Maths

[deepfriedmars...]

Hiya everyone

I'm 17 and I've just failed GCSE Maths for the second time. I'ts obviously never been my strong-point and I've struggled with it all the way through school. Neither of my parents are particularly good at maths so it's always been difficult when I've been revising and I've needed help.

In my last two years of secondary school preparing for my GCSE's,we had an Art teacher teaching us maths,who didn't have a clue. I'm not trying to make excuses for me failing here but that certainly didn't help. At college I've had a brilliant teacher and have been doing a lot better,but yet I've just failed again. I've got one more shot at it before university next year and I need it to get in so I HAVE to pass this time; What I was wondering was if anyone else has been/is in the same situation who could offer me a few tips to maximise my chances of passing,apart from revision which I do anyway?

Thanks

Kirsty
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[ncrn]

Have you thought about getting a personal maths tutor? They do cost money but my little sister had one and she went from a predicted U at GCSE maths to a C so it helped her out a lot.
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[Martay]

Agreed with ncrn...
I used a personal tutor for my A level maths, went from a predicted U to getting a D overall. Doesnt sound great, but it helped massivly. I was paying £15 per hour, 1 hour per week, made all the difference.
Good luck
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[ClaireBear]

If you are at/going to college it maybe worth finding out if they do key skills level 2 in numeracy/maths- its the equivalent to a C grade in maths GCSE and most uni's do accept this but worth checking first.

Also, I hated exams so I made sure my coursework was really the best I could do so it could make up my exam result

If not, some extra tuition/support may help. I found the teacher: student ratio a lot better at college, and so I learned more than I did at school

Good luck

[Kwaks]

How are you at Physics?

Most Unis will see maths/physics as comparible
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[stinkwheel]

I always struggled with maths despite being in top 5% in my other subjects.

Part of the problem is I don't visualise numbers in the same way as most people. I am poor at taking the numbers off the page and working with them in my head. It's purely psychological but when they're written down, it's almost like they are fixed in position.

There is a way to help you round this. It's a technique that some of the greatest mathematicians in the world used and still use. Look at any film of Albert Einstein working on his physics theories. He doesn't sit with a sheet of paper and a pen, he uses a blackboard. He rubs out a lot, moves stuff around, draws lines from here to there.

It makes the numbers more transient and moveable and after all, maths is just moving numbers about until they arrive in an order that makes some kind of sense.

The modern way is to write them on a perspex sheet or a window with dry marker pens. Give it a try, stand up and work out your examples on a window/blackboard/whiteboard rather than sitting hunched over a sheet of paper. You're stuck with paper for the exam but it can help you find your way around.

My other problem was I didn't get WHY you would want to do some of the things they have you doing. If I don't see a purpose for doing something, I'm immediately disinterested. If you're sat slogging your way through a pile of trigonometry, it just seems like a waste of time.

If I told you the following, you might be more interested in learning how to do trig. because you can see it has a purpose?

In 1783 the Ordanance survey set out to make an accurate map of Britain. They climbed to the top of all the highest points and built a triangulation point which could be seen from at least two others. They measured the distance between two of these points in the South of England using a steel tape measure. Then they measured the angle between those two points and a third pillar.

Using trigonometry, they could work out how far apart theose points were from one another. They carried this process on, purely by measuring angles, all the way up Britain then measured between two other pillars with a steel tape measure up in the North of Scotland. The distance they had worked out was correct.

This gave them the fixed location of all the trig points in the UK from where they started measuring angles to towns and landmarks and produced the first ordanance survey maps. It was all worked out by trigonometry, they didn't physically measure the distances at all. You can look at the principal Triangulation map here
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[Clanger]

I was absolutely useless at Maths at school. I just couldn't get my head around them at all, I had a slight number blindness, and if anyone threw numbers at me, I would basically shut down, and I wouldn't/couldn't possibly consider even working it out.

But, when I went to Uni, the Maths we used was relevant to the subject, it all made sense and I could work things out.

I don't have any magical answers, but I wouldn't get too worked up about it...unless of course you need Maths to get yourself somewhere in your future career.
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[deepfriedmars...]

Thank you so much for your help everyone

Clanger,I'm the same with the number blindness thing,my brain doesn't process numbers properly and it's usually what other people consider to be simple maths that I can't get my head around. I'm much better with words than I am with numbers,I always did fine in English at school but when it came to maths I was the complete opposite. I'm going to definetly look into getting a tutor,I wouldn't mind paying for one if I thought I'd get the benefit from it

Kirsty
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'06 Honda CBR125R -Currently bikeless

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Your name is possibly giving you a clue on your future career..Sometimes you have to admit yer thick

Pat
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[Visitor Q]

[5v3d3b0]

I disagree that maths and physics are considered comparable.
To get into automotive engineering I needed a B in maths, C in Physics and a B in another subject. I got a C in maths, A in physics, and A in spanish. I still had to choose another course.
Physics at uni is pretty much maths anyway

[D O G]

I don't get it. You have to pass GCSE maths to get into your uni course?

What A levels do you need for it, and what is the course?

[Kwaks]

[deepfriedmars...]

[stinkwheel]

Another thing to remember is exam technique.

I've done a lot of exams now and I'd have done a hell of a lot better in my school ones if I knew then what I know now in terms of technique.

Read the question. What is it asking you to do and with what? DO NOT answer the question you think they meant, answer what they asked for. People answer the wrong question all the time in exams.

I look at the question and underline the key word telling you what to do then circle any relevant parts telling you how to go about it, I sometimes cross out irrelevant details :

So:
Calculate (5 x 10^3) ÷ (2 x 10^-2). Give your answer as a whole number.
Underline calculate. They want a calculation to be written down.

(a) The length of an arc in a circle of radius 12cm is 4pie cm. Find the size of the angle which describes the arc.
Underline "find the size of the angle".

A plasma screen television is being sold by two companies:
Plasma-4-U is charging £1599 including VAT.
Commercial Displays Limited is charging £1526 + VAT.
What is the difference in price to the customer (including VAT)?
[VAT is charged at 17.5%]

Underline "What is the difference in price.". Circle "£1599 including VAT" and "£1526 + VAT". Score out the crap.
A plasma screen television is being sold by two companies:
Plasma-4-U is charging £1599 including VAT.
Commercial Displays Limited is charging £1526 + VAT.
What is the difference in price to the customer (including VAT)?
[VAT is charged at 17.5%]

Consider re-writing this question before you start because it is horribly worded (and is an actual example!). eg. What is the difference between £1599 inc. VAT and £1526+ VAT.

This does two things. 1) It makes it clear to YOU what you are doing. 2) It tells the examiner what you are answering. You are being examined on maths, not English, you may still get some marks if you show what you think you're answering.

How much detail do they want?

GCSE maths papers are 105 minutes, 110 marks. So allow a minute for each mark. A three mark question should take about 3 minutes.

If they ask for a list and there are three marks, list three things.

If a question has three marks, you probably need to do three things. Using the plasma TV question above. Work out the first price without VAT (1 mark), find the difference between the two prices (1 mark), add the VAT back to your answer (1 mark).

When they mark papers, they do a tick in red pen every time you earn a mark then add up the ticks. A two mark question needs two things that they can tick.

Answer the easiest questions first. Seems obvious but so may people start at the beginning and work to the end.

You know yourself what you are good at and what you're poor at. Go through the paper, answer all the ones you're good at then tackle the rest in order of what you find easiest. I usually score out the question number once i've answered it to my satisfaction and do an asterisk next to one I'll come back to if I have time.

As a general rule, you should be getting around half the marks you're going to get "in the bag" in the first quarter of the exam.

If you still have time and are totally stuck, bung something down that seems relevant or show how you think you should go about answering it. So for example, if you are crap at reducing quadratic equations, re-writing the formula to solve them given in the data sheet will almost certainly get you a mark, even if you have no idea how to use it.

Make sure you're comfortable, if the table is wobbly, wedge some paper under the leg. Sit upright and close to the desk. Put stuff you don't immediately need on the floor beside you to avoid clutter. If you are sat with the sun in your eyes, put your hand up and ask to be moved before you start. If you are nervous, try to get a seat at the front where you can't see everyone else frantically writing while you're stuck on something.

Remember to breathe. Your brain works best when it has oxygen. In my first exam at university, one of the invigilators came up to me after it finished and said "I've sat and watched your lips go blue every time you came up to a question you were struggling with.". he suggested I chewed gum to stop me breath holding and grinding my teeth when I was stuck.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Clanger]

I got told I got points on my exams for writing out the formulae for some of the maths...not that I understood exactly what I was meant to do with them, but it showed the examiner I knew in principle what I was supposed to do...I just couldn't work it out. Everything helps, I guess.
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[ClaireBear]

[Blue_SV650S]

When you say failed do you mean you got lower than a C or you point blank got an F?

Anyway, best thing to do is to look at the past 5years papers and do them ALL (getting all the 'correct answers') more than once too. Generally speaking exam papers change little over the years, they just have the same sort of things with slightly different twists/numbers.

If you are familiar with the past 5 years papers, nothing much should take you by surprise in the paper you do (are nerves a big part of your problem?). If there is something you haven't encountered before on the paper you are doing, then just leave it and get on with the ones that you are more familiar/happy with, as long as you get them done properly, there is probably more than enough to get you the C grade you need.

Remember you don't actually need to arrive at the 'correct' answer to get marks ... you can get marks for the wrong answer providing you have written what you have done down. The examiner will run down what you have done using your number/formula where you initially went wrong and give you marks for correctly continuing the process even if you have gone astray higher up. NEVER cross anything out. If you cross it out it won't be marked. You won't loose marks for having something erogenous/superfluous there ... you never know, even if you have changed your mind, it might have been right and if you cross it out - its worthless!!
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[D O G]

If you are intelligent enough to achieve 3 B's at A level (assuming they are three genuine B's, not one for general studies or some other shite), then you are intelligent enough to pass a maths GCSE.

Stinky's advice on technique is good, and something any teacher worth his salt should have taught.

I suspect you are being streamed with the numpties, and as such get a poor teacher. Why cast pearls on swine after all.

Get a tutor, they know what's what and will make sure you pass. If you are sure you want your degree (which should be the focus of some significant consideration, given that History degrees are ten a penny), this would be the way to go IMO.

[The Original Muzza]

Potential Intelligence has nothing to do with maths really. I got's a buddy who just done his 2nd last year at uni, electrical engineering. Quite good grades in most modules, but he was carrying a module entitled "Maths II" from the previous year. So far he has failed the exam 5 times. If he failed the resit this time, he has to just give up.

Some people just DO NOT have the affinity for it, but that is no reason to give up if it's something you really want to do.
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[teech]

Much of the above advice is great, but as a teacher (and someone who also had to have more than one go at passing maths) I'll give you my two pennies worth.

For many students (despite their ability) exam technique is the main thing. How the exam is structured and the way they ask the questions.

Find out which exam board you are doing and go to their website. In the maths GCSE page you sould find a lot of past papers to practice with. Experience has taught me that being familiar with the exam format and doing as many past papers as possible is a very big help indeed. They should also have the mark schemes so you can mark your own work. All you need after that is the self discipline to sit down and do them in the time allotted!

Don't lose heart - I had to retake english GCSE in the 3rd year of my degree to be able to do teacher training (I was very naughty at school) - it was hard, but well worth doing.
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[deepfriedmars...]

[Wilson123]

If you're shite at maths why not do something else? Be a mechanic or an electrician There's no point studying for shit you can't do

Oh wait, you're a girl. Study hair and beauty or something
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[Blue_SV650S]

[Wilson123]