honours maths - internet guides?

Sliotar

i'm looking for a guide that will give simple step by step approach to answering typical questions. the examples in my book always tend to skip about 5 lines, assuming you know ALL the basics. the basics are usually my problem, so i get very confused.

failing that, anyone got any good tips for honours maths in general?

Lorax

Originally posted by Sliotar
failing that, anyone got any good tips for honours maths in general?

Practice

PS www.skoool.ie have some good revision notes

Raskolnikov

As far as i know there are no good ones.

You could try some of the maths revision books or buy the book that gives solutions to all the LC maths papers.

Lorax is right, practice

sceptre

http://www.netsoc.tcd.ie/~jgilbert/maths_site/index.html

http://www.leavingcert.net/serve/cont.php3?pg=MA1AAA0408

Probably useful (may be at a higher level again):
http://learn.lboro.ac.uk/olmp/book.html

Between them, they should cover the lot

I'm currently doing maths as part of CS in UL - haven't done any maths since LC in 1993 (spent all this time doing Law/Accounting and sysadminning) so over the last month I've gone through most of the Leaving cert books and noticed the same problem as you - books skipping steps (the three most popular texts seem to be Oliver Murphy's book, Frank O'Shea's and OD Morris' offerings (T&T4/5) and they all do this)

So with that in mind, I'd recommend these two:

"Foundation Mathematics" by Dexter Booth (don't be confused by the word "Foundation" in the title - it does cover the LC higher course and does it well) (there are a few other books called "Foundation Mathematics" - most of them cover just the foundation course - be careful that you don't pick up one of these)

"Engineering Mathematics" by Stroud (again as you might suspect some of this book is at a higher level than LC Higher maths but it covers everything well and it's a great read) (editions 4 and 5 are well-better than the earlier editions)

Both books avoid this problem of assuming you've a teacher looking over your shoulder while you read. The Dexter Booth book is specifically tailored to college students needing to learn maths from scratch. It doesn't include some of the optional questions on the paper but covers all the base ground. It's £27.99 on AmazonUK (Stroud is £23.99) - if you buy one book this should be the one.

Go through all or much of the above and there's no reason that you wouldn't do very well.

(obviously I want 10% of any grades you get as a result of using the above information:D)

amen

intersting post about Stroud covering more than the LC Higher Maths course.

The Old LC H (last year 92 ?) had more maths content then Stroud and most 1st year Eng/Science courses in University

sceptre

Originally posted by amen
intersting post about Stroud covering more than the LC Higher Maths course.

The Old LC H (last year 92 ?) had more maths content then Stroud and most 1st year Eng/Science courses in University

That is pretty interesting (from my POV at least - did my LC in 93 (can't remember whether we were the last of the old or the first of the new))

lanod44

if you get the Ed.Co. exam papers it gives you pass words for really good solutions to the exam questions. I found them really good

smiles

Less Stress More Success revision books tend to be very good.

But it is all about making your own notes from re-doing out the exams in your text book. Actually getting another Text book might be a good idea, thats what i did immediably after my mocks. I went from a D1 to an A2.

<< Fio >>

Elmo

Orginally from Lorax

Practice

The best advise you'll get about honours maths.

By topic past papers.

Avoid questions 3 and 4 paper 1 and 6 and 7 (Do the trig not the discreet maths) paper 2


Algerbra and Calculus for paper 1

Matric, the line, the cycle and trig paper 2 section A

Baby RenuejeD

Good guides

Molly

I'd ignore what elmo said. Questions 3 and 4 are usually the easiest on the paper.

Elmo

No way 3 AND 4 ARE THE HARDEST YOU NEED A TEACHER THAT CAN TEACH THAT UR ELSE YOU ARE F U C K E D.

You are better of just knowing Trig and Algerbra and calcus of as they take you most of both papers

And Complex numbers is the easiest on the paper.

Molly

No way 3 AND 4 ARE THE HARDEST YOU NEED A TEACHER THAT CAN TEACH THAT UR ELSE YOU ARE F U C K E D.

Or have the intelligence to teach it to yourself.

Elmo

Look I just never got Discreet Maths or stats. even now in college. I don't like them, Okay.

Sev

As is the case with most subjects, just practice past exam questions. If you can do all the past years' papers, then you'll have no problem, and youll have that increased confidence too. Should you come across something you havn't revisited/revised you'll know what you have left to study.

I also find that you should give your best attempt with every question to work it out by yourself without the use of notes or the book. When you can smartey-man a question yourself, and have your own little method of coming to an answer that isnt just following a step by step process from a book, then you'll best understand it. And its easy to remember things you can understand well.

I suppose if you're having any problems with any questions in particular, just post them up here and I'm sure everyone would be happy to have a go at them.

Nietzschean

Originally posted by Elmo
No way 3 AND 4 ARE THE HARDEST YOU NEED A TEACHER THAT CAN TEACH THAT UR ELSE YOU ARE F U C K E D.

You are better of just knowing Trig and Algerbra and calcus of as they take you most of both papers

And Complex numbers is the easiest on the paper.

ye should note that most people find different questions easier, always very apparent in maths and applied maths.No point argue'n about it..............

tho i must say Q3 is very easy if you spend any time at it yourself even without a teacher, that is assuming you can get the concepts...........

Lyconix

Apart from internet guides and so on, grinds can be very effective... I did ordinary level in the Junior Cert mock, received an F... after a good few grinds I got an A in the exam itself and now I'm doing Honours in 5th year... very difficult but I'm surviving on these grinds...

Woden

"Discreet Maths"

Whats this discreet maths people are on about?

WattsEd

Can anyone out there help - I am looking to find an old copy of
MAthematics textbooks for the old Inter Cert and Leaving Certificate
courses pre-1992. IDeally I wish to purchase as much material as possible
including possible exam solutions . The Main texts I am interested in
are the Complete MAthematics 2-4 ( the latter authored by Frank O'Shea
but the Inter Cert Hons book is also of particular interest ).
I am willing to purchase and would be most grateful for any advice
or guidance or contacts that the boards.ie may have on this request.

Many thanks

**Timbuk2**

Woden wrote: »

"Discreet Maths"

Whats this discreet maths people are on about?

I'm not sure whether you are parodying the spelling, or genuinely don't know what Discrete Maths is, but for the LC it comprises of Permutations, Combinations, Probability, Difference Equations and Statistics.

In my opinion, I hate Discrete Maths, so I plan not to answer them in the LC (that leaves me with no choice for Paper 2 though!)

Fringe

He does more than Leaving Cert but I find him really good at explaining things. You'll find some good examples on this.

http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy

Ruski

Question 5 on paper one has to be the easiest questions available. Keep in mind that the department is trying to SELL this question to the students by making it easier. Recently it has become structured as a simple algebra equation, a difference equation and an induction question. Induction has to be the easiest, and the most pointless proof ever.

MathsManiac

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I'm not sure whether you are parodying the spelling, or genuinely don't know what Discrete Maths is, but for the LC it comprises of Permutations, Combinations, Probability, Difference Equations and Statistics.

On a minor point of informtion: statistics is not generally considered to be a part of discrete mathematics. (The LC syllabus has them in the same section, and calls it "Discrete mathematics and statistics".)

MathsManiac

Ruski wrote: »

Question 5 on paper one has to be the easiest questions available. Keep in mind that the department is trying to SELL this question to the students by making it easier.

That'd be a good trick, since all available documents seem to indicate that nobody in the Department gets to see the papers in advance. Are you suggesting that the Department has sent a secret memo to the Exams Commission instructing them to make this question easy, (for some equally secret reason)?

Ruski wrote: »

Induction has to be the easiest, and the most pointless proof ever.

Pointless, eh? Perhaps you'd like to give us a nice easy proof of DeMoivre's theorem without using induction.

Making It Bad

This thread is from 2002?

**Timbuk2**

MathsManiac wrote: »

On a minor point of informtion: statistics is not generally considered to be a part of discrete mathematics. (The LC syllabus has them in the same section, and calls it "Discrete mathematics and statistics".)

Ah I see, I didn't know that.

Making It Bad wrote: »

This thread is from 2002?

Oh I feel like an idiot now for replying - normally I notice these things.

Well, this thread might end up locked, but if anybody is wondering, the Eircom StudyHub maths guides are really good!

MathsManiac

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Oh I feel like an idiot now for replying - normally I notice these things.

Ditto!