Maths Watch Revision Material

Follow the links below to access revision material from Maths Watch. You will need a username and password which you can get from your teacher.

For Grade A-A* Click HERE

For Grade B Click HERE

For Grade C Click HERE

For Grade D Click HERE

For Grades E, F and G Click HERE

For Level 3 Click HERE

For Level 4 Click HERE

For Level 5 Click HERE

Maths Photo Competition!

Can you show some maths just by taking a photograph and adding a caption?

Enter your photo on this site www.mathscareers.org.uk and fill out the registration form!

Closing date for the competition is 15.06.12, winner receives Amazon vouchers!

Don’t miss out!

After six weeks of summer holidays can your brain cope with Maths puzzles?

Only one week to go before the start of the new term.

For all of us it is a fresh start. A new school year bringing fresh challenges.

This could be the start of a new course; KS3, GCSE or A-Level!

For many of us it is a move to a new school.

A constant remains, Maths.

Maths will always challenge and is an oasis of abstraction and logical reasoning

Watch the video to view content from the popular BBC series, Bang Goes the Theory.

Feel free to post your thoughts below.

posted with vodpod

The Freedom of Mathematics

Inspired by a question Mr Phillips posed…

Yes it’s true. The Maths teachers do just hang around and chat about maths in their spare time. The other day Mr Phillips and I were chatting about the cross product. It isn’t some sort of angry multiplication; it’s a way of combing two vectors to form another. It’s dead useful in physics and computer animation, but the question is where does it come from?

We couldn’t answer the question. The bell rang and we had to finish the conversation. Our conclusion was: it’s just useful and that’s enough. But I’ve been thinking: being useful is not enough. I don’t think maths is cool because it’s useful. Spoons are useful but there aren’t many cool spoons. On the other hand Glastonbury is cool and maths is more like that. I guess my analogy needs some explanation.

Glastonbury is cool because when you’re there you are free to do whatever you like just as long as you’re not nasty to anyone and don’t ruin whatever someone else is doing. If you don’t like Dizzee Rascle, your free not to see him, just don’t pull the plug on the amps. It would make Dizzies fans go Bonkers.

Maths works just the same. You are free to invent whatever you like. Just as long as it doesn’t ruin what came before. Here are some things that spring to mind. Numbers are maths most basic ingredient. Peoples first introduction to maths is from counting stuff 1, 2, 3, etc. Nice and friendly and no problems. We can add, subtract, multiply and divide happily all day long. But the numbers we use to count aren’t the objects themselves they are just ideas so we are free to do what we want to them. So let’s add a number we can’t see: zero.

The only rule is that when we start using zero it doesn’t ruin the maths we could do with the other numbers. Just like playing Lego with your friends. You can add to the construction but don’t bash it up. In order not to mess up our fun with the normal numbers we just have to leave dividing by zero to Chuck Norris. That means no dividing by zero for us. But that’s cool, these numbers are just ideas so we can do whatever we feel (as long as it doesn’t interfere with our previous constructions).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are loads of examples of this extension of the number system. Like Jenga, add what you want. Just don’t topple the tower. Take negative numbers for example. If you stop and think about them on the surface they are pretty weird and don’t have much use in the real world. But, then how would you describe positive and negative charge? What about extending indices. The sequence 10^3, 10^2, 10^1 is fine. It’s just more exciting to continue 10^0, 10^-1 and see what comes next. Why not, we are free to imagine whatever we like.

What about x^2 = -1. Let’s imagine an answer to that. i can, and it’s OK just as long as it doesn’t interfere with what has come before. (It is interesting watching how each new thing combines to make something new and exciting – just like minecraft).

The same goes for the cross product. It’s there because maths gives use the freedom to imagine it. The brilliant thing is once we’ve come up with a new idea we can play with it. And use it to build a bunch of amazing new things on the edge of reality.

Awesome. Maths is cool because of its freedom not its utility.

Goodbye Y11 & Y13

It’s exciting but sad day when Y11 and Y13 leave school. To celebrate your time at the school I’ve come up with a couple of special maths jokes to take away the tears of leaving. Just remember to keep revising until the end. Revision really does work. Do a little bit of maths everyday until your exam and you will be a pro.

Y11 Joke

So nine numbers when out to hang around the bus stop the other day (just like the kind of thing you youngsters get up to). All the gang were there. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. But at the end of the evening when they were planning their revision session for the next day the group decided not to tell 5 where they were meeting up. It was because 5 was so mean.

Y13 Joke

NEVER BUY PIES FROM A MATHEMATICIAN. The other day I went to the ye olde maths bakery and I said “I’ll have two pies please.” And the mathe-baker gave me one Stake and Kidney pastry delight! So, then I said “You better only charge me for one pie.” Then he got out his knife and cut it in half and said “What ever you say boss!”

NEW REVISION RESOURCES FOR Y11!

Sorry. They are so good I just had to shout about them. Go to the Y11 revision page to check out the question bank (with solutions). This one bank where you’ll never get overdrawn and the interest rate is measured in exam success.

Keep Revising

I hated every minute of training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
Muhammad Ali

Maths in the City Competition

No that person isn’t walking along the road with dangerous weapons. That person is a mathematician on the hunt for all things mathematical in the world.

Can you see interesting mathematics where you live? Why not join the maths in the city competition to show off the maths you can see in the world around you. For more info click here.

Exam Results

Well Done! Another round of exams are over and I hope you managed to get the grades you wanted.

Now’s the time when the strong get stronger. Keep that momentum up and keep going for the next ones.

Good Luck with the GCSE Exams

I’m certain that all of your hard work will pay off. Just relax and use the exam as an opportunity to show off!

Check out what the Exam Doctor has to say:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10100363