Further Math HL in 6 months?

[Jpcrema27]

Hello,

I am doing math HL and i am not really finding it hard. I scored well on the last couple tests (86%,91%,100%,93%), in sequences, complex numbers, differentiation and logs (in this order).

As a result, I am thinking about doing further maths. However, the further math examination only occurs in may/june, so I will only have about 6months to learn the entire syllabus. Further on, my school does not teach further math so I will have to teach myself.

I have done well at mathematics in the past, and scored well in my math igcse(a*,a*) and i also got a silver medal in a a national math competition/olympiad.

So, what do you guys think about doing this?

 

Thank you very much!

Edited September 26, 2015 by Jpcrema27

[kartikeya]

It depends on what you want to do later.If you are not doing maths at uni later please do not need to do further maths because your IB score is very important and no point stressing.

[Emilia1320]

You are on kind of similar place to me, expect your exams are coming way sooner. I'd really love to do Further Math, but given that I have 7 subjects and 4 HL's already I simply don't have time. I could try but it would most likely harm my other grades. Plus my school would never let me do self-taught Further Math on top of partial self-taugh Math HL.

I study some of the FM stuff during holidays, when I have time etc, maybe you could do the same. Plus I don't think there is any university course that would require FM, usually only HL is required/preferred. This is propably due that not everyone's school offers FM.

[Jpcrema27]

I want to do engineering at university and I will probably apply to unis at the US and UK. I know further maths isnt required but wouldn't doing it boost my chances of getting into a good university (if I managed to score well -6/7)?

my other subjects are 

physics hl

chem hl

math hl

sbs (brasilian geography and history)sl

portuguese a2 sl

english a2 sl

[kw0573]

If you want to do Further, I would recommend starting now. I wouldn't recommend learning all of the HL Options in 6 months. I think it's very probable that you can get a 6 or 7 in Further if you start now, given your math abilities. It also depends on whether you are JUST learning the subject in those 6 + months or balancing different levels off work/volunteering/study commitments.

[Jpcrema27]

If you want to do Further, I would recommend starting now. I wouldn't recommend learning all of the HL Options in 6 months. I think it's very probable that you can get a 6 or 7 in Further if you start now, given your math abilities. It also depends on whether you are JUST learning the subject in those 6 + months or balancing different levels off work/volunteering/study commitments.

Are the options harder than the other topics? Or are they just increments to the volume of knowledge you need for the exams? Furthermore, have you heard of a good Further Math book? I think I will buy the hearse and harris HL options book and their linear algebra+geometry one. Are these good choices?

Thanks

[kw0573]

 

If you want to do Further, I would recommend starting now. I wouldn't recommend learning all of the HL Options in 6 months. I think it's very probable that you can get a 6 or 7 in Further if you start now, given your math abilities. It also depends on whether you are JUST learning the subject in those 6 + months or balancing different levels off work/volunteering/study commitments.

Are the options harder than the other topics? Or are they just increments to the volume of knowledge you need for the exams? Furthermore, have you heard of a good Further Math book? I think I will buy the hearse and harris HL options book and their linear algebra+geometry one. Are these good choices?

Thanks

 

hI i didn't do Further HL.

But for core HL I did about 60 - 70% of homework (we usually get about a sheet or 20-40 practice problems per concept). For the Option I did (Calculus) at least 100% of homework (went and did extra problems and redos). I can only speak for Calculus, and on Paper 3, all of the questions are about the level of hardest questions on paper 2 or slightly easier. But for HL Paper 3, the content is relatively confined to a specific topic so not only are the contents more advanced but the questions seek to really test your problem solving skills. 

About 25% of people at my school use any forms of published textbooks or study guides or course companions for the IB. I am not one of those people so I don't even know the best book for math HL let alone Further.

[Vioh]

Hello,

I am doing math HL and i am not really finding it hard. I scored well on the last couple tests (86%,91%,100%,93%), in sequences, complex numbers, differentiation and logs (in this order).

As a result, I am thinking about doing further maths. However, the further math examination only occurs in may/june, so I will only have about 6months to learn the entire syllabus. Further on, my school does not teach further math so I will have to teach myself.

I have done well at mathematics in the past, and scored well in my math igcse(a*,a*) and i also got a silver medal in a a national math competition/olympiad.

So, what do you guys think about doing this?

 

Thank you very much!

 

Personally I think you shouldn't take Further Maths. I know that you are extremely interested in maths, and are very good at it as well. However, further maths is not something that you can joke around with. If you take it, you'll have to learn a huge amount of materials from unfamiliar areas of mathematics, which makes it literally impossible to cram all of that in 6 months. It's the quantity that is problem here. To have a better idea of what you have to learn, I think you should take a look at Further Maths syllabus here: Further Maths Outline.pdf

 

For HL maths in IB, you have to choose one of the following 4 possible options: Sets, Stats & Probability, Calculus, and Discrete Maths. However, in Further maths, you'll have to do all four! plus 2 other topics (Geometry & Linear Algebra). With exception of Calculus and Stats & Probability, the other four topics are all very strange and foreign to many students in the beginning. I remember the first time reading about Discrete Maths, I was really struggling with the idea of thinking about maths 'discretely', because it was something that I had never done previously in maths. Besides, the Further Maths course groups all the core in HL maths as part of the so-called "Prior Knowledge", which means that you would have to master all of the maths HL concepts before actually starting further maths; concepts like differentiation, integration, vectors, probability distribution, trig, etc. And I noticed from your post that you haven't done all the core concepts in maths HL yet.

 

I don't usually try to discourage people into learning more advanced mathematics. However, in this case, it's totally not possible to do all of that in 6 months, and I don't think i'm being pessimistic here. Also, you can definitely do something like what Emilia suggested, i.e. study Further maths materials during the holidays or when you have time. That would be a much better idea. Remember that you don't have to enroll in a course in order to learn the materials from that course. Regarding books, I have access to all the four HL options in the Pearson textbook. If you want them, I can send it to you.

[lubill]

It is not impossible to learn the entire syllabus in half year with a maths teacher, but for self-taught.....it's hard to say.  

By the way, you need to spend at least several hours per day on FM and understand the theory behind.  

I think it's a good idea to study FM's stuff and take exams in may 2017 after you finish your IB. Practising is the key to maths.