What to revise in methods 1/2 for methods 3/4 next year

[jade1234]

Hi guys!

Im doing methods 3/4 next year after doing methods 1/2 this year, but i didn't really pay attention to 1/2 and i basically bludged the whole subject. Now im looking back and just wondering which sections/topics of methods 1/2 should i revise in order to survive in 3/4? Thanks

[snowisawesome]

Since you said you bludged unit 1/2, are you aiming for a raw study score of 25+?
If you are only aiming for 25+ raw, just focus on understanding all the easy questions and getting easy marks. If aiming higher than that, then maybe go through the first few chapters of the year 12 methods textbook as it's sort of a revision of unit 1/2 methods, but more in depth
Hope this helps
Also, if you found any areas of unit 1/2 methods difficult/challenging, than maybe revise those areas a bit more

[Quantum44]

Methods 3/4 is split into three fairly distinct sections: functions, calculus and probability.

For functions, you should revise the types of functions you learned in 1/2 such as the hyperbola, truncus and root graph as well as becoming extremely familiar with quadratics and polynomials. Inverse and trigonometric functions as well as linear coordinate geometry are also essential.

For calculus you really just need to revise the differentiation and integration formulas along with the product, quotient and chain rule. Maybe try a few easy application questions as well.

Not much probability is covered in 1/2 as far as I’m aware so just do some bionomial distribution practice questions.

[snowisawesome]

Methods 3/4 is split into three fairly distinct sections: functions, calculus and probability.

For functions, you should revise the types of functions you learned in 1/2 such as the hyperbola, truncus and root graph as well as becoming extremely familiar with quadratics and polynomials. Inverse and trigonometric functions as well as linear coordinate geometry are also essential.

For calculus you really just need to revise the differentiation and integration formulas along with the product, quotient and chain rule. Maybe try a few easy application questions as well.

Not much probability is covered in 1/2 as far as I’m aware so just do some bionomial distribution practice questions.

How much harder is methods 3/4 compared to methods 1/2?
Happy 500th post as well

[pippinpie]

How much harder is methods 3/4 compared to methods 1/2?
Happy 500th post as well

Methods 3/4 is definitely a huge step up from methods 1/2, as I found units 1 and 2 easy and was shocked by the increased demands of units 3 and 4. To me at least there was a very big difference of difficulty and the demands of applications questions as the course moves away from theory and becomes essentially applications tbh. But don't be daunted and try your best and you never know how it will go, I'm sure it will be fine!!

[Quantum44]

How much harder is methods 3/4 compared to methods 1/2?
Happy 500th post as well

It’s not too bad compared to other subjects given a surprising amount of the content is recycled. Although the difficultly of the application questions increases quite a lot so a more thorough understanding of the course is required as pippinpie said.

[jaycooljay]

Hey there,

You will find that as other users have said, there are three distinctive sections - functions and graphs; calculus; probability.

Functions section
Is a build on of what you learned in unit 1 except it's a lot 'faster' and there is an expectation that you know most of the concepts. There will be harder application questions. I would recommend keeping your unit 1 and 2 book or at least having a way to access it because it often has more questions and is a great resource for  information on all your basic functions. For example, I find the unit 3 and 4 books in the new syllabus lacking highly on trigonometric functions and often have to provide more resources for my students.

Calculus
Similar to the function section and you will be introduced to newer concepts that you may not have come across before. These newer ideas will allow you to complete a larger range of questions.

Probability
Is probably the section that is most different. A substantial amount of material that you're expected to know for your exam will be taught for the first time in unit 4. E.g. inference,

I hoped this has helped and best wishes for your studies

[Sine]

not sure if someone has said this before....

If I could only choose one methods topic to revise I would do transformations since it's a vital part of many other topics as well. Without a working knowledge of transformations you cut yourself off out of way to make your life easier in other topics.

E.g. Graphing complex functions becomes easy to do if you understand transformations

changes that can occur to a normal distributions and the meaning behind the mean and standard deviation becomes easier to understand.