ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE Mathematics => VCE Mathematics/Science/Technology => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Mathematical Methods CAS => Topic started by: JR_StudyEd on August 23, 2019, 08:55:07 pm
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For Methods, I have identified a few areas that I
vehemently despise, but I can't avoid them for much longer as exams are coming up. I do get tutoring, but I have to do 99% of the work, and guess who will be sitting the exams? Also, tutoring can't help me fill in every gap in my understanding, so how can I fill in the gaps myself? (note: I'm someone who struggles on a daily basis with this subject and I find it most difficult to begin studying for Methods out of any other subject, no matter what topic I am trying to study for)
Areas that require a lot of practice
- Circular Functions
- Solutions to Trig Equations
- Stationary Points (the complex questions)
- Tangent Lines
- Maximum and minimum problems (Optimisation)
Topics where I legitimately have no idea what is going on and need to actually find out what on earth is going on asap or else the exam will give me 1000 heart palpitations
- Applications of integration
- Binomial distributions
- Probability. Density. Functions. (yes there's a reason why I've emphasised it like this. Spoiler: integration exists)
- Normal distributions
I may amend this list in the near future. So stick around for that.
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tutoring can't help me fill in every gap in my understanding
Wait what? What's the point of having a tutor if he/she can't help you understand the concepts if you're having trouble? There's no use moving on to harder application Qs if there are significant gaps in your understanding in the first place.
Topics where I legitimately have no idea what is going on and need to actually find out what on earth is going on asap or else the exam will give me 1000 heart palpitations
- Applications of integration
- Binomial distributions
- Probability. Density. Functions. (yes there's a reason why I've emphasised it like this. Spoiler: integration exists)
- Normal distributions
With the later chapters on probability and statistics i find learning to use their respective CAS functions help a lot. In particular stats barely ever appear on the tech free exam so if you know how to do them on CAS you're set.
Obviously make sure you first understand the concept. good luck.
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Hi JR,
Based on the mix of topics that popped up at VCE Maths Methods exams during 2006-2018 period, if you do not master:
* Integration
* Normal distribution
* Continuous probability distribution
* Binomial distribution
then, on the balance of probabilities, you can expect to score about 75% of the points available at Tests 1 and 2 combined. Would you be happy with that?
And if at the top of that you do not master those topics that you consider to require a lot of practice, you will be lucky to get 60%, provided you do everything else perfectly.
Cheers
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With the later chapters on probability and statistics i find learning to use their respective CAS functions help a lot. In particular stats barely ever appear on the tech free exam so if you know how to do them on CAS you're set.
Yes definitely this. BUT you must still know how to do the steps by hand because working out is where you'll get most of your marks.
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With the later chapters on probability and statistics i find learning to use their respective CAS functions help a lot. In particular stats barely ever appear on the tech free exam so if you know how to do them on CAS you're set.
Yes definitely this. BUT you must still know how to do the steps by hand because working out is where you'll get most of your marks.
Recently discovered this — if you want to both solidify your understanding of a concept AND to get really good with using the CAS at the same time, writing your own CAS commands is absolutely the best thing to do. It forces you to think about how a certain formula or concept works in order to formulate the right function, and once you get it right it makes your life 10 times easier with tech active questions. I started this a few weeks ago and I cannot recommend it more!!
Of course you can also search up CAS functions online but I wouldn’t recommend that as it kind of defeats the purpose.
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Wait what? What's the point of having a tutor if he/she can't help you understand the concepts if you're having trouble? There's no use moving on to harder application Qs if there are significant gaps in your understanding in the first place.
Hi there. See, my tutor does not move on until I have a near-perfect understanding of the topic. They give me questions on the differentiation rules until I am unable to get them wrong. The only problem is, I do not have the time to keep going at that pace. And as you would expect, I do not pick up difficult maths concepts at the click of a finger.
I have two choices: Try and understand the maths quicker so I can get through more work in less time, or keep going at my current pace to actually try and fully understand what I am doing. Option 2 would be the clear winner, if I had more time before the exams.
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Hi there. See, my tutor does not move on until I have a near-perfect understanding of the topic. They give me questions on the differentiation rules until I am unable to get them wrong. The only problem is, I do not have the time to keep going at that pace. And as you would expect, I do not pick up difficult maths concepts at the click of a finger.
Hi JR! Here's my 2 cents -- of course it'd be ideal if you could work on a topic until you get EVERYTHING down pat, perfect, but I don't think it's very realistic. Aside from the fact that exams are literally less than 3 months away, pursuing perfection and not moving on until you've gotten there is really inefficient overall. I think the best thing to do is to make sure you understand a concept, then move on. But keep going back to previous topics and keep working on exercises even after you've moved on from a concept.
The thing is, a lot of people fall into the trap of seeing topics in methods as separated chunks of maths when in reality they all complement each other. You should be consistently revisiting topics you've studied earlier on in the year instead of getting it perfect only to move on and forget what you've learnt.
Of course that's just my way of studying so it might be different for you. But don't be afraid of moving on. As long as you're constantly revising, the topics will eventually become solidified in your mind. :)