How important is 3u & 4u knowledge in math subjects?

[Fermat]

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I'm doing a comm degree and I'm thinking of taking up a math major. However, I only did 2u math in high school because I didn't really care much for school back then but I got a good band 6. I enjoy maths and I am willing to put in the effort but I will not be able to cope if Math1A and 1B start where 3u/4u left off.

[chucknthem]

Your alias is Fermat and you didn't do any ext. maths? o.O

If you're a reasonably clever and logical person with a bit of math knowledge, you'll be fine. As long as you learned the math and didn't just memorize the formulas.

[Fermat]

I had to think of a username and I had just read Fermat's Last Theorem so it was on my mind.

[Fermat]

Originally Posted by chucknthem

If you're a reasonably clever and logical person with a bit of math knowledge, you'll be fine. As long as you learned the math and didn't just memorize the formulas.

Ok thanks. That's good to know. So all that Newton's method of differentiation, imaginary numbers etc won't be assumed knowledge?

[Fermat]

For people in a similar position:

Mathematics 1 is mainly intended for students who did HSC Mathematics Extension 1. You can enrol in Mathematics 1 if your HSC Maths + Extension 1 mark is over 100 or your Extension 1 + 2 mark is over 100. However if these mark are lower than 115 or 150 respectively we advise you to talk to a MathsStats Advisor. If you achieved a mark over 85 in HSC Mathematics and want or need to take Mathematics 1, then discuss this with one of the MathsStats Advisors. For marks lower than this, we strongly recommend that you do the Mathematics Bridging Course or do a session of Fundamentals of Mathematics before starting Mathematics 1 (as explained in the next paragraph).

source: School of Mathematics and Statistics - Choosing First Year Courses

[chucknthem]

3 unit will help you with about 10% of first year first semester math, 3+4 unit will help with maybe 20-25%. The rest is completely new, and by second semester pretty much everyone is on equal footing.

[migoi]

I'm doing a Math major now as apart of my Comm/Science degree while I only did 2U Maths in high school getting a band 5 from formula memorization.

What I've done so far, are the following,

MATH135 - Mathematics 1A (Macquarie)
MATH1231 - Mathematics 1B (UNSW)
MATH1081 - Discrete Mathematics (UNSW)

not much, but from what i know 3&4 unit can help and is sometimes expected that you have done it (Math1081) however if you have the passion and work hard - only doing 2U won't be a problem just gotta work harder.

[tommykins]

how'd you go in MATH1231 1B migoi, just curious as to how 2unit kids handle it

[migoi]

Originally Posted by tommykins

how'd you go in MATH1231 1B migoi, just curious as to how 2unit kids handle it

I found it not too bad actually, i guessed manipulation of Taylor series question because I really never got the concept of it but yeah the rest was at reasonable level.

The only big problem was time, I managed to finished right on time but the time issue was expected from doing past papers.

[Fermat]

So I've managed to get a hold of a 3u textbook. Which topics should I learn to get on par?

[tommykins]

calculus (diff+integration)
limits
trig functions
exponentials (logs etc.)

is all i can think of atm

[Fermat]

What about circle geometry?
And is it really as tedious as it looks...

[tommykins]

nah circle geometry isn't in math1231 or math1131.

and yes, circle geom can be a fuckwit