What Should I Self Learn Before Specialist Mathematics 3 4

[Captn Cook]

Hey Guys,
I've heard from people who have done Specialist Maths 3 4 that it is really difficult. I am currently studying Methods 3 4 and Spesh 1 2. I am finding Methods alright and spesh 1 2 very easy. I know that a lot of the stuff in spesh 1 2 isn't even covered in 3 4 but I am worried that I'll be overwhelmed because I will only start learning some of the 3 4 concepts only in unit 3 4. I just want to ask what areas of Spesh 3 4 should I learn before hand and what topics should I be focusing on so that I won't be completely overwhelmed by the difficult nature of spesh. Thanks

[manti27]

Hey,

You honestly shouldn't feel overwhelmed about Spesh 3/4 yet since the year for you to cover it in class hasn't even started. If you are doing Methods 3/4 and Spesh 1/2 you've already covered the prereqs for Spesh 3/4. As long as you are doing well in Methods and Spesh now, you don't have anything to worry about (although Spesh 3/4 can get hard if you start falling behind as the topics get cumulatively difficult, reading a spread or two ahead before class could help this). Pretty much everything is taught from the basics (assuming Methods knowledge) so you won't miss out on anything if you don't do the extra reading but I wish I had a look at vectors beforehand because I did find that to be a bit challenging since it's not a common topic with Methods and can get tough at times imo (probably partly because I didn't cover 1/2 Spesh so it was new to me). Other than that, Spesh is not something inherently difficult and you will have lots of time throughout next year to ensure you understand the concepts well. If you do want to start early, I'd recommend giving vectors a read but that too is not necessary if you are on the top of your work next year.

Good luck with your studies

[Sine]

Hey Guys,
I've heard from people who have done Specialist Maths 3 4 that it is really difficult. I am currently studying Methods 3 4 and Spesh 1 2. I am finding Methods alright and spesh 1 2 very easy. I know that a lot of the stuff in spesh 1 2 isn't even covered in 3 4 but I am worried that I'll be overwhelmed because I will only start learning some of the 3 4 concepts only in unit 3 4. I just want to ask what areas of Spesh 3 4 should I learn before hand and what topics should I be focusing on so that I won't be completely overwhelmed by the difficult nature of spesh. Thanks

yeah agree with the above definitely nothing you "have" to study beforehand but if you are really keen (most spec students are) i'd start on completing the textbook exercises in whatever order your school was planning on doing it. You'll find that some spec kids already know all the content before yr 12 or have just completed the textbook through the holidays so definitely somehting to keep in mind of in terms of competitiveness for spec (hence the great scaling )

[Quantum44]

Hey Guys,
I've heard from people who have done Specialist Maths 3 4 that it is really difficult. I am currently studying Methods 3 4 and Spesh 1 2. I am finding Methods alright and spesh 1 2 very easy. I know that a lot of the stuff in spesh 1 2 isn't even covered in 3 4 but I am worried that I'll be overwhelmed because I will only start learning some of the 3 4 concepts only in unit 3 4. I just want to ask what areas of Spesh 3 4 should I learn before hand and what topics should I be focusing on so that I won't be completely overwhelmed by the difficult nature of spesh. Thanks

The best thing to do is to get ahead in the textbook during the summer holidays and try to cover vectors, trig and complex numbers (which should mostly be revision anyway). That means you can jump right into calculus and have a nice head start (ideally meaning you can start practice exams early). Honestly a found spesh 3/4 a lot more organised than spesh 1/2, so while the stakes are higher and the questions are harder, if you are finding spesh 1/2 easy, you shouldn’t be worried.