Leaving Certificate Maths Paper 2

Rob - Higher Level

I was feeling quite disheartened after the mess I made of Maths Paper 1, however Paper 2 I think will bring my grade up. I knew my theorems and proofs going into the exam so was happy to see two of them on the paper. I think the paper was clear and concise, requiring a lot of thinking but still doable. The latter parts of question 8 (involving sequences and series) were different to what I've seen before, I found them difficult to approach.Overall I'm much happier with paper 2 than paper 1. I think it was a fair yet still challenging paper. On to learning essays for Irish in just over an hour!

Joanna - Higher Level

A few people hinted to me to have a look at theorem eleven before I go into the exam... I try not to listen to tips like that because I hate the idea of gambling at an exam which is going to set me on a track for the next few years. But, I must admit, I did go over how to prove that transversal lines going through three parallels can form a paralellogram and thus it can be proved that they are cut into equal segments... And there you go, it was there!That was the first question I attempted and next the construction, both went smoothly and I had no problems with question one. My memory of the rest of the exam is a bit fuzzy, I do remember my delight at the amount of co-ordinate geometry of the circle and trigonomoetry (I had been revising shapes and circles a lot yesterday I really enjoy puzzling out measurements and points on the co-ordinate plane). Following Joan on her awful attempt at golf was actually alright, and I managed to figure out most of the odd machine part and was just on the last part when time ran out. I sketched a really quick picture of what I was going to find out and put down the formula I would have used, if I had the time. Hopefully that will count for something!Overall I was happy with the paper. Yes, there were parts that I got stuck on, or where the answers I got didn't seem to work out so I had to try again and that's probably how I ran out of time, but I also managed to apply lots of what I knew and I was happy that I filled every blank on the paper. I'm a little unhappy that my aim for this maths was to pass and not to score higher, but for a long time I wasn't confident at all doing the new Project Maths and even now, looking at the sample SEC papers gives me shivers. I'm more enthusiastic about maths today than I was at the start of fifth year, so hopefully the result I get in August will reflect it. Well, I'm fairly confident I didn't fail the papers, so whatever grade comes out, I'll celebrate it. I hope others felt okay about it too :)

Leah - Ordinary Level

Hello all, I hope you're feeling ok after Maths this morning. As I previously stated, I thought Paper I was great but, I have to say - Paper II knocked me about the place. Right from the get go, I had vague ideas on what to do but that was as good as it got. I guess that's what I get for being so cocky about Paper I!I did quite like the last question, it was easy enough and it had a lot of parts to it where you could pick up handy little marks. I liked that a lot as it was a great comfort to me. I'm sorry to say that the rest of the questions were not as nice, however.All in all, maths was ok I thought but I definitely preferred Paper I. I keep referring back to my little mantra though: attempt marks are key! I'm sure we all did our very best and, look at it this way - if Paper I was really that bad, they'd have to bring down the marking Scheme.I'm ecstatic that maths is over now and roll on the remainder of our exams. Keep up the good work and it'll all be over soon :)Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.