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VCE Stuff => VCE Mathematics => VCE Mathematics/Science/Technology => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Mathematical Methods CAS => Topic started by: fELiX on November 06, 2007, 11:06:49 am

Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: fELiX on November 06, 2007, 11:06:49 am
Hello

I just wanted a bit of advice/discussion about Exam 1.

This year there are 12 questions instead of 11. Will this need a change of tactics/approach to the exam. Why the extra question?

Last year's exam 1 was way too easy, so this year many people are expecting it to be hard, but how hard can Exam 1 be? What topics are likely to be examined that most students find difficult?

Good luck  :roll:
Title: Re: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: Matt89 on November 06, 2007, 01:01:52 pm
Quote from: "fELiX"
Last year's exam 1 was way too easy, so this year many people are expecting it to be hard, but how hard can Exam 1 be? What topics are likely to be examined that most students find difficult?


The mean & median score was 22/40, so it obviously wasnt too easy. You would expect this years exam to be of a similar difficulty, so thats good news for people like you who found last years exam very easy  :D
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 06, 2007, 04:04:39 pm
Yeh I'm really not buying this whole 'its gonna be wayyyyyy harder'. I got 14/40 on it =) See. Wasnt that easy lol
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: Toothpaste on November 06, 2007, 04:09:02 pm
*hopes to be alive on Friday*

It shouldn't be too ridiculously hard I guess.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: un on November 06, 2007, 10:19:04 pm
probably absolute values.

But hey, i am pretty noob at methods, so I don't know what VCAA dudes will focus on.

Any suggestion... Ah my good friend coblin :lol:
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: asa.hoshi on November 06, 2007, 11:09:34 pm
i reckon they'll throw in a related rates problem, an absolute values question which requires you solve a number of things. and possibly a hard question.

i hope they'll take off the question that requires you to graph a circular functions. those questions always take the longest to complete. yet they aint worth that many marks too. i think they'll take all the easy questions off  on last year's exam and add some stuff that students never came across.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: AppleXY on November 06, 2007, 11:27:14 pm
agreed. In a study of the behaviour VCAA's (not mine, baiko's theory in BoS) they ridiculously make it easy when the study design has been renewed and in the following year make it ridiculously hard.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: Toothpaste on November 06, 2007, 11:30:10 pm
Quote from: "AppleXY"
agreed. In a study of the behaviour VCAA's (not mine, baiko's theory in BoS) they ridiculously make it easy when the study design has been renewed and in the following year make it ridiculously hard.


Lol, oh heeeeyy English is new next year!

Oh, shit, and chemistry too.

Wasn't biology new last year? I thought the mid-year was apparently hard.

(accounting's new this year isn't it?)
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: un on November 07, 2007, 07:07:26 am
Yeh I reckon this years Exam 1 will be a bit tough.

Though, what topics do you think can be the toughest in Exam 1:
(eg: diff, integ,transform,circular,log,prob)
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: asa.hoshi on November 07, 2007, 10:42:04 am
an ugly circular functions questions which asks you to graph it.  :?
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 04:29:17 pm
2 days away...
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: melanie.dee on November 07, 2007, 04:42:12 pm
i hope theres not to much trig. or too much graphing. i just went to attempt some practice exam and like everything was a graphing question and i was like fuck that haha
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 04:59:53 pm
Hey mel. Guess what!
Today I learnt what a log e and e^x graph looks like =)
And I also learnt how to find the inverse of log e graphs =) PROUD?
haha and i also was shown how to complete the square ROFL ROFL!!
(actually just refreshed my memory)
darn im a failure! haha
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: melanie.dee on November 07, 2007, 05:27:24 pm
ahah dont worry, a question where you had to complete the square came up on the neap prac exam.. and id forgotten how to do it haha :oops: somehow i figured out my own way and worked out the answer. except seeing as i couldnt show any working out due to my strange method, id prob only get 1out of 2 lol. gar.

oh and my marks seem to be going down haha. not good
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: Defiler on November 07, 2007, 05:34:42 pm
Quote from: "asa.hoshi"
an ugly circular functions questions which asks you to graph it.  :?


They are fairly easy generally once you've done a few practise ones imho. I use a pencil to mark in the basic graph (e.g. cos(x)) and then adjust it with each transformation and then mark over the final one in pen.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 05:36:37 pm
Yeh thats the one I'm referring to. I got it wrong on my trial and my friend showed me how to do it. Goshh I need to do more exam 1's!
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: melanie.dee on November 07, 2007, 06:00:07 pm
effing hell, im geting so much work, i dont think im even gona get over 30 how im going at the moment. im seriously getting worse! fuck i give up lol
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 06:10:49 pm
Dw mell! By the marks youve been getting you should do fine!
Just make sure you try and focus on areas that you know are easy enough to get marks but you are having trouble with or just have no clue with
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: Defiler on November 07, 2007, 06:14:31 pm
for f: [3, infinity) -> R, f(x) = x^2 - 1, find f^(-1)

and state the domain of f^(-1)

there's a good question.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: melanie.dee on November 07, 2007, 06:31:13 pm
Quote from: "Defiler"
for f: [3, infinity) -> R, f(x) = x^2 - 1, find f^(-1)

and state the domain of f^(-1)

there's a good question.


er i dont get it. trick question?

inv = root(x + 1) for domain [8, infinity)
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 06:31:16 pm
Umm is it...

f^(-1)= Square root of x + 1

dom f^(-1) = [8, infinity) ?
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: melanie.dee on November 07, 2007, 06:32:11 pm
haha i think we're missing something :( cos it wouldnt be that easy
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 06:32:28 pm
HAHA! I feel like im being played the fooL!
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: Freitag on November 07, 2007, 06:44:42 pm
You're both right.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 06:46:06 pm
=)
2 marks down
=)
38 to go
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: melanie.dee on November 07, 2007, 06:48:21 pm
oh sweet, i thought you were trying to trick us haha.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: Fitness on November 07, 2007, 08:35:30 pm
Quote from: "Defiler"
for f: [3, infinity) -> R, f(x) = x^2 - 1, find f^(-1)

and state the domain of f^(-1)

there's a good question.


you're trying to say inverse of f?

if so it's easy. Let f(x) = y to make it easier. Swap the x's and the y's and solve for y ...

x=y^2 - 1
x+1 = y^2
therefore y = +-sqrt(x+1)

I have found that inverse questions usually come in the form of something like: y=2e^(x+1) - 3
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: rox-n-bones on November 07, 2007, 08:43:36 pm
is it me, or does methods look even more harder when its on the computer?? :?
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 09:07:54 pm
Nah when you actually type the question you realise what you write.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: Fitness on November 07, 2007, 09:14:06 pm
Quote from: "costargh"
Umm is it...

f^(-1)= Square root of x + 1

dom f^(-1) = [8, infinity) ?


Ok so s/he gave you an easy one ... what's the range for that one? Just a little extra to see we can get you one more mark down  :P
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 07, 2007, 09:52:07 pm
Range f^-1(x) = dom f(x)
= [3, infinity) ?

I cant be bothered checking if thats right
off 2 bed
nite
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: fELiX on November 08, 2007, 06:54:58 am
Exam 1 is tomorrow.

I am trying to figure out what those VCAA dudes are going to try to trick us with..?

Err...(anxious, i have had enough of maths..) :twisted:
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: kido_1 on November 08, 2007, 07:08:30 am
Yes, I know Exam 1 is tomorrow, but it feels like its on right now(time flies).
I am also trying to predict what will be on that paper:

*Integration by recognition
*Absolute  value graphs(may also make a prob function out of it)
*Composite functions
*Related rates of change applications(may use similar triangles)
*Retarded Trig question
*ONE REALLY KILLER question. I am trying to figure out what topic it will be on.

Anyway good luck FSN'ers.(Ps:If anyone has got any hints/tips/ideas please post) :o
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: tankia on November 08, 2007, 09:07:36 am
*cries* I'm scared... REALLY SCARED~!!!


I have to go study... Far out ><;'



I"M SCARED.. What if I do realllllllly bad.... ><; What if I ffaiiillllllllllll....I don't wanna repeat methods next year ><l
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: kido_1 on November 08, 2007, 03:05:27 pm
Dont worry.
It will all be fine.
Or hopefully it will be (if examiners decide not to kill us with some random question we have never seen in our life)
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: asa.hoshi on November 08, 2007, 05:52:48 pm
it needs to be hard. last year the cut off mark for an A+ for exam 1 was 38 out of 40  :?
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 08, 2007, 05:56:27 pm
That doesnt mean they have to make the whole exam hard. I'd rather that they made 2 questions extremely hard rather than make the entire exam super hard. Would also seem more logical as they dont want the mean dropping from around 22/40 down to 10/40 or so. That would just be embarrassing for the entire maths system
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: asa.hoshi on November 08, 2007, 05:59:18 pm
Quote from: "costargh"
That doesnt mean they have to make the whole exam hard. I'd rather that they made 2 questions extremely hard rather than make the entire exam super hard. Would also seem more logical as they dont want the mean dropping from around 22/40 down to 10/40 or so. That would just be embarrassing for the entire maths system
true. probably just 1 or 2 questions in the end that students never really came across before.
Title: Maths Methods Exam 1
Post by: costargh on November 08, 2007, 06:00:42 pm
yeh GOOD LUCK IM OFF TO STUDY KIDS!
EVERYONE WILL ACE IT  :)
... even me (i will disillusion myself in an attempt to stay positive)