WHERE ARE YOU UP2? (take 3) (3 Viewers)

[Sphyx]

You both say that polynomials is the harder topic? Eh...? I thought it was supposed to be one of the easier topics - and I found it has been (so far). There isn't much thinking involved in polynomials, which I quite like

dunno. im almost tempted to say its a girl thing

either way, we got a compiled list of all the past HSC questions sorted by topic and i can do the large majority of complex and conics questions without any prompting (which is comforting), but i always had to look in the solutions for the polynomials. since its obviously not going to come naturally to me, i just have to rely on practice, i guess.

 

[sykaryce]

Finished in this order: Complex Numbers, Graph Drawing, Conics and starting Integration this week..will probably finish it before pretrials for me which is end of march :/

 

[dawso]

well one week away from half yearlies we hav done complex...finally and are almost half way through polynomials, oh geez.....

 

[KFunk]

Kieran, are you in Hayes' class right now? or are you still having Niven?
coz Hayes' class is like way ahead
(well, or it might just be my class being really behind)

Yeah, I'm still in that "class that's not a class" which Niven is taking. It basically moves at whatever pace the three of us are comfortable with. We'll only get to move into Hayes' class if 2-3 people drop from that class so we might be keeping the seperated 4U class all year which doesn't really bother me too much. What we loose in 3U/4U connections we make up with teacher time (and at least we have 5 periods a fortnight now instead of the two we had last term).

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

So far, for me: Polynomials, Integration, Complex Numbers from easiest to hardest. I'd presume Graphs would fit in somewhere between Int. and CN coz I don't like graphing that much...

 

[ishq]

We've finished Complex Numbers, Graphing and the 3U bit of Polynomials, with exams starting next week.
But we've left some stuff out in Complex Numbers because we haven't done Binomial Theorum in 3U yet - has anyone else left things half finished?

I did Conics - its alright - Its one of those chapters, where, before you start the question, you need to have this step by step plan of how you are going to solve it - it makes things way easier.

 

[Trev]

What have you left out in complex numbers?
We haven't done the topic binomial theorem yet either (but we already know (a+b)^4 has coefficients 4C0, 4C1 ..... 4C4). If you don't know this, I understand what you most likely have left out, but otherwise I don't know.
What specifically? (If you know....)

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

What have you left out in complex numbers?
We haven't done the topic binomial theorem yet either (but we already know (a+b)^4 has coefficients 4C0, 4C1 ..... 4C4). If you don't know this, I understand what you most likely have left out, but otherwise I don't know.
What specifically? (If you know....)

You need Binomial Th. to do some parts of CN...but only the basic binomial expansions, which are quite ok to get the grasp of anyway.

 

[ishq]

What have you left out in complex numbers?
We haven't done the topic binomial theorem yet either (but we already know (a+b)^4 has coefficients 4C0, 4C1 ..... 4C4). If you don't know this, I understand what you most likely have left out, but otherwise I don't know.
What specifically? (If you know....)

Basically they are the "simplify cos5a and sin5a" ones.
Quite simple, as rench mentioned.
Its interesting how there are none of these questions in fitzpatrick - does this mean that they have knowingly left out parts of the syllabus?

 

[Slidey]

That's not the only part of complex numbers Fitz leaves out. Go take a look for omega and roots of unity in Fitz. Bet you can't find it.

 

[Slidey]

You need Binomial Th. to do some parts of CN...but only the basic binomial expansions, which are quite ok to get the grasp of anyway.

There's absolutely no need for Binomial Theorem.

Just remember the first three lines of Pascal's triangle and remember how to derive further lines:

  1
 1 1
1 2 1

So the next line would be:
1 3 3 1
Then:
1 4 6 4 1
Then:
1 5 10 10 5 1

Can you see the pattern?

 

[Trev]

Yes, yes. We see the pattern :uhhuh:
I still think it is alot easier using the 'C' button on the calculator, though!

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

There's absolutely no need for Binomial Theorem.

Just remember the first three lines of Pascal's triangle and remember how to derive further lines:

Hmm...I guess I worded that badly. By "Binomial Theorem" I wasn't referring to the binomial theorem as such, but rather the broader topic - BOS likes to call the topic "Binomail Theorem" even though some of the course is in fact only background to binomial theorem...

But as Trev said, it's much easier just to use the "C" button (does this have a proper name?) than to memorise Pascal''s triangle esp. for things like (x+1)¹⁰.

 

[ishq]

Yes, yes. We see the pattern :uhhuh:
I still think it is alot easier using the 'C' button on the calculator, though!

hehe...i love my calculator!

My math teacher was telling us of the time when he was in school, and instead of using calculators to calculate trig values and log/exponential values, they had tables ...like pages and pages of values in miniscule font which you had to look up.

He even brought one in, and i tried to learn how to use the ancient document (which i seriously think should become a mathematical artefact)...Lets just say I'm glad I wasn't giving this exam 40 years ago!

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

hehe...i love my calculator!

My math teacher was telling us of the time when he was in school, and instead of using calculators to calculate trig values and log/exponential values, they had tables ...like pages and pages of values in miniscule font which you had to look up.

He even brought one in, and i tried to learn how to use the ancient document (which i seriously think should become a mathematical artefact)...Lets just say I'm glad I wasn't giving this exam 40 years ago!

Hehe.
My teacher said he used to have to do that too.
It's funny how we tend to take calculators for granted - can you imagine sitting an MX1 or MX2 test for the HSC without a calculator? !?!?

 

[ishq]

I've had nightmares about that....

 

[dawso]

lol, we all really do take calculators for granted....in class i even use a calculator to work out 3x5 etc, but its best to check....otherwise u stuff up like me in 3unit test..... 2 squared = 1, of course it does.....

 

[firehose]

Hehe yeah calculators rock.... and additionally they rule when doing curve sketching and u juz wanna sub in values to check/start off. Although i've heard a million times that it's not too healthy to be over-reliant on a calculator.

 

[Sphyx]

if my memory serves me right, we are the last state that doesnt let advanced and extension maths students the use of graphics calculators. now think how much easier that would make things. and we would be able to learn a much wider scope of topics.

 

[Trev]

I have a hard enough time trying to figure out the different functions on my normal scientific calculator.
Not using graphics calculators lets us have a better understanding of how it all works though.