What makes Further Mathematics so hard?

[SunnyB]

alright, forgive me if i sound stupid, but, your allowed a bound book and calculator  into every sac and exam you do in further. What makes it so hard for people to get a 50? you have a book filled with basically everything in your school text book, sorry if i sound rude, but how can people still get 20 SS etc.

edit: just curious of what i need to be aware of when the course begins

Cheers,

[psyxwar]

It's hard to get a 50 because it being an easy subject means you can't afford to drop any marks at the top end. The nature of VCE means some score high and some will score low, because that's how study scores are calculated. It's based upon how well you did compared to the state.

[b^3]

I would also add that because the content in Further is a lot easier than the other maths (and a fair few other subjects as well), some underestimate it and hardly put any effort in. As a result they fall for the trick questions and such that always come up in Further (because they need to separate the top end somehow).

The reason some people get really low for Further is that they just don't give a damn (not all students are trying their best or care about education. A lot more do Further that don't really care or aren't aiming as high as some others. Not saying everyone, just speaking from experience from comparing classes at school e.t.c.). As psyxwar has said, because it's relative to the rest of the state, someone has to fall on the lower study scores.

[SunnyB]

It's hard to get a 50 because it being an easy subject means you can't afford to drop any marks at the top end. The nature of VCE means some score high and some will score low, because that's how study scores are calculated. It's based upon how well you did compared to the state.

I would also add that because the content in Further is a lot easier than the other maths (and a fair few other subjects as well), some underestimate it and hardly put any effort in. As a result they fall for the trick questions and such that always come up in Further (because they need to separate the top end somehow).

The reason some people get really low for Further is that they just don't give a damn (not all students are trying their best or care about education. A lot more do Further that don't really care or aren't aiming as high as some others. Not saying everyone, just speaking from experience from comparing classes at school e.t.c.). As psyxwar has said, because it's relative to the rest of the state, someone has to fall on the lower study scores.

i totally understand you guys. Say you had 2 students, both really smart students who try their best, they give it their all. One gets 50 and the others get 42, what exactly separates then, other then the academic capabilities and ranking (say they were rank 1 at their respective school)

[b^3]

i totally understand you guys. Say you had 2 students, both really smart students who try their best, they give it their all. One gets 50 and the others get 42, what exactly separates then, other then the academic capabilities and ranking (say they were rank 1 at their respective school)

Not making stupid errors/mistakes on the days of the two exams. i.e. "Getting it right on the day".

EDIT: I should add, most at the top end of Further, say 40+ or 45+. Know close to all the content inside out, it's just a matter of getting it all right on the day, not making small errors and getting the trick questions that are used to separate people correct.

[brenden]

Yep. Can echo everything Bcubed has said. To be honest, you work realise why people don't full mark all FM exams until you sit your first practice exam and get 60% :p

[Yacoubb]

I know this is an old thread, but in case someone looks at this, I'll give my anecdote:

For me personally, I strongly disliked the way Further Mathematics worked out for me. I scored 100% on every SAC; my RAW SAC average was 100%, and I was ranked first. I scored 38/40 for exam 1, and 58/60 for exam 2. This means that in total, I lost 4 marks across both exams. This resulted in me getting a 46. 50(highest possible study score) - 4(number of mistakes on the exam) = 46. My friend scored a 45 and made 5 mistakes in total. Can you notice a pattern?

The reason its so difficult to score a 50 is because you virtually need to make no mistakes on either exam. If you're ranked first, you're looking at 1 study score down for every mistake you make. Further Mathematics is an insanely difficult subject to score well in, rather than the concepts, topics, etc, themselves being difficult. VCAA is also beginning to make the Further Mathematics exams more difficult, because it is becoming so easy for students to score well in this subject. This, in my opinion, is totally unfair to students who do Further Maths, who struggle with Mathematics. After all, it is meant to be the easiest of the three VCE Math subjects. But enough ranting, and I think I've gone off on a tangent, but yeah, that's my idea of why Further Maths is difficult to score well in; that is, above 45 in.

[nerdmmb]

I know this is an old thread, but in case someone looks at this, I'll give my anecdote:

For me personally, I strongly disliked the way Further Mathematics worked out for me. I scored 100% on every SAC; my RAW SAC average was 100%, and I was ranked first. I scored 38/40 for exam 1, and 58/60 for exam 2. This means that in total, I lost 4 marks across both exams. This resulted in me getting a 46. 50(highest possible study score) - 4(number of mistakes on the exam) = 46. My friend scored a 45 and made 5 mistakes in total. Can you notice a pattern?

The reason its so difficult to score a 50 is because you virtually need to make no mistakes on either exam. If you're ranked first, you're looking at 1 study score down for every mistake you make. Further Mathematics is an insanely difficult subject to score well in, rather than the concepts, topics, etc, themselves being difficult. VCAA is also beginning to make the Further Mathematics exams more difficult, because it is becoming so easy for students to score well in this subject. This, in my opinion, is totally unfair to students who do Further Maths, who struggle with Mathematics. After all, it is meant to be the easiest of the three VCE Math subjects. But enough ranting, and I think I've gone off on a tangent, but yeah, that's my idea of why Further Maths is difficult to score well in; that is, above 45 in.

Wait, shouldn't your exam mark be scaled up if you're ranked first?

[Professor Polonsky]

No, it doesn't exactly work like that. If you're ranked first, you'll essentially get the equivalent score for your SAC GA as the top exam score in your cohort.

[zhujunyan]

I got 50 when I was year 11. In my opinion, what makes Further hard to get 50 is all the marks are 'small marks'.
Unlike other two maths subjects, you will see A LOT OF 1-mark questions. So technically, you have to answer way more questions correctly even though each one of them only worth one mark. Therefore, there is an increase chance of making careless mistake, which is fatal if you want to get 50.

But still, on the Premier's Award Ceremony, I saw more Further Maths winners than Methods and Specialist Maths combined.

Good Luck