Exam Board and Specification Code: Edexcel (4PM1)
The Course
It’s hard to overstate the importance of mathematics in modern life. Mathematics continues to drive progress and underpin revolutions in sectors across engineering, science, medicine, communication and business.
Proficiency in mathematics provides young people with a key to open more doors across the careers spectrum than any other subject.
Maths helps us think analytically and have better reasoning abilities. Analytical thinking refers to the ability to think critically about the world around us. Analytical and reasoning skills are essential because they help us solve problems and look for solutions.
Further Mathematics is a separate GCSE subject. It provides a challenge and a chance to explore new and more sophisticated mathematical concepts. If you enjoy studying mathematics and you are good at it then you should strongly consider taking Further Mathematics. Students taking Further Mathematics find it an
overwhelmingly enjoyable, rewarding and an empowering experience.
In Further Mathematics, you will develop your knowledge of algebra, functions, logarithms and exponentials. You will study coordinate geometry in the (x,y) plane, sequences and you will look at trigonometry in two and three dimensions. Later in the year, you will also begin to explore the highly important idea of calculus. You will develop your applications of calculus such as using differentiation to solve maxima and minima problems.
How is the course assessed?
The course is assessed by means of two written exam papers. Each paper lasts 2 hours and is worth 50% of the total marks. The total number of marks for each paper is 100. Each paper will consist of around 11 questions with varying mark allocations per question, which will be stated on the paper. The paper will have
approximately 40% of the marks distributed evenly over grades 4 and 5 and approximately 60% of the marks distributed evenly over grades 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Reading
Edexcel International GCSE (9-1) Further Pure Mathematics Student Book: Ali Datoo
(Pearson Education: ISBN-13: 978-0435188542)
Other recommended books are:
1. Additional Maths for OCR By Val Hanrahan
2. Edexcel A level Mathematics : Pure Mathematics Year 1 & Year 2 by Harry Smith
3. Backhouse J K, Houldsworth S T P and Horril P J F – Pure Mathematics: A First Course
4. (Longman, 1991) ISBN 0582066581
5. Bostock L and Chandler S – Mathematics: The Core Course for Advanced Level (Nelson
6. Thornes, 2000) ISBN 0748755098
7. Emanuel R and Wood J – Longman Advanced Maths AS Core for Edexcel and A2 Core for Edexcel (Longman, 2006)
