applied maths advice needed

EmcD123

Hi

I'm in sixth year now and I'm doing honours maths and physics. I really want to take up applied maths as I'm interested in maths in general and I want to do mathematical science next year. I'm able to get B1's and A's in physics and B's in maths so I'm not too bad. I also don't think I can get the necessary points with english so I wanted to take up applied maths. I'd have to teach myself as its not in our school and we have no teacher for it. However 5 or 6 people in my year are doing applied maths outside of school and are willing to give me notes and help me. Would it be possible to even get to B standard this year being self taught if I started this week?

MmmPancakes

EmcD123 wrote: »

Hi

I'm in sixth year now and I'm doing honours maths and physics. I really want to take up applied maths as I'm interested in maths in general and I want to do mathematical science next year. I'm able to get B1's and A's in physics and B's in maths so I'm not too bad. I also don't think I can get the necessary points with english so I wanted to take up applied maths. I'd have to teach myself as its not in our school and we have no teacher for it. However 5 or 6 people in my year are doing applied maths outside of school and are willing to give me notes and help me. Would it be possible to even get to B standard this year being self taught if I started this week?

Yes possibly, especially if you work hard. Maybe grinds would help too, it's good to have a teacher's insight on something when you don't get it.

yoho139

You should be fine. I'm basically your inverse - A1/2s in Maths, B1s in Physics and I've gotten on fine. There's a few tricky bits (and if you get the Oliver Murphy book, beware the myriad of mistakes in it), but it should be easy enough to pick up.

EmcD123

Yes ive been told to buy the 2nd edition of that book. Ok I'll definitely give it a go then. Is there any particular questions I should do,what's the quickest route to getting a decent score and is there a certain order that I should tackle the questions in. Thanks for the encouragement :-)

yoho139

My class (of 7 people!) all have the second edition. Yet some of them have errors that others don't. Book's a bit of a shambles, but it explains things decently. If in doubt, check Wolfram Alpha.

Quickest route is probably to look at an exam paper, see which questions look familiar and learn those. I personally like hydrostatics, tends to be a relatively easy question. I don't really know for sure, though.

The Engineer

EmcD123 wrote: »

Hi

I'm in sixth year now and I'm doing honours maths and physics. I really want to take up applied maths as I'm interested in maths in general and I want to do mathematical science next year. I'm able to get B1's and A's in physics and B's in maths so I'm not too bad. I also don't think I can get the necessary points with english so I wanted to take up applied maths. I'd have to teach myself as its not in our school and we have no teacher for it. However 5 or 6 people in my year are doing applied maths outside of school and are willing to give me notes and help me. Would it be possible to even get to B standard this year being self taught if I started this week?

Absolutely - go for it! It's one of the best subjects you can take, and with your grades in honours maths and physics it'll be on the level of "fun" for you! If you go on to do Engineering in University, your first year will be a stroll in the park.

Heads-up - the best way to study Applied Maths is to focus on Leaving Cert past papers. Get your hands on as many of them as possible. I did my LC in the mid-90s and I believe we answered every past paper as far back as the 70s. By the time the exam rolled around there was sod-all they could have asked us that we would not have been ready for.

Hope this helps.

PS. Check here for details of the curriculum: http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Information/Curriculum-and-Syllabus/Senior-Cycle-/Syllabuses-and-Guidelines/lc_applied_maths_sy.pdf

The Engineer

Worth checking this website out: Irish Applied Mathematics Teachers Association

Also - this gives a number of good reasons why you should do Applied Maths... http://www.iamta.ie/docs/brochure.pdf