GCSE's

[tut]

Calculus and differentiation were also an A level start, but could never get my head around something that approached zero but never got there.

Its like all these half baked theories that are thrown around such as an infinite number of parallel universes, warp fields, worm holes etc, anything to try to get around that the speed of light is finite and will never be exceeded, never mind bypassed by flights of imagination.

Other than by visual and radio telescopes, we aint ever going to know what is out there, never mind visit it.

tut

[robin]

Tut, if you think about it like this "half something is still something" then approaching zero but never getting there shouldn't be too hard to imagine.

Cheers,
Robin

[tut]

Problem is that you were not my maths teacher, can understand that OK.

tut

[robin]

I do a bit of tuition, but I couldn't face teaching a class of kids! I leave that to Katie who has them under her spell

[jason]

I meant English as in the exams set by English examination boards not as in English language.

Ah. I just failed English Comprehension!

My gut instinct is that our right-angled triangle problems, for example, were presented less simply than that BBC example.

Sine/Cosine rule (dealing with non-right angled triangles) doesn't come in until higher I think. I couldn't say what it was like 28 years ago here, but 90% sure I didn't learn the sine/cosine rules until lower sixth (first year A level) - I can remember pointing out to my teacher that cosine rule becomes pythag when A is a right angle - and him chucking a piece of chalk at me in response (which is why I remember it).

We almost certainly did cos/sin rules at O-level, I have little doubt about that. But perhaps different boards had different standards back in the day?

...chalk? You had it easy - we 'received' the duster (or worse)

[tut]

At my Grammar school the teachers could give you the cane on the hand in the classroom, the headmaster on your backside in his office, and the senior prefects the slipper on your backside in the changing rooms.

How times have changed.

tut

[robin]

...chalk? You had it easy - we 'received' the duster (or worse)

It was a game of some sort rather than an attempt at violence (which was strictly verboten).

If you want tough O level maths, these papers should provide all the entertainment you need:

http://www.burtongrammar.co.uk/category ... 68-maths-o

But the exams are no easier today than they were back then, are they

Cheers,
Robin

[jason]

http://www.burtongrammar.co.uk/category ... 68-maths-o

Now that's more like it! Reading through that is much more familiar than the Beeb's examples. And the questions are less leading.

[jason]

Found an example 1985 (the year I sat) GCE O-level Maths past paper online here: http://www.bland.in/GCE/maths1.jun85.pdf JMB, whereas we sat Oxbridge IIRC, but wouldn't differ greatly and illustrates the differences to the Beeb's samples, eg. less elementary triangles problems than Beeb's, including scalene triangle questions. Some calculus too.

I feel compelled to find a 2012 GCSE past paper now for comparison. I'm sure they'll be trickier than the Beeb's?

[robin]

And what score did you get on the 85 paper - or didn't you try it - I might have a go tonight for grins.

I love the way that (a), (b) and (c) of the A questions are totally unrelated to one another.

You can get all the SQA papers here:

http://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/findpa ... level=Int2

I would go for int2 level as I think that's closest to the Syllabus B O level stuff in terms of difficulty. However, lots of people only sit the foundation and standard papers.

Cheers,
Robin

[jason]

And what score did you get on the 85 paper - or didn't you try it - I might have a go tonight for grins.

I just read through it in a, "yes, I can do that, that and that. Hmmm, will struggle to remember how to do that" kind of way. Maybe do it properly another time.

I love the way that (a), (b) and (c) of the A questions are totally unrelated to one another.

I was amused the same.

You can get all the SQA papers here:

http://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/findpa ... level=Int2

I would go for int2 level as I think that's closest to the Syllabus B O level stuff in terms of difficulty. However, lots of people only sit the foundation and standard papers.

Thanks. Will have a look.