One last day on co-ordinate geometry

In the last class before the break, we did a co-ordinate geometry test - with a Q2 and Q3 type question.
Most people did well on Q2 (co-ordinate geometry of the line) but not well on Q3 (co-ordinate geometry of the circle).

It is worth putting more work into this topic, especially the co-ordinate geometry of the circle as all you need to remember is

• the formula of a circle (x-h)² + (y-k)² = r²
• all the co-ordinate geometry of the line you know so well anyway for Q2
• the relationship between radius, diameter, tangents etc that you learned in Junior Cert
• the intersection of a line and circle which you need to know anyway as it can come up in the algebra section of Paper 1.

We'll do a class covering overall approach to co-ordinate geometry on Monday, then move on.

Don't forget that you are supposed to be attempting Leaving Cert 2003 over the Easter break.

Co-ordinate geometry

This topic is examined on Paper 2 question 2 and 3.
Question 2 is co-ordinate geometry of the line only - this is mainly the same as Junior Cert Higher Level co-ordinate geometry, with the addition of finding the area of a triangle.
Question 3 is co-ordinate geometry of the circle.
Once you remember that the equation of a circle with centre (h,k) is

(x-h)² + (y-k)² = r²

and some basic rules about tangents to circles there is not a lot of extra work required for this question.

Here is a 1-page overview.

Schedule of revision

This is what I propose for the next 8 weeks:

	Week starting	Topics to be covered
Week 1	03/Mar	3 classes complex numbers / 2 classes probability / (1 class geometry on fri)
Week 2	10/Mar	1 class probability / 4 classes co-ord geometry / 1 class arithmetic
	17/Mar
	24/Mar
Week 3	31/Mar	1 class arithmetic / 3 classes trigonometry / 1 class algebra
Week 4	07/Apr	3 classes algebra / 2 classes functions + graphs
Week 5	14/Apr	1 class functions + graphs / 4 classes differentiation
Week 6	21/Apr	3 classes statistics / 2 classes linear programming
Week 7	28/Apr	1 class linear programming / 3 classes perim, area + vol
Week 8	05/May	General revision
	12/May	Graduation week

I haven't counted all 6 classes each week as there will inevitably be interruptions to classes due to oral exams etc so we can use those extra classes as contingency. I also haven't counted 2 days for reviewing the mock exams, since I don't know when they will be returned.
If you feel strongly about re-ordering some of these topics, let me know.

Complex Numbers

We will start Complex Numbers on Monday 3rd.
Here is the 1 page overview:

As with every topic we will be doing over the next 8 weeks, some of you need to work on this topic from scratch while others just need practice.

Geometry overview

We discussed the approach to geometry in Friday's class.
Study the theorems one by one at home.
In class, we covered the basics you need for Section A, Q4: essentially JC higher level geometry and the concept of enlargement.
On Friday 7th during the 2nd maths period, we'll take a look at the Section B, Q8.