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VCE Stuff => VCE Mathematics => VCE Mathematics/Science/Technology => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Mathematical Methods CAS => Topic started by: hard on March 10, 2009, 11:07:28 pm

Title: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: hard on March 10, 2009, 11:07:28 pm
I really want a 40+ in methods but i even some pretty smart people from last year struggled to get 35 so is it really that hard? so far methods is great but what does it take to get 40+?
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: Edmund on March 10, 2009, 11:32:41 pm
It wont be hard for you, hard. Just aim high As to A+ average on SACs, and a great perfomance on final exams of course.

Actually depends on the person...... Everyone has different capabilities.
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: kurrymuncher on March 11, 2009, 12:09:45 am
yeah aim for high As and A+s like Edmund said. make sure that you don't make careless mistake, because the exam 1 A+ cutoff mark last year was like 37.5 to 38. And don't forget to do practice exams lol
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: hard on March 11, 2009, 12:58:42 am
lol yer thanks i'll try my get A+'s (prays)
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: Eriny on March 11, 2009, 11:35:58 am
Hmmm... I knew the study design very well, and 'only' got a 33. I think you need to actually good at maths, rather than merely competent. But scaling, luckily, evens things out much more.
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: ReVeL on March 11, 2009, 11:45:29 am
I don't believe it's THAT hard to get a 40 in methods. I agree with Eriny in that you have to be actually good at maths to get 40+. Having said that, I am very far from being brilliant and managed a 40 last year.

What your score will really hinge on is careless mistakes come exam time. I made afew in exam 1 costing me an A+(which I could have got on what I knew), but fared better on exam 2, so I guess that helped me.

And of course, plenty of practise exams is an obvious must(I think I did ~25).
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: TrueTears on March 11, 2009, 01:04:09 pm
Just keep up with the class pace all the time and make sure you do all the set questions.

Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: hard on March 11, 2009, 05:28:02 pm
yer that's what i'm doing ^ but hopefully it all works out. 40+ will be fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: IntoTheNewWorld on March 11, 2009, 05:49:46 pm
I have come to believe, that on harder subjects like methods no matter how hard they try (do all set exercises, even more, checkpoints whatever) some people just can't get good at it.

Sigh.
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: Gloamglozer on March 11, 2009, 06:04:05 pm
Check out this site for more details.  the 2008 Graded Distributions for Methods hasn't come out yet but it will give you a fair idea as to how many marks you need to get an A+, A, B+, e.t.c.
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: /0 on March 11, 2009, 08:59:09 pm
Make sure you do a variety of questions. Although routine is important for common questions, after you finish with them you need to expand your question base substantially. With tough questions there are normally 1 or 2 'tricks' which lead to the correct answer. If you have done questions like them before, you won't need to spend ages and ages thinking about them; the method should eventually come to you almost instantly. After every test, regardless of how well you do, you need to clearly identify and work on your weaknesses. Don't just think "oh, that was just too hard". That type of mentality goes nowhere. If you work at this, you could be achieving very high marks on your exams when they come.
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: hard on March 11, 2009, 10:38:13 pm
Make sure you do a variety of questions. Although routine is important for common questions, after you finish with them you need to expand your question base substantially. With tough questions there are normally 1 or 2 'tricks' which lead to the correct answer. If you have done questions like them before, you won't need to spend ages and ages thinking about them; the method should eventually come to you almost instantly. After every test, regardless of how well you do, you need to clearly identify and work on your weaknesses. Don't just think "oh, that was just too hard". That type of mentality goes nowhere. If you work at this, you could be achieving very high marks on your exams when they come.
thanks man
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: Mao on March 11, 2009, 11:38:01 pm
Well, remember how the SS is calculated:

you want to be on average the top 10% of state (40+)

i.e. A+ all round (don't have to be high A+, but A+ nonetheless), as A+ corresponds to top ~11% of cohort. That would get you high 30s to low 40s.

the SS calculator I made might give you a better idea, but basically you need to be ranking high in class and doing well in exams.
Title: Re: how hard is it to get 40+?
Post by: hard on March 11, 2009, 11:54:29 pm
yer hopefully i do well in the sacs.. so far  i can do roughly 2 q on the first exam of 2007 vcaa lol but we've only done 2 chapters i guess.