ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE Mathematics => VCE Mathematics/Science/Technology => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Mathematical Methods CAS => Topic started by: scandin9 on July 01, 2014, 07:56:22 pm
-
How 'big' is the transition from year 10 maths to math methods 1&2?
-
How 'big' is the transition from year 10 maths to math methods 1&2?
Not very. It's all really subjective but it's pretty tolerable in my opinion.
I was part of an accelerated program and basically I covered year 10 maths as well as MM1/2 in one year. That was pretty tough, admittedly and I found the course pretty challenging to master. HOWEVER, that was trying to cover essentially one and a half years of schooling in one.
After having a solid base in year 10 maths, you should find MM1/2 a tad challenging but definitely manageable!
-
Not very. It's all really subjective but it's pretty tolerable in my opinion.
I was part of an accelerated program and basically I covered year 10 maths as well as MM1/2 in one year. That was pretty tough, admittedly and I found the course pretty challenging to master. HOWEVER, that was trying to cover essentially one and a half years of schooling in one.
After having a solid base in year 10 maths, you should find MM1/2 a tad challenging but definitely manageable!
I would agree, the main issue is balancing the dense subject amongst other year 12 subjects. "Hamo94" and assorted students who are adept at mathematics would find the study easy to transition into however if you are going into 34 with a poor foundation you will likely struggle to meet the workload demands.
-
I went from doing core year 10 maths at a Catholic high school by the beach to doing methods 1/2 at a select entry science & mathematics school, and even then, the jump wasn't that big. You go over linear functions (yes, again, apparently covering them in years 8, 9 and 10 wasn't enough of a foundation), then revise quadratics, and then the new content starts about mid-way through the semester with cubics and quartics. If you have a solid base in quadratics, neither of these will be that dramatic of a leap.
A lot of the "new" content works this way. For another example, you start off exponential functions and graphs by revising exponent laws from back in year 9. The course is (or at least, the textbooks are) structured to ease you into any new content, by making logical links to earlier content. There shouldn't be any shocks to the system :)
-
As long you pay understand the concepts taught in year 10, you wouldn't have an issue with methods 1&2.
Speaking from personal experience, it just goes into a bit more depth but it's not very overwhelming if you love maths (especially graphs and algebra) and have a good foundation to begin with :)
-
Hey guys, I was wondering if this is too ambitious, or if it's fine :)
I'm doing Year 9 maths at the moment, but I want to do Methods next year. Because of this I've purchased the Year 10 book and started working on it. If I finish it thoroughly by the end of the year will it be a solid enough foundation for me to do Methods?
-
You wouldn't even need to finish the book - topics like statistics and financial maths won't pop up again in methods.
If you post a quick list of the chapters you have, I'd be glad to help you out by telling you what is relevant - but essentially you'll just need to go over algebra, probability and graphing.
Otherwise, I think it's perfectly possible - year 10 isn't that much different to year 9 IIRC, so if your school will let you, go for it.
-
You wouldn't even need to finish the book - topics like statistics and financial maths won't pop up again in methods.
If you post a quick list of the chapters you have, I'd be glad to help you out by telling you what is relevant - but essentially you'll just need to go over algebra, probability and graphing.
Otherwise, I think it's perfectly possible - year 10 isn't that much different to year 9 IIRC, so if your school will let you, go for it.
Sure thing:
- Linear Relations
- Geometry
- Indices and Surds
- Trigonometry
- Quadratic Equations
- Measurement
- Parabolas and other Graphs
- Probability
- Statistics
- Logarithms and Polynomials
Thanks for the help :D
-
Chapters you must do: Linear relations, indices and surds, quadratics, parabolas, probability and logarithms.
Geometry and trig look through - you need to know about the functions sin, cos and tan and their graphs/the unit circle. Everything else you can skip (like bearings and angles of depression)
Measurement would be good to look through, just so you know about relevant shape formula. Metric conversions aren't necessary though, you can skip it if you want.
Don't bother with statistics - anything they cover in year 10 won't come up again, even in the new study design.
Also, don't worry if you struggle too much - nearly all (if not all) of the topics you need will be looked at again in unit 1/2 and 3/4 of methods.
-
What EulerFan101 said.
Just a few more things, at year 10 level, seeing sin, cos and tan as ratios rather functions is fine. Many textbook don't treat them as functions and the graphs are not included. Also, for Geometry, everything else you can skip but it is beneficial to understand the concept of 'Similar Triangles'.
-
Are circle theorems necessary for Math Methods?
-
No, but they are assumed knowledge for specialist and may come up. (they did for one of my SACs, nothing on the exam)
-
As someone who just experienced this, I'd say towards the start the difference is quite big. In year 10, the school wants all students to pass so they make tests quite easy and most people do really well. However in methods, when you're competing with the smartest kids in your year level, your teachers want you to pass but not "do well", so they purposely make tests extremely hard. It depends on the person (how hard they study) and their school at the end of the day I guess.