Doing A Level Maths and I'm scared. Any help?

I'm scared that I'll completely flop and never be able to understands the concepts since for GCSEs I never understood maths.

My maths skills are alright as I'm working around a grade 6/7 but I don't want to let that discourage me as I've heard stories of students who got grade 6/7s and still managed to get an A* in Maths.

I've finished Year 11 and have lots of weeks to spare. What should I do? If I want to take Maths A Level I need to do an induction test. People said I should just do GCSE grade 8/9 questions and others have said I should just glance over the topics for A Level.

I'm scared and don't know what to do? Sure it's practice but I want to do efficient practice and don't know how.

Reply 1

gdunne42

21

Original post by AngelStarfire

I'm scared that I'll completely flop and never be able to understands the concepts since for GCSEs I never understood maths.

My maths skills are alright as I'm working around a grade 6/7 but I don't want to let that discourage me as I've heard stories of students who got grade 6/7s and still managed to get an A* in Maths.

I've finished Year 11 and have lots of weeks to spare. What should I do? If I want to take Maths A Level I need to do an induction test. People said I should just do GCSE grade 8/9 questions and others have said I should just glance over the topics for A Level.

I'm scared and don't know what to do? Sure it's practice but I want to do efficient practice and don't know how.

To be successful at A level maths you need to be good at all aspects of algebra and coordinate geometry, confident with trigonometry and good at working with fractions, indices and surds. These are the topic areas most likely to be tested in an induction test.
There's a detailed review in this document:
https://ocr.org.uk/Images/373371-bridging-the-gap-between-gcse-and-as-a-level-mathematics-a-student-guide.docx

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 2

AngelStarfire

OP

15

Original post by gdunne42

To be successful at A level maths you need to be good at all aspects of algebra and coordinate geometry, confident with trigonometry and good at working with fractions, indices and surds. These are the topic areas most likely to be tested in an induction test.
There's a detailed review in this document:
https://ocr.org.uk/Images/373371-bridging-the-gap-between-gcse-and-as-a-level-mathematics-a-student-guide.docx

Thank you so much! So would you recommend me doing grade 8/9 questions on them even though my level is lower? Since it can push me higher.

Reply 3

gdunne42

21

Original post by AngelStarfire

Thank you so much! So would you recommend me doing grade 8/9 questions on them even though my level is lower? Since it can push me higher.

I would make sure I was confident in all of the topics in that document. Grade 8/9 questions is a bit of a strange concept, there isn’t really such a thing. Some topics are hard and so tend to be listed under grade 8/9, they often come in the later chapters of a text book, are sometimes left out by teachers if the class isn’t high ability or is running out of time (see mathsgenie.co.uk). Some questions are hard because they require high level maths thinking and problem solving skills. I would expect an induction test to be mainly focused on knowledge of the topics rather than hard problem solving but it depends on the teachers who set it.

Reply 4

Marsharko

15

If you don't enjoy maths then don't do it. I got a level 8 at GCSE but decided to drop it last week as I hated studying A-Level maths this year.

Reply 5

AngelStarfire

OP

15

Original post by gdunne42

I would make sure I was confident in all of the topics in that document. Grade 8/9 questions is a bit of a strange concept, there isn’t really such a thing. Some topics are hard and so tend to be listed under grade 8/9, they often come in the later chapters of a text book, are sometimes left out by teachers if the class isn’t high ability or is running out of time (see mathsgenie.co.uk). Some questions are hard because they require high level maths thinking and problem solving skills. I would expect an induction test to be mainly focused on knowledge of the topics rather than hard problem solving but it depends on the teachers who set it.

Thank you yet again! The document you gave me is really helpful! I'll work through them, plus it gives me quicker ways to solve algebraic equations (^_^ )

Reply 6

AngelStarfire

OP

15

Original post by Sharmarko

If you don't enjoy maths then don't do it. I got a level 8 at GCSE but decided to drop it last week as I hated studying A-Level maths this year.

That's what I was thinking but I can't think of any other A levels to choose that's beneficial. It was either English or Maths and I despise English with all my heart. My "love" towards Maths is meh and compared to my other subjects meh seems to be okayish. My friend makes Maths enjoyable so I'm hoping to use her to fuel my determination, although I've been told that if I do enough practice then I'll slowly start to develop an interest in Maths.

Reply 7

juicyapples

13

I would not recommend A level maths if you're not incredibly strong at it at GCSE. Even then, just because you got an A* or 9 at GCSE doesn't mean you'll do well. I know many who've gotten A*s at GCSE and struggled with it at A level, including myself. I wouldn't recommend that you take it, especially that they've made the new specification so much harder. If you don't enjoy it, it will be hell, particularly at A2.

Reply 8

scorpiorules

13

Even with a 9 in Maths the A Level is way way harder, unless you love maths or its an absolute necessary for your degree choice don’t do it!

Reply 9

a7x1d

6

the induction test isnt hard its just to assess whether you are still able to do the basic functional skills like expanding brackets some surds, lol no grade 8/9 questions will come up

Original post by AngelStarfire

I'm scared that I'll completely flop and never be able to understands the concepts since for GCSEs I never understood maths.

My maths skills are alright as I'm working around a grade 6/7 but I don't want to let that discourage me as I've heard stories of students who got grade 6/7s and still managed to get an A* in Maths.

I've finished Year 11 and have lots of weeks to spare. What should I do? If I want to take Maths A Level I need to do an induction test. People said I should just do GCSE grade 8/9 questions and others have said I should just glance over the topics for A Level.

I'm scared and don't know what to do? Sure it's practice but I want to do efficient practice and don't know how.

Reply 10

TasteLikeChicken

16

I'd recommend Khan Academy. As others have said, make sure you are very comfortable with algebra, geometry, trigonometry, surds and the like. After your fundamentals are strong, I'd recommend looking at their introductory calculus playlist, as that is one of the first things you'll learn. It is quite a steep learning curve, but it will be worth it. Other topics to look at include logarithms, polynomials and more advanced trig (like trigonometric identities).

Reply 11

dont know it

9

Original post by AngelStarfire

I'm scared that I'll completely flop and never be able to understands the concepts since for GCSEs I never understood maths.

My maths skills are alright as I'm working around a grade 6/7 but I don't want to let that discourage me as I've heard stories of students who got grade 6/7s and still managed to get an A* in Maths.

I've finished Year 11 and have lots of weeks to spare. What should I do? If I want to take Maths A Level I need to do an induction test. People said I should just do GCSE grade 8/9 questions and others have said I should just glance over the topics for A Level.

I'm scared and don't know what to do? Sure it's practice but I want to do efficient practice and don't know how.

You need to knuckle down on the basics. I would say it's probably the most important thing for A level maths. Also, try to understand every topic as you go along, because you'll require knowledge from those topics in several others. That's why I'd say it's best to follow the order of topics in the official textbooks. Watch Exam solutions and Jack Brown IMO. It takes a lot of work I won't lie, don't leave revision till the last few months. When people say A-Levels aren't like GCSe's where you can revise the night before and do fine they very much mean it. At A-Level that pretty much results in an E or U.

Doing A Level Maths and I'm scared. Any help?

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