Students in Sec 3 and 4 know just how difficult mathematics becomes at the upper secondary levels. Even students who found themselves doing alright at math in lower secondary often find themselves suddenly struggling to understand the new topics and challenging problems introduced in Sec 3 and 4.
If you want to get ensure you are in good running to excel in your O Level or graduating exams in your Year 4 IP exams, we cannot emphasise enough the importance of mastering these notoriously tricky topics! As it happens, these are also the topics we will be examining closely in our June holiday programme – if you have missed the sign-up window, do consider joining us for our regular classes as well!
Indices, Surds, Logarithm
Indices, surds, and logarithm are closely connected topics taught in upper secondary. Students need to be familiar about how to manipulate these numbers, which often include irrational numbers which are abstract and can be difficult to understand. Moreover, the calculator can only provide limited help in this topic, as many questions require students to show their workings clearly and provide answers in the index, surd, or logarithm form.
Mastering the topics of indices, surds, and logarithm involves getting plenty of practice so that the rules for manipulating these expressions become second nature to you. If you face trouble with this topic, make sure to communicate your struggles with your tutor so that they know how to help you, whether by explaining the concepts to you, providing level-appropriate practice questions, or identifying your recurring mistakes.
Trigonometry
Trigonometry is one of the giant topics in secondary school math. It starts off with understanding the relationship of the angles and sides of a triangle, but escalates into trigonometric identities, proofs, and differentiation of trigonometric functions.
For word problems and basic trigonometry problems, our tutors highly recommend the technique of visualising the problem. Draw out the triangle and label the angles and sides accordingly. This will simplify the problem and make solving it feel less intimidating!
For more abstract problems involving proofs, identities, and functions, it all comes down to practice. While you will need to memorise some of the trigonometric identities, one helpful trick is to understand how some of them are related, and you can derive them easily (and memorise less). For more trigonometry tips, make sure to check out our earlier blog post too.
Calculus
Most students encounter differentiation and integration for the first time in upper sec. Differentiation is mainly about rate of change, and integration is about accumulation and calculating the area under the curve. These concepts require a strong foundation in algebraic manipulation as well as an understanding of functions and graphs. Advanced differentiation may also involve surds, indices, logarithms, and trigonometry – which will be very challenging if one is not already confident in those topics.
Because calculus involves so many aspects and interlinks with prior topics, it is not easy to excel in this topic. There are also many different question types, so it requires a significant amount of time to practice. Our tutors know how overwhelming studying calculus can be, so we have broken it down into systematic subtopics and guided practices for you. Come to our Secondary Math Tuition classes or IP Math Tuition to find out more!
Overcoming challenging topics in Math
The above topics may be some of the most challenging in upper sec, but it doesn’t mean you need to struggle with them on your own! Our friendly and experienced Math tutors are here to share with you their advice on how to master these topics and more. Through carefully selected worksheets, topic summaries, and helpful study tips gained from their years of teaching experience, you will be able to understand these topics better and improve your math performance in school!
Simply get in touch with us to schedule your class, and look forward to a renewed confidence in math!