Plutocrisy
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Surely not integration...
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What is the hardest Mathematics Extension 2 topic? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Plutocrisy
- Start date
Average Boreduser
Rising Renewal
Imo Vectors bc vectors suck. Others say proofs or cmplx
WeiWeiMan
Well-Known Member
ngl i find complex the hardest of the 3 i've done (proof, complex, integrals) [i haven't done recurrence relations yet nor calculus proofs]
Average Boreduser
Rising Renewal
ngl I wish 4u had more on int applications, like obv not 3u stuffs but like more to it ifykwim
Average Boreduser
Rising Renewal
I hate vector cmplx tho oml they get so annoying sometimes
WeiWeiMan
Well-Known Member
i fucking hate integral applications, dumbest topic
fuck 3u
i definitely don't wish for more integral applications
ngl i have a love hate relationship with this dumb subject
Average Boreduser
Rising Renewal
yeah same. I like the polys part, and the curve sketch, but the vecs just make me want to die.
WeiWeiMan
Well-Known Member
wdym vectors are nice but fucked (14cii 2023)
Average Boreduser
Rising Renewal
nah im talking 4u w complex
WeiWeiMan
Well-Known Member
oh yeah they're shit
ngl locus is the worst topic for me tho
Average Boreduser
Rising Renewal
im aight w locus bc we looked into it briefly at tutor when i was doing 3u, but some of these qns need like 2 lines of working and my dumbass always thinks up the longest ways to solve them, and then eventually realise It can be answered rlly quickly.
WeiWeiMan
Well-Known Member
ru 2025 or 2026
Average Boreduser
Rising Renewal
2025
The old syllabus had more practice in this area, on questions with multiple approaches where choosing poorly led to much more difficult / extended working being necessary. Geometric approaches in complex number locus is one example where quick methods reward those with insight over the generally more involved algebraic approaches.
I think the MX2 integration topic includes some examples too, integrals where multiple substitutions will work but some make for rapid simplification where others are less efficient. Reduction formulae can involve these, too. Several posts here mention integration as not that difficult, which I agree with, but its applications in mechanics can get quite intricate.
On vectors, the upcoming changes to the syllabus will move 3D vectors into MX1, but all of the vector proofs of geometry (like from the end of the 2023 MX1 paper) into MX2. Working in 3D is certain an effective way to move a question outside many students' comfort zones, so this change will move the more challenging geometric questions out of MX1 while adding into it a different set of challenges... and it will mean that harder geometric proofs fit squarely in MX2.
Vectors and complex numbers creates some areas for confusion because not all of the vectors topic can be done in complex numbers. There was an MX2 MCQ involving a projection of complex numbers vectors a couple of years back that illustrates why vector topic methods are not necessarily applicable on the Argand Diagram.
IMO, the topic that presents the most scope for the unexpected, atypical, and challenging is the proofs topic. The old syllabus included "harder 3 unit", which gave great scope for asking something that required creativity and insight to handle. It is proofs that creates similar opportunities within the constraints of the current MX2 syllabus, because almost any topic can yield material where a question can be asked as establishing / proving some result. In studying methods of proof, MX2 students are being provided with a variety of tools and approaches but also the opportunity to choose inefficient (or worse, ineffective) approaches. There are plenty of induction questions, for example, that are much easier without induction, but how many students would recognise an alternative if given the opportunity?