What is the course about?

This course is studied together with A Level Mathematics. It is for students who wish to focus on mathematics and with the mechanics content. It would also be of particular interest to physics students. 

Course content

(Dependent on choice of exam board.)

Students will study towards a compulsory Core Pure Maths unit, as well as optional units in Further Mechanics, Further Statistics, Decision Maths and extra Pure units.

• Pure Maths: complex numbers, curve sketching, proof, algebra, polar co-ordinates, calculus, series, vectors, matrices and hyperbolic functions.
• Mechanics: vectors, kinematics, force, Newton’s Laws of Motion, projectiles, friction, moments of forces, energy and work, power, momentum and impulse, circular motion, dimensional analysis, Hooke’s Law and centre of mass. 
• Statistics: Discrete random variable distributions, continuous random variable distributions, bivariate data, Chi-squared testing, inference and simulation.
• Decision Maths: linear programming, networks, logic and algorithms. 

Assessment

At least three exam papers covering the content listed above, with an emphasis on Mathematical processes as well as the course content. 

Career pathways

This A Level will be of particular use to students wishing to study degrees with a large mathematics content eg mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering, computer science, or who wish to apply to a highly ranked university. 

Entry criteria

Minimum of grade 9 in GCSE Mathematics.