure Core 4 MPC4 - 15 June 2018 [Exam Discussion]

Other AQA Exam Threads:
AQA AS Decision 1 (MD01) - 22nd June
AQA A2 Decision 2 (MD02) - 26th June
AQA AS Further Pure 1 (MFP1) - 13th June
AQA A2 Further Pure 2 (MFP2) - 22rd June
AQA A2 Further Pure 3 (MFP3) - 16th May
AQA A2 Further Pure 4 (MFP4) - 23rd May
AQA AS Mechanics 1 (MM1B) - 19th June
AQA A2 Mechanics 2 (MM2B) - 25th June
AQA A2 Mechanics 3 (MM03) - 6th June
AQA AS Statistics 1 (MS1B) - 6th June
AQA A2 Statistics 2 (MS2B) - 19th June
AQA A2 Statistics 3 (MS03) - 25th June
AQA A2 Statistics 4 (MS04) - 26th June
AQA AS Core 1 (MPC1) - 16th May
AQA AS Core 2 (MPC2) - 23rd May
AQA A2 Core 3 (MPC3) - 13th June

AQA A Level Maths Discussion Thread - 2018 Edition

Hey guys, I thought I'd make this niiiiiice and early so we can all share how we're preparing for our Maths exams this year?

Core 4
Date: Friday 15th June 2018
Time: Afternoon
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Days to go?: 39

Probably the most important way to prepare for maths is to do plenty of past papers! You can find the more recent papers here and the older ones here.

Also, Physics & Maths Tutor has some good resources for revision - everything from revision notes to questions on specific topics. You can find the Core 4 materials here.

Good luck with the preparations everyone, let the countdown commence!

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 1

#noretakes

4

For vectors, when finding the magnitude in order to find the angle between two vectors, do I use the position or direction vector?

Reply 2

cheapheadphone

14

Original post by #noretakes

For vectors, when finding the magnitude in order to find the angle between two vectors, do I use the position or direction vector?

Direction vector

Reply 3

I have economics paper 3 and C4 on the same day...*sighs*

Reply 4

Original post by MajorFader

I have economics paper 3 and C4 on the same day...*sighs*

same bro, paper 3 then core 4 is gonna kill me. how prepared are you for eco?

Reply 5

Original post by SC902

same bro, paper 3 then core 4 is gonna kill me. how prepared are you for eco?

Relatively prepared lol. Micro didn’t go as well for me, I feel like I got a C in it. Need to smash Macro and Themes now I guess.

Wbu?

Reply 6

Original post by MajorFader

Relatively prepared lol. Micro didn’t go as well for me, I feel like I got a C in it. Need to smash Macro and Themes now I guess.

Wbu?

I dont really know where i stand in economics because i feel like a have the knowledge but i completely crumble in tests. I need to learn year 2 macro over the weekend in addition to business and some maths past papers. I'm horribly unprepared for eco as my teacher literally hasnt taught us anything - she even told my classmate that paper 1 was on theme 1 and 2 smh.

Reply 7

Original post by SC902

I dont really know where i stand in economics because i feel like a have the knowledge but i completely crumble in tests. I need to learn year 2 macro over the weekend in addition to business and some maths past papers. I'm horribly unprepared for eco as my teacher literally hasnt taught us anything - she even told my classmate that paper 1 was on theme 1 and 2 smh.

Just do the best you can... what grades do you need for uni?

Reply 8

Original post by MajorFader

Just do the best you can... what grades do you need for uni?

BBB for firm but i have no chance of that so im aiming for CCE as it is my insurance. hopefully i get a B in business and a D in maths so if i get a D in eco (which is likely) i can still go to uni. Last year i was aiming for a B in maths but decisions took me down a lot and i havent put half as much time in maths this year so i dont expect my C3/4 grades to be good especially as the newer papers always throw curveballs in. what do you need?

Reply 9

Original post by SC902

BBB for firm but i have no chance of that so im aiming for CCE as it is my insurance. hopefully i get a B in business and a D in maths so if i get a D in eco (which is likely) i can still go to uni. Last year i was aiming for a B in maths but decisions took me down a lot and i havent put half as much time in maths this year so i dont expect my C3/4 grades to be good especially as the newer papers always throw curveballs in. what do you need?

AAB for my firm, in reality though I am more likely to get ABB/ABC. God is on my side though lol. Just grind man, there is still time between now and your Macro paper. I think there is a resit opportunity next year (I think) so don’t worry too much. For Macro yeah: focus more of your revision on Macro policy (supply side, fiscal, monetary). I am on OCR and my first paper didn’t go too great as well so I am expecting a low C on paper 1. Don’t stress, that’s the most important part.

Reply 10

Original post by MajorFader

AAB for my firm, in reality though I am more likely to get ABB/ABC. God is on my side though lol. Just grind man, there is still time between now and your Macro paper. I think there is a resit opportunity next year (I think) so don’t worry too much. For Macro yeah: focus more of your revision on Macro policy (supply side, fiscal, monetary). I am on OCR and my first paper didn’t go too great as well so I am expecting a low C on paper 1. Don’t stress, that’s the most important part.

re-sitting is not an option for me and yeah ill try not to stress. last year i got a D for eco and i feel like i can get better as ive got better with time management. However, i feel like theres a possibility that i may actually do worse as my teacher literally hasnt taught all year and when we look at the spec half of it just looks foreign. im so desperate that id be delighted with a C but okay with a D because i feel like i can gain a grade elsewhere to meet the grade requirements.

Reply 11

Evilstr99

10

Needless to say, I personally think I am prepared for Core 3 and Decision 1. Core 3, I'd say I've pretty much got the hang of, but if the C3 paper is just as bad as 2016 then welp. (It's hard to believe that an A* is 53 marks and 100 UMS was about 65. Goes to show how ridiculously difficult it was for the sitting students) I haven't really looked at C3 since last Thursday though, so I'll have to reread just incase I left something out. (If that something comes up in the exam, that spells trouble! D :smile:

Core 4? Not as confident on, I am familiar with Implicit Differentiation, Differential Equations, Parametrics and of course the segments carried from AS Maths. Only weakness I have is the more complex questions as well as some aspects of Vectors. (I know the basics, so that's good) I've been scoring high marks on my C3 and D1 practice papers so I should get C4 nailed by Thursday at the latest. Fortunately, it's at 1pm so I'll probably sneak in a final practice paper XD

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 12

mrz4073

16

Questions on differential equations and exponential growth/decay is the hardest

Reply 13

Evilstr99

10

Original post by mrz4073

Questions on differential equations and exponential growth/decay is the hardest

I agree. Constructing a Differential Equation is something that with enough practice, you’ll get used to the general concept. Exponential Growth is essentially plugging numbers in but there’s a case where you may have to manipulate the equation. (Maybe make t the subject then solve)

But hopefully with practice, it should all look clear :smile:

Reply 14

Really hope I can boss all the vector questions on the real C4 exam...💯

Reply 15

mrz4073

16

Thread is awfully quiet did the c3 paper make everyone give up lol

Reply 16

Evilstr99

10

Haha, everybody is still so focused on C3 that they forgot that C4 is actually tomorrow XD

Reply 17

dfhw

9

Really need to bomb this paper to get an A* overall

Reply 18

Tom22561

14

Original post by dfhw

Really need to bomb this paper to get an A* overall

Same, got about 70/75 in c3 so I could do with like 73/75 in c4 to make sure I can be safe and get the a*

Reply 19