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5th Year Maths Grinds

My name is Carl Lynch. I am a Maths teacher who has been teaching in a boys school for 30 years and giving grinds for the last 16 years.

Why should students choose to do maths grinds (5th Year) with me?

Firstly I love what I do. To me it is not a job but a hobby that I can actually make a living out of. It might not be the highest paying hobby in the world, unlike athletes and musicians, but I do have a genuine love for it. I love the challenge it presents everyday and helping the students in front of me to learn Maths.

Secondly, I try my best to relate to students and see the subject from their point of view. To do well in Maths you don’t have to be a genius, and I can assure you that I am not. I can see how harder questions may trouble students and I can see how some people find maths difficult, but I feel this helps me as a teacher. I can relate to those who are struggling and try to simplify the problems in front of them as much as possible. I want them to actually understand what and why they are doing, what they are doing.

Now I am definitely not saying Maths is easy, but I do feel I have the experience and expertise to help you achieve your goals.You will have to do work, but I can help guide you in the correct path. You never know, eventually you might even find Maths ‘fun’, ‘interesting’ and ‘easy’.

Over the years there has only been one negative feedback given by my students, that my jokes are pretty bad.

So what do we do?

You are going to have a system.

  1. You will have two One is a hardback copy for in class notes. The other is an ordinary copy for homework. Homework is given every week.
  2. You will be in class live every day. All classes are recorded, so if you do ever miss a live class you can catch up via the recording. You never miss a class. It is very important that if you do miss multiple classes that you re-watch the recordings in the correct order.
  3. When you are stuck you can ask questions. In person you can just ask me out loud in class, ask me after class, or else give me a ‘confused’ look and I’ll get the memo. Questions can also be asked for those streaming online. We outline how to use the system in the first class, but we assure you it is very easy to use to ensure you are getting the same level of learning as those in person. Students can even send me an email with any questions or issues that they might have at [email protected]. It’s essential that the student understands and asking questions is such a vital part of this, so always ask questions when unsure.
  4. I will show you everything that you are going to learn. You will learn words, methods, proofs and formulae etc. This is really where I come in. I know what you need to know and I know the best way to learn it.
  5. You will be given homework that you will have to try to do with No notes, no help, no looking for answers where possible. Homework builds on the work that was done in the class and is essential to learning.
  6. I will give you tests to do. These tests allow you to see where you are in regards to your learning and highlights possible areas of struggle. They also allow me to gauge your progress and see where extra attention may be required.

So take all the above and break it down to

  • Understand
  • Learn
  • Do

The following is a breakdown of each course for 5th years.

5th years.

In leaving cert maths there are 4 key topics. I will cover all of them in a lot of detail. The whole first term is taken with Algebra. It is key it open up all of maths once you have a good knowledge of it. It will start at a nice slow pace to get you going but very quickly will move on. The first few weeks you will find tough going but I am here to guide you through them.

5th year maths 2022 -2023

Term 1. September to Easter.

This will be Algebra for the whole of term 1. By far the most important part of the course. It is the foundations for the leaving cert.

Homework will be on Google classroom after each class

Topics covered by the week.

  1. Multiplication. Evaluation. Factors
  2. Fractions.
  3. Linear equations. Quadratic equations.
  4. Perfect squares. Simultaneous equations.
  5. Perfect squares. Simultaneous equations.
  6. Inequalities
  7. Absolute value
  8. Absolute value. Absolute value with inequalities
  9. Cubics
  10. Indices
  11. Indices
  12. Indices Logs.
  13. Logs.
  14. Surds

Term 2.

The other 3 major topics are Trigonometry, Functions with Differentiation and Probability. We will spend all of the second term on these.

  1. Units of angles. Solving right angled triangles.
  2. Non right angled triangles.
  3. Double angles. Compound Angles.
  4. Solving equations.
  5. Solving equations. Sectors.
  6. Composition.
  7. Inverse.
  8. Basic Differentiation. First Principals. Product and Quotient.
  9. Chain.
  10. Basic Differentiation. First Principals. Product and Quotient.
  11. Maximum and Minimum
  12. Permutations
  13. Combinations.
  14. Probability
  15. Sets. Expected value.
  16. Statistics basics.

Once you have an understanding of the core topics the rest will fall in place. I look forward to having you in my class and to hear all your lovely questions.