Project Maths sample paper

L.C.Deirdre

I'm doing it and, while the idea of it is good (that we think for ourselves, understand things better), they have gone too far trying to simplify...What annoys me is they are cutting out stuff that some people will have to cover additionally in 3rd level!

myfatherrsson

I was just having another look over the sample paper and was wondering if the whole paper is made up of Strands 1&2 or are there elements of the old syllabus still in there? Comparing it to the old Paper 2's it would seem to me that it is all Project Maths, am I right?

RHRN

Being in one of the 24 schools, I was also hoping to apply for maths in Cambridge... doubtful now.

They told me they consider LC to be equal to AS Further Maths, but I dont think they mean project maths, and honestly im three weeks into 5th year, and we've been going through the book just putting big X's next to things we're not doing...

And it was all those sections that looked like they might be 'C' parts in the old course, its just ridiculous.

If they're going to have this to all schools, at least get some sort of equivalent to Further Maths for students who want to study Maths or Science at 3rd level...

There is Applied Maths, but thats really just Mechanics (although there is differential equations) I mean a Further Pure Maths subject, like the A-level subject in England.

Seriously, I mean what about matrices and vectors?

rebel girl 15

Being honest, what I would have liked to have happen is leave the Higher level syllabus, bring in project maths as an alternative to dropping to ordinary level maths. I know a number of students in my year when I was doing higher maths that would be well able for higher maths, but didn't do it because of the time it takes. Students that need maths for college courses will have the subject that they need, student who don't need HL maths would have an alternative. OL would be too easy, but doing project maths HL would give them a good maths grounding. Maybe give extra points for HL maths, leave the same points system for Project maths HL.

dan_d

Rebel girl that is actually an excellent idea. Big thumbs up:D:D

I glanced over the priject maths paper and thought there was too much language in it...ie, there were too many words to delve through to get to the point of a problem. Also that it was top heavy with probability and statistics.

I did engineering, and matrices and vectors were huge parts of maths course. In fact, matrices were a huge part of my overall engineering course. So in answer to RHRN, I don't know how that would work. It is actually necessary information....not being smart, but maybe you should write to the Dept of Ed, or whoever makes these decisions and ask these questions. Although I know you've more than enough on your plate. The one person that is not being consulted in all these decisions is the student - as was pointed out in (what I thought was) an excellent letter a couple of weeks ago....

http://www.examiner.ie/archives/2010/0913/opinion/one-expert-who-is-never-consulted-about-our-school-system-ndash-the-student-130590.html

Chuchoter

They didn't need this course. Our system is so heavily language based it makes it near on impossible for more mathematically/spatially inclined people to do well at all, and bringing this in has just gotten rid of the one subject you didn't need to be able to write an essay for.

The whole system, not only of maths but of all subjects needs to be overhauled. There needs to be foundation, ordinary then lower honours and higher honours. There is too big a difference between honours and ordinary, its JC work at senior level. It means that someone like myself, who is reasonably good at maths but maybe not quite good enough for honours, has to drop down to a class way below my level. Where the ordinary a1 gets you 60 points, a lower honours could get you 80 and then a higher honours would get you 100. Everyone wins.

mathsgrinds

Does anyone else think the PM papers have introduced a very complex overall marking scheme, and that it makes timings for questions in the exam very complicated?

e.g LC O Maths, paper 2.

Up to now, you would be marked out of 6 questions, 50 marks each, in 2.5 hours.

So, timings are relatively simple e.g. 20 mins per question, leaving 10 mins at the start to read the paper, and 20 at the end [just one way of doing it].

Broadly speaking, it is logical to allow roughly equal time for every question, as they have equal marks.

Now, for PM, the overall scheme is as follows:

Do 9 questions, with marks as follows:

50, 25, 25, 25, 25, 25, 40, 40, 45.

Using the same logic as above, this means one might allocate the following times to the questions:

20, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 16, 16, 18.

Compare that with Paper 1 timings:

20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20.

I realise this is not an exact science, and Q7 , Q8 and Q9 could be rounded off to 15, 15 and 20 minutes respectively.

But still – I think its unfair to have students trying to give roughly proportionate times to questions that have such variable values of marks.

I can’t remember ever doing an exam, at any level, with 4 differently valued questions within one paper.

I know its a maths exam, and in theory students should be able to work it out, but they will have enough to think about.

What do you think?