Not Too Bad however not great layout
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I thought the depth was excellent and well its explanations were amazing even after 11 years when i studied maths i can still teach some of my private home tuition students using this book.
I would say buy it but only if you know exactly what is in your scheme of work as it is layed out in C1, C2 etc.
Apart from that it is a great book
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My favourite maths book of all time
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Back in the early 1990's I received a grade C in GCSE Maths. I wanted to study A-level, but the teachers didn't want to let me; somehow I convinced them to give me a chance. I decided to invest in some books, and picked up a few that I thought looked good, one of those being Core Maths. Most A-level books were pitched at a higher level that I could understand, whereas Core Maths bridged the gap. I started working through the exercises at the start of the book (in my own time), and gradually from being the weakest Mathematician in a class of 30, I worked my way up to the top 2. I eventually received a grade A in A-level Maths, and also a C in Further Maths. I know have an honours degree in Maths and Statistics, and I don't believe I'd have it if it wasn't for that book.
My advice to anyone using the book, is to read the introductions, work through the examples, then practice as many questions as have you have time to, and check your answers in the back of the book. It was the actual 'doing' rather than the 'reading' that made all the difference for me.
I'm very grateful to the authors of this book!! Thank you!
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An outstanding A-level and solo study text!
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This book is arguably the best that you can buy on the market if you are either studying A-level maths are are a proficient mathematician to this level. As the other reviewers have said, you will need GCSE Maths to approach this text. I would say in addition that if you have taken the higher papers at GCSE, this book is a pure Aladin's cave of gems that span the whole and up-to-date syllabus taking you up to and possibly well into university level. I didn't take A-level Maths, but took a computer science degree and am an aspiring video games programmer. This book also has the added bonus of providing you with the vast majority of the content required to make you a proficient games developer. One last praise for this book. For those of you studying maths you may have noticed that certain terms pop-up in lessons that haven't quite been explained, like: surds, subtends, secants, etc. As this book encounters all such terms it is very careful to describe their precise meanings to avoid confusion further down the line that can trip you up and make you lose confidence. This books makes a determined effort to make maths appear easy to learn, and does a brilliant job of doing so if you have the background. It also gives you a hunger to study even more maths, and is a must for any proficient mathematician capable of A-level and beyond.
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Not so great if you don't know what your doing
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I am a mature student and we are using this book as part of the course and taking exercises from it. To be honest, i was quite disappointed with it. I find its certainly more a revision book and aimed at people who understand the topics involved. If you are confident with maths, then it could perhaps be a really good book. However if its been a while since you've studied Maths and like me your still missing some of the basics, then i wouldn't purchase this book. I'm looking at alternatives that are more descriptive and are more aimed at students learning on their own.
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Very good overall
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This is a very good overall textbook. The design is very pleasant: the pages are all set on a white background and headings are highlighted in a light blue, and are very clear. Each topic is well explained and is substantiated by several example problems, and about 20 or so exercises. All the answers are in the back. There are also additional questions taken from actual examination questions, and mixed questions at the end of each chapter. The book starts out with foundation algebra and progresses through to calculus, covering as the title suggests, the core material for an a-level course.
It's not really the right textbook for someone who wishes to be challenged by further mathematics, since there really is none available. It's more of a revision textbook really, but a very good one. Every topic in fact is explained in a couple of pages at most so it's not really suitable for someone who wishes to learn a-level maths from scratch (unless they're a quick learner!). But it's perfect for someone who is already quite proficient at mathematics and wants to have a substantial supplementary textbook that provides him with all the necessary foundation material.
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