Latest news with #StephenBegley
BreakingNews.ie
13 hours ago
- Science
- BreakingNews.ie
Leaving Cert Maths Paper 2 contained 'some curveballs' for higher level
The Higher Level Maths Paper 2 "contained some curveballs" according to Studyclix subject expert Stephen Begley, Head of Maths at Dundalk Grammar School, Co Louth. He called it 'A very fair and decent Higher Level Maths Paper 2 – though it did have some curve balls to get students thinking. Advertisement "Whilst Higher Level will always contain some challenge, the questions did not mix topics, and provided good guidance and direction to students on how to start their answers. 'The opening parts to most questions were accessible and students will have gained good marks on these, while latter parts would have certainly stretched student's ability to problem solve. Those looking to get by in the exam and those also looking for a top grade will certainly be content overall with this paper. 'There was a decent array of questions available in Section A, each focusing on only one topic. Question 1 on Coordinate Geometry of the Line was a lovely opener. Question 2 on The Circle was very fair, with some easy marks available in part (a). Question 3 on Probability was a walk in the park for any Higher Level student. 'Looking a little out of place in the paper given the usually higher complexity of question, Question 4 on Statistics looked at the easier side of Statistics, which may have even been overlooked by students in their revision, though hopefully they remembered their Junior Cycle Statistics to get through a very undemanding question. Advertisement 'Question 5 on Geometry saw a routine congruence proof followed by a question on enlargements that would have been puzzle like for students to figure out. Many may have avoided this. "Closing the short questions was a lovely Trigonometry question on Trigonometric Equations and a Cosine Rule question, though I imagine the heavily predicted Trig Function question threw many due to its unusual appearance within a modulus function which would have caused some trouble. 'Section B tasked students with answering any three of the four long questions across the usual topics of Area and Volume, Coordinate Geometry, Trigonometry, Probability, and Statistics. Students would have been delighted to see a Tree Diagram in Question 9 on Probability, which had a lovely part (a) and (b), but certainly got trickier with some abstract combinations in parts (c) and (d). "The closing question on Statistics took a different format from the usual text heavy and comprehension style question and presented the fan favourites Empirical Rule, Z Scores, Confidence Interval, Hypothesis Test and P-Value, hitting all the main aspects of Statistics. Advertisement 'Those who prepared for a typical Paper 2 would have been content with this paper which enabled students to showcase their knowledge of the usual core topics in a range of questions. Whilst not without challenging parts of course, the examiner was generous with their questioning style which contained clear instruction and even provided formulas or methods at times. 'As a tale of two halves, the two Maths papers were well balanced in terms of difficulty, with neither being dominated by challenge. All in all, it's been a pretty good, fair, and accessible set of exams for Leaving Cert Higher Level Maths students in 2025.' Leaving Cert Maths Paper 2 (Ordinary) Commenting on the paper, Studyclix subject expert Stephen Begley said: 'The Ordinary Level paper presented a very typical and manageable set of questions spanning the usual suspects of Trigonometry, Coordinate Geometry, Statistics, Probability and Area and Volume. Lifestyle Junior Cert science exam 'accessible and reasonabl... Read More 'The short questions in Section A were each focused on a single topic of Statistics, Trigonometry, The Circle, The Line, Geometry and Statistics, while the long questions in Section B focused on Probability, Statistics, Constructions & Enlargements, Trigonometry, and some parts of Area and Volume. Advertisement 'While the paper was particularly Statistics heavy, those who prepared this regularly featured topic would have been well rewarded with all elements of the area being examined across multiple question. "Particularly, the Empirical Rule in Q6, Tree Diagram in Question 7, Pie Chart in Question 8 and decent Trigonometry question in Question 10 would have given students plenty of marks to boost their confidence in the exam. 'Whilst the tail end of questions were not without their stings, the opening parts provided good space for students to gather marks. Overall, students could play to their strengths topic wise in this rather fair and approachable Paper 2.'
Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Leaving Cert students face tougher maths paper with 'some curveballs'
The second week of Leaving Cert 2025 began with a 'trickier' maths paper 2 exam that included some curveballs to get students thinking, teachers reviewing this year's exam papers believe. Junior Cycle 2025 also continued this Monday, with students tackling the science exam. Maths paper 2 was a tougher paper than Friday's paper 1, according to Niall Duddy, ASTI subject spokesperson and teacher at Presentation College, Athenry, Co Galway. 'The feeling certainly amongst our own students here is that it was a trickier test than paper 1 overall,' he said. 'It was a more stern test but at the same time, it was still doable,' he added. 'If I was doing the paper myself, I probably would have started with a question like number three, which was around probability and Venn diagrams, which students would have been familiar with from Junior Cycle, with this question just given a higher-level Leaving Cert twist.' He also noted several 'helpful little hints' included in the questions this year, for example, students were asked to give a reason for their proof. 'That has crept in the last couple of years, and it's nice to see. It's more user-friendly.' However, students he spoke to after the exam found section B of the higher level paper 'trickier'. 'Particularly question eight, which was based around pyramids. It's a bit like Marmite; Some people like this type of question, others don't.' 'A lot of students I spoke to avoided it, even though the question wasn't as bad when you went down into it as it was at first glance.' Another question that caught a few students out was the use of the phrase "stratified random sampling" in question 10, he believed. 'It's only a small part of the question but I know quite a few students who asked me afterwards what it actually was.' The paper 'got tough' as it went on, he said. 'But that is to be expected with higher-level maths.' 'There was no one coming out who seemed very disappointed, but they did say it was trickier.' Studyclix subject expert Stephen Begley, of Dundalk Grammar School, said the higher level maths paper 2 was 'very fair and decent'. 'Though it did have some curveballs to get students thinking." 'Those who prepared for a typical paper 2 would have been content with this paper, which enabled students to showcase their knowledge of the usual core topics in a range of questions. 'All in all, it's been a pretty good, fair, and accessible set of exams for Leaving Cert higher level maths students in 2025.' Meanwhile, the ordinary level paper presented students with a 'very typical and manageable set of questions', Mr Begley believed. 'While the paper was particularly statistics heavy, those who prepared this regularly featured topic would have been well-rewarded, with all elements of the area being examined across multiple questions.' He said the empirical rule in question six, tree diagram in question seven, pie chart in question eight and trigonometry question in question 10 "would have given students plenty of marks to boost their confidence in the exam". He added: 'Whilst the tail end of questions were not without their stings, the opening parts provided good space for students to gather marks.' Read More Threat of industrial action in secondary schools as ASTI rejects Leaving Cert reforms
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- Science
- BreakingNews.ie
Leaving Cert: Teacher analyses 'well-rounded' Maths Paper One
A teacher has given his initial reaction to Leaving Cert Maths paper one, which students completed on Friday. 'Overall, the 2025 Leaving Cert Higher level Maths Paper 1 was quite nice for students, however, many may agree that the tone of Section B felt different to other years,' said Studyclix subject expert Stephen Begley, Head of Maths at Dundalk Grammar School. 'It was more prompted and scaffolded than usual and did not appear as dense as it has in the past. Advertisement "While the short questions were rather delightful in ways, the long questions were a little light feeling in parts and were heavily scaffolded. "Beneficial in ways, the examiner was generous throughout in pointing out what methods and techniques students should use to approach a question, for example by indicating to use a certain formula or technique. 'While it was not without challenge, this made for a rather sound HL Maths Paper which presented a decent set of questions that harnessed an essence of fairness and accessibility, and indeed challenge. "The short questions saw the usual suspects of Algebra, Calculus, Complex Numbers and Functions, while the long questions focused on Arithmetic and Algebra, Calculus and Functions, and a considerable amount of Sequences and Series with a sneaky Induction proof to finish off the paper. Advertisement 'Overall, it was a well-rounded paper covering many main areas at LC HL. Notably, Financial Maths and Area and Volume were absent from the paper, so don't rule these out of the game in Paper 2 on Monday. Additionally, Trigonometric Functions didn't appear so glace over them this weekend 'It is important for students to remember of the advantage the choice provided by Covid amendments gives students by only having to answer 5 of the 6 and 3 of the 4 long questions and so they could have played to their strengths in this paper." LC Maths Paper 1 (Ordinary) Stephen Begley said: 'A fair paper spanning the usual suspects of Financial Maths, Complex Numbers, Algebra, Calculus, Functions, Patterns and Area. "While parts were certainly not without challenge, the short questions in Section A were quite nice and students could play to their strengths answering any 5 of the 6. Those who prepared using past papers would have benefitted from the familiarity of question styles from years gone by. Advertisement The long questions in Section B had students answer any 3 of the 4. The topics covered here were Functions, Differentiation, Financial Maths, Number Patterns, and Area. Topic wise it followed suit with previous exams and students were well prompted and guided in parts. Overall, a good start to the ordinary level maths exams and all eyes will be on the Paper 2 on Monday which I advise students to take a look at their Statistics, Trigonometry, Coordinate Geometry of the Line and Circle and Probability over the weekend as these are always the main players.' LC Foundation Level 'The Foundation Level paper was well rounded for students as it spanned all topics on the course; Arithmetic, Statistics, Probability, Financial Maths, Geometry, Patterns, Coordinate Geometry and Distance, Speed and Time "The questions were well balanced and well prompted to guide students through an exam busy with various topics. Advertisement "Students would have been pleased with a number of tables, graphs and charts to work with throughout, given their heavy feature within the course," he said. Junior Cert Maths (Higher) Stephen Begley said: 'This year's paper saw a balanced yet busy higher-level paper spanning all major topics on the course, though as usual, it wasn't without its challenges. "There was a good mix of topics assessed; arithmetic, pattens, statistics, coordinate geometry, geometry, area and volume, trigonometry, with the later questions were heavy with functions and algebra. "The opening three questions would have been a delight for students and certainly would've eased some nerves on basic percentages and patterns. Advertisement 'Some nice algebra questions on long division, simultaneous equations and a quadratic equation emerged throughout the tail end of the paper, and a familiar area and algebra cross over in Question 13 closed the exam. 'Notably absent from the paper were questions relating to Pythagoras' "Theorem, Number Systems and Indices. All eyes will be on the marking scheme to see how the updated grade descriptors will be awarded and that those mathematicians deserving of a top grade will be awarded such, given that a distinction grade has now been broadened to 85-100 perc cent, a higher merit from 70-85 per cent and a merit from 55-70 per cent.' Junior Cert Maths (Ordinary) Finally, Stephen Begley said: 'The Junior Cycle Ordinary Level Maths paper was a very accessible, well presented, and well represented exam. Students were put through the paces on their knowledge of the entire course with essentially all topics appearing; Arithmetic, Financial Maths, Statistics, Area and Volume, Sets, Algebra, Graphs (Distance, Speed & Time), Coordinate Geometry, and Trigonometry. "No topic overly dominated and questions were well presented with some pleasing visuals to aid contexts. Overall, students would have found this to be a fair Junior Cycle exam. Notably, Geometry and Functions were absent from the paper.'
