Should i do specialist math??

[De_Fade]

i'm in year 11 doing 3/4 methods, not doing well i'm averaging a 58% in my sacs. My average is so low because i made a big careless mistake in my first application task and the probability application task i just passed because it was extremely difficult for most of my class. This is a stupid question but i just want to make sure, do i have any chances of doing spesh 3/4 next year? I will finish methods in year 11 and if i do any other maths in year 12, i will swap it with another subject, meaning that i will only do 5 3/4 subjects in year 12 and 1 3/4 subject in year 11 rather than all 6 in year 12 so i should have enough time. Also I'm really good at physics (all A's), found the calculus topics in methods to be the most interesting and want to do engineering in uni, am i going to be able to cope with spesh 3/4 next year? coz i really don't find further maths as interesting.

[Sine]

i'm in year 11 doing 3/4 methods, not doing well i'm averaging a 58% in my sacs. My average is so low because i made a big careless mistake in my first application task and the probability application task i just passed because it was extremely difficult for most of my class. This is a stupid question but i just want to make sure, do i have any chances of doing spesh 3/4 next year? I will finish methods in year 11 and if i do any other maths in year 12, i will swap it with another subject, meaning that i will only do 5 3/4 subjects in year 12 and 1 3/4 subject in year 11 rather than all 6 in year 12 so i should have enough time. Also I'm really good at physics (all A's), found the calculus topics in methods to be the most interesting and want to do engineering in uni, am i going to be able to cope with spesh 3/4 next year? coz i really don't find further maths as interesting.

If you want to do engineering at uni it is highly advisable to do spesh because you will cover pretty much all that content in first year if you don't do spesh. If you do spesh you'll be able to have another elective as far as i know.

[deshi_C]

Honestly, if you love maths then go for it. It ties in really well with Methods and makes methods a breeze. It's not as difficult people say it is, but it is challenging. If you're up for the challenge then do it. 

[call.me.blueberry]

As deshi_C said, you should do spesh if you are considering engineering in uni. However, just like all other subject, it takes heaps of time to get from average to A's but luckily you'll "exponentially" get better so you will need to be patient and dedicate some time to it.
I believe you can. I know a guy from my class 50-ish last year (1/2 spesh) skyrocketed to A's - A+'s this year (3/4). I'm not sure how he changes but what I mean is that it is possible that you'll be fine next year if you have enough dedication and the right methods.

Here's some of my 'core' suggestions:
1) Understand the "how" and "why" in everything. Don't be satisfied easily...
2) Do 'set' textbook questions and some from checkpoint before SAC
      - textbook question is much easier from the checkpoint, but it's good if you are new to the content
      - 'set' = important, must-do questions (pm me if you want the list from my school so that you can do over the holiday)
      - the more you do the questions, the more familiar and experienced you are to them and hence fewer silly mistakes in exam
3) Have a list of danger zone (e.g.: +c for integration, wiggling sign for vectors but not for the i in complex numbers)
4) Take into account the frustration when you hit a question you can't answer despite staring at it for hours
      - walk away from it or seek help from friends and teachers. ask them to explain you why they get that solution until you understand everything and are able to do a similar question. a solution is not enough.
5) Hence, manage your time wisely. heaps of time is required to get from average to A's (either it's misunderstanding of the basics or making silly mistakes that drag your marks down)


BASICALLY, IF YOU WORK HARD AND SMART, I DO BELIEVE IT'S OK FOR YOU TO TAKE SPESH NEXT YEAR. good luck

[dankfrank420]

Having done the uni equivalent of spesh and done decently well at methods in year 12, spesh really isn't that difficult.

If you can handle methods reasonably well, spesh isn't too much of a stretch at all.

[tanvikumar]

i'm in year 11 doing 3/4 methods, not doing well i'm averaging a 58% in my sacs. My average is so low because i made a big careless mistake in my first application task and the probability application task i just passed because it was extremely difficult for most of my class. This is a stupid question but i just want to make sure, do i have any chances of doing spesh 3/4 next year? I will finish methods in year 11 and if i do any other maths in year 12, i will swap it with another subject, meaning that i will only do 5 3/4 subjects in year 12 and 1 3/4 subject in year 11 rather than all 6 in year 12 so i should have enough time. Also I'm really good at physics (all A's), found the calculus topics in methods to be the most interesting and want to do engineering in uni, am i going to be able to cope with spesh 3/4 next year? coz i really don't find further maths as interesting.

I'm doing spesh this year and I would only recommend it if you genuinely enjoy maths coz honestly it is a lot of work and takes up quite a lot of your time.
 Also you need to make sure you're on top of your work for spesh throughout the year you really cant afford to fall behind, coz the work just piles up.
 Also having done methods in year 11 will definitely help you with topics like diff and anti diff, which are huge concepts in spesh and come up again and
again in different topics like vectors as well!! It's really good if you love a challenge, love maths and are willing to dedicate long hours of work. But take
into consideration a lighter subject as well if all your other subjects are hectic! Further is boring i know but you can achieve a high score with less work
and less stress. also, like you said, you arent happy with your average in methods, and considering spesh is harder than methods, not achieving your
desired sac scores can have an impact on your performance so you might wanna do an easier math like further that'll keep your scores and your
confidence up in year 12! all the best for year 12, trust me your ATAR isnt everything and with hard work and dedication you will get where
you want to be in life!

[De_Fade]

I'm going to risk doing specialist next year so I need advice on what topics from 1 and 2 spesh that i should study before going onto the 3/4 textbook, also consider the fact that I have finished 3/4 methods with all the calculus, probability and statistical inference topics covered in methods.

[Syndicate]

I'm going to risk doing specialist next year so I need advice on what topics from 1 and 2 spesh that i should study before going onto the 3/4 textbook, also consider the fact that I have finished 3/4 methods with all the calculus, probability and statistical inference topics covered in methods.

- complex numbers
- vectors
- dynamics
- kinematics
- circle geometry (may be useful)

Considering that you have already finished methods 3/4, it shouldn't be hard for you to catch up with the specialist content over the holidays 

[MightyBeh]

Important things to look at, with Khan Academy links:
Vectors
Complex Numbers (basic stuff is a lot like vectors)
Dynamics

Make sure you completely understand everything from Methods. It's expected you know all of it as a minimum. Other than that, just get really good at algebra and calculus, everything else is based on them so you should be comfortable enough if you're confident with those. Honestly knowing methods you should be very comfortable going into specialist if you don't slack off. Getting your head around the new stuff (listed above) will be the toughest part probably, the rest is just practice.