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A Quick and Easy Method for Memorising Formulae

  There is so much to learn and so much to commit to memory at GCSE. If you are feeling overwhelmed and wondering how you are going to remember everything, its completely understandable. Pure memorisation is really repeatedly reading something until it just sticks in your head. Here's the process I used to remember everything - including my entire German Oral test which got me an A grade. As you are studying or revising, keep a piece of paper nearby, the larger the better, ideally A4 or A3 size. As you come across a formula that you need to remember, write it down on this piece of paper. You can write it large, use colour if you want to and add diagrams and examples. Do whatever you like and add anything that will help you to memorise it and remind you how to use the formula too. Now think of an activity that you do regularly throughout the day. E.g. eating, using the bathroom, reading, praying etc. Every time you do that activity you have to read through your sheet 10 times. So, l...
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Why percentages are so confusing and how to make them painless

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If you hate percentages and can't seem to get your head around all of the different types of percentage questions, you're not alone. It can be a really confusing topic. You might be tempted to avoid it and I don't blame you at all. Sadly, you won't get far very far with GCSE Maths if you don't learn how to do these questions. I'll do my best to simplify this topic and hopefully make it easier for you.  Let's start by looking at what a percentage actually is. The word percent means 'Out of 100'. Per as in for each one. And cent, the french for 100.  The purpose of working out percentages is to help compare numbers and to make things simpler. For example, when you go shopping, a sale sign that says 50% off is much clearer than a sign that says £37 off. Percentages help us understand numbers faster. Usually when you get a test result, you will have your score as well as a percentage. Before you start working on how to calculate percentages, I highly rec...
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Possibly Demystifying Probability and Certainly Making it Clearer

I've met a fair number of students who struggle to make sense of probability and it's usually because of how it has been presented to them. The main issue is usually the AND rule and the OR rule. Let's take a look at the AND rule. The And rule talks about the probability of lots of different events happening at the same time. For example, what is the probability of both you and I going somewhere on the weekend?  Very high, right. Most people go somewhere on the weekend, it might be the park, a friend's house, shopping, a weekend job etc. What is the probability of both you and I going out to eat on the weekend? That's still possible, but less likely than us going somewhere. What is the probability that both you and I end up in the same restaurant to eat or choosing the same thing to eat? Again, still possible, but even less likely. Hopefully you can see that the more events I add in, the probability gets smaller.  All probabilities are given as fractions. When you m...
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