Do people usually find complex numbers hard? (1 Viewer)

[qwert73]

I thought I was going ok at 4u but we have just finished the complex numbers topic at school and I'm now really struggling with some of the questions which I'm finding in past papers, especially the show/prove questions. Is this normal for people doing 4u or am I just doing badly because I've heard that complex numbers is the easiest topic.

 

[DatAtarLyfe]

Often times, understanding the content in 4u isn't enough. The really good students have a creative way of thinking in maths, and that's generally what's tested in past papers, it's not like 2u (or even 3u at times) were you can cover the content and be set for any question. 4u requires mastery + the ability to think outside the box.
In relation to your question, complex numbers, and polynomials depending on your strengths, are generally the "easier" topics in that most students can understand pretty much all the content. It's generally the more abstract topics like graphs and mechanics that get people. So to prepare for the future topics, learn to think abstractly.
My advice is that you keep doing those past papers, but also mark them and read over the solutions in depth. Try to then replicate the same techniques in another question. Always go into the question with an open mind and do not narrow it down to "I have to use this formula to get the answer".
Also, go on the 4u marathons on bos and try participating in them. They generally have quite a few challenging questions and test your abilities to do maths. Even just absorbing the way the other BOSers answer the questions should really help.

 

[Carrotsticks]

I thought I was going ok at 4u but we have just finished the complex numbers topic at school and I'm now really struggling with some of the questions which I'm finding in past papers, especially the show/prove questions. Is this normal for people doing 4u or am I just doing badly because I've heard that complex numbers is the easiest topic.

Complex Numbers + Polynomials are probably some of the more 'abstract' topics in the Extension 2 course.

By abstract, I mean quite theory heavy + few diagrams to relate it to.

I would not say Complex Numbers is the easiest topic. The difficulty range would be from 1 to 10, whereas say Conics would be 1 to 6 or 7 at best.

Some schools like to teach Graphs (which I think is the easiest topic by far) first for this very reason. It is a much gentler topic than complex numbers, which tends to scare away a lot of students.

 

[DatAtarLyfe]

Really?! The general trend at my school is that most ppl find complex easy and graphs is hard coz they cant imagine half of what it would look like (like the e^f(x) functions)