Yacoubb's Further 3+4 Questions

[Yacoubb]

Hmm... I don't agree with a lot of the advice here, since I achieved my 50 very differently. Just be aware that this is not the only way to succeed in this subject.

Could you please tell me what you disagree with Stick?! It would help an ample amount

[Stick]

I disagree with all of this:

For me, I barely studied for Further Mathematics at school, I just kind of studied the day before sacs and did a whole load of practise exams at the end of the year.

I suggest completing the course on the Summer Holidays, it only takes a few days, since some chapters take less than 10-15 minutes... And then spend the whole year, just practising, and finding out alternative methods of doing questions as to check your solutions on the exam, which is what I did. =).

Do two modules in the summer, but do them in depth (ie every problem in your textbook, and possibly a past VCAA exam or two).
One module must be Core.
Some schools start of the year, with a module other than core, eg matrices. This must be the other module you should complete in the summer.
When school starts, you revise by doing all the problems in the textbook again, plus past years' SACs (FROM YOUR OWN SCHOOL!, other school SACs are as good as useless) and past VCAA exams and trial exams of the relevant modules.

Do the remaining modules in the term breaks prior to doing them at school and repeat the process.

That should get you a 50.
If you are also doing Methods, you will get 51.

Its sort of advantageous to me that I did all the modules

I reccomend start practise exams at around June and aim to do like 35 exam 1's and 35 exam 2's.

Don't take it personally, you guys achieved 50 in this way so it must work. I just feel that if you treat the subject 'properly' throughout the year that you can also do just fine. I believe this is how Kuchiki and I both attacked the subject.

Also, I'd always take the advice of a previous Further student over a strong Methods/Specialist student any day. Keep this in mind.

If you're looking for a greater justification or any more information, I wrote a guide on how I got a 50 in Further. It's very long, but if you take the time to read it, you'll find it very useful.

[Yacoubb]

Stick my plan is basically to go with the pace of my class, initiate effective study of both arithmetic/theoretical aspects of Further. That is, I'll obtain good knowledge of the topics for SACS because I want that no. 1 ranking before exam practice begins. Do you think this is an appropriate approach?

[Dejan]

reccomend start practise exams at around June and aim to do like 35 exam 1's and 35 exam 2's.
The more, the better.

I don't really agree with this. It's not the quantity of the exams completed it's more so what you got out of completing so like learning from your mistakes and earning more full marks on question. If you do this and do exam's properly 35 is not really needed. More practice exams doesn't equate to a better or higher study score. The only benefit of doing more is exposing yourself to unseen questions and preparing yourself for a new style response 

[Stick]

Stick my plan is basically to go with the pace of my class, initiate effective study of both arithmetic/theoretical aspects of Further. That is, I'll obtain good knowledge of the topics for SACS because I want that no. 1 ranking before exam practice begins. Do you think this is an appropriate approach?

Definitely. Also, you do not necessarily need 100% in your SACs to obtain the elusive first ranking - sometimes having that anxious thought of trying to not make a mistake at the back of your head during a SAC might end up causing you to make one. It's more important you study and relax knowing you've done the best you can. This is something that comes with experience and practice, since I started the year dropping a mark and slowly having to learn how to relax during the assessments (I didn't drop any more marks after that). Also, remember that not achieving rank 1 is not the end of the world - you can still achieve an excellent result if your ranking is relatively high and you do really well on your exams.

[Yacoubb]

I guess you're right. Is there any place you can find practice SACs on the net?? I know SACs are school-specificied but it wouldn't hurt to have access to other practice assessments.

[Stick]

Hmm... I only ever got practice SACs from my school, but I revised using study guides.

[Quantum.Mechanic]

I guess you're right. Is there any place you can find practice SACs on the net?? I know SACs are school-specificied but it wouldn't hurt to have access to other practice assessments.

The soon to be released ATARNotes book is full of sacs/topic tests that you want.
Alternatively, you can ask around for past school sacs...

[Yacoubb]

The soon to be released ATARNotes book is full of sacs/topic tests that you want.
Alternatively, you can ask around for past school sacs...

When will this book be released and for what price?!

[BubbleWrapMan]

About a month or two, and it'll be $70. We decided to prioritise methods over specialist and further, since methods made up most of the pre-orders for the maths guides. So we're working to get methods out before the other two, rather than delaying all three books. Unfortunate, but that's how it'll be happening. D:

[Stick]

That could still work out alright. The first Further SAC isn't for a while.

[Yacoubb]

That could still work out alright. The first Further SAC isn't for a while.

At my school, the core is divided into 2 sacs for the core so that it isn't too long. Therefore, my first SAC is week 3 lol

[BubbleWrapMan]

Damn...

[betruetoyou22]

I don't really agree with this. It's not the quantity of the exams completed it's more so what you got out of completing so like learning from your mistakes and earning more full marks on question. If you do this and do exam's properly 35 is not really needed. More practice exams doesn't equate to a better or higher study score. The only benefit of doing more is exposing yourself to unseen questions and preparing yourself for a new style response

I'm a big believer in quality not quantity, but with maths its all about the application of your knowledge. The more you are exposed to different questions, the more your start to notice a repetition in the style of certain questions, the more you are comfortable with sitting an exam. Particularly when they're timed, doing as many practice exams as possible is a good idea. Why would you disagree?

[Stick]

Perhaps it's the number 35. I did way more than that anyway.