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God lads, 5th year is hard.
No doubt about it. The jump from Junior Cycle to Leaving Cert, for Higher Level Maths, is seriously difficult. Ordinary level Maths for 5th year is not as bad a jump, in all honesty.
But I’ve a few hacks for you here. Let me guide you through what to expect in 5th year.
The Main Topics
The 5th year course is almost 80% Algebra based topics. It’s about logic.
Here is a list of the topics most schools study:
- Logs
- Indices
- Simultaneous Equations
- Factorisation
- Area and Volume
- Functions
- The Line
- The Circle
- Trigonometry
Sounds straightforward.
But it’s anything but. Topics like Logs and Indices really throw students. Expect the questions to be long. And expect to be confused — all the Project Maths questions are about problem solving. They want you to think.
The maths topics are the same as they were for the last 30 years. But how they are written in question format is very different.
5th Year Study
Your only friend here are exam papers. You can go back and practice the last 20 years of exam questions. They are all on examinations.ie. Just practice lads, practice.
5th year Exams
Embrace being lost in questions. If you look back at the previous 3 to 4 years of exams, you will start to well up with tears. They are so confusing. But trust me, the Maths is the SAME!
Slow down. Have these little reminders at the top of your mind:
- What maths topic is being examined here?
- What is step 1?
- What is step 2?
- What are they looking for, in the final answer?
And that will stand to you. Because 80-90% of your marks are generally given for the Maths, before your final answer. And, even if you get the wrong answer, having made a sign mistake earlier on in your answer, you will not be penalised. Keep writing anything that you know.
Maths Formulae
What formulas do I need to know for the exams?
I explain them all in this nice, short sharp blog. Read it here.
Remember, even in your in-house exams, you will be given log tables. The trick is to be familiar with them. Too many students wing it. They think they will know it in the exam.
In reality, they end of spending 10 mins just trying to figure out where such and such a formula is. Get this right.
Constructions & Theorems
Do I need to know the constructions for the 5th year exams? Will they come up?
Yes. Yes they will.
Maybe you won’t be directly asked. But they will be interweaved in questions. You need to know how to use them, no doubt about it.
I’ve made this short blog on the constructions and theorems that you need to know.
Final Advice
Lads, just keep doing exam papers.
I guarantee you every single question on your 5th year summer and Maths exams will be a previous exam paper. I guarantee it. Teachers do not make up special questions. They are lazy. They just pull old exam questions.
So, get moving 💪
Still confused? Let me explain it to you in 30 seconds 👇
PS — if you are looking to get ahead for 6th year in September, we are running week long Maths camps this summer. They consist of 1 hour of Maths per day, Monday to Friday. It’s all online – so nice and easy. And the best part? It’s free.
Yes, that’s a FREE summer Maths camp, to prep you for 6th year.
It starts on the 2nd week of July.
I hope that helps you.
TJ— CEO of Breakthrough Maths.
Need more help? Contact the Breakthrough Maths team here.
