AS Level maths please help!!!!

mikeassured

I'm in the 3rd week of my as level maths course, and i m really struggling with a couple of the concepts we re been taught, can anyone possibly help???

i can't seem to work out this simulataneous equation:

x-2y=1
3xy-ysquared=8

and also

x+2y=3
x(squared)-2y+4y(squared)=18

can anyone please help me???

thanks

studentsaver2007

As a former A level maths student, I know this stuff is basic, it's going to get a hell of a lot harder, so if you're already struggling I'd reccomend you talk to your teacher.

I'll start you off on the first one ...

x-2y=1
3xy-y²=8

Basically all you solve this using substitution (rearranging one formula and substituting it into the other.)

It's usually easier to rearrange the simplest one, in this case the:

x-2y=1

can be rearranged to

x = 1+2y (moved 2y to other side -2y become +2y)

Then we substitute this into the second equation

3xy-y²=8 (replace x with 1+2y)

3(1+ 2y)y- y²=8

multiply out brackets: 3y + 6y² - y² = 8

simplyfy: 3y + 5y² = 8

rearrage: 5y² + 3y -8 = 0 - simple quadratic!

Now you can solve this as a quadratic equation to get 2 possible solutions for y. You can then substitute these back into the first simple equations to get your x solutions. And then you're done!

mikeassured

thanks a lot for your help. i ll definitely speak to my teacher about this tomorrow.

thanks again

New2Saving_2

Well what you have asked has already been answered so i wont do that...

But I'm guessing the question is from C1 (core maths1)? That's mostly GCSE stuff and is the easy part once you get to second year its all about Sin Cos Tan and even Sec and Cosec (advanced trigonometry) and by god does it get complicated...

But (again) maths is a really good A level to have under your belt. Once you get into second year the first year seems very easy.

You should also be able to re-sit first year maths exams which i highly recommend as by then you should be able to get 90-100% in 1st year maths meaning by getting 40-50% in the second year you can still get a B or even an A overall good luck!

novagirl

When I was doing my A level maths I found it really helpful to keep a little book of hints and tips that you pick up along the way with the course. When it comes to your revision, you can then find the enties to jog your memory without having to trail through text books. Make sure you put little examples with each topic.

It does get really complicated but you can achieve it if you put your mind to it. Good luck with your course

D4n13l

Ive just started AS Level maths too!
In fact i seem to be about 2 points ahead of you on the core1 maths LOL
I struggled with this the first time i did it, but u shall slowly get used to them as you go long. No need to frighten you, but your coming up to cubic functions of x and they're a nightmare to begin with! :mad:
But, u have to ask for advise to receive it, im sure your teacher would be happy explaining everything to you if you get stuck - and, hey, theres always here!

Good luck, i wish you the highest grades at AS! :rotfl:

D4n13l

pinkshoes

New2Saving wrote: »

Well what you have asked has already been answered so i wont do that...

But I'm guessing the question is from C1 (core maths1)? That's mostly GCSE stuff and is the easy part once you get to second year its all about Sin Cos Tan and even Sec and Cosec (advanced trigonometry) and by god does it get complicated...

But (again) maths is a really good A level to have under your belt. Once you get into second year the first year seems very easy.

You should also be able to re-sit first year maths exams which i highly recommend as by then you should be able to get 90-100% in 1st year maths meaning by getting 40-50% in the second year you can still get a B or even an A overall good luck!

I did A Level Maths and Further Maths, so was made to sit the first 2 pure maths modules at christmas of Y12!! I got 97% in both and was gutted for not getting 100%!!

I agree that maths is a great A Level to have! I guess I'm lucky I find it a very logical subject!

If you find simultaneous questions difficult, buy yourself a revision book, and just do pages and pages of them to practice. You'll soon find them a doddle!

Elsterap

Theres something about simeltaneous equations that i thought made them really hard.....even though its supposed to be one of the easier subjects and i got an A in AS Maths.

So don't go worrying yourself too much. You did the right thing by asking for advice, just maybe your teacher is the best person, you'll find the older you get, the more respect from teachers you get and you can talk to them more on an equal level and its less daunting.

BigBouncyBall

the way to do alevel (and degree!!) maths is PRACTICE!!!

Doing (literally) dozens (perhaps over a hundred) examples until you can do them in your sleep. It takes time, but in all honesty when you're only doing 4 subjects there is loads of spare time to do these things.

When you think you've covered all the material start on exam papers (even if your teacher hasn't yet) then do each exam paper at least 20 times (i'm not kidding). Exam questions don't vary from year to year much and you can sometimes predict exactly what topics will come up.

When you think you can do it perfectly, practice some more!