Preparing for 3/4 Further in 2018

[antho13ny]

Hey everyone,
I was planning to do 3/4 further in year 12 (2018) and will be skipping 1/2. Also in year 12, I will be doing Methods 3/4 and 1/2 in Year 11.
I wanted to prepare briefly for 3/4 further in year 12 as I'm taking it as a subject to fill up a spare sport (I finish 3/4 Biology in year 11 - next year)

I got the 4th edition of Maths Quest Year 12 Maths Further book. Can someone tell me what chapters will be covered in year 12 further maths. Is it the whole book or certain chapters/topics?
Thanks

[Aaron]

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I strongly suggest not worrying about this until you get to year 12 (or the end of year 11). Many people take Further 3/4 without 1/2 or any prior preparation and do just fine.

I disagree. If the OP wants to learn some extra topics in preparation, there's nothing wrong with that. It may be true that 'many' people can take it without prior preparation, but some need it. I would suggest looking at the chapters on statistics, time series and finance/recursion. These form the 'core' study so they'll be relevant to you.

HOWEVER, in saying what I have just said, please ensure you're on top of your normal school work first. There is no point stressing yourself out with the extra content if you aren't keeping up with the current workload you have.

Feel free to have a look at the study design (http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/mathematics/MathematicsSD-2016.pdf) from page 54 onwards for a list of areas you might want to look at.

[antho13ny]

Thanks! this is for school holidays and stuff, def won't interfere with school

[Aaron]

Thanks! this is for school holidays and stuff, def won't interfere with school

That's great to hear then! Definitely focus on the data analysis and financial modelling/recursion sections, since everyone (regardless of school) has to complete the core section. In addition, schools choose 2 modules to focus on as well. This means that every school is going to have a different combination of modules, so I don't really want to say 'look at x and y modules' (would be better if you contacted a FM teacher at your school to get an idea of what they are).

Spoiler

Further Mathematics consists of two areas of study, a compulsory Core area of study to be completed in Unit 3 and an Applications area of study to be completed in Unit 4. The Core comprises ‘Data analysis’ and ‘Recursion and financial modelling’. The Applications comprises two modules to be completed in their entirety, from a selection of four possible modules: ‘Matrices’, ‘Networks and decision mathematics’, ‘Geometry and measurement’ and ‘Graphs and relations’. ‘Data analysis’ comprises 40 per cent of the content to be covered, ‘Recursion and financial modelling’ comprises 20 per cent of the content to be covered, and each selected module comprises 20 per cent of the content to be covered. Assumed knowledge and skills for the Core are contained in the General Mathematics Units 1 and 2 topics: ‘Computation and practical arithmetic’, ‘Investigating and comparing data distributions’, ‘Investigating relationships between two numerical variables’, ‘Linear graphs and modelling’, ‘Linear relations and equations’, and ‘Number patterns and recursion’. For each module there are related topics in General Mathematics Units 1 and 2.

Source: Mathematics Study Design (2016-2018), p54.

[stunfiskery]

Hi antho13ny,

I disagree. If the OP wants to learn some extra topics in preparation, there's nothing wrong with that. It may be true that 'many' people can take it without prior preparation, but some need it.

I would agree with this statement for every other subject except for Further, but I don't totally disagree with it. Now that's not to say you shouldn't skim over some of the information, but, in my honest opinion it isn't worth studying ahead in this subject. I see that you are already doing Methods, so luckily for you, if your school picks Matrices, Graphs and Relations and/or Trigonometry, you would have already covered about 80-90% of each of these courses by the time you get to year 12.

Now my main issue with studying Further Maths in advanced is that this is the subject with probably the least learnable content and by the time that you reach year 12, you'll have forgotten the content or at least need to revisit it anyway. It's also very important to note, that you have about 1 term of revision between the completion of your final topic and the final exams indicating, firstly, how little content there is and, secondly, the amount of class time you'll have to revise is sufficient, if used wisely.

If you insist on studying ahead, I'd go with what Aaron has suggested and look at the 2 topics for the core as it is probably the least familiar to you at the moment. However, the best preparation, in my opinion, familiarising yourself with your CAS to death. When you reach a point where the only mistakes you're making are not because of misunderstanding but rather because of silly mistakes, it becomes a matter of perfectionism, which I would suggest is the difference between a 45 and a 50. Learn to input numbers quickly and accurately onto your calculator, play around with the geometry application, with the defining function, with the statistics page, and the spreadsheet. Learn to solve problems 2-3 different ways, so that when you get around to checking your answers, you can confirm them using a different method on your calculator (especially considering that you get it for every single SAC and exam). Also, learn to read questions properly, the easiest mistake to make in any Maths (and particularly) subject is misreading the question, start practicing on your maths tests now.

Basically, my point is, don't stress about the content. Instead work on slowly developing the skills you'll need in Further to eventually attain perfection.

Understandably, my way of approaching things isn't going to work for everyone, so do what suits you in the end.