Aplus said:
Can someone make a comparison of Excel and Cambridge?
They are very different books with different styles. Excel is just a bunch of questions (often very easy ones) with non worked answers at the back.
Cambridge is an actual textbook designed to teach the year 12 syllabus, with worked examples, theory and excercises with answers.
The best place to get textbooks is Dymocks in the City, very big store. Angus surprisingly has next to nothing. I have been to the Dymocks and I know for a fact they have Cambridge, Coroneos and fitzpatrick.
I have trouble reading Coroneos, its badly setout and the text type looks like the old style type writers in the sixties, very annoying.
Fizpatrick is excellent, good questions and more importantly worked examples, and goes through the entire year 12 syllabus (and end of year 11) in one book: about 49.95 if I remember correctly.
Cambridge is a mixed bag. It is set out BRILLIANTLY, each exercise seperates questions into easy intro qs, then development "medium" questions, then extension "very hard" questions. The only problem is, that each book tends to teach HALF of the syllabus, so you need to buy 2 books to get the whole of the year 12 syllbus, setting you back 80 dollars or more.
Alot of libraries stock these books so if you're short on cash u can try and borrow them, but if they are reference books (unborrowable) then you can try and photocopy individual excercises or just do them at the library. Also look for "Co-op" Bookstores around the city (there is one at USYD). They tend to stock uni books but always have a HSC section.
If all that fails head to the publishers website and order a copy online.
