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how to study for maths? (1 Viewer)

k3f3rn

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i just done my term 1 maths advanced test for yr 11 and got my results today. they were really disappointing. 43%. the topics were simply basic arithmetic, algebra, surds and equations. the average of the class was around 55% - 60%. our next test would be the same topics plus geometry and trigonometry.

how can i study. i want at least 80% or higher in my next test. how can i achieve that? CAN i achieve that. i was never really good at maths. but i really want this. does anyone have any notes on those topics?

greatly appreciated!
 

Brontecat

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how'd u study for your first test?

for me, i usually just do review sets and learn the formulae by rote

maybe you need to spend more time doing maths like every weekend do revision questions out of a study guide - that's what i do as well
 

pillar

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Figure out what topic(s) the test is covering.

Do heaps of questions out of the book for that topic. Even better if you've got more than 1 book, but if you truly understand formula and stuff you can go still do decent without them.

Overall I think Maths is pretty straightforward to study for. Learn formula, practice questions, get stuck, go back to formula/ask teacher, practice questions etc...
 

LynFay

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I'm worrying about that myself. I'm doing extension 3unit and we've got class maths tests every week. My average in them is like, 70% (but there's only 15-20 questions and i don't study for the little ones). Now i've got the important 25% one coming up on the 30th and with study i SO want to get higher than 70% - more like 90% AT THE LEAST.

what do most ppl get in extention maths tests???

Oh yeah... i usually learn all the formulas, flip through the chapters i'm ment to be studying and do like, the last couple of questions of each exercise. And try and find hard examples to memorise too. :) Usually works for me.
 

duckcowhybrid

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Do lots of questions, memorise the textbook, spam past papers and cram really hard.
 

jeshxcore

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you cant really remember maths.
you aactually have to do it heaps and learn it .
so basically doing a efw questions every night would help
 

gurusson

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heaps of practice papers, work thru weak chapters again, learn the formula by doing q's and writing the formula at the start of each q. if u can't do a question, get help instead of ignoring it.
 

GUSSSSSSSSSSSSS

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from the topics u covered im guessin u do 2u?????


thats very formula driven, so a formula book can always help


and then as everyone else has said, just practise questions!!!!
 

samthebear

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maths. Well when i did extension i did at least an hour of maths EVERYDAY. yes everyday - the only way to study for maths is to do the questions. if you cant answer one question ask for help to resolve the issue and learn from it, dont just simply ignore it - if you do, you'll deffinately be asked a similar question in the exam and get it wrong because you didnt learn from your previous mistakes.

Just practice, practice and practice some more. Thats really the only way to get better at maths.
 
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Drongoski

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Presumably you are doing 2U Advanced.

Suggest you quickly review your Yr 9 and yr 10 Maths. Unfortunately, Public school students usually are loaned their text books which are returned end-of-yr. (This itself in my mind is a weakness. You should have yr own books for review & revision, if necessary)

In my experience students who are weak in 2U maths are weak in their prior-years' maths. Even simple stuff like difference between 'terms' and 'factors'; general algebraic fiddlings; factorisation in general and often even quadratics; inability to see (x + 3) = (x - (-3)) where necessary. How about not knowing off yr head 7 x 8 = 56 - I had a yr 11 student like that. (I know I know there's the calculator!) Go back to the very basics while you still have time.

In general you don't learn maths just by memorisation - although there are instances where this is reqd. I often tell students the best way to memorise a formula is to derive it because memorising arbitrary things is very difficult for most of us.

Also, although remembering formulae is important, knowing what each means is more important. Otherwise you'll have difficulty applying them in a variety of contexts.
 
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cdaaboul

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I always go through my exercise book and text book and write out notes for each topic with examples for difficult things. This refreshes my memory and lets me figure out what I can't remember or have problems with. I then go back and do revision questions or past papers. I have found that questions in past papers are always repeated (a few numbers changed) in my exams.
By the way, I'm a maths accelerant and it works for me, and I always study for my exams the last couple of nights before my exam so it's very effective.
 

h3ll h0und

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LISTEN in class and make sure u do ur hw....and do heaps of questions
thats wat i did nd i got 99% for my first 2U assessment :p
other ppl in my class didnt do so well cuz they never listen in class and they fall behind heaps in their work
 

Aquawhite

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Paying attention in class is very essential (a teacher in maths pwns a textbook on its own). Just practice and practice. Rote learning the formulae is good, try to seek out and identify patterns/symbols with the equations and make links so you don't really need to think about them (because you will know them so well).
 

clintmyster

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what you should really do is look over your test and note why you got the questions wrong. If it was silly mistakes then theres not much you can do about that but if it was that you simply didn't understand the question, you better go over the theory thoroughly and talk to your teacher.

If it was simply silly mistakes well maybe you werent prepared for a long test and you lost the motivation to think or something like that. Maybe you need to practice exams under a set time like 2hrs or something.
 

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