Why you must do 4u maths (1 Viewer)

[wuddie]

Great news, you've picked to learn 4u maths now, and saved yourselves from failure in 1st year uni, especially if you do a science, engineering course.

1st year maths in uni is basically 4u maths, in fast forward. the lecturers teach it very quickly, they don't give it a damn if you don't get it. in the first 3 weeks, we've done 2 topics of 4u maths, complex numbers and graphing. now try and compare that with how long you spent on them at school.

physics is even worse, it is ALL maths, there is no concept understanding at all, it is all about mechanics and calculus - if you master those, you've caned 1st year physics.

so yes, spend a bit more time on your maths, it is absolutely worth your while. you'll be grateful that you've done 4u maths once you're in uni.

 

[Sparcod]

Damnit! I did 4u maths and I'm studying Commerce.
The only maths I get are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. No conics and complex numbers crap.

I wouldn't say that uni maths is all 4u maths-related. Depends on which level MATH you chose. I can't believe that 2 years of maths gets covered in only 5 weeks.

 

[Trebla]

If you choose to study maths (not financial or statistical maths) or science in uni, then you will go through and beyond the Extension 2 course. Particularly, if you study advanced levels of mathematics in uni, then some parts the Extension 2 course are basically rushed throughout the first few weeks because it is assumed knowledge (well at least for usyd it is, I'm pretty sure it is more or less similar for the other universities).

 

[Captain Gh3y]

Great news, you've picked to learn 4u maths now, and saved yourselves from failure in 1st year uni, especially if you do a science, engineering course.

1st year maths in uni is basically 4u maths, in fast forward. the lecturers teach it very quickly, they don't give it a damn if you don't get it. in the first 3 weeks, we've done 2 topics of 4u maths, complex numbers and graphing. now try and compare that with how long you spent on them at school.

physics is even worse, it is ALL maths, there is no concept understanding at all, it is all about mechanics and calculus - if you master those, you've caned 1st year physics.

so yes, spend a bit more time on your maths, it is absolutely worth your while. you'll be grateful that you've done 4u maths once you're in uni.

nah

 

[watatank]

It's a massive advantage to have done 4 unit but it doesn't mean those who didn't do four unit will fail. Then again UOW maths is quite tame for starters (in comparison to Usyd/UNSW).

Well, here's to hoping anyway. I do engineering with three unit math, its going to have to be enough! They don't put the real hard engineering maths till second year and beyond, so I should have had much practice!

 

[pLuvia]

My lecturer wrote his own notes for my maths course. Do some of the cambridge extension questions, their quite good for practice, but usually lecturers write their own material for their students and all/most or copyrighted

Regarding first post, if you do a higher level of maths in university first year you will indeed encounter some of the MX2 topics, but if you are doing the others you may not. In the end even if you haven't done it (MX2) it doesn't matter at all

 

[jb_nc]

are you uni mathers able to post up some hardish still in course 4 unit maths questions and resources that u guys get at uni....

ps. do u guys use any certain books for uni maths?


cheers

http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/UG/JM/MATH1001/resources.html
http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/UG/JM/MATH1002/

Download some sheets and have a look. You probably won't know what MATH1002 is on about though.

 

[Trebla]

Have a go at this quiz: http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/us/selftest.cgi
You do not need to type in Name and SID, just click on "Start Test". Most of the questions are in the Extension 2 syllabus so you should be able to answer most of them with the knowledge you have now.
I reckon that quiz is pretty good in determining whether you understand your mathematical concepts well or not.

 

[pLuvia]

Have a go at this quiz: http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/us/selftest.cgi
You do not need to type in Name and SID, just click on "Start Test". Most of the questions are in the Extension 2 syllabus so you should be able to answer most of them with the knowledge you have now.
I reckon that quiz is pretty good in determining whether you understand your mathematical concepts well or not.

Hey Trebla, what course you doing in university?

Chousta: You can also try these questions out if you want

http://www.maths.mq.edu.au/~wchen/lnfycfolder/lnfyc.html

The questions are near the end of each lecture note

 

[pLuvia]

It depends what science units you are planning on taking, obviously if you are going to take maths units 4u will help you in the first year but everyone eventually catches up to you except you don't have to work as hard as they do.

Engineering will require at least 3u maths (or so I remember reading on the uni sites), 4u will make things easier though

But if you do those Biology, Chemistry courses I doubt 4u maths is of any use there

 

[Captain Gh3y]

A band 5 in 2 unit is sufficient for any science or engineering unless it's "advanced".

 

[Forbidden.]

MX2 apparently drives some students insane. Thank god I am sticking to MX1, and I will drop when necessary.

Damnit! I did 4u maths and I'm studying Commerce.
The only maths I get are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. No conics and complex numbers crap.

I wouldn't say that uni maths is all 4u maths-related. Depends on which level MATH you chose. I can't believe that 2 years of maths gets covered in only 5 weeks.

Sounds nice but I'm not a social science person.

Great news, you've picked to learn 4u maths now, and saved yourselves from failure in 1st year uni, especially if you do a science, engineering course.

1st year maths in uni is basically 4u maths, in fast forward. the lecturers teach it very quickly, they don't give it a damn if you don't get it. in the first 3 weeks, we've done 2 topics of 4u maths, complex numbers and graphing. now try and compare that with how long you spent on them at school.

physics is even worse, it is ALL maths, there is no concept understanding at all, it is all about mechanics and calculus - if you master those, you've caned 1st year physics.

so yes, spend a bit more time on your maths, it is absolutely worth your while. you'll be grateful that you've done 4u maths once you're in uni.

A band 5 in 2 unit is sufficient for any science or engineering unless it's "advanced".

There we go.

 

[ianc]

yeah, i've started engineering at unsw, and did 4u in the hsc....

obviously in the beginning you are covering a fair bit of the same content as in the hsc syllabus, but there is a lot of different stuff too.

Also I think the whole style of learning at uni is so different, and they move much faster than at school, that doing 4unit maths at school is really only going to mean you can bludge during the first few weeks of semester one. Beyond that, it's all new concepts or new approaches to things you'd taken for granted in maths.

Also you made out that physics was simply maths - it is in the sense that you are using maths and calculus to explain things in the real world - rather than just sort of number crunching and doing abstract theorems like you would in maths.

Yes, it is significantly different from the HSC syllabus (ie no history or social implications and that crap), but it is not much harder if you keep up with the work. The maths is not at all difficult - if you can do your 2unit differentiation and integration then you will not experience any problems in physics.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is 4unit really won't make a huge difference at uni like wuddie (the op) was saying

 

[wuddie]

A band 5 in 2 unit is sufficient for any science or engineering unless it's "advanced".

hahaha yea right!

if you got band 5 and only did 2 unit, and you try and do any of the engineering courses or optometry (i am not sure which other science degree will need maths, but i assume most of them, since maths and science go hand in hand), you will fail! and i would bet my house on it.

for a good example, read some of the 4u text books and see if you can understand the whole thing in about 10 weeks. if you can, well then you should be doing 4u instead.

btw, i am speaking from a unsw maths experience. so you people from usw or elsewhere might have a lower maths expectations.

 

[DeathB4Life]

yup. i felt like they just breezed through the entire complex number topic while i (a feeble 2uniter) am left scratching my head still thinking "wait....whats a complex number?"

 

[Captain Gh3y]

hahaha yea right!

if you got band 5 and only did 2 unit, and you try and do any of the engineering courses or optometry (i am not sure which other science degree will need maths, but i assume most of them, since maths and science go hand in hand), you will fail! and i would bet my house on it.

for a good example, read some of the 4u text books and see if you can understand the whole thing in about 10 weeks. if you can, well then you should be doing 4u instead.

btw, i am speaking from a unsw maths experience. so you people from usw or elsewhere might have a lower maths expectations.

Course descriptions or STFU

I hardly think 1st year maths varies much between unis, not like you guys know something the rest of us don't.

Edit: I looked it up (http://www.maths.unsw.edu.au/students/future/unsw/fyexperience.html) and as I said before, clearly in this case 1141/1241 would require 4 unit, coming under what I called 'advanced' before.

But I'm absolutely certain a good 2 unit student could handle 1131/1231, (the requirement for engineering or science degrees) with the appropriate amount of work. It's up to the individual really.

The topics are Complex numbers, vectors and vector geometry, linear equations, matrices and matrix algebra, determinants. Functions, limits, continuity and differentiability, integration, polar coordinates, logarithms and exponentials, hyperbolic functions, functions of several variables. Then in 2nd semester,
Vector spaces, linear transformations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Introduction to probability and statistics. Integration techniques, solution of ordinary differential equations, sequences, series, applications of integration.

which would be exactly the same at any other uni in 1st year, the main difference being the ordering of the topics.

 

[darryltolentino]

doing 4u basically makes u like maths better and appreciate what it can do. it some thing that subjects such as general ma ths does not. so if u have done it, u get a start plus a bit of that passion. u know a mathematical mind...u want to know more maths

 

[wuddie]

i have to revive this, just for those who are doing subj selection for yr12 or yr11.

have a read of what the people have said in the replies, you can believe my theory or you can believe what some others have said. but in the end, it is up to you to find out for yourself. now, ask yourself, do you want to find out the hard way? or the easy way?

if you have any questions, pm me, happy to help.

 

[Chinmoku03]

Funny, cos I have a uni friend who told me: "The first thing the lecturer said to us when I started uni was: "Chuck whatever crap that BOS called maths extension II in the bin; I'll be teaching you the uni way of doing maths."" :S And he's doing a sci/engine degree too >.>;

 

[umop 3pisdn]

compared to uni maths, i consider 4u out dated and just a subject to get a high uai

bolded for truth