AS & A LEVEL FURTHER MATHEMATICS
Overview
What our students say“Maths is a wonderful subject and the teacher fully supports me and other students and I feel that I can learn easily if I put the work in. Overall I feel lessons are outstanding. “
“Really enjoyed the teaching. Very supportive department, who continue to further expand resources available to students outside of college hours. I'd like to say a huge thank you to the whole department for helping me through this undoubtedly tough course.” “All the teachers are approachable and willing to answer any questions even if they don't teach me, which is extremely useful.” “Maths requires a lot of practice in my own time; it is quite an independent subject, but my teacher is always there to help with issues.” Related Courses
Useful documents
|
Course DescriptionThis course is for those whose favourite subject is Maths. It allows you to delve deeper into the subject in a more challenging way. It is highly recommended if you are hoping to pursue a course in mathematics or engineering at university. In order to take this course you must also be enrolled on A Level Maths – please refer to the A Level Maths course page for more information.
There are two routes of study. You may either take Further Maths AS as a fourth subject in your 1st year, completing the course with an AS in Further Maths. Or you could continue the course into your 2nd year to get the full A Level. (Please note that if you do this, your AS Further Maths results will not count towards your final A Level Further Maths grade). Whether you choose to take AS or A Level Further Maths you will study Pure Mathematics, Statistics and Mechanics. The minimum requirement for both courses is a 7 at GCSE, with the expectation that students will also complete the preparation work (found on this page under "useful documents"). Course OutlineAS Further MathsThis course is made up of 3 exams, which are each worth 1/3 of the AS Level.
Each exam will last 1 hour 15 minutes and will take place at the end of the 1st year. All exams will require the use of a specific calculator. The first exam assesses Pure Mathematics. The second exam assesses Statistics. The third exam assesses Mechanics. Pure Mathematics is the methods and techniques which underpin the study of all other areas of mathematics. This includes proof, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and vectors. Other areas studied include complex numbers, which allow the solution of a range of equations that would otherwise have no solutions, through the introduction of ‘imaginary’ numbers, and matrices which consist of grids of numbers that can be used to represent transformations and are used to solve simultaneous equations amongst many other uses. Mechanics is the mathematics used to study the physical world, modelling the motion of objects and the forces acting on them. This includes Newton’s Laws of Motion and moments. Statistics involves statistical sampling, data presentation and probability, leading to the study of statistical distributions with special properties, such as the Binomial and Normal Distributions. All of these follow on from topics met at GCSE.
|