Oxford MAT 2013/2014

how are the mat test graded, what grade can you get, what grades do you need to pass?

does any one have previous year grade boundaries?

Sorry, I was calling the polynomial p(x).

i did everything they did in their working out in the answers. but then i draw the conclusion n=10 and 15.. can u please explain the logic in choosing the correct answer as i do not see it at all!

Not pretending it's great, but shouldn't be disastrous for Imperial. Whilst that's a completely unsubstaniated guess, the sensible thing for Imperial to do is to err on the side of caution*

*Imperial are known for doing some pretty stupid things.

This isn't really stupid from Imperial's pov I'd imagine, but I remember when they had to email my college asking me whether I was taking STEP around February time because I didn't declare it on my UCAS. I told my tutor I was probably gonna take STEP I but I wasn't sure which paper as I had until April to decide...so Imperial gave me a STEP II/III offer. *sigh*

How so? In the solution it says p(1) = 0 when n = 10 or 15 and that p(-1) = 0 when n = 10 or -15. You need both these to hold.

For p(1) n = 10 or 15

But for the p(-1) when you consider the two cases of n being odd and even you get

− (n − 10) (n − 15) even --->n=10,15
− (n + 10) (n + 15) odd --->n=-15,-10

from here it goes to p(-1) = 0 when n = 10 or -15, but i get the above deductions...what am i not seeing?

That 15 isn't even

Also on that paper...not sure if you can explain but on question 4. i did it all quite easily...but the last part i dont even understand what it was asking....and after reading the solution i am more confused tbh/

Pick a point R, not on the parabola, and ask yourself the question: what are the closest points on the parabola to R?

If you pick R=P there are two such points. (This is what the earlier part of the question was all about.) You are now asked to find a point R where there is only ONE such closest point. The solution chooses R = (0,-1) (for easiness) but there were many choices.

When signing up for taking the MAT for Imperial, I put that I was applying for G103, but have since changed my mind and am now applying for G100, and have also put on my UCAS form that I'm applying to Imperial for G100.
Will this be a big problem?

i really doubt it. you can still go to your exams officer and get it changed though...i changed from g100 to g103 just last week. still i really doubt it matters

I doubt the same would hold true for Oxford? Because the questions to be attempted are different for different courses right?

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oxford only has a g100 option....you only get onto 4th year if u have a 1st so at this point we only choose g100

No, you only need a 2:1 to do fourth year.

Hmm is that the same as cambridge. i coulda sworn i was told you needed a 1st at either oxford or cambridge...maybe it was cambridge then

Quite an obvious resource in preparing for the MAT that some people seem to be missing: The official syllabus from the Mathematical Institute's website. If you're a (possibly international) student with a maths teacher who's even remotely apt in English, show this to them before you do any of the practice papers so they can teach you what you still need to learn before you dive in. That way you won´t waste any sample papers on theory you just don´t understand yet, and you´re less likely to panic during a sample paper.

Quite an obvious resource in preparing for the MAT that some people seem to be missing: The official syllabus from the Mathematical Institute's website. If you're a (possibly international) student with a maths teacher who's even remotely apt in English, show this to them before you do any of the practice papers so they can teach you what you still need to learn before you dive in. That way you won´t waste any sample papers on theory you just don´t understand yet, and you´re less likely to panic during a sample paper.