In my tutoring, the topic of graph transformations is one that almost every Higher GCSE, IGCSE or A-level student wants to spend time on, so I thought I’d use it as the subject of a blog post. The only graph…
In the first year of the A-level Maths course you need to be able to carry out a hypothesis test to judge whether a binomial probability has (probably) changed. In the second year, hypothesis tests are required (1) to decide…
Directed numbers are something that a lot of people find confusing. I hope that this article will help you to get your head round them! What are directed numbers? “Directed numbers” means positive and negative numbers. “Positive” or “negative” describes…
Something a little different this month, since it’s the summer holidays. This year I’m running a stall at a couple of local carnival-type events to promote my theatre company (STAMPS)’s show and use some carnival games to fundraise while I’m…
The A-level Maths specification requires you to work with formulae for compound angles – sin (A ± B), cos (A ± B), tan (A ± B) – and use these to derive and use a range of double angle formulae,…
All the Casio Classwiz calculator models – both the original “X” and the new “CW” models – feature ratio mode, which didn’t exist on their predecessor the fx-83/85 GT Plus. Although it’s perfectly possible to get by without ever using…
In early 2023, Casio replaced the popular Classwiz fx-83/85GT X and fx-991EX calculator models with the Classwiz fx-83/85GT CW and the fx-991CW. The change is a lot less trivial than you might think! A short (recent) history of Casio scientific…
In the first year of A-level Maths, all the vectors you deal with are given to you in component form, i.e. as two perpendicular components, e.g. $\begin{pmatrix}2\\-3\end{pmatrix}$ or 2i – 3j. In the second year, however, you’re more likely to…
For Foundation GCSE you just need to know what equations and graph shapes represent direct and inverse proportion, and work with equations given to you. That’s all covered in a previous article which you can find here. For Higher you…
For Foundation GCSE you need to know what equations and graph shapes represent direct and inverse proportion, and work with equations given to you, but you don’t have to actually derive the equations, as you do at Higher. You also…
The GCSE Maths topic of systematic listing strategies is all about working out how many possible outcomes there are – i.e. how many ways there are for something to happen – for example when finding probabilities. Sometimes the simplest way…
This article, on equilibrium and resultant forces, follows on from my recent post on Forces and Newton’s Laws of Motion, and covers part of the Mechanics content of the first year of A-level Maths – though I’m sure that a…
This is a different kind of post from my usual, but it still involves numbers, and in a real-life context too: that of budgeting a musical theatre show and deciding how to set the cost of theatre tickets. As well…
Rate of flow is a topic that’s sometimes omitted in GCSE Maths text books, or perhaps included in the form of just a question or two in the section on compound measures. It’s only needed for the Higher Tier so…
This is part 3 of a series covering the mathematical notation you need for A-level Maths. Click the links below for the previous parts:Part 1: set notation and miscellaneous symbolsPart 2: other Pure Maths notation This final instalment covers vectors…
