Mathematics (Further)

Assessment

There are three strands to our course. In pure mathematics, you answer many intriguing questions. How can you solve the equation x2 = -4? Why can’t you solve x2 + 5y2 = 10003 in whole numbers? How does the calculator ‘know’ the values for sine and cosine? In mechanics, you study motion and change: why do you fall backwards when the tube carriage lurches forward? How do you kick a football over the goalkeeper and into the net? Why can you predict solar eclipses next century but not the weather next Tuesday? Classical mechanics will be particularly fascinating if you are interested in physics and engineering. In statistics, you learn to make justifiable inferences despite the ineradicable presence of uncertainty. We are surrounded by data to an unprecedented degree, and the ability to accurately interpret data is increasingly important in natural and human sciences. You sit all papers, for both A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics at the end of Year 13. You take about six hours of examinations in total for both A levels.