Failing 3 unit Maths: How to Improve? (1 Viewer)

[kpq_sniper017]

IMHO, hsc maths ext 1 is easier than preliminary. last year i finished on 70%. however, this year i'm currently on 87%. it might just be me, but i find the hsc topics easier than yr11 topics.

my initial attitude towards ext 1 maths (at the beginning of last year) was to rote memorise formulae. as several people have already said...this is of no use unless u know when and how to apply them. and the only way to apply formulae and skills appropriately is to practice questions...try doing questions that are progressively harder. as i've said in other threads, i believe the cambridge textbook is the best for this.

 

[eling]

i'm doing badly at ext maths too..wahhhh...i do my hw n listen to da teacher!!!
stuuupid cambridge book!! --yup i'll stick to blaming on dem

 

[oranGez]

dude, you werent one of the people who got called to mr milner for getting under 20% ok . .

 

[Iota]

drop it... if yu are to far behind it is almost impossible to catch up. u have to work at it constatly... if yu can catch up... then go ahead, but it will be difficult. if yu are failying prelim... good luck next year yu will need it. if u are failing it is a waste of time

I hope that isn't your attitude towards everything in life.

Bunnie: Maths is actually the subject which you CAN bring up and do VERY well in, even if you are failing. All it takes is effort. Not rote learning. NEVER rote learning. That never has, and never will work for maths.

As such, I, like everybody else, suggest you spend a small amount of CONSISTENT time on it per day.

An hour per day, every day, wont kill you. It's not too much and its definitely enough. After an hour, results and retention would tend to drop, unless you're enjoying it.

Sometimes when I'm having "fun" doing the stuff I go on for a few hours, but otherwise I generally do an hour. By "fun", I mean you suddenly understand something, so you find a sort of joy in doing more of them. I don't expect everybody to love mathematics, but I know that almost everybody finds it fun when they can suddenly solve a problem which they couldn't previously.

In conclusion, if you wish to do 5 hours sutdy a day, do so. But if you doubt you could ever manage that, then don't do it. Do however much you want, but always do SOME.

 

[kpq_sniper017]

ditto.
surprisingly, maths can be enjoyable sometimes. e.g. last night i did 4 extra questions than what the teacher set for h/w (i do that a lot), but it's mainly coz i enjoy it and i want to keep getting more right answers.

 

[afta???]

ditto.
surprisingly, maths can be enjoyable sometimes. e.g. last night i did 4 extra questions than what the teacher set for h/w (i do that a lot), but it's mainly coz i enjoy it and i want to keep getting more right answers.

it just gets challenging n u want to b able to do it...
sense of accomplishment if u tackled it

great fun at times but depressing most of the time wen u r just stuck there n dunno where to go

 

[belly_moo]

I agree 3u can be evil, considering it is a simple extension course that takes 3 times the time of the basic course....

A holiday's worth of cramming would get you in business from scratch... 3u is technically only a 120 hr course...

"ONLY" a 120hr course?!? damn.. i never knew that..

i'm currently failing my 3u maths but its cause i haven't practiced enough.. but oh well i'm dropping it next year, maths is just not my thing, or anybody else's, bleh.

you've gotta be really devoted and dedicated to doing your work, paying attention in class and everything else listed above to do well.. which is worth it i guess if you're really into it or if you've got something else motivating you to do ext. maths..

 

[SipSip]

If you are really keen on doing well in maths and your not one who just understands by looking at it...and you want to catch up....here's a sure way to do well

Pick up your 3U maths textbook, and start from the very first exercise...do every single question neatly until you've caught up or finish the book. I know it sounds hard, and it is, but you will do well in the end.

Classes are useless, as long as you do your work, just care about turning up for exams...

 

[afta???]

that's impossible...
she uses the cambridge book n even the author said in the inroduction that "not all questions should be attempted"
even if she devotes her entire free time to doin exercises, it would take her months n by that time the yearlys would b over too

 

[SipSip]

Must agree that the Cambridge book was quite hard....but when i was in highschool, i jumped between textbooks.

If you want to cut it shorter, do every third question, but make sure you fully do the review questions. Whichever one you don't understand, refer back to the chapter and do more of the questions, it's though work, but it's definitely a way to improve...

I've still got some solutions from the textbooks and stuff...it surprises me how much i did.

 

[afta???]

i still think doin all your assigned hw is enough
do more before tests....
mayb i'm wrong though but this workx best for me

 

[kpq_sniper017]

i still think doin all your assigned hw is enough
do more before tests....
mayb i'm wrong though but this workx best for me

whatever works best....

....but for ext. maths in particular, i'd have to disagree. unless your teacher sets a lot of homework, i don't think it's sufficient just to do extra work only prior to exams. i used to do that in yr10 (and i still do for most subjects), but for yr11 and 12 u have to do extra work to get 80-90%+...and that's in addition to h/w.

 

[kpq_sniper017]

it just gets challenging n u want to b able to do it...
sense of accomplishment if u tackled it

great fun at times but depressing most of the time wen u r just stuck there n dunno where to go

on that one, however, i'll definitely agree.
whether the elation of getting one right compensates for the depression of not being able to get one, is a different story...

 

[afta???]

whatever works best....

....but for ext. maths in particular, i'd have to disagree. unless your teacher sets a lot of homework, i don't think it's sufficient just to do extra work only prior to exams. i used to do that in yr10 (and i still do for most subjects), but for yr11 and 12 u have to do extra work to get 80-90%+...and that's in addition to h/w.

does tutoring hw count?
coz im not really "studying hard" but i get at least 85% n my last test i DID NOT SEE A QUESTION n lost the 90% mark...(86%).......last time i got like 93%

 

[velox]

Yeah any maths counts even if it is tutoring homework. My teacher generally sets an exercise a period. So we have a fair bit of work.

 

[rumour]

I suggest getting a tutor & also keeping up & not thinking you nkow everything, you have to practice!

I'm in year 12 & i'm failing 3 unit!
If I only focused more..............

 

[afta???]

Yeah any maths counts even if it is tutoring homework. My teacher generally sets an exercise a period. So we have a fair bit of work.

ill be celebrating if it is only one exercise.......
we hav to sometimes do 4 cambridge exercises each week

 

[afta???]

I suggest getting a tutor & also keeping up & not thinking you nkow everything, you have to practice!

gettin the right tutor is also important...
i like a tutor that builds on fundamentals not spoon-feeding

i luv my tutor now...he teaches us how to derive rather than memorise...
good dude

 

[kpq_sniper017]

gettin the right tutor is also important...
i like a tutor that builds on fundamentals not spoon-feeding

i luv my tutor now...he teaches us how to derive rather than memorise...
good dude

depends what you're deriving and what you're memorising.
some formulae are best to derive, while others are better to memorise e.g. no point learning to derive the "division of an interval formula", but deriving projectile motion equations is important.

 

[kpq_sniper017]

ill be celebrating if it is only one exercise.......
we hav to sometimes do 4 cambridge exercises each week

wow.
4 cambridge exercises per week? does that include extension exercises, coz that'd be pretty crazy and hectic....what school do you go to?