The Sydenham Maths Department Blog

I still think our yr13 decisions page with a billion comments is the best!
Of course maths is the best, hence why we all spend our spare time on a maths blog!

Sorry I’ve not been blogging very much tonight, have just returned from hockey practise! I’m shattered!!

Oh yeah, I have copious amounts of free time, around my 4 A levels, GCSE, piano lessons, choir rehersals (which seem to multiply exponentially), D of E stuff (talking of which I need to sort a residential project)… More work is of course, always apprichiated!

Alright alright, Mr Brewin can’t spell either! It’s been a long day…
To be honest I do struggle with fitting everything in! Requires many long and stressful evenings………………..blogging on maths websites!!

Hope your multi-tasking is up to scratch then

ooo tea, thats a good idea! Mel, check your emails woman!

Just made myself a hot sweet cuppa. A REAL cup of tea, with milk

Err I think this is what the A level place is supposed to be lol
Better ask Mr B to set you up a chat room

Why would you want to clean your room at this time of night? Sorry – I really don’t understand the youth of today

Mrs Tibble, if you could see the state of my room you would be horrified. I keep turning around in my chair wondering where on earth my bed has got to

How do I get rid of a headache? I’ve drunk loads of water and have taken neurofen

Oh sorry my mathmatical interlude is:

headache + messy room = emma’s kerfuffle

solve

Emma, I doubt I would be horrified – I have 2 sons remember. I once sent the younger one a birthday card which congratulated him for keeping his ceiling tidy

Re the headache – have you tried sleep?

Try getting a full nights sleep Emma!! Apart from that, make sure you aren’t hungry? (Hey, it gives me a headache!)

That is such a cool fact, I’m actually gonna use it everywhere! And despite everything being maths, I can’t think of anything to say. There’s not very much life to comment on at the moment…

Lol! My ceiling is rather on the tidy side actually, maybe my room isn’t so bad after all!

Sleep…I hardly remember what that is! But for the moment I must remain awake (to admire my tidy ceiling if nothing else) so do you have any handy hints?

Mel, maths and physics are inseparable

Emma, go and get ready for bed – that will wake you up! Then do tomorrow’s HW – but not after midnight – then fall into bed!

I’ve done 5 hours of exercise today, I couldn’t do anymore, it’d kill me! I don’t have a flannal towel thing Emails Mel!

Oh, teeth brushing sounds like fun, it could be like co-ordinated! And Em, I replied to the one that started ‘Do you really think…’, and I haven’t got any more!

4th person, don’t be shy! Come and join us, it’s great fun!

My teeth are now mc-cleeean!
Mel……….are yours?
I have no reply to that one *sniff sniff*

They are indeed… I am finished with the bathroom and one step closer to going to bed… But before then I need to make it, which is so much effort… I hate trying to get duvets into duvet covers
I shall forward the reply to you again!

I don’t think I can do any more work tonight. I’ve got some rather angry workmen hammering away in my head so I think I’m going to collapse into bed and get up early instead. Good night my fellow maths bloggers, see you tomorrow

Good luck with the duvet cover!
I need to empty the washing machine

Just realised what it is we need – not a chat room but a cafe

LOL!

Poor Nicky is trying to transform her functions on the Year 11 thread. Why don’t one of you lot try and help her?

Why not? It would be good practice for you to explain a topic that you’re doing at the moment as well. Test your understanding. Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on you; we won’t let you lead her astray

I’m here now! And very glad to have missed the chance of explaining things…
Emma, is there supposed to be a picture there, coz I can’t see one!?

Oh, I see it now! I thought we agreed on Ms Piggy?! But Kermit is more wonderful, so you are forgiven… You know, thinking of Muppets, I remember a film called Muppets Christmas Carol (I used to watch it all year round…) was there a series? Treasure Island is also ringing a bell?!

Emma, I feel that we may be about to have a fantastic christmas!
Are you having a good evening? I’ve been shopping, been to the gym (yes me!) and had a long argument with my brother about whether a gas would have zero volume at absolute zero. What a fun way to spend your evening… And now I’m settling down with a cuppa and some homework… Hmm…

Oh yeah, when do you leave?! I’m gonna miss your wonderful presence in maths and physics! What shall I do?!
And at least you’ll have Tabitha and Anna with you, it could be worse! (Do you know how glad I am that I didn’t go for head girl, I would have hated it!)

Oh coffee coffee, we’re still looking at next friday!? And are you in on monday, coz I owe you all that money, and I’ll be tempted to spend it if I don’t give it you soon

Alrighty, I’ll bring your money tomorrow. And shalln’t mention it any more, even in passing, but that does look like you are swearing… It took me a moment… lol. Ok, back to maths…

OH! I’m looking forward to it a lot! What colour, just because I’m gonna be thinking about ‘em till I see you next! And we can round up the money I owe you (I’ll spend the change on chocolate or something equally bad!) and we’ll all be even and happy!

Just a quick interjection- Core maths, Ex5A,B and C were due last week (I’ve done A and B now!), and D was class work (I’ve done that too!), and Most of F was this week’s work… Now, is E to be missed out?

E as well?! I suppose it’s not toooo long… Hmm… I seem to spend most of my life doing (or at least talking about!) maths homework! Do we think she’ll come back on tonight!? And you no Em, we could just talk on msn or whatever… this is totally unnecessary (is that spelt right, I have a one cup two sugars rule in my head… But that’s quite alot of ns as well?) but rather fun!

Black, is the new black… Altho I’m hoping to get my hair cut again soon, and then I wont be able to tie it back (and Fiona and I will look even more simular!) and I’ll have no use for your hairbands… But, I will treasure them anyway! Go ASDA (which we were learning about today in sociology because it’s part of Walmart, which has a larger income than 180 of the world’s countries. Mind boggling!)

Really?! I hardly use mine… Somehow, keeping up a conversation is… hard, and rather pointless… There are reasons I don’t talk to some people (!), and those who I do want to talk to, I’m not gonna wait till they’re online… However, msn and I were inseperable in yr9 (well past the unhealthy obsession stage!) Tis most useful for prodding people to reply to your email/finding out about homework etc. But poor Em… You do have an apple tho, so… I can’t feel that sorry for you!

They actually are sooo pretty! Can you get word for them, if you really want it?
MSN can be unhealthy, and I certainally wouldn’t get one now if I didn’t already have one. Facebook is where it’s at!

Milk, no sugar please.
Anyone got biscuits?

Ah, chocolate digestives! (plain of course!) mouthwateringly good! Unfortunately there seems to be a lack of tea bags in my house at the mo, so my tea is getting progressively weaker… Digestives (no chocolate, tis good for the soul!) are making that easier to bear however…

Muppet (how fun!) I’m still on question 5 of ExC, I haven’t got onto any homework that wasn’t due like last week… Ahhh! This blog is doing bad things to me!

Yes! Decision lessons should be tea sessions! But dragging tea up from common room to Maths corridor is really far! So it’ll have to be you Ms Tibble… Oh, we could have a tea pot of tea, and our own mugs and everything!!

You know a quick google search reveals a rather large number of mathematical mugs… Some might call it scary, I call it fun!

Sounds interesting. Which ones are best?

Did you know that Euler (ask Mr W) said that a mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems.
I think in our case it’s tea!

There’s a kettle in the office – I bought it in Tesco for a fiver!

Dunno – have to ask the boss!

Did you speak to Mr Tanner or Miss Pakey about them?

Are there any empty/unlocked lockers that they could have been thrown into?
Who was clearing up the common room in registration time on Friday? Have you asked the other 6th form tutors?

There’s no point in worrying tonight cos you can’t do anything. Visit the Year 12s in registration time tomorrow morning. One of them must remember seeing your stuff.
Send your Dad out for teabags and have a cuppa

Oh, just dropping in to say nothing maths related at all… Hmm… Wouldn’t mind a cup of tea though… Can’t belive that tea is against health and safety (Go on Mr Williams, relent!)- possibly the addiction is starting to be quiet bad though, so perhaps it is a good thing… Glad your books have turned up Em, thats the last time anyone tries tidying up the common room!

Well, I’ve made my contribution (that reminds me, harvest on friday is it not?) so I’ll be off to bed… See you both…

i want a picture!!! y does emma get a picutre and i don’t?

Fiona, the answer is simple. She’s a muppet. And you’re not

Just build up one diagram like the example we did in class.

You’re welcome

Are my eyes deceiving me or has Mr Riedel grown bigger than Mr Brewin?

…or just each time any of us post Mrs Tibble should get bigger. We’d just be off the page

Hmm… Not looking forward to tomorrow: Emma (if you read this, you are most likely to!) can you make sure someone takes notes that I can borrow to copy up please

And yes, thank you very much for the tea it was wonderful… And I think it’s about time I brought biscuits in for our a decision lesson, so as long as I’m in on Thursday, biscuits are on me!

As long as complete doesn’t imply we like eating each other, and that the biscuits are happy eating themselves (I don’t have those definitions at my finger tips!), I don’t think we’re very fussy about biscuits, after all they are biscuits!!

Oh, but wait, some of my brother’s favourite biscuits are rich tea, while I think they are perfectally acceptable but I prefer the roughness of a digestive any day… I think we may need to do some research!!

Oh yeah… I don’t know… some points on a page which have some lines going around!
Got biscuits though, so I hope to redeem myself! Wait, I’m gonna go on to the other page and actually ask some maths questions, so I’ll see you in a minute…

Mrs Tibble! I hope your exam went really well… This time last year I wouldn’t have understood why anyone wanted to do stats for fun, but actually it turned out alright, so perhaps I can be more sympathetic…
Anyway on the other hand, I don’t have the decision test that you were leaving for us because I wasn’t in… Fiona said she’d scan it in for me (yes dedication!) but can’t get hold of her, and I think she must be away now… So I’m a bit stuck, unless someone else can volenteer…

And more generally there wasn’t any work to do additionally was there (or for core if anyone- Emma!- is reading this?)?

Happy half term everyone!

Hi Mel,

The exam went well, thanks. Results in December!!! If we took that long in school, we’d probably get the sack!
Just checked my bag and I don’t have the test at home. Think Fiona is in America. Might go over to school one day to collect the marking from Friday’s cover lessons so I’ll get it then if you’ve had no luck.
Enjoy half term – hope you feel a lot better.

JT

howdy

i am indeed in America now, sorry i didn’t scan it b4 i left i just had like no time at all

but mrs tibble dedication, or dedication, on the maths blog in a WHOLE different country oh yeah!!!

good holidays

Um, yeah, I suppose it would be good Mrs Tibble, but not if it’s trouble. Driving was so cool! All the way round the block and I didn’t kill anyone! But trying to fit them in term time is not easy: they only seem to have day time spaces… We shall think about it.

On the other hand, I’ve been and visited both Surrey and Oxford universities, and I’m really itching to go now! You wouldn’t happen to have any physics information would you Mrs Tibble? And does anyone have any advice on doing combined stuff (I still think straight physics would be a bit… draining?)

Lojana, sorry I have only just seen your post.

If you have lost your C3 you need to get onto Amazon and buy a new one!!

In the meantime:
Ex 6C Q3 and Q4:

Q3 Using the definitions of sec, cosec, cot and tan, simplify the following expressions:
a) sinxcosx
b) tanxcotx
c) tan2xcosec2x
d) cosxsinx(cotx+tanx)
e) sincubedxcosecx +coscubedxsecx
f) secA – secAsinsquaredA
g) secsquaredxcos^5(x) + cotxcosecxsin^4(x)

Q4.
Show that
a) cosx + sinxtanx = secx (these should have identity signs not = signs)
b) cotx + tan x = cosecxsecx
c) cosecx – sinx = cosxcotx
d)(1-cosx)(1+secx)=sinxtanx
cosx/(1-sinx) + (1-sinx)/cosx =2secx
f)cosx/(1+cotx)=sinx/(1+tanx)

I’ve got a more specific mathematical question (well sort of, it actually came back to me while reading my physics book, but it’s applicable, I’ve wondered it while doing maths as well!). Ok.

So say you were to rearrange the equation: P=I^2xR sp that I was the subject. Easy to get to I^2=P/R. Now I would look at that and say either we could square root both sides or we could divide both sides by I.
Would they give you the same answer? I feel like the answer should be yes otherwise it seems to be a crazy exception to the rule, but examples always seem to square root, and so… I was just checking I guess. Does the question make sense?

Oy, Tea Lady – or anyone else, you got a C1 at home?

Talia needs help on Qu 2 of Ex 4G…

Ta

Right… I understand now, I’ve always wondered… It makes sense… *sigh* the simple things are sometimes so hard to see!

Ah, C1, unfortunately I gave my book back after the summer… What a shame…

I did see the puzzle and I was amazed by it (tried several sets of numbers!) and I thought about spending my time thinking about it, but then I thought I actually had work to be doing… So I asked my brother, so that I would know, not to cheat of course! and he just said it was easy. Sometimes that boy… is frustraiting to live with!
I might sit down and ponder it sometime, if I feel that my life might be improved by knowing the answer… If not I shall be content to wait until a decision lesson!

Yeah, having a great holiday – if only Tea Lady would stop hassling me about Scrabble!

Did the software work? Hope so!

And thanks Tibs… well worth a Jammy Dodger and a Darjeeling!

has rowley not made friends at his new school??

and mrs tibble u will be pleased to no the biscits are on their way…..so long as they don’t get mushed in the plane

opening pages???

i’m not on a plane, they hate me, so there is no plane but it will keep my quite in delays thank you:)

and no u don’t have to give up old friends but u do need to make new ones

Fiona – how did you get to/from America if you don’t do planes? I know you’re a good swimmer but……………………………………
Did you get your route off Google maps? Silly girl!!

Emma – we could have a charity event: £1 entrance to watch Mr B eat 998 jammy dodgers

Mr B – that’s a serious accusation you’re making there about Dr R!

I could eat double that at the mo’ – SO hungry.

And don’t know what ‘hood you’re in Kitley, but there’s only one champion around these parts… and that’s Dr Rowley’s anagram programme /-)

And I can’t even spell… This is what not being at school does to me!

lol i liked that mel, and they aren’t THAT bad, tho we didn’t finish a box of them between like….12 of us there mind our maths class lol

mr brewin, mr williams, wanna come join us 4 biscets (sp??) on friday?

But em…there are like a million of htem, we won’t eat them…and then it will be wasted….

and waste not want not …. maybe lol

lol i feel i may have 4gotten…guess what!! i’m doing maths!!!! also have u noticed it’s not the like Alevel thread it’s the year 13 one?? no year 12’s have posted…like ever lol

lol, i love monoply, fancy a game 4 chairty?? tho i kinda get fixated on getting the places i like to go to…

and i’m doing some random c1 paper i have some where….makes me feel less guilty then doing nothing

Scrabble not challenging enough then Emma

Ok… Here it goes (bear in mind I haven’t done it yet and I can’t find a calulator so I may be going down the wrong track!)

I would start with the left as it seems more complicated… Using what we’ve done in class turn the cos(x+y) into cosxcosy-sinxsiny. I would then say that cos pie/3 and sin pie/3 are constants (=sin60?! Need a calculator… in which case that would be a half?!)
And try from there on? It’s near on impossible without a calculator (+ knowing what I’m doing!) I hope that sets you on the right track!

cos pi/3 = 1/2

sin pi/3 = root3 /2

don’t need a calculator.

Didn’t have time – perhaps I can do it later?

MW

Well I needed a calculator, as I didn’t know! I knew there was something to do with a half involved!

We’re looking forward to the revelation on the question in our next core lesson… But we have a decision lesson next! (Doesn’t it feel like absolutely AGES since we’ve had one!)

Decision is great, and those biscuits are really, really good, but so sickening!
And you should be proud: today when we had to work out sin60 and cos60 and stuff I drew out my little triangle and worked it out! (The fact that it’s something we should know is irrelevant, because the point is I totally understand it and could so work it out any time I wanted to know! How exciting is that!)

Have a nice weekend (I have a feeling there might be help needed with the core homework, when I get round to doing it, but until then…!)

I’ve got a question on the homework already!

Ok, so if you are using rules like sin(A+B)= sinAcosB+ sinBcosA, if the question then askes you to calculate cosec(A+B) do you just put your answer to sin(A+B) upside down, or do you rewrite the whole question using 1/sin and 1/cos each time? They don’t give me the same answer and I can’t quite work out which I should use (I actually think probably the latter as the former would be too easy) as either way I get crazy answers.

You know, this is actually what I hate about the text book: They write out really detailed instructions for the first few really easy ones, and then they make hard ones with no explanation or clues or anything. *sigh* But trig is still exciting: lying in bed at half ten this morning and realising that cos(pi/3)=sin(pi/6) (don’t tell me it isn’t because I spent AGES on the question!) was amazing. Really. I could do it every day and feel fulfilled

One over the whole thing? So take the ENTIRE answer and stick one on top? To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m doing.
Here’s an example:
Prove that cot(A+B)=(cotAcotB-1)/(cotA+cotB)
Ok, so I know that tan(A+B)= (tanA+tanB)/(1-tanAtanB).
So my choices here were write the whole thing with a 1 on top so we end up with (1-tanAtanB)/(tanA+tanB) right, which isn’t want I want…
So I tried writing it like ((1/tanA)+(1/tanB))/(1-(1/tanAtanB)) and then simplifying it all down (but not getting anywhere near the answer still!)
Wait, I suppose what I’ve written the second time is that (cotA+cotB)/(1-cotAcotB) is the same as using tan all the time, which isn’t true is it…

I don’t know!

Now I’m starting to feel stupid… So I was working with (1-tanAtanB)/(tanA+tanB) which I simplified down to cotAcotB-tanAtanBxcotA+cotB…

Ok, so how does the 1-tanAtanB become cotAcotB-1?

Maybe I’ll just give up on this question… And all the other ones…

Well… sort of. I understand (one of the things!)I was doing wrong. So I’ll do less flipping… But I don’t really understand what to do now… so the problem I think, is that the equation I know has tan in it, and the whole question I have is using cots.
So, is the basic equation for ‘multiplying out’ the brackets for cot: cot(A+B)= Umm… actually I don’t know. I would say that cot(A+B)= (1-tanAtanB)/(tanA+tanB) is that right?
but how would it be written using cots on both sides?

>>>I would say that cot(A+B)= (1-tanAtanB)/(tanA+tanB) is that right?

Yes

There isn’t a standard formula for cot in terms of cots but this question is asking you to work it out!! Because cot is 1/tan, you get cots by dividing by tans: you need tan in the denominator to get a cot.

Take the equation you have above here and rewrite every term over tanAtanB. Cancel common factors and you will be left with what you were asked to show.

Em it is REALLY hard, i’ve got like half way through 3 and am like….GAH but i’m sure it will make sense later!

It’s not a lot of help when you don’t say what you are stuck with!! I don’t do telepathy!

That’s rather strange – I posted and it didn’t come up.

Fiona – let me know the question details and I’ll do what I can. Otherwise definitely come to see me tomorrow.

Now if you don’t want any help I’m off to cook my tea, watch my recording of spooks and then top gear.

i’m sorry!! i no you don’t do telepathy but i’m sort of confused with the whole of QU 3, Ex7C on C3 and typing all of that would be way to hard

sorry

(a) get sin2x in terms of single x’s, then collect everything on one side and factorise.

Just looking down the questions, the principle seems to be the same for all of them. Get rid of whichever angle is the double angle so that your variable is the single/half angle. You may need to use some trig identities as well.

Good luck!

Oh good, glad I’m not the only one having trouble!! – although in general I have to say this homework is going better than the last (and I’m working doubley hard at writing out the right formula!)

I think I’ll work on it all for a bit longer and just leave out the questions I don’t understand and then shall see what I can do in the morning with the help of real people… But while I’m here can I just check: 2cot2x=2/tan2x right? How would 1/2tan2x be written in terms of cot then?

Think of it as 0.5 / tan2x = 0.5 cot2x

Mrs Tibble would you like to set up a scrabble game?

MW

All trig functions are + in 2 quadrants and – in the other 2, so for every + sin/cos/tan there are 2 answers.

If there is a number with the x eg your 2x above then you have to cycle that many times to get all the solutions.

Even at that time in the morning lol!!

Please don’t worry about mistakes. Everyone makes them, it really is part of learning – sorry if that does sound a little trite.

Don’t know about the network thing.

See you tomorrow.

MW

That was, like, the bling one , who, like, drinks girly tea

That’s right Emma. Why have you gone pink at the side?

mr wills, ur lesson plan sounds awesome

I think you use the paintpot Fiona.

Tomorrow is fine! Lesson isn’t till Friday lol. Won’t get marked tonight anyway.

Ex7F. Woo.
How far has anyone got with it with their 2 hours? (I haven’t really got anywhere yet…) Have fun Em…

Yep. Well I could have dreamt this all but that’s what I’m doing… It’s a long exercise (and hard I think!)

I was until I started maths homework

Could it be that Mr W said do 2 hours’ work not do all the exercise?!! I think I would find it pretty difficult to do all parts of those 20 questions in 2 hours lol!

You’ll get quicker with practice

err…………. isn’t 2pi/8 = to pi/4?

it’s a quadratic in tan x

and it should be pi/8 not 2pi/8

got to go now. Good luck.

Mrs Tibble,

Thank you for your offer of help with my A level revision over the xmas period.
I hope that it won’t be needed, but it is nice to have the safety net if required.

Have a merry Xmas and a happy new year.

Mr Atkins

Emma – I dare you lol!!

Em, you’re not cool! But we love you all the same!

Mr Williams, Mrs Tibble: maths homework for these holidays was just revision for retakes so there was nothing formal right? I’ll just ‘consolidate knowledge’ or something like that

Same with D1 Mel. Internal test in lesson time.
JT

And to you

Are you going to sign in on Christmas day too?!!

em, sometimes i worry about you

Don’t know. Give up!! Why have so many people said that to you Emma?

Yes.

thank you

em i just looked again at the revision book thing and it tells me i don’t need to no it if ur doing our exam board

xxxxx

and does anyone remember the link to mr reidels maths website?

Sorry… only just checked in- I’ve been having a few delicious days free of maths!

I don’t mean it really… it’s been a real struggle to keep out of my maths and focused on stuff I actually need to revise right now…

Fi, I didn’t recognise the formula… And given it’s to do with electricity I don’t need to! But be grateful you have a text book- I’ve only got a purple book and the sheer size of it looks overwhelming… Hmm…

Yeah, well happy christmas everyone, let’s see who can resist temptation to come online…

What don’t you understand about resolving forces, Fiona?

If you are moving through the angle you know, it’s cos
If you are moving away from the angle you know, it’s sin.

Learn “COS through, SIN away”" to remember.
Does that make sense without a diagram?

If you aren’t sure, draw the right-angled triangle and use trig to work it out from first principles.

so if ur make believe line goes through the given angle it’s cos and if not sin??

ooooooooo………errrrrr!!

Chill out Fiona! Have a cuppa
Did you understand what I said earlier?

Em, have you gone in through here? Games tab at top, then Rush Hour link.
It has just worked OK for me. You aren’t trying to slide the cars sideways are you ????

I’ve restored the Year 12 Revision page on my site with links to some C1, C2 and M1 mark schemes.

If there are others you need, let me know and I’ll upload them.

(Incidentally, one or two of them may give you a warning about corrupt files. This came with the files I downloaded from Edexcel. I’ve not been able to spot what the problem is.)

On the subject of Rush Hour it is really only tested to work in Internet Explorer; if you are using another browser it may not move as it should!

Mr R

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE )

Have a lovely day.

What’s the book, Mel? Oh and happy Christmas to you

Hi Emma,
It’s because dividimg both sides by a negative number reverses the inequality. Better method:

Take the 2x term over to the other side:

10 + 2x > 0

Divide by 2:
5 + x > 0

therefore x > -5

Yes thanks. Walked along the beach in sunshine yesterday morning

North Wales

I am!! My sister has a long list of jobs for me: sort out my nephew’s bad physics grade(!) sew up her knitting!! and mend my niece’s torn school sweat shirt!!!
Come on here for a rest

Emma,

Are you told anything about the nature of the roots?

Mr R

lol, it has equal roots if that helps anything

Mel, I think you might enjoy the book i’m reading at the moment: Music of the Primes by Marcus de Sautoy – probably easier reading than Feynmann!!

perfect square is that whole square thingy em u no what it means, it’s when the brackets are like (x+3)^2 perfect square thingy

the revision isn ‘t going full stop, i keep getting distracted by EVERYTHING and knitting is evil as are books lol.

urgh em i don’t want to grow up but i have an interview at both the strathclyde uni’s and 4 2nd year entry not 1st so i’m freaking out about getting even higher grades lol

lol but it toook soooo long then i ran out of grey wool so the grey stripes are really short…and the others are long…and it hurt my finger and my cat kept stealing the wool.

but other than that it was great fun

School will be open. You have to ask for the Centenary Building to be opened if it is locked but caretaking staff will be in.

Mr R

Again nothing to do with maths…but does anyone have any idea where i can get a January 2006 physics mark scheme??? i printed out the papers not realising there wasn’t a mark sceme which is annoying

could i go up to school now? is it open?? lol

it’s sooo annoying i didn’t check which ones had a them, i assumed they all did…started….got a weird answer i wanted to check but i can’

if i thought it was open and i could get one i would go now…but i dont’ want to be shouted at lol

School is definitely open – but you could phone first to see if there’s anyone in who could help you. 8768 8000

phoning

Everyone is in on Monday Fiona. Can you wait that long?
Is there a particular question you are stuck on or do you just generally want the answers?

ok have my number??? txt me when ur by the school and i’ll come join u

I meant to say, I have the Jan 06 F&M since that seemed to be what you we’re after, I have a lot of others as well if you want to ask for anything specifically

Me still! Sorry I haven’t been around lately… I’ve been reading my Feynman book- I’ve really enjoyed it, even though it was tough in places, but I’m on the last chapter… I was going to look for the Prime Numbers book in the school library… I haven’t been in there for a while, so I’m not really sure what’s there…

I’ll check in the library, although I’m so behind in both fun reading and prescribed books that I really should be focused on that… I’ll call it maths revision though

Oh HaHa, power to the women!
Although if I’m honest probably as a year 7 I would be looking for more of a link to the question and so might have missed it myself!
And I think I still prefer the one where the men are arguing about the general public knowing maths and ends with the ‘plus a constant’. Maths jokes are growing on me!

That is quite good! I actually literally did laugh out loud. lol.

Jesus and his disciples were walking around one day, when Jesus said, “The kingdom of Heaven is like 3x squared plus 8x minus 9.” The disciples
looked very puzzled, and finally asked Peter, “What on earth does Jesus mean – the Kingdom of Heaven is like 3x squared plus 8x minus 9? Peter said, “Don’t worry. It’s just another one of his parabolas.”

I was a bit lost with the cabin one… you can explain it in our next decision lesson! But the other two are good… I’m off to bed tho, night!

Oh, I understand the cabin joke now! It requires you to say it out loud… lol. I think that’s my new favourite!

And an off the topic question: why are past papers and mark schemes and things all password protected? Surely it wouldn’t hurt if one person put them up and then every student in the whole world could benefit from them…?

Emma, when you square 2p you get 4p^2!!!

You could also do this question by comparing coefficients:

If the roots are equal, the brackets are the same.
(x+a)^2 = x^2 + 2ax + a^2

Comparing the 2 equations:
a=p
a^2 (=p^2 from above) = 3p+4

and the rest follows

lol emma!!! revise maths!!! revise!!! i command you!!!

em, i can’t do it *cries*

Don’t cry! Maths will go wonderfully! You know I am the commander of all things and I command it to go well… Basically I’m just here wishing you all loads of luck and giving you big hugs, because atm I doubt I’ll be in tomorrow (having just slept for 5 hours and felt worse…)
Do fantastically, just for me! And I shall be in bed taking all your sickness away from you. Aren’t I good?!

Fiona, you’ll be fine – stop panicking!! (Is that how you spell it?)

Good word Emma – must be a good sign.

13 people online WOW!!

I’ll be fine… I feel like I’ve got the normal winter coldy/flu thing. *sigh* You know up until this year I could count the number of days I’d had off on my fingers but this year I’ve been really ill… It’s actually really boring!

Only 10 online now…

Change side, change sign with the 2.

y + 1 = 1/2(x – 3) is correct.

Multiply LHS by 2 to get rid of the half.

2y + 2 = x – 3

x – 2y – 3 – 2 = 0

x – 2y – 5 = 0

Sounds like it’s time for a cuppa then!! Don’t do any more papers tonight – it will be counter-productive.

JT

Glad it went OK. When is M1?

Take care Mel. Don’t come back too soon.

Actually ignore that i found them online

It’s a good job you asked that – I hadn’t even realised there was a lesson tomorrow!!!! Cos it’s whole school on exams, I forgot you lot were coming in. Will everyone be there because the next lesson is important for critical path analysis.

Mel will be in cos her sociology(sp) isn’t until a wendnesday…i don’t know which one tho.

I have no idea about india or lojana and have no way of contacting either of them…sorry

lol!!

Don’t we always have fun at school??

Would you like Geoffrey laminated?

The walls? As in putting up work on the walls in the classroom? Or the walls you painted in your office lol? :-/

Yes of course we have fun at school… it’s just that I was glad of the lie in this morning

Yes please, preserved forever between two sheets of plastic

Hmm how did Mr Atkins get hold of the biscuit barrell?!

sinC = 1/1.58

C = sin^-1 1/1.58

and again i no this isn’t maths, but i’m getting 0.68 as a critical angle :S

(btw if physics had one of these i wouldn’t ask u my physics questions online)

haha, i so didn’t notice it was in radians

that makes so much sense

thank you

I’m really stuck on binomial expansions, I know this is probably so stupid but no matter what I try I don’t get anywhere near the answers in the back of the book… I don’t seem to have mastered even just the basic principle of it…

For instance,

(4 + 2x) ^ (1/2)

= 2 (1 + x/2) ^ (1/2)

= 2 [1 + x/2 – 0.25 (x^2/16) + 0.375 (x^3/64)

But I’ve done something really wrong I know because the answer in the back of the book just gives

= 2 + x/2 – x^2/16 + x^3/64

I know thats what I thought, but I’ve been writing it out over and over and I still must be making exactly the same mistake I’m so confused!

Thank you so much! What was I doing wrong?! You make it look so simple!… though I suppose that is why you are a maths teacher! Thank you

Yeah I think that didn’t help at all because I just started confusing myself :-/

Why is the bracket there Emma?

Work that out and you’ll have answered the question.

JT

Mrs T! Sorry for missing the lesson today. And sorry for not having been on the blog for ages… I suppose it’s good as it means I didn’t have problems with maths homework (for once!)
What should I do to catch up?
Would you like my maths paper on your shelf tomorrow?

Oh and I’m about half way through music of the primes. I’m really enjoying it- especially the bits about mathematicians… I have to say trying to imagine the Zeta function in 4D was a bit beyond me. There you go. How’s Feynman going?

hello just wondering if mr burford is still doing that maths thing in school tomorrow because we havent got any letters home….and if so is any body going to go?

Sorry for the delay Fiona – Year 8 parents’ evening.

Questions 1 and 2 in 6F

-1/2 cos 2x + C

(check it by differentiating it)

2e) sec^4 = sec^2 x sec^2

differentiate u to deal with one and square u to deal with the other.

wow everyone has pretty patterns by their name!

Hiya, I found this really useful website with complete banks of all past papers that I thought generally everyone would find useful
Em

http://mathspapers.co.uk/edexcel.html

Emma, please look at the link in the post called Edexcel resources for year 13!

Deja vu?

MW

Allo allo

I don’t suppose there is any way I could get hold of the C2 June 07 mark scheme? That website has accidentally put the C3 one up

Merci buckets
Em

Emma,

See the new post just added.

Incidentally, if you need anything else for C2, the password-protected post for my Year 12 group has all the available papers and mark schemes. I don’t want to give the password here; are you in touch with Frankie, Claire, Marianna, Amber or Maeve? They could give it to you.

Mr Riedel

Cool, thank you

Why do you need to? What’s the question?

Phew – that’s a relief!!!

mrs tibble i’m doing the C4 practice paper 3 and i’ve done the first part of qu 3 with no problems which was find the assecing powers of x up to an dincluding x^3 of (1+3x)^-2 , and the next part is to find the first three terms of x+4 / (1+ 3x)^2.

do i have to expand the top one using binomial expansion then multiply it by the answers i got for the bottom part or do i sub what i got for the bottom part as the x value in the top part??

ah danka i thought it would be something quite obvious but i just couldn’t click what

claire quicksort the first list first