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Higher Maths 2019/2020

for pupils to discuss the horrors of higher maths

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first day and it was so hard :sadnod:
Reply 2
How you guys feeling about the course so far? We have completed: completing the square, functions (composite functions, domains, set notations and inverse functions) so far, and they have been very easy; although a much bigger step-up from National 5. National 5 seems like absolutely nothing compared to Higher; will be interesting to see the rest of the content held within the course.
Reply 3
Yeah we’ve done the exact same I agree, pretty easy so far although I’m sure the hard stuff is soon to come. I’d already done the completing the square when x^2 has a coefficient and the inverse functions in 4th year though so that was mainly just revision.
Original post by Strelzo
How you guys feeling about the course so far? We have completed: completing the square, functions (composite functions, domains, set notations and inverse functions) so far, and they have been very easy; although a much bigger step-up from National 5. National 5 seems like absolutely nothing compared to Higher; will be interesting to see the rest of the content held within the course.
Reply 4
Original post by beth1709
Yeah we’ve done the exact same I agree, pretty easy so far although I’m sure the hard stuff is soon to come. I’d already done the completing the square when x^2 has a coefficient and the inverse functions in 4th year though so that was mainly just revision.


Me too; I had done Higher completing the share in fourth year, although it was very brief and was only as an extension task.

The inverse functions were that work of an A level candidate as our teacher said. So on that basis Higher Maths should be very easy like National 5 was 😁.
Reply 5
Original post by Strelzo
Me too; I had done Higher completing the share in fourth year, although it was very brief and was only as an extension task.

The inverse functions were that work of an A level candidate as our teacher said. So on that basis Higher Maths should be very easy like National 5 was 😁.


Yes, hopefully
Higher isn't too bad, I just sat it there in May.

If you're struggling just keep practicing and doing past papers, wouldn't recommend doing actual past papers until after prelims though or you will run out of past papers when it comes to exam time.

Don't get put off if you do less than expected in your prelim because for a subject like maths it's quite easy to get better understanding just through sheer repetition.
Reply 7
I took two years to do my Higher, got a D a year ago because my teacher was crap despite getting an A at Nat 5 and this year I got my A and I’m going off to do it at university, study hard and do past papers every week, learn the processes start with the easy stuff first then build on that and good luck to everyone sitting it this year!
Does anybody understand reccurence relations? Thats the only part of the course which i dont understand.
Reply 9
Original post by parrot203
Does anybody understand reccurence relations? Thats the only part of the course which i dont understand.


Anything in particular which you don’t understand about them?
Original post by beth1709
Anything in particular which you don’t understand about them?

legit the whole thing as our teacher said to just copy notes and do hw, it just doesnt make sense to me
How is everyone finding the course so far?
My school is doing everything out of order and (apparently) started with the hardest topic if it's asked on it's own (obv problem solving is harder). It is Logs and Exponentials, has anyone else done this? We've moved onto trig now which is definitely easier since we have already done some at N5.
Original post by gustapo
for pupils to discuss the horrors of higher maths

I sat Higher Maths in 2017 and all I can say is that the stigma around it makes the subject seem much worse than it is. The main issues in the paper are the problem-solving questions rather than the actual maths itself.
Just make sure that you understand the core maths fully and see when and where you would need to apply it in the problem-solving questions.

I study history at university, so maths isnt my strong suit at all. But I got a high A in my final grade (although I got a C in my prelim) and I was fine.
Can anyone help with this maths question ?!!!!
Graphs of inverse functions

9E50A180-6E79-4823-9932-0A8661D52703.jpg.jpeg
Original post by kawaii_panda101
Can anyone help with this maths question ?!!!!
Graphs of inverse functions

9E50A180-6E79-4823-9932-0A8661D52703.jpg.jpeg

2. a)

The line is y = f(x)
You'll know that the equation of a line is expressed as y = mx + c.
This can also be written as f(x) = mx +c, as y and f(x) are interchangable here.
First I'd find the the gradient of y = f(x).
Gradient can be found by y2-y1/x2-x1.
Use the points on the axis here,
You'll get 0-1/2-0. This simplifies to -1/2.
The gradient of the line is -1/2.
What about the y-intercept? Well, it's already there. We can see it crosses the y-axis at 1.
So, the equation of the line is
y = -1/2x + 1.
We can write this in terms of f(x):
f(x) = -1/2x +1.
Exact same.
So now you've found the equation (in function notation) for the line shown. But you need the inverse.
You'll need to find the inverse of f(x) = -1/2 + 1.
Swap the x and y, etc.
Keep it as y = (something).
Sketch the line.
Remember the line will cross the x axis at y=0 and will cross the y axis at x=0.
(edited 4 years ago)
I got an A at nat 5 but I feel like I'm failing so bad, I just can't get my head around the work :s-smilie:
Original post by xBeccaPx
I got an A at nat 5 but I feel like I'm failing so bad, I just can't get my head around the work :s-smilie:

Hi! I sat higher this year and got an A (1 mark off a band 1 if that means anything). My biggest piece of advice is just keep practicing , if you don’t understand something watch YouTube videos, I recommend DLBMaths. He goes through past papers and each question and shows you step by step and where marks are awarded. If you need any help with anything particular I’m happy to help!
Original post by blossomblue
I sat Higher Maths in 2017 and all I can say is that the stigma around it makes the subject seem much worse than it is. The main issues in the paper are the problem-solving questions rather than the actual maths itself.
Just make sure that you understand the core maths fully and see when and where you would need to apply it in the problem-solving questions.

I study history at university, so maths isnt my strong suit at all. But I got a high A in my final grade (although I got a C in my prelim) and I was fine.


They say that everyone fails the prelims in my school
Original post by xBeccaPx
I got an A at nat 5 but I feel like I'm failing so bad, I just can't get my head around the work :s-smilie:


I know this comment was posted a while ago but let me tell you something. I got an A at Nat 5 and I couldn't cope with higher the first year, I failed with a D because I just gave up but the next year I stuck at and I got an A and now I'm studying mathematics at heriot-watt not coping with the work there! So you'll be fine :biggrin:
Reply 19
I did nat 5 last year and got a B and I’m doing higher now in s6 and I have lots of free periods so I can manage to do more maths in my free time but it is a huge step up from nat 5 and I have been struggling a lot! I need a B this year if I have any chance of getting to uni so would anyone have any websites or some revision tips for higher maths as it would be much appreciated!

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