VCE Methods Question Thread!

[p0kem0n21]

Hi, all any help would be appreciated!
A girl travels from A to B at 5km/h and from B to A at 4km/h. The
total journey takes 30 minutes. Find the distance travelled, 2d.p.

First things first, let's define x as being the distance between A and B (measured in km). A useful "formula" here is that distance divided by speed is time. Thus, from A to B, she spends x/5 hours ( x km divided by 5 km/h; distance divided by speed). Hopefully that's a useful hint for solving the rest of the problem 

[a weaponized ikea chair]

How much of the textbook should I do before school starts? Homework is chapter 1 + 2, but I'm thinking to also start on 13/14/15?

[The Cat In The Hat]

How much of the textbook should I do before school starts? Homework is chapter 1 + 2, but I'm thinking to also start on 13/14/15?

I would recommend doing anything you feel particularly unsure about. For example, I found circular functions and probability difficult to grasp and thus would have been wise to study them over the holidays. But also remember to not overwork yourself and come fresh to the start of school!

[Sine]

How much of the textbook should I do before school starts? Homework is chapter 1 + 2, but I'm thinking to also start on 13/14/15?

You can really do as much as you want. However, going into detail for a few topics is always going to be better than superficially doing everything without the proper foundational understanding.

[Snow Leopard]

Hi,

just wondering if it's useful to print out the study design for Methods (Units 3/4)? Or if there are any useful documents from VCAA to print out and use throughout the year?

TIA

[colline]

Hi,

just wondering if it's useful to print out the study design for Methods (Units 3/4)? Or if there are any useful documents from VCAA to print out and use throughout the year?

TIA

You should definitely know the contents of the SD, but I don’t see the point of printing it out.

For your second question - yes - past exams.

[TheEagle]

I agree with Colline. Printing some/most of your practice exams as soon as possible will save time later in the year when everyone is stressing about upcoming exams. Print a reasonable amount of them just so you don't waste any paper.

[MoonChild1234]

How much of the textbook should I do before school starts? Homework is chapter 1 + 2, but I'm thinking to also start on 13/14/15?

my opinion but I recommend you do as much as possible, especially if methods is your only 3/4. i finished all the exercises by feb and found this great as i had heaps of time to do prac sacs and prac exams as these are by far the most valuable resource
hope this helped a bit

[a weaponized ikea chair]

my opinion but I recommend you do as much as possible, especially if methods is your only 3/4. i finished all the exercises by feb and found this great as i had heaps of time to do prac sacs and prac exams as these are by far the most valuable resource
hope this helped a bit

How could you do like 17 chapters in two months? I don't think I have enough time.

I generally do every question, and take notes on each chapter.

[colline]

How could you do like 17 chapters in two months? I don't think I have enough time.

I generally do every question, and take notes on each chapter.

Don't do every question in the textbook. Do a couple of the exercises until you're familiar with the concept, then move on to the application/worded questions towards the end of the chapter.

[Chessnutter]

How could you do like 17 chapters in two months? I don't think I have enough time.

I generally do every question, and take notes on each chapter.

I managed to do all Methods questions by Feb, doing 3-4 chapters per day. I'd complete one chapter before 12, another until 4 and another after dinner. I'd do another if I felt like it. I went from an average student to one of the top in my class at a very strong school. Kind of annoying that some of those chapters were cut out because of COVID though.

Don't do every question in the textbook. Do a couple of the exercises until you're familiar with the concept, then move on to the application/worded questions towards the end of the chapter.

I was about to respond saying I strongly disagree with this (which I do, repetition helps tremendously in Maths) but then I noticed you got 50 for Methods. While I agree that the concept is the most important to know, the textbook does give lots of practice on a range of question types.

[colline]

I was about to respond saying I strongly disagree with this (which I do, repetition helps tremendously in Maths) but then I noticed you got 50 for Methods. While I agree that the concept is the most important to know, the textbook does give lots of practice on a range of question types.

Definitely agree that repetition is crucial in maths - it's just about making sure that you're not wasting time doing repetitive exercises that you already have down pat. The majority of marks on the final exam tests your application and it's these questions that students struggle with the most. Of course, if someone *does* have shaky foundations, then they would need to keep going through repetitive exercises until they can move on to the more advanced stuff. I just mean that there is no purpose in doing twenty pages of "find the derivative of x^2+3x" once you get to a certain point.

[Chessnutter]

Definitely agree that repetition is crucial in maths - it's just about making sure that you're not wasting time doing repetitive exercises that you already have down pat. The majority of marks on the final exam tests your application and it's these questions that students struggle with the most. Of course, if someone *does* have shaky foundations, then they would need to keep going through repetitive exercises until they can move on to the more advanced stuff. I just mean that there is no purpose in doing twenty pages of "find the derivative of x^2+3x" once you get to a certain point.

Yes - though the textbook pacing is reasonable enough. There certainly isn't any reason to do more than a few if you have it completely down. I also found that if I did skip out on questions on one chapter I wanted to skip out on questions in future chapters, and I thought that mentality probably wasn't good to have.

[a weaponized ikea chair]

Is it worth jumping to 13,14,15,16,17 (stats + prob) on the holidays; the other topics we alreadly covered in 1/2, with only some new additions. It is also the topic I feel least confident with.

[aspiringantelope]

Can I just double check that the study design for Methods in 2021 is the same as the current design? (obviously excluding the changes made in 2020)
Thanks! (: