Spesh Maths in 2011

[Allygator]

Hi!
I'm doing specialist maths 3/4 in 2011 and was looking for some advice from those of you who have done it previously. I was wondering what areas of the course are the most challenging, so I could at least have a look at them on the holidays so they may be a bit easier when I come to them during the year.
Thanks in advance   8-)

[Linkage1992]

Complex fucking numbers. Thought they were easy until we got a really complex question in the exam which screwed me over. So yeah, really know that topic inside out, so you're prepared for anything.

[sajib_mostofa]

I'd also focus on the calculus section, especially antidifferentiation. There'll be some new methods that you'll have to learn in finding the integral of particular expressions.

[kyzoo]

Don't shy away from the hard exams, even if they rape you the first time round and take you 3 hours to do. I would have been screwed in the real exam if I wasn't used to rushing through a barrage of super-hard questions so that I could finish in time. I did mostly iTute, Kilbaha, TSSM, Derrick Ha,\ and CSE, the rest VCAA, and about 3-4 "easier" exams (e.g. Heffernan).

Personally I'm less careful in the real exam because my mental state is a little bit more agitated than in practice conditions, so I had to remedy this with subconscious training lolz.

[sajib_mostofa]

Don't shy away from the hard exams, even if they rape you the first time round and take you 3 hours to do. I would have been screwed in the real exam if I wasn't used to rushing through a barrage of super-hard questions so that I could finish in time.

Wish I followed that advice instead of doing the ones that reflected the VCAA standard the most.

[98.40_for_sure]

Don't shy away from the hard exams, even if they rape you the first time round and take you 3 hours to do. I would have been screwed in the real exam if I wasn't used to rushing through a barrage of super-hard questions so that I could finish in time.

Wish I followed that advice instead of doing the ones that reflected the VCAA standard the most.

Yep, to prepare for methods, it's kilbaha all the way

[Souljette_93]

Don't shy away from the hard exams, even if they rape you the first time round and take you 3 hours to do. I would have been screwed in the real exam if I wasn't used to rushing through a barrage of super-hard questions so that I could finish in time.

Wish I followed that advice instead of doing the ones that reflected the VCAA standard the most.

Yep, to prepare for methods, it's kilbaha all the way

Im quite surprised Kilbaha is not that bad for methods. Maybe i should try itute..


Hardest section in spesh ( i found ):

Kinematics + Mechanics ( or at least, some aspects of it ) it was the physics section which took most time for me.

[sajib_mostofa]

I'm just wondering does doing hard exams actually help you in the wrong run in that although you may initially get destroyed by them, it prepares you well for potentially difficult questions in the actual exams? Or do they simply lower your confidence and aren't worth the time?

[3Xamz]

Well, coming out of doing probably one of the harder exams set by the VCAA for Specialist only just two days ago, people around here might say things are a bit harder than they actually are. Cos I'm sure most of us are disheartened with how we went ><'

But anyways, I'm going to tell you what I would've liked someone to have told me if I asked the same question as you are asking now

Specialist is practically as follows, give or take a few things of course:
- Know your geometry. Properties of parallelograms, squares, rectangles, triangles etc. etc
- Vector Proofs mainly consist in working your way around these geometrical facts to prove shapes and sizes.
*I found Vector proofs to be the most challenging in the Vector section, the rest is straight forward.
- Complex Numbers; it's not as bad people say it is I actually enjoyed it the most.
- Circular Functions; pretty safe coming off the bat from Methods. Just a few new rules and functions to remember.
- Differentiation/Anti-differentiation; pretty basic stuff again with a few new techniques and rules added on to the Methods stuff.
- Differential Equations; Probably the hardest for me personally. It was really weird at the start but after a bit of practice it's not that hard to get your head around.
- Kinematics & Dynamics - if you do Physics, this shouldn't be nothing new. Specialist just goes a bit further by adding Frictional Forces and also using vectors when working with Newton's F=ma but no surprises at all

I don't know how much of that would make sense to you or anyone else but hope it does a bit at least ><
Differential equations were probably the hardest going for me in Specialist
But I think that's just  me..haven't heard many complain about it before ><

[3Xamz]

I'm just wondering does doing hard exams actually help you in the wrong run in that although you may initially get destroyed by them, it prepares you well for potentially difficult questions in the actual exams? Or do they simply lower your confidence and aren't worth the time?

To a certain extent. Personally, I didn't bother with iTute and TSSM exams after doing a couple because they were stupendously hard. However, there's no point doing just Heffernan exams (I found them the easiest).
So mix and match, and challenge yourself to go that extra mile into the uncomfortable zone but don't fall off the edge of the cliff. (Y)

[samiira]

The hardest for me was Kinematics and Mechanics.. and i guess that was mainly because i didnt have any physics knowledge so took me quite a while to get the hang of it

[Allygator]

Thanks for everyone's advice!
I do physics, so hopefully the kinematics/dynamics stuff will be okay. Although I'm a bit suspicious of my Physics class, as we never really did much...
Thanks especially 3Xamz! Very helpful

[kyzoo]

I'm just wondering does doing hard exams actually help you in the wrong run in that although you may initially get destroyed by them, it prepares you well for potentially difficult questions in the actual exams? Or do they simply lower your confidence and aren't worth the time?

=/ They increased my confidence lol. I got absolutey destroyed at them at first, took 2:40 to finish exam 2s,got around 25-30/40 for exam 1s and 60-65/80 for exam 2s. Then after like my 10th practice exam, I started getting decent scores on them as well as finishing on time, up to like 39/40 and 77-79/80. I got to the point where I believed that there was no exam question that I couldn't do; iTute and TSSM questions may seem "horrendously hard" at first, but after doing a lot of them they become commonplace.

And that confidence was important in the real exam. Because the exam 2 was DEFINITELY NOT a smooth ride. Freaking question 3a.) I had to rub out 5 minutes of working just because I didn't use the method specified by the question, and the graphing question with "k=100, k=200, k=800", my calculator did not give me a graph at all when I first put the equation in, and it took 3-4 minutes of fumbling about to figure out why. If I didn't have the conviction that "Omg there is no way this can be happening, there's no way I can't win this", then I would have given up right there and then - "Oh shit. FML!!! I'm going to run out of time. WTF WHY DOESN'T CALCULATOR WORK =.= omgggg I screweeed up so bad" stuff like that lol

It's not really about preparing yourself for difficult questions as it is training your mentality. IMO mentality, especially under exam pressure, is 9301851930138x more important than actual mathematical ability (There are a few ppl in my spesh class who I deem as mathematically superior 0.o)

Basically insane exams teach you how to confront difficult questions for a sustained period without getting panic attacks. They are like immunity shots against a mental blankout in the real exam.

[sajib_mostofa]

I'm just wondering does doing hard exams actually help you in the wrong run in that although you may initially get destroyed by them, it prepares you well for potentially difficult questions in the actual exams? Or do they simply lower your confidence and aren't worth the time?

=/ They increased my confidence lol. I got absolutey destroyed at them at first, took 2:40 to finish exam 2s,got around 25-30/40 for exam 1s and 60-65/80 for exam 2s. Then after like my 10th practice exam, I started getting decent scores on them as well as finishing on time, up to like 39/40 and 77-79/80. I got to the point where I believed that there was no exam question that I couldn't do; iTute and TSSM questions may seem "horrendously hard" at first, but after doing a lot of them they become commonplace.

And that confidence was important in the real exam. Because the exam 2 was DEFINITELY NOT a smooth ride. Freaking question 3a.) I had to rub out 5 minutes of working, and the graphing question with "k=100, k=200, k=800", my calculator did not give me a graph at all when I first put the equation in, and it took 3-4 minutes of fumbling about to figure out why. If I didn't have the conviction that "Omg there is no way this can be happening, there's no way I can't win this", then I would have given up right there and then - "Oh shit. FML!!! I'm going to run out of time. WTF WHY DOESN'T CALCULATOR WORK =.= omgggg I screweeed up so bad" stuff like that lol

It's not really about preparing yourself for difficult questions as it is training your mentality. IMO mentality, especially under exam pressure, is 9301851930138x more important than actual mathematical ability (There are a few ppl in my spesh class who I deem as mathematically superior 0.o)

Basically insane exams teach you how to confront difficult questions for a sustained period without getting panic attacks. They are like immunity shots against a mental blankout in the real exam.

I think you make some very valid points, especially in regards to training your mind to deal with the possibility of sustained pressure applied during an exam.

[Linkage1992]

"Oh shit. FML!!! I'm going to run out of time. WTF WHY DOESN'T CALCULATOR WORK =.= omgggg I screweeed up so bad" stuff like that lol

story of my life. wish i had done what you did before the exam, because I choked.
but at least i can learn from this and apply it in methods.