A question about Scaling and the value of 4U maths. (1 Viewer)

[Promise]

Hey guys, this is my first post, so don't bite overly hard.
Anyway, I picked up 4 unit maths for year 12, and so far it's quite alright (difficult, but achievable with the right amount of time). I read another thread saying my mark should be approximately 70% in 3U to do 4U well (and I'm currently averaging almost exactly that). From what I understand, a person who does 4U math in their HSC does not sit the 2U test. However, I'm not really too informed when it comes to scaling/how the hsc marking works in general, and in light of the fact I get almost if not 100% for my 2u stuff, is picking up 4 unit maths and therefore not sitting the 2u paper (where I think I can get high 90's) a waste? It seems remiss of me to not do a subject that I can almost entirely ace, but is doing 4U so much more worth it that it outweighs a potential ace in 2 unit?

Sorry if that was totally incomprehensible

~ Promise

 

[Sy123]

Two valuable points to consider when doing 4U.

1. Since 4U makes you not sit the 2U exam, Extension 2 Maths becomes 2 Units worth, Extension 1 becomes 2 units worth. This then essentially doubles your 3U mark, so if you perform well enough in 3U which by itself has incredible scaling (best scaler outside Ext 2 Maths, scales better than everything else (par certain languages)). So just for this reason I would recommend doing 4U**

2. I do not have any stats, but after aligning/moderation and scaling takes place I believe a 60% in 4U is equivalent if not more to 96-97% in a 2U test (around there). Hence another reason to pick 4U.

3. This is a rather trivial reason, but 4U and 3U will make you understand Physics better and make the Space module a breeze.

4. May not apply to you but 4U maths is actually fun, in 2U it is simple mechanical application that requires little thought (bar question 10 probably). In 4U, by studying for it you gain intuition and this will have then better effects in other subject areas because you are able to think through the logical processes that are needed when trying to solve a 4U question.

5. Scaling is epic.



**Only attempt 4U if you are competent enough at maths, this is a warning, if you think you are mathematically inept, and do it for the scaling you will find that 4U will just take up all your time and you get little return. Do not attempt 4U unless you are competent at mathematics. You do not have to be spectacular but you need to be competent at maths in general.

 

[Promise]

Thanks a lot Sy, from what I can tell you're a bit of a famous face around here! I hope I can contribute to that 4 unit marathon you have running (;
Thanks for all the help!

 

[Sy123]

Thanks a lot Sy, from what I can tell you're a bit of a famous face around here! I hope I can contribute to that 4 unit marathon you have running (;
The author of the Cambridge book (Arnold) is actually my 4U teacher, so I'm really enjoying the subject right now. Thanks for all the help!

That would be greatly appreciated

And no problem

 

[enoilgam]

If you have the potential to get full marks or close to it in 2 unit, then I would definitely say that you should give 3 unit and 4 unit a go. I am a bit rusty on the exact dynamics of scaling, but basically, 3 unit and 4 unit scale a great deal more than 2 unit. So, if you have the potential to do well in MX1 and MX2, you should definitely do them over 2 unit.

 

[someth1ng]

I definitely agree with enoilgam and Sy123. If you are capable of MX1 and MX2, do it. From the sound of things, you are very much like me. I got ~95% in 2U, ~70% in 3U but in 4U, I got around 60% (raw marks).

My final HSC marks were:
2U: 94
3U: 92
4U: Did in 2012 but should be approximately 86

As an estimate:
94 in 2U-->87 scaled
86 in 4U-->88 scaled

If you can get an average of 65% in 4U, it's probably worth keeping - in 4U, you can lose a LOT of marks and still do better than losing only a few marks in 2U. Also, if you're that good at 4U, the worst that can happen is you do a tiny bit worse than you did in 2U but that's rather unlikely.

 

[Scytherx3]

I have a question similar to this so i figured i'd just post here.
Today I sat my first 4u exam and well, i fucked up. I don't see myself getting over 60 and it was worth 20%.
How bad is that? I only do 10 units so i'm kind of concerned.. i know it scales well but yeah.

 

[D94]

I have a question similar to this so i figured i'd just post here.
Today I sat my first 4u exam and well, i fucked up. I don't see myself getting over 60 and it was worth 20%.
How bad is that? I only do 10 units so i'm kind of concerned.. i know it scales well but yeah.

It could be bad. Depends on how you go overall, how you position yourself relative to other students, and how you and your cohort performs in the HSC exams. Way too early to tell.

 

[deswa]

I have a question similar to this so i figured i'd just post here.
Today I sat my first 4u exam and well, i fucked up. I don't see myself getting over 60 and it was worth 20%.
How bad is that? I only do 10 units so i'm kind of concerned.. i know it scales well but yeah.

A 20% weighting is pretty low- especially for 4u you'll be fine IMO. The important thing though is to do your best not to eff up any more tests- good luck

 

[hayabusaboston]

A 20% weighting is pretty low- especially for 4u you'll be fine IMO. The important thing though is to do your best not to eff up any more tests- good luck

I did my first 4u test last thursday, got 96 percent, though I suspect my teacher was just fucking with us for this first assessment, it seemed far easier than I anticipated. Though, the teacher was telling us in class she designed it to be hard. I still dont believe her. But the marks did go 96, 91, 87, 78, 75, 60 and 34 i think, there was decent spacing between marks, so maybe teacher is gonna keep our tests easy.... which is good then cos high marks, but then thats bad cos we dont learn tough questions.... but then spi has the past paper thread so I can practice 500 past papers and should be all good for hsc I hope....


Want HSC over. Nao. Sigh.

 

[enoilgam]

I have a question similar to this so i figured i'd just post here.
Today I sat my first 4u exam and well, i fucked up. I don't see myself getting over 60 and it was worth 20%.
How bad is that? I only do 10 units so i'm kind of concerned.. i know it scales well but yeah.

As D94 said, a full assessment of the impact that this will have is difficult to make as it is dependent upon a variety of factors. However, you have 80% worth of assessments left for the year, so there is more than enough time to improve.

 

[funstudy]

That's exactly what I considered- why give up 2u when I was getting in the high 90s for 4u where i was averaging like 70-80% (and a blow to my self-esteem ahah). but honestly, scaling is worth it. 4u is the highest scaling subject. I know that most ppl say don't worry about scaling, but it really helps because if you're good at maths, that's a definite, then you should be able to do 4u maths. it's hard, and it might deter you many times, because it's like out-of-this-world-crazy hard sometimes. but if you are doing 3u well, then u should do 4u- after all, who else would do it then?

 

[funstudy]

All I can say: get a private tutor. and spend a lot of time on it, remember it's worth 2 units since you're not doing the 2u paper. but don't neglect other subjects.

 

[enoilgam]

but don't neglect other subjects.

It is important to keep this in mind. Quite a few people in MX2 and MX1 spend a ridiculous amount of time on it, whilst neglecting other subjects (a few people in my year did this). Maths extensions both scale well, but if you neglect 6 of your other units your ATAR will most likely take a big hit.

 

[Sy123]

All I can say: get a private tutor. and spend a lot of time on it, remember it's worth 2 units since you're not doing the 2u paper. but don't neglect other subjects.

In my opinion a tutor is only needed if you are not bothered to study or your teacher is awful. But that is another debate. Doing homework and practising regularly on NEW questions is more important than relearning content learnt at school. Ask the teacher for help if you do not understand a concept, that is what they are there for (I'm not directing this at funstudy, just me expressing the opinion in general). If you do the practise and listen extensively in class then there is no need for a tutor.