Applied Maths questions...

HyperSkypeWiper

Hi , i've been told recently in school about doing applied maths. I asked today and it seems I cant do it in school so I would have to do it on the weekend with grinds, but tbh, Im not in a position to pay so much to do the subject tbh.
So.. me and a friend have come up with the idea of teaching ourselves.
I don't know how hard it would be to do this but its something i'm willing to do as I am pants at French and Irish. We both plan on doing HL maths and we both do Physics. I know it would be a lot of work but I'm willing to do it. I feel it would be an advantage to me as Maths is by far my strongest subject.

I need to know if this is possible, how long the course is compared to other subjects, how much does it overlap with Physics and Maths and has any attempted/done this before?

Thanks in advance

Ciaramb92

Where abouts do you live?

There is a class in Athlone once a week in the evening and it's only a fiver!

HyperSkypeWiper

Navan

actuallylike

Been a while since I did it now so can't cover the syllabus but I had a one hour class of it a week after school with around 10 other people. That was enough to get me a pretty good grade in it so I'd imagine you could be okay (highest A1 subject in the LC I think?).
It really isn't as bad as most think, it's relatively easy in parts and ties in well with your Physics (projectiles, etc) and lets you visualise situations more logically. I think a lot of people confuse 'applied' with 'advanced':rolleyes:
Also aided me hugely in my first year engineering mechanics (forces, vectors, etc.) class so if you're considering an engineering course, it'll be a bonus.

HyperSkypeWiper

Thanks, thats encouraging anyway. Does anyone know any good sources of notes and textbook?

Cpt_Blackbeard

I wouldn't recommend it. Its one of the hardest subjects in the LC; The only reason so many people get A's is because only the best at Maths do it.

Personally I found it harder than Maths, but it teaches a different sort of thinking that helps with Maths. You need to be able to reason things out and be very comfortable with algebra (you'll be rearranging a lot of equations)

The only thing it has going for it is that its a very short course, we did all 10 questions and still had half a year to revise it.

KsW

Is it Kevin thats gonna do it with you? I was thinking of just getting the book myself and going through it without grinds hopefully

HyperSkypeWiper

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend it. Its one of the hardest subjects in the LC; The only reason so many people get A's is because only the best at Maths do it.

Personally I found it harder than Maths, but it teaches a different sort of thinking that helps with Maths. You need to be able to reason things out and be very comfortable with algebra (you'll be rearranging a lot of equations)

The only thing it has going for it is that its a very short course, we did all 10 questions and still had half a year to revise it.

Been a while since I did it now so can't cover the syllabus but I had a one hour class of it a week after school with around 10 other people. That was enough to get me a pretty good grade in it so I'd imagine you could be okay (highest A1 subject in the LC I think?).
It really isn't as bad as most think, it's relatively easy in parts and ties in well with your Physics (projectiles, etc) and lets you visualise situations more logically. I think a lot of people confuse 'applied' with 'advanced'
Also aided me hugely in my first year engineering mechanics (forces, vectors, etc.) class so if you're considering an engineering course, it'll be a bonus.

Can I ask what both of you guys got in the Junior in maths? HL of course.

actuallylike

HyperSkypeWiper wrote: »

Can I ask what both of you guys got in the Junior in maths? HL of course.

Jaysus, long time ago. Can't remember that. Think I instantly forgot it when I read it. In the LC, I got a B1 in Maths and B2 in Applied, both honours. I'm 27 now so maybe it's all changed.

HyperSkypeWiper

Cpt_Blackbeard... is this the book you used ? http://www.schoolbooks.ie/22369-Fundamental+Applied+Maths+Folens+School+Book

Chuchoter

Its tricky enough now, you would need a teacher to step in every now and again and point you in the right direction. I mean I only have an hour a week and I see my teacher every day (she's my maths and physics teacher too so I see her like a million times a day :P) and its still hard enough. Unless you can get a teacher I wouldn't waste your time.

ride-the-spiral

I would recommend it highly, as I am currently doing that myself. I started in 5th year and to be honest it took me a while to really get into the swing of things but now I've actually completed 9 out of 10 of the questions. (most people do 8) so i've got the remaining months to practice with loads of exam questions, I don't have that with any other subject.

Get Fundamental Applied Maths by Oliver Murphy, and use whatever notes you can. Get help here, find Institute notes if you can, use skoool.ie, eircom lessons etc. There is alot of help out there.

But now, you must be willing to sink a good bit of time into it. I can see why people wouldn't do it but I found doing the questions very rewarding, so it was alot easier to spend a few hours doing AM than even a half hour of Irish study. Also I did a good bit of work over summer going into 6th year, it may sound a bit ridiculous to some people to spend that much time on one subject but when I honestly enjoyed doing it then why not?

It'll also benefit your maths and physics greatly, particularly trig and algebra. Applied Maths is one big simultaneous equation for the most part.
It only really helps your maths in terms of practice, it won't directly help, but it'll make a good few topics in the physics course very very easy for you. I remember doing Statics in physics and not really getting it, but then when I did it myself in AM it clicked alot easier.

On the whole, give it a go I say. But I must say that like you, one other guy in my year was gonna take the DIY approach but gave up, whereas I pressed on and am really glad that I did. I wish I could give you a concrete result but until my mocks I won't have any proper exam done.

And lots of luck to you!

Cpt_Blackbeard

HyperSkypeWiper wrote: »

Cpt_Blackbeard... is this the book you used ? http://www.schoolbooks.ie/22369-Fundamental+Applied+Maths+Folens+School+Book

It is indeed, it seems to be the only book really. There are loads and loads of questions in it but the exam paper questions in it are from the 80s ! If you just rely on the book with no teacher, it will be very hard.

The thing I found about applied maths is that when you come across a question that you can't do, you'll begin to really want to get it out(This stopped due to laziness after a while though). It was always a great feeling of smugness when you are the only one in the class to get the question out :pac:.

I got an A in JC Maths too, I think. And a bit of advice, if you do take it up don't worry if you find a topic really hard at the start, there is often a Eukeka moment near the end of each chapter.:cool:

Cpt_Blackbeard

ride-the-spiral wrote: »

But now, you must be willing to sink a good bit of time into it. I can see why people wouldn't do it but I found doing the questions very rewarding, so it was alot easier to spend a few hours doing AM than even a half hour of Irish study. Also I did a good bit of work over summer going into 6th year, it may sound a bit ridiculous to some people to spend that much time on one subject but when I honestly enjoyed doing it then why not?

This I can't agree with at all. Doing work over the summer for the LC is total overkill in my eyes. It might have been necessary since you were covering it yourself but I still think that it is crazy. The summer before 6th year is your last year of proper bushin' sure

I would say that one shouldn't expect to enjoy App. Maths. It can be a horribly frustrating subject when questions don't work out, but it is a rewarding subject.

EuropeanSon

Applied Maths, if you are good at maths and like physics, is very, very easy. You certainly should be capable of teaching it to yourself, though maybe one grind every two weeks would be beneficial if, say, you got stuck on something. I got 98% in Applied Maths this year, and of my class of 4 HL students, 3 of us got A1s and the other got (I think) an A2 or B1 at the least.
It's an extremely short course, which you don't even need to cover all of, as the exam is "Answer 6 of 10", and questions on each topic are guaranteed AFAIK.

HyperSkypeWiper

Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated. I'll give it a go anyway and see how Im doing in a few months time!

Maybe_Memories

I did Applied Maths by myself. I started in the middle of 5th year, and got 99% in the LC this year.
It's very do-able if you actually like it.

I suggest getting Fundamental Applied Maths and exam papers 2010-1984, both from Oliver Murphy.

Hey, if you're ever stuck with a problem, let me know.
(I do EuropeanSon's mechanics homework in maths in TCD )