Which of the core topics is the most difficult? - Opinions

[Guest]

Hey guys,

just wondering... which of the 6 Math HL core topics did you find the most difficult?

1) Algebra

2) Functions and equations

3) Circular Functions and Trigonometry

4) Vectors

5) Statistics and Probability

6) Calculus

I am aware of the fact that this differs from person to person.

Thanks

[yii yann]

Hi there,

I think the hardest topic for me was mensuration (trigonometry) - it was never immediately obvious as to how to go about doing the questions, especially the really tricky ones where you'd have to extend lines, "create" right angled triangles, etc. Most probably cause I never spent much time on this topic.

Integration could be a bitch at times too, but this becomes very easy after lots of practice

[ctrls]

For me personally it's vectors, mainly because it's geometry related (which I'm generally bad at) and it usually results in a lot of algebra, so I end up making silly mistakes here and there. There's also multiple ways you can approach a question, some being fairly straightforward and some requiring a lot work. As a result, it's easy to go down a 'wrong' route and spend tons of time solving a question in a roundabout way.

[rinik]

Examiner usually say that candidates have problems with:

complex numbers( these questions usually mix polynomials and trigonometry with complex numbers and are the last and hardest question on the paper in a lot of the past exams).

induction

proofs with vectors

any kind of proof

related rates( a limited number of candidates solve these questions)

solving harder equations( usually you have to use something that is provided in the previous part of the question or have to think about them a little)

finding the inverse of functions like f(x)=2(e^x)-1/(e^x). Basically the same thing as solving harder equations.

Sketching functions without a calculator(transformations, absolute value)

probability

There aren't very hard trigonometry questions. However sometimes you might find a question in section B that might give you some trouble in the last part.

I think that complex numbers and related rates would be the hardest thing I will see on the exams.

[Fiz]

I find that "the most difficult part of the syllabus" is dependent on you and your mathematical abilities. For example, i hate Geometry and sketching, thus i find Trigonometry and Algebra (the sketching part) the hardest parts in the syllabus.

Some find Calculus difficult, yet i find it very easy.

So It really depends on you. And remember, with practice everything can become easy.

Kindest Regards,

-Fiz

[Guest Marioti]

It really depends on the student like you said and what he or she is good at. For me personally the hardest topic was vectors.For

my class as a whole the one topic we all failed was calculus (not really failed but had the hardest time with)

[flinquinnster]

I hate trigonometry - I have pretty much no spatial reasoning, so any problems involving extended shape/graph manipulation visualisation were torture, even with a GDC. That meant that every time I saw a Section B question in P1 or P2 with a weird shape and unusual angles marked and then some algebraic and calculus manipulations, I would internally die.

Everything else was fairly manageable. I actually had some issues manipulating functions and inverses at times, and make really careless stupid mistakes in statistics + probability, but I didn't find the supposedly more sophisticated topics of calculus or complex numbers that more challenging.

But as already said, everyone has their own opinions and strengths. So I guess it's a case of each to their own.

[bluedino]

I absolutely hated functions. I always struggled to graph them.. The other difficult thing for me was complex numbers (which I also hated) So basically, bits of the core topics 1, 2 and 3.

I think everything else was generally ok

[Lero]

Row reduction of matrices in the old syllabus was always annoying, especially when you take the wrong first few steps and are stuck in a mess. Induction proofs often were tricky, the proof in my N12 exam in P1 gave me nightmares.

The fact that I still remember the question distinctly speaks volumes.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Hus

[yii yann]

Row reduction of matrices in the old syllabus was always annoying, especially when you take the wrong first few steps and are stuck in a mess. Induction proofs often were tricky, the proof in my N12 exam in P1 gave me nightmares.

The fact that I still remember the question distinctly speaks volumes.

I remember practising the induction question from that paper! It was written in a terrifying way, something alone the lines of "f o f o f o f o.." with the "o" representing the little circle that you use to say "this is a function of...".

It was shockingly easier than most other inductions I'd done though

[maroctam]

Row reduction of matrices in the old syllabus was always annoying, especially when you take the wrong first few steps and are stuck in a mess. Induction proofs often were tricky, the proof in my N12 exam in P1 gave me nightmares.

The fact that I still remember the question distinctly speaks volumes.

I remember practising the induction question from that paper! It was written in a terrifying way, something alone the lines of "f o f o f o f o.." with the "o" representing the little circle that you use to say "this is a function of...".

It was shockingly easier than most other inductions I'd done though

We got that exam paper as our mock... needless to say I was terrified when I first saw it but when I actually gave it a shot it was surprisingly easy (ish).

With regard to dvirchow's question - I find vectors very difficult as I generally dislike geometry; especially when it's in 3D so it's basically impossible to visualise what's happening.

[flinquinnster]

Row reduction of matrices in the old syllabus was always annoying, especially when you take the wrong first few steps and are stuck in a mess. Induction proofs often were tricky, the proof in my N12 exam in P1 gave me nightmares.

The fact that I still remember the question distinctly speaks volumes.

I remember practising the induction question from that paper! It was written in a terrifying way, something alone the lines of "f o f o f o f o.." with the "o" representing the little circle that you use to say "this is a function of...".

It was shockingly easier than most other inductions I'd done though

We got that exam paper as our mock... needless to say I was terrified when I first saw it but when I actually gave it a shot it was surprisingly easy (ish).

I actually love induction normally - I love the standard ones. You've just got to nail the format of the induction proof and then do some basic algebraic manipulation, which can actually be largely fudged if you know what you're aiming for. I sort of looked at that N12 P1 question when I was revising past papers and then gave up - not just the induction part, but also nearly everything else. Granted that I may be a bit lazy at times, but I sort of stared for about a minute and then read the mark scheme. Perhaps I should have persisted through. Oh well, I'll never have to do mathematical induction again every in my whole entire life!

[-._._.-]

Row reduction of matrices in the old syllabus was always annoying, especially when you take the wrong first few steps and are stuck in a mess. Induction proofs often were tricky, the proof in my N12 exam in P1 gave me nightmares.

The fact that I still remember the question distinctly speaks volumes.

I still don't know how to do row reduction now lol. I might have known it before but whatever it is, I don't know how to do it now.

Love induction. The concept is so neat.

But...

Firstly, I messed up the induction in my May 2013 paper and it's not that it's hard or anything. I just don't know what happened. Couldn't do it. Kinda frustrated because I know I can do it and because I like it so much that I want to be able to do it.

Secondly, I didn't do that question. Sounds bad though.

For me I had a fear for complex numbers. Like I would just skip the complex number questions. Towards the end I kinda got it but I was still slightly intimidated by it. I liked and didn't like functions. I don't really know how I feel. I think I didn't like the graph sketching, but then I liked it. But I didn't like it cause I didn't (and still don't) know my basic graphs. I didn't like those more difficult vector, velocity/acceleration/displacement, and some application stuff. Rate of change, etc.

But now that it's over, it doesn't feel like much. Those not so nice topics were overshadowed by the fact that I like Maths HL. That I do not regret taking it, that I'm proud that I did Maths HL, and that I enjoyed it.

[Mikhael]

I would say the most horrible disease in Maths HL is Mathematical Induction combined with Complex Numbers. That's Pain...It is also very demotivated if it says that the question is worth 12 points because then you know that there is a hell of a lot of calculations to do.

[Guest Skyrior]

Weird combinatorics questions.