Mathematics · 300 plan

In Advanced, ‘Algebra’ is not one chapter — it is five different skills (matrices, complex numbers, probability, P&C, relations/sets). If you revise them as random tricks, mocks feel lucky/unlucky. For 300, Algebra must feel like a bank: you know which tool to pull in under 2 minutes.

How it looks in the paper

• A matrix power / sum ∑Mᵏ numerical or multi-correct
• Complex arg/modulus or roots-of-unity matching
• Bayes or independence multi-correct with two boxes/events
• Counting with constraints (stars-and-bars + upper limits)

Calculus formulas and Conics formulas can both be ‘known’ — and you still lose time when the paper joins them (ellipse + angle between tangents, curves + area, DE + extrema). Advanced rewards the bridge: intersection → setup → evaluate.

How it looks in the paper

• Linked numerical: find intersections of two curves, then area between them
• Ellipse/hyperbola with tangent slopes and a asked tanθ / cotα value
• DE solved, then local max/min or number of intersections with another curve

Matching/list questions look small but they wipe streaks because one wrong P→Q map can cost a whole cluster. The fix is mental: treat every pair as an independent TRUE/FALSE, not as a jigsaw you must force-fit.

How it looks in the paper

• List-I: P,Q,R,S statements · List-II: (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) values/points
• Often algebra (roots of unity), trig equation counts, vectors, or conic point checks
• Options are full codes like P→1, Q→2, R→4, S→5 — one slip changes the option