A Level Maths: Where’s this going?
It’s first term of your A Levels and you’re adjusting to the sweet life of having only 3 or 4 subjects to get stuck into, but where exactly is all this going? Whether looking at new interests or older subjects you just can’t kick, you’re going to dive in deep and prepare for the next steps whether a career, apprenticeship or university where you can apply some of this knowledge.
For Maths, it’s something you’ve been studying in some form or another for as long as you’ve been in education — so what could there possibly be left after GCSE without going into the woods rather than seeing the benefit in the day-to-day? Hopefully we can break it down a little bit here over the course of the next few blogs, and today will introduce the topics you’ll be facing, the applications of what’s involved and get you ready to master this invaluable skill.
Topics
Simply put, there are three themes that everything you will do over the next two years will nestle into: Pure Mathematics, Statistics and Mechanics.
Pure
Pure Mathematics is the backbone of everything to come. Here you’ll develop your skills in algebra and geometry and become fluent in the language of Maths. This will give you a universal tool belt to apply problem solving and modelling to all areas of the syllabus, as well as provide support for a vast range of courses at higher education level. You’ll be introduced to Calculus as a broader topic and see the benefit from conceptual problems to real-life experience of maths in action.
Statistics
Making up the other side, we have Statistics and Mechanics: the “applied mathematics” of the course. From seeing applications of Data Collection and probability to situations you’ll encounter on a daily basis, Statistics comes into its own as a handy tool everyone should get familiar with.
Mechanics
Meanwhile, Mechanics topics underpin the physical behaviours we see in the world: as humans we estimate Mechanical equations every day when we judge how to throw a ball at a target, or how soon / hard to press the brakes in a car so that we stop in time for the traffic light ahead. Here you’ll see how this is brought to life through equations and get a first class look at how the world around is governed by a series of rules that can be formulated on pen and paper.
Take a look at this example from AITutor, such simple problem in real life can be mimicked through understanding of simple mechanics principles. Who said you’ll never use Algebra again after school?
Applications
As mentioned above you’ll be given examples of how to apply this maths to situations you’ll encounter out in the real-world (and with a bit of enthusiasm can spot a few applications yourself!). More in-depth problem solving questions allow you to grow the confidence to determine for yourself the best mathematical trick to pull from your tool belt.
Aside of the “solve for x” questions you’re all too well aware of, you’ll question the physical limits of why and when a model is appropriate to use, and be able to justify your working for yourself: “My model can’t work for a negative time”, etc.
What to take away
The next two years are certainly going to pick up the pace from GCSE and it’s sure to be a bit of a ride! Getting to grips with the structure of the course from early on will turn the mountain into a molehill in no time though. What to expect from the exam, coming up next!
