I'm doing specialist 3/4 next year, but I didn't do 1/2 this year. I have good scores from methods 1/2 but I am still quite worried. I'm considering getting a spesh 1/2 textbook and working through relevant chapters in January - my school uses the cambridge textbook - which chapters should I prioritise?
Thanks in advance!
edit - also, if anyone could help me out with this question too I'd really appreciate it!! https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=180196.msg1186226;topicseen#msg1186226
I'll just go through each chapter in the Cambridge 1/2 textbook and tell you the relevant bits (if there are any). I'm also skipping the review chapters (6, 11, 17, 24). You can do questions from them if you wish. However, I would advise skipping straight to the 3/4 chapters since many of them teach you content from scratch. If you struggle with them, then you can return back to the relevant 1/2 chapters and do those.
Ch 1: Just algebra. There is quite a bit of algebra which comes into play with some 3/4 questions, so you might want to brush up on it. It's not super difficult, but can be tedious. I'd say give it a look through just in case, and answer questions if you need to hone your skills.
Ch 2: Don't do all of this chapter. Definitely learn about the modulus function (since they come up in 3/4), perhaps try some of the harder surds questions as well.
Ch 3: Variation is a pretty easy chapter, but it did kinda help me with differential equations, where you have to deal with rates. 3A and 3B were most helpful, to be specific. Look through the content and see if you're well-versed in it.
Ch 4: Sequences and series don't come up in 3/4.
Ch 5: Pretty useful as step-up from methods textbook questions. 5D is really useful for 3/4 as it is used in integration.
Ch 7 & 8: Not useful for 3/4
Ch 9: It's not super useful in terms of content. However, you should be able to identify similar triangles in 3/4 (especially some which are pretty hard to see). It may be worth doing 9F, 9G, and 9H.
Ch 10: Circle geometry is not super duper vital in 3/4 (although it may pop up as a surprise). I wouldn't prioritize it, but definitely do the chapter just in case circle geometry appears in one of your tests.
Ch 12: The 1/2 statistics is not very relevant to that of 3/4, and the 3/4 book does a much better job at introducing the topics to you and making you understand. I'd say skip this chapter and do the stats chapters from 3/4 instead.
Ch 13: I'd definitely do 13A through to 13D, maybeeeeeee 13G and 13H (not too relevant but the skills of being able to 'see' things in the question are useful).
Ch 14: Do all of it. 14E is a bit irrelevant, but still useful in tough situations I suppose.
Ch 15: Definitely do 15A and 15F. You might want to do 15B through to 15E (inclusive) as it gives good insight into sketching subsets of the complex plane in 3/4, but it's pretty easy to forget so don't prioritize it. Reading through the theory on polar coordinates may also be helpful for the polar form of complex numbers (so that you understand what the polar form actually conveys), but the questions themselves aren't too relevant to complex polar form.
Ch 16: Do all of it. 3/4 complex numbers essentially builds on top of what you learn in 1/2.
Ch 18: Not useful, matrices don't come up in 3/4
Ch 19: Also not useful, although you should know your basic transformations (translation, reflection in the axes, reflection in y=x).
Ch 20: Do it. Do it. Do it. Super relevant.
Ch 22: 1/2 kinematics is pretty similar to methods, maybe just a tad bit harder and with SUVAT formulas if you choose to use them. This chapter is of medium priority, I suppose. Having only done methods, 22C will probably be the most unfamiliar subchapter to you. 3/4 content steps it up with differential equations though.
Ch 23: Although particle statics and mechanics come up in 3/4, I felt that the 1/2 content was a bit dodgy and the book made it hard to understand. However, the 3/4 book was much better at making things clear. Try reading through the content in it and try some questions. Medium priority.
Hope this helps
Home
Help
Search
Login
