Mathematics Question Thread

[RobertDyd]

Hi everyone,

What's the best way to study for math if you absolutely hate it and are terrified of it? What are the best techniques? I tend to put it away and avoid it for as long as possible and if I get a question wrong, I'll give up imediately... I'm more of an english person. 

Thanks! 

Hi there,
I used to hate math as well (I failed math in year 7 and I was 40th-ish in year 10, what I did was I used my absolute hate for maths to motivate myself to get good at it so that I'd never struggle again. It took a couple of months but I made it to 3rd place by term 1 of year 11 (Now in yr 12 I'm first in 4u and I love it). I find that we as people just hate things we aren't proficient at, like when my friend Raylan beats me in a 1v1 and I call the game absolute bull ****

The techniques I used in the first couple months to learn math were lots of paper and ink, but as for making math more enjoyable so that you could do well (Or pass it idk whats your case) I would recommend first learning how to absolutely smash algebra and wrap your head around it (I find that most questions in 2u you can mindlessly brute force it if you know your basics). Then with the topics (ie Trig), I would do the hardest questions everyday (just a few), take it to your teacher after school, and learn how they did them correctly, because if you can learn how to do math like your teachers (which is alot easier than reading a book) 90% of the rest of the topic is easy af.

If none of those work, just remember that the HSC is only one year and treat it like a bandaid, just do your best and rip it off as fast you can. Kind of like how you try to finish your hw in the last 10 minutes of class.

If you got this far into my reply then congratulations, I'm not a great writer and I'm currently fueled by anime rather than sleep (I have like another 2 series suggested by my friends to finish by these holidays)

Any questions just pm me and pray I don't fall asleep

[kylesara]

can anyone help with the primative function of (x-1)^2. Thanks

[RuiAce]

can anyone help with the primative function of (x-1)^2. Thanks

[jamonwindeyer]

can anyone help with the primative function of (x-1)^2. Thanks

Hey Kyle! I'll show you the full working two ways:



Remember, add one to the power and then divide by the new power

You could also use a rule on your reference sheet to find the primitive in one go:



Both are fine - That latter line uses the idea that the primitive of \((ax+b)^n\) is \(\frac{(ax+b)^{n+1}}{a(n+1)}\) - On your reference sheet

[Thebarman]

Hey guys, anyone able to help me out with these questions? I seem to have forgotten how to do these during the holidays.

1) If A = (1,5), B = (4,2), and C = (2,-3), find the coordinated of D if ABCD is a parallelogram.

2) The ratio of length to the breadth of  a rectangle is 3:2. If the breadth of the rectangle is b units, find a formula for the area of the rectangle in terms of b.

3) Show that the points X (3,2) and Y (-1,0) are equal distances from the line 4x-3y-1=0.

Thanks!

[Shadowxo]

Hey guys, anyone able to help me out with these questions? I seem to have forgotten how to do these during the holidays.

1) If A = (1,5), B = (4,2), and C = (2,-3), find the coordinated of D if ABCD is a parallelogram.

2) The ratio of length to the breadth of  a rectangle is 3:2. If the breadth of the rectangle is b units, find a formula for the area of the rectangle in terms of b.

3) Show that the points X (3,2) and Y (-1,0) are equal distances from the line 4x-3y-1=0.

Thanks!

1. I'd plot the points and go from there. I'm not sure if they'd expect you to do it mathematically, I'd just say AB = DC and AD = BC so D must be at (-1,0) as the x distances from A and B is equal to the x distance between D and C, so x(D) = 2-3 = -1. Same for y distance, y(D) = -3+3 = 0
2. Area = length*breadth. Length = 3b/2  (due to ratio) so area = 3b/2 * b = 3b²/2
3. Find the midpoint of those points. Midpoint is (2/2, 2/2) = (1,1)
x = 1, y=1, 4 - 3 - 1 =0 therefore the midpoint of X and Y, (1,1) lies on the line 4x-3y-1=0 therefore the distances from the line are equal.

[RuiAce]

Q3 can easily be brute forced by plugging both into the perpendicular distance formula though.

[kylesara]

Is the exact value needed when completing a table of values for stationary points, or just the sign ( - or +). Thanks

[jamonwindeyer]

Is the exact value needed when completing a table of values for stationary points, or just the sign ( - or +). Thanks

Hey! Only the sign is necessary, but you can write the exact value if you want to

[cindyung]

Hi! Sorry this isn't really a question but a question relating to 2u maths --
I'm stuck in this dilemma if i should drop 2u of maths as i'm currently not doing well at all--
I have 13 units currently: English, Maths, Legal, Ancient, Chemistry, Biology and Ext History.
Its kind of stressful so i was wondering if i should drop 2U maths to have time to do other subjects?
Thank you!

[RuiAce]

Hi! Sorry this isn't really a question but a question relating to 2u maths --
I'm stuck in this dilemma if i should drop 2u of maths as i'm currently not doing well at all--
I have 13 units currently: English, Maths, Legal, Ancient, Chemistry, Biology and Ext History.
Its kind of stressful so i was wondering if i should drop 2U maths to have time to do other subjects?
Thank you!

Following some conversations Jamon was involved in, the questions to ask are how much work is being put into 2U, as well as whether or not other courses suffer.

In the event that mathematics is something you happen to HATE, then you should get rid of it without any further question. Because if you hate it, you're not going to do anything for it.

Otherwise, think about how much effort you're putting into maths relative to other subjects, and think about why that's the case. If you're putting heaps of effort into 2U and it's beginning to impact on all the OTHER subjects then you should also drop. Because that's causing more harm than good. On the contrary, if your doing really well in everything else but not in mathematics, if you're not putting enough effort in that needs reflecting on. Or instead if you do put heaps of effort in it, then there's a possibility that the subject wasn't meant for you, and if too much hard work doesn't pay off then dropping seems reasonable.

(Seeing as though you have 13 units, dropping off 2 still gives you a safety net of 1 extra unit, so in that regard there's nothing wrong with it.)

[kylesara]

Homework help please
Question:  If d2y/dx2 = 12x+6 and dy/dx = 1 at the point (-1,-2), find the equation of the curve
thanks!

[RuiAce]

Homework help please
Question:  If d2y/dx2 = 12x+6 and dy/dx = 1 at the point (-1,-2), find the equation of the curve
thanks!

[Adena]

Hi, how do you completely factorise the following:
5x² +10xy-25xy²
Thanks

[sophiegmaher]

Hey guys! Has anyone got any study resources in terms of practise questions? Like topic specific worksheets with solutions on half yearly content?