NAT0003's Maths Methods Question Thread

[NAT0003]

1. How to improve in maths methods in general. I am finding some of the textbook questions so challenging. Please I have to get 42
raw
2. How to improve in sacs specifically. On my first sac 2 days ago, I think I got around ~50%. How can I get like 70+% for the remaining sacs.
3. How many trials should I do for unit 1/2 and unit 3/4 to get 40+ (hopefully 42 raw)
4. What is the hardest topic in methods. I've heard by some people that it's probability but not too sure.
5. Approximately what sac scores do I need to get a 42
Thanks a lot for the help!!!!

Mod Edit: Altered thread title for clarity 

[Quantum44]

1. How to improve in maths methods in general. I am finding some of the textbook questions so challenging. Please I have to get 42
raw
2. How to improve in sacs specifically. On my first sac 2 days ago, I think I got around ~50%. How can I get like 70+% for the remaining sacs.
3. How many trials should I do for unit 1/2 and unit 3/4 to get 40+ (hopefully 42 raw)
4. What is the hardest topic in methods. I've heard by some people that it's probability but not too sure.
5. Approximately what sac scores do I need to get a 42
Thanks a lot for the help!!!!

Mod Edit: Altered thread title for clarity 

1. Just do every question in the textbook if you want to improve. Write down the ones you can't do in a book and get your teacher to solve it for you and then make sure you understand the solution so you could do a similar type of question in an exam.
2. Do lots of practice SACs and questions. Buy checkpoints or NEAP study questions to do before the SACs.
3. For Unit 1 and 2 exams I did ~6 past papers provided by the school. For 3/4 I'm planning on doing 60-70 practice exams.
4. Methods doesn't really have any especially hard topics. Maybe circular functions or integration.
5. It depends on the quality of your school. Check how many people got above 40 last year at your school and try to be in the top [insert number here] in your cohort.

[NAT0003]

1. Just do every question in the textbook if you want to improve. Write down the ones you can't do in a book and get your teacher to solve it for you and then make sure you understand the solution so you could do a similar type of question in an exam.
2. Do lots of practice SACs and questions. Buy checkpoints or NEAP study questions to do before the SACs.
3. For Unit 1 and 2 exams I did ~6 past papers provided by the school. For 3/4 I'm planning on doing 60-70 practice exams.
4. Methods doesn't really have any especially hard topics. Maybe circular functions or integration.
5. It depends on the quality of your school. Check how many people got above 40 last year at your school and try to be in the top [insert number here] in your cohort.

Thanks for the advice

[cookiedream]

Hi NAT0003!

1. This may sound a bit overwhelming, but I did just about all of the questions in the entire textbook. But I found that it did make my foundation on my methods knowledge more concrete. Yes, quite a few of the questions are really challenging, which is why I consistently went to the teacher for help throughout the year. I stayed back after school and sacrificed my lunchtimes and studies to understand these kind of questions. I also went to tutoring and asked questions there too. It's essential to have this routine of asking whenever you have questions. Write any questions that pop in your head onto a sticky note then ask your teacher the next day.

Also, have a separate book that has all of your errors in it. Cut out and paste the questions you got wrong onto here. I put all my errors and incorrect questions in my bound reference, then I categorised the questions in terms of their topics (e.g. Discrete probability, Differentiation).

2. Other than developing a strong foundation on methods from doing textbook questions, it's important to develop your exam skills for sacs. That is:
- Do as many of your practice sacs in timed conditions.
- Use your reading time well. This varies for each person, but how I sorted out my time was that I spent a good 5-6 minutes reading over the questions carefully and having some sort of an idea of how to deal with a question (but I never worked through any question in detail) then 2 more minutes sorting out which questions I'll do first and then the remaining time doing deep breathing exercises and self-motivating thinking.
- Highlight key terms!! Even if something is bolded or underlined, still highlight it! I had a key for my highlighters (i.e. my yellow highlighter was for highlighting how many decimal points I should have etc etc)
- Look at where you went wrong in your previous sac. Where did you lose marks? Make a list and then annotate the page with plans on how you will improve (e.g. I lost 1 mark because I put my answer in 3 decimal places rather than 2; to improve I will highlight the number of decimal places required for each question in the sac at the start of writing time <<< this was one of the things in my list)
- Have detailed answers. Don't skip steps in your working out.
- Highlight the units in the question!! I lost so many marks, just because the question was referring to m/s but I had my answers according to km/h. Highlight and/or circle these!! Then write them on the corner of your working out page.

3. The number of trials is different for each person. I know someone who got a 41 and someone else who got a 48 yet both only did a few trial exams. I personally did around 15 full trial exams. To get a 40+, try aiming for doing at least 10 practice exams. And for every question you got wrong, cut them out and paste them in your separate error book. Also, try annotating the front page of each of your trial exams with what errors you made and what you should do to improve on these errors in the future.

4. Honestly, I found probability the easiest :/ Again, this is different for each person. The hardest topic for me was in fact Circular functions, which I hated ever since 1/2 methods. General solutions and drawing sine and cos graphs with horizontal and vertical transformations was a pain.

5. Well....your study score is more dependent on your exam. I can't give you straight guidelines for a 42 raw, but I can tell you to try aiming for being in the top 15 in your cohort. Because I know someone who got much higher sac scores than me but got a lower study score than me in the end. So do your best in your sacs, and do your extra best for the exam.

I tried answering your questions in as much detail as possible, but even so I don't think I remember all the advice I could've given you. Soo just letting you know that I'll be writing up a masterpost of all my advice on 3/4 methods soon

Love your enthusiasm for methods!
Good luck!!!

[NAT0003]

Hi NAT0003!

1. This may sound a bit overwhelming, but I did just about all of the questions in the entire textbook. But I found that it did make my foundation on my methods knowledge more concrete. Yes, quite a few of the questions are really challenging, which is why I consistently went to the teacher for help throughout the year. I stayed back after school and sacrificed my lunchtimes and studies to understand these kind of questions. I also went to tutoring and asked questions there too. It's essential to have this routine of asking whenever you have questions. Write any questions that pop in your head onto a sticky note then ask your teacher the next day.

Also, have a separate book that has all of your errors in it. Cut out and paste the questions you got wrong onto here. I put all my errors and incorrect questions in my bound reference, then I categorised the questions in terms of their topics (e.g. Discrete probability, Differentiation).

2. Other than developing a strong foundation on methods from doing textbook questions, it's important to develop your exam skills for sacs. That is:
- Do as many of your practice sacs in timed conditions.
- Use your reading time well. This varies for each person, but how I sorted out my time was that I spent a good 5-6 minutes reading over the questions carefully and having some sort of an idea of how to deal with a question (but I never worked through any question in detail) then 2 more minutes sorting out which questions I'll do first and then the remaining time doing deep breathing exercises and self-motivating thinking.
- Highlight key terms!! Even if something is bolded or underlined, still highlight it! I had a key for my highlighters (i.e. my yellow highlighter was for highlighting how many decimal points I should have etc etc)
- Look at where you went wrong in your previous sac. Where did you lose marks? Make a list and then annotate the page with plans on how you will improve (e.g. I lost 1 mark because I put my answer in 3 decimal places rather than 2; to improve I will highlight the number of decimal places required for each question in the sac at the start of writing time <<< this was one of the things in my list)
- Have detailed answers. Don't skip steps in your working out.
- Highlight the units in the question!! I lost so many marks, just because the question was referring to m/s but I had my answers according to km/h. Highlight and/or circle these!! Then write them on the corner of your working out page.

3. The number of trials is different for each person. I know someone who got a 41 and someone else who got a 48 yet both only did a few trial exams. I personally did around 15 full trial exams. To get a 40+, try aiming for doing at least 10 practice exams. And for every question you got wrong, cut them out and paste them in your separate error book. Also, try annotating the front page of each of your trial exams with what errors you made and what you should do to improve on these errors in the future.

4. Honestly, I found probability the easiest :/ Again, this is different for each person. The hardest topic for me was in fact Circular functions, which I hated ever since 1/2 methods. General solutions and drawing sine and cos graphs with horizontal and vertical transformations was a pain.

5. Well....your study score is more dependent on your exam. I can't give you straight guidelines for a 42 raw, but I can tell you to try aiming for being in the top 15 in your cohort. Because I know someone who got much higher sac scores than me but got a lower study score than me in the end. So do your best in your sacs, and do your extra best for the exam.

I tried answering your questions in as much detail as possible, but even so I don't think I remember all the advice I could've given you. Soo just letting you know that I'll be writing up a masterpost of all my advice on 3/4 methods soon

Love your enthusiasm for methods!
Good luck!!!

44 in methods is an outstanding score

[NAT0003]

How do you find the equation of a parabola with 3 cordinates
eg, (2,2), (4,4), (6,6)

[Quantum44]

How do you find the equation of a parabola with 3 cordinates
eg, (2,2), (4,4), (6,6)

Substitute points into y= ax^2 + bx + c to get 3 equations then solve the equations simultaneously for the variables a, b and c.

[NAT0003]

Substitute points into y= ax^2 + bx + c to get 3 equations then solve the equations simultaneously for the variables a, b and c.

If only I figured that out during my sac on friday

[NAT0003]

Find the point of intersection between y = 8x^2 + 1 and y = 3

[thenerdygangster]

Find the point of intersection between y = 8x^2 + 1 and y = 3

Sub y = 3 into the first equation to find x. This should give you the point of intersection

[NAT0003]

Sub y = 3 into the first equation to find x. This should give you the point of intersection

Oh, ok, I don't exactly have a calculator with me now, but do you think the point of intersection would be (+-square root of 2/8, 3)
Thanks

[MightyBeh]

Oh, ok, I don't exactly have a calculator with me now, but do you think the point of intersection would be (+-square root of 2/8, 3)
Thanks

Yes that's correct, but you wouldn't get full marks because your fraction isn't simplified. I've shown my working below.

\(3 = 8x^2 +1\)
\(\frac{2}{8} = x^2\)
\(\frac{1}{4} = x^2\)
\(x = \pm \frac{\sqrt{1}}{\sqrt{4}}\)
\(x = \pm \frac{1}{2}\)

[NAT0003]

Yes that's correct, but you wouldn't get full marks because your fraction isn't simplified. I've shown my working below.

\(3 = 8x^2 +1\)
\(\frac{2}{8} = x^2\)
\(\frac{1}{4} = x^2\)
\(x = \pm \frac{\sqrt{1}}{\sqrt{4}}\)
\(x = \pm \frac{1}{2}\)

if the question was worth 2 marks, does that mean that I would only get 1 or even 0

[MightyBeh]

if the question was worth 2 marks, does that mean that I would only get 1 or even 0

For year 11 exams, it depends on your teachers' marking scheme; you would definitely get one mark for substituting in y=3 and solving for x. I imagine the other mark would be for correctly stating the point of intersection. You would probably get 1 mark, but a lenient marker might give you 2 - however simplifying the square root is a really key part of this question imo.

[NAT0003]

For year 11 exams, it depends on your teachers' marking scheme; you would definitely get one mark for substituting in y=3 and solving for x. I imagine the other mark would be for correctly stating the point of intersection. You would probably get 1 mark, but a lenient marker might give you 2 - however simplifying the square root is a really key part of this question imo.

Oh, I solved the question differently, I set 8x^2 + 1 = 3, and solved for x, then substituted x back into the equation y = 8x^2 + 1. And i ended up with the intersection (+-square root of 2/8, 3). Do you think I would get 1 mark out of 2