Fundamental Differences between H2 Maths and H1 Maths

It goes without saying that a pass in H1 or H2 Mathematics is an essential minimum entry requirement for most courses in universities. This article intends to summarise the key differences between H2 Maths and H1 Maths so that students can make a well-informed decision and get a better inkling of what they wish to pursue in Junior College. It is important to look at the subject requirements of the courses you’re interested in beforehand and not only after you receive your ‘A’ Level Results’ (it may be too late for you then, when you realise to your utter horror that you are unable to qualify for a particular course you are inclined towards because you do not meet the subject requirements).

1. The number of University Courses at your fingertips

Of course, if you elect to take H2 Mathematics in Junior College (same goes for Sciences), you will have a wider array of courses to choose from. This is particularly recommended for those who have not made a settled decision of what to pursue in University, so that they will not unknowingly limit themselves. Courses like Engineering and Computer Science requires students to have a pass in H2 Mathematics. However, a H1 Mathematics pass will suffice for courses like Medicine, Dentistry, and Economics. Furthermore, some courses, like Law or Arts, do not require Mathematics to be taken at ‘A’ Levels.

2. Exam difference between H1 Maths and H2 Maths

H2 Maths and H1 Maths also differ in terms of their compositions. There is only one 3-hour paper for H1 Maths as opposed to H2 Maths, which comprises of two 3-hour papers. For H1 Maths, the paper will consist of 40 marks of Pure Mathematics questions and 60 marks of Probability and Statistics questions. As for H2 Maths, the first 3-hour paper will consist of purely Pure Mathematics questions while the weightage of Pure Mathematics for the second paper will be 40% and 60% for Probability and Statistics. This means that for H2 Maths, 70% of the exam will be comprise of Pure Mathematics and 30% will be about Probability and Statistics.

It is true that the H1 Maths is simpler compared to H2 Maths. Some may even describe it them as being a “world of difference apart”. However, don’t let the exam requirements and the difference in difficulty level faze you from taking up H2 Maths. Although it may be more demanding and challenging to your intellectual capabilities, you should not give up on the opportunity of taking up H2 Maths just because you did badly in Mathematics back in Secondary School. Many people perform well during the ‘A’ Level examinations even though they may have gotten a B or worse in Secondary School for Advanced Mathematics, or even Elementary Mathematics. This can be attributed to their sheer grit and determination in Junior College, where students keep on persisting despite their failures and work hard in attempting a sea of practice questions obtained either from the Junior Colleges or their JC Maths Tuition. In fact, if you fear the stringent requirements of H2 Maths and the fact that there are two separate 3 hour long paper instead of just one, you can opt to sign up for JC Maths Tuition at the very beginning of admission, or even before your admission into your respective Junior College so that you can get a head start in H2 Maths over your peers. This way, you can shape your foundation and start off with the right footing and all you have to do in the remaining time is to strengthen your knowledge and practice on your speed in answering questions. As H2 Math questions can require rather lengthy workings that are not as simplistic or straightforward as H1 Math questions, brushing up on your speed when answering questions can prove useful. Since there are around 10 to 12 questions for each paper and 3 hours, you should spend about 18 minutes for each question. Of course, some questions are relatively shorter as compared to the rest, such as equation and inequality and you should take about 7 minutes for those, so that you can leave that excess time for more taxing questions, such as integration applications, graphing techniques and vectors.

On that note, there are a few challenging topics that students mostly struggle with: normal distribution, probability, vectors, integration application, differential equation, complex numbers and functions. As such, you should be cognisant of this and pay close attention when your tutors, either in your Junior College or your JC Maths Tuition touch on them. Clarify any doubts you may have on the spot, and not days later, so that you can learn the important techniques on the spot and later use the time to test your knowledge instead so that you can ascertain that you know for sure what is going on. If you don’t have JC Maths Tuition and don’t see the need to sign up for constant tuition lessons, especially if you cannot afford to do so or if you lack the time in your schedule, you can choose to sign up for crash courses for particular topics you are weak in (although this is more applicable for JC2 students who have the urgent need to grasp these concepts in a short time since ‘A’ Levels is looming ahead). You should look on Google for JC Maths Tuition recommendations or ask around in your peer group for recommendations. Sometimes, JC Maths Tuition centres may even offer a subsidised rate or a free trial lesson for their crash course syllabus, so you can try out at tuition centres who offer such services to determine whether classes would be useful to you.

All in all, it is important for students to get their foundation right and for them to pick up the skill of being able to quickly identify the type of questions at hand and solve them. This will only come with practice and learning from past mistakes, either by re-doing the questions or at least going through corrections and making sure you understand each step, understanding precisely where you went wrong in your workings.

3. Different syllabus focus

H1 Maths focuses on educating students on understanding and applying basic techniques of statistics in order to analyse data. Some of the topics included in H1 Mathematics are Statistics, Calculus and Graphs. On the other hand, H2 Maths have a greater focus on more advance Mathematics and include more Pure Mathematics Topics such as Vectors, Sequences and Series and Complex Numbers.

Conclusion

If you would like an exposure to H2 Maths before you make a decision, some JC Maths Tuition Centres offer courses for students before Junior College begins. From there, students can attain exposure to H2 Maths and consider whether they can cope with the subject.For students who are already in the midst of Junior College and are struggling with H2 or H1 Maths, they can find a suitable JC Maths Tuition so that they can correct their understanding of Mathematics. Reference can be made to JC Maths Tuition websites to determine which JC Maths Tuition is the most fitting for them in terms of pricing and schedule.