Hi all,

I need some advice on the differences of of A-level Math and Further Math. I am planning to study it myself for June next year exam.
For those who have taken both, how to study for both subjects? Do I need to finish study Math first before can go to Further Math? What can I do if I want to study it together? As I seen both Math and Further Math use the same reference books endorsed by Cambridge.

Thank you very much!

maths are just something like add maths in ur secondary skul...(intermediate)

further maths is like sth new to u (imagine when u were in form 4, and u have no idea wat is add maths, further maths is sth like this) So, not really hard...just depends u wanna accept it or nt.

=D

No you do not need to. You can study them both chapter by chapter at the same time. You do not need to understand everything in Math first before you move on to FM.

I heard from my friends that doing further maths is as bad as eating glass @.@

Its better for you to finish maths first then move onto further maths, although some colleges teach both maths and further maths simultaneously, i find its better if you do maths first then further maths. and not all further maths topics can be learnt from scratch, you need background from maths.

you can go for tution to get some help.

and, which reference books are you using?

u can take both together...

but all i can say is..

maths won kill u..further maths will

Thank you very much for all the guidance

I'm using the textbook endorsed by CIE

Neill & Quadling Pure Mathematics 1 (Cambridge University Press)
Neill & Quadling Pure Mathematics 2 & 3 (Cambridge University Press) Quadling Mechanics 1 (Cambridge University Press)
Quadling Mechanics 2 (Cambridge University Press)
Dobbs & Miller Statistics 1 (Cambridge University Press)
Dobbs & Miller Statistics 2 (Cambridge University Press)

May I know do I need to get other reference books ya?

Thanks guys & gals

if u wan to excel in maths..the more u do..the better..

If I not mistaken, the minimum requirement for taking A level Further Maths is to get A in both Maths and Add Maths.

How good is your maths?

Ah okay, yea I think you should master those books first before you move onto the further maths stuff.

There isnt a official minimum requirement, its just colleges just tend to recommend people to take further maths only if u got an A in maths and add maths, because further maths can be quite tough

not really you just need a credit actually.Though it is unrecommended if you don't get an A.Generally speaking if one can't get an A at something that is easier than A-Levels Math it'll be a hard time for them in Further Maths so that's why usually it's not recommended if you don't have a strong background.

Actually you just need to pay the exam fee to take the exam. And I'm pretty sure if you can't afford that, there are people willing to pay for you.

Thanks a lot for all the advice. Appreciate so much! I got 1A for Math and Add Math during SPM. I find A-level Further Math is quite challenging from the past year. I will do more practices especially past year questions.

Once again, thanks so much!

hmm i dun remember much already since last taken it more than 5 yrs ago.
a-level math is like ur add math in secondary school, practice alone is sufficient for you to score good A. just need to recall some formulae from secondary school and u r good to go.
further math is like different thing, it requires some thinking skill and also practice. for TARC which i enrolled in, we were tot simultaneously, therefore a few of my math tutors are my further math tutors as well.

if I take up further maths, will it make any difference or advantage for me when I apply for university later?

Spam do past year papers!

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Added on May 24, 2010, 10:47 pmIf and only if you're aiming for a relevant course.

This post has been edited by Shoki: May 24 2010, 10:47 PM

anyone here offers tuition for Edexcel further maths tuition?

Hi, r u still interested in getting further maths tuition?

Aiyai yai >.< First off Further math is no walk in the park O.O IMO not something you can self study either x.x I took both of these subjects and it was living hell for me back in 2005/2006... on a scale of 1 to 100, Math, AS level is 50~ A2 is about 80~ Further Math is 1000000000000000000000000 O.O Like in all seriousness... I got an A1 in Math and A2 in Add Math for SPM >.<

Granted Yes, studying further math was fun to know... but sitting for exams? nah totally mad... I studied in TARC... they had monthly tests and I flunked probably 80% of the tests with scores between 5 and 20 >.< Granted I managed to pull through with an E at the end of the struggle... I still wouldn't recommend taking further math unless you're some math genius who scores in add math like between 90-100 each time in school not just for SPM because SPM grades are not indicative of real mathematical ability... it's all bell curve adjusted...

Anyway on to the second part of your question, my lecturers in TARC for math and further math were the same people so we spent the first 2/3months of math and further math classes covering Math and only after covering sufficient math, did we move onto some further math... Since Further Math is a A2 subject, you may want to only take it after you have completed your AS Math Paper 1 and 2 (pure and mechanics)

Lastly like alot of people have mentioned, do the past year questions... make sure you can derive and understand the solutions x.x

@Yin: I don't see any advantage in taking further math... I did accounting subsequently... in fact now that I am applying for jobs I find that grade E a nuisance! cause not everyone has done/knows what further math is and getting an E for it while it may be a proud achievement in my opinion for others especially employers I doubt it'll be looked upon as good LOL

PS: @TS: is it too late to talk you out of further math? HAHAHAHA

First to clear things off, ideally Further Maths should be taught after you have finished learning your A-level Maths.
However, due to the time constrain (1 and a half yr), it's being taught simultaneously.
Then, FM would be useful if you intend to continue studying maths in University as some topics will be taught again and hence, you gain the upperhand.

The starting maybe a struggle for you, but you will get the hang of it once you do more practices and past year.
There's a bit of overlapping of syllabus in FM that actually helps you with Pure Maths 3 in Maths, eg: Vectors, Integration.
Mechanics and stats also has overlapped syllabus but it's still a bit harder.

Books (these is what I used):
Neill & Quadling Pure Mathematics 4 (Cambridge University Press)
Neill & Quadling Pure Mathematics 5 & 6 (Cambridge University Press) Quadling Mechanics 1 (Cambridge University Press)
Crashaw & Chambers A Concise Course in Advanced Level Statistic

No idea on mechanics tho, based on tutorial notes.

Final verdict: Just make sure you study hard and be consistent. I didn't give my best and I got C. =(

I think it's already too late lol

It's been 4 months since TS posted this topic till someone brought it up again yesterday..haha

I took Further Math in A-Levels. Big mistake. When I applied to Imperial College for Mechanical Engineering, I got an offer of A* for Math A for Physics and A for Further Math.

A classmate who took Economics instead got an identical offer, but with Chemistry as the last A.

Needless to say, I didn't fulfil the Further Math A. For me it was the Pure Mathematics paper that did me in. :/

And yes, my classmate got into Imperial.

I am just hoping LOL, there is still come time before june 2011! so she can still do something else X.X like biology chemistry or economics LOL not too late until the exam day is around the corner x.x

@Chempedak: haha I got an E because Pure Math killed me too XD would have been sth else otherwise >.>

Surprisingly, the pure maths are usually the easier ones.
Paper 2 is the killer.

High-five! I didn't even finish my Pure Math paper. :S

I guess it depends on the person. Some find pure easier, some find the mechanics and stats easier. I prefer the mechanics and stats..XD

Pure requires you to twist your mind to find the 'trick' within each question...

ur classmate applied what course to imperial?

bump, is further maths required for engineering in Imperial College?