Originally posted by juggernaut
yeh but this is what i noticed with the prelim course... id work through my textbook doing excercises etc. and i would understand it all... but then when i get into the exam, the questions are all in different formats etc. compared to just the straight forward ones in the textbook.. and thats where i fuck up
Yes mate, that's what everyone suffers from, first of all you must know all your forms of notations for each topic, there are numerous. For example once you do integration:
there's something called the Primitive Function and the Indefinite Integral, they're both exactly the same thing but with two different names.
As to why there are so many notations and names for things which are the same i have no idea but they just have it you must learn it all, and one thing is because in the exam your questions aren't sections out topic by topic, it's a combination of things, maths questions in exams test many things, in one question they can probably test ur understanding of pythagoras and then about trigonometry and then Integration all mixed in, it's for YOU to take on the initiative to practice these questions and continuously ask teachers for help and also ask the forums if you want, i can't stress anymore, practice makes perfect, do do your homework but if u have time try tackle down some past paper questions of topics you have covered, eventually it will get easier, it's not magic over night, i sucked in yr 11 for maths i came from intermediate in yr 10 but for some magical reason the inception of yr 12 and learning about calculus had made me love maths cause it's so logical in every respect, all i can say is don't give up, it's a very easy course the more you do it.