How long do you study?

Cannibal Ox

8 hours a day for three weeks is madness. I can barely get 6 done for the past 3 days.

I think I peaked too early.
I just tried studying for Maths, did some Complex Numbers work and got confused, so now I'm..um, printing out the exam time table and highlighting my exams in big red letters in a bid to pretend that I'm doing work related to the LC and thus, feel less guilty about not doing any real study.

Problem is, after I get to about 4-5, I'm readin/writing the stuff, but I'm not remembering it. If I change a page, I wont even remember what's on the previous page, which seems a bit futile really

That happens to me too, and what I do (used to do?) was get up and go for a quick walk around the block. Get some fresh air, glass of water etc, etc. Either that or a cold shower should wake your brain up.

DS

Thinking I might do question 5 instead of 6/7 (honours), seems to be a bit easier). Plus my eyes are vibrating, which is a tiny bit annoying.

5 is a doddle. I love sequences and series, logs are always a joke, and induction is just the same thing everytime with only one part that takes a bit of thought, and you get marks for it really easy. Everyone tends to do 1-3, 6-8, and for that reason they always put the stickler part c's in those questions. There's a lot of stigma surrounding sequences and series, but the questions aren't hugely challenging once you get to grips with it. I'm gonna attempt every question except 3. Complex numbers are just annoying, and matrices tend to take ages and it's far too easy to make a mistake with all that multiplication.

subway_ie

Originally posted by Discharger Snake
There's a lot of stigma surrounding sequences and series, but the questions aren't hugely challenging once you get to grips with it.

I haven't actually revised sequences and series at all - so if a sequences/series question comes up (apart from binomial) then I'll just have to leave out the whole question.

I'm gonna attempt every question except 3. Complex numbers are just annoying, and matrices tend to take ages and it's far too easy to make a mistake with all that multiplication.

Well, the multiplication can be tedius - but any mistake is a slip (ie, lose 1 mark), at the very most a blunder (ie, lose 3 marks). It takes a while, but the theory is simple. Complex is nice, fairly basic - and the proof of De Moivres theorem can be done by induction, so it's a handy thing to revise for Q5 too. Generally Q3 is quite nice - especially when you've got a calculator that does matrices (handy for checking answers, but you can't just write down the answer without showing workings). Not that I have one, since that would be illegal. :ninja:

DS

Speaking of calculators, do you have to write down "calculator" where you use one? And why didn't my teacher tell us you should write down the make and model you're using at the start, as it says in the little rule book. Or does it matter? The rules also outline what's legal and isn't calculator-wise, and one of the stipulations is that expressions can't be stored for later use. But as far as I can see all the basic scientific calculators can do this. You just press the up button or whatever to get old expressions, and you could easily store formulas in them temporarily. So what's the deal with that? Maybe I'm being too picky, but wouldn't it be a lovely surprise to do 2 great maths papers and find out a month later you're getting a 0 for using the wrong calculator.

subway_ie

Discharger Snake - Yeah, you're supposed to write down the model number on the front of the exam, but then again, you were supposed to do it in Junior Cert business too. If you've got an illegal calculator (which is unlikely if you've got a mainstream Casio/Sharp), then you just write down the number of a crappy one that only does addition/subtraction. The examiner won't know the difference.

Storing expressions means storing forumale and ****, like "x^2 + y^2 + 2gx + 2fy = 0" - if you try and store that in the calculator, the moment you press "=", you'll get some sort of error. The only thing that will make it obvious that it's an illegal calculator is if it's a graphing calculator - with the massive (sometimes colour) screens, look more like a PDA than your average scientific calculator.

subway_ie

This is the kind of calculator you'll need if you're planning on storing formulae/functions, not that you'd want to do that kind of thing or anything.

DS

Mine's ok for exams according to that anyway, thanks.

Nietzschean

Ah i did 13/14hrs/day back in my day...don't really know why...but eh,,,thing looks nice i spose for the 10 odd seconds it mattered......................:ninja:

plastic_axe

i have yet to lift a finger.

i know its a stupid cliche but studying genuinely doesnt work for me. if i dont know it now i never will.

subway_ie

Originally posted by plastic_axe
i have yet to lift a finger.

i know its a stupid cliche but studying genuinely doesnt work for me. if i dont know it now i never will.

I don't think "cliché" is the word you're looking for there...

plastic_axe

well maybe some english study wouldnt kill