Mathematics

Specification

Entry Requirements

Grade 6 or better in GCSE Maths

Course Content

Mathematics is a course worth studying not only as a supporting subject for the physical and social sciences, but in its own right. It is challenging but interesting. It builds on work you will have met at GCSE, but also involves new ideas produced by some of the greatest minds of the last millennium.

Mathematics is divided into the following branches:

Pure Mathematics

You will be extending your knowledge of algebra and trigonometry as well as learning some brand new ideas such as calculus. This is the study of the more abstract elements of Mathematics: it teaches the knowledge and skills that underpin the whole course.

Topic 1 – Proof

Topic 2 –Algebra and functions

Topic 3 – Coordinate geometry in the (x,y) plane

Topic 4 – Sequences and series

Topic 5 –Trigonometry

Topic 6 – Exponentials and logarithms

Topic 7– Differentiation

Topic 8 – Integration

Topic 9 –Vectors

Mechanics

Mechanics deals with the action of forces on objects. It is therefore concerned with many everyday situations, e.g. the motion of cars, the flight of a cricket ball through the air, the stresses in bridges and the motion of the earth around the sun. Such problems have to be simplified or modelled to make them capable of solution using relatively simple mathematics. Many of the ideas you will meet in the course form an almost essential introduction to such important modern fields of study such as cybernetics, robotics, bio-mechanics and sports science, as well as the more traditional areas of engineering and physics.

Statistics

When you study statistics you will learn how to analyse and summarise numerical data in order to arrive at conclusions about it. Many of the ideas in this part of the course have applications in a wide range of other fields, from assessing what your car insurance is going to cost to how likely it is that the Earth will be hit by a comet in the next few years. Many of the techniques are used in sciences and social sciences. Even if you are not going on to study or work in these fields, in today’s society we are bombarded with information (or data) and the statistics units will give you useful tools for looking at this information critically and efficiently.

Assessment

Three 2 hour written examinations taken at the end of Year 13

Progression Routes

Advanced GCE Mathematics is a much sought-after qualification for entry to a wide variety of full-time courses in higher education. There are also many areas of employment that see a Mathematics A Level as an important qualification and it is often a requirement for the vocational qualifications related to these areas.

Higher Education courses or careers that either require Advanced GCE Mathematics or are strongly related include:

Economics

Medicine

Architecture

Engineering

Accountancy

Geography (BSc)

Teaching

Psychology

Physics

Computing