Is A2 Maths harder than AS Maths?
Up to now, mathematics, which provides a logical way to express the fundamentals of the world we see, has been known as one of the oldest and most respected academic areas. If you are extremely keen on the beauty of Maths, you might have heard of the A-Level Maths qualification.
A-Level Math (also known as Advanced Level Mathematics), taken in the United Kingdom (and occasionally other countries as well), has been becoming one of the top prestigious qualifications of further education for university entry because it enables holders to demonstrate an ability of logical thinking and reasoning that are expected by all universities around the world. Furthermore, A-Level Maths is not only a facilitating subject but also an ideal course for those who are looking to pursue a mathematics-based degree or other related degree such as the sciences, engineering or computing at universities or colleges.
The A-Level Maths qualification consists of 2 distinctive components: AS Maths and A2 Maths. One of the latest hot searches on Google related to A-Level Maths is “Is A2 Maths harder than AS Maths?”. Therefore, in this paper, we will dig deep into the differences between A2 Maths and AS maths, as well as how hard they are. Let’s check it out!
1. About AS Maths
As we mentioned above, AS (Advanced Subsidiary) Maths is the name given to the first year of A-Level Mathematics. If you only wish to get a qualification in AS-Level Mathematics, you are required to just study for 1 year of A-Level maths course and take 2 exam papers at the end of the one year.
Alternatively, if you want to hold the A-Level Maths qualification, you must go on to study a second year of A-Level Mathematics known as A2 Maths and pass 3 exam papers.
1.1. Topics Covered in AS Maths
The topics that are included here are those that are covered in year one of either the AS-Level or full A-Level in Math. We have adhered to the Edexcel curriculum in accordance with the three subject areas they provide: pure mathematics, statistics, and mechanics.
| Topic Areas | Specializations |
| PURE MATHEMATICS | PROOF: proof by deduction & exhaustion, disproof by counterexample |
| ALGEBRA & FUNCTIONS: completing the square, cubics, curve sketching, discriminant, indices, inequalities, polynomials, quadratics, simultaneous equations, surds, transformation | |
| COORDINATE GEOMETRY: straight lines, equation of a circle | |
| SEQUENCES & SERIES: binomial expansion | |
| TRIGONOMETRY: non-right-angled triangles, trigonometric equations, trigonometric graphs, trigonometric identities | |
| EXPONENTIALS & LOGS: exponential & logarithmic graphs, logs, their rules and solving log equations, growth & decay, differentiating e to the kx | |
| DIFFERENTIATION: differentiation from first principles and differentiating polynomials, increasing & decreasing functions, stationary points, tangents & normals, differentiating e to the kx | |
| INTEGRATION: fundamental theorem of calculus and integrating powers of x, definite integrals | |
| NUMERICAL METHODS: (not covered at AS Level) | |
| VECTORS: two-dimensional vectors, vector arithmetic, vectors in context | |
| STATISTICS | STATISTICAL SAMPLING: Sampling |
| DATA PRESENTATION & SAMPLING: box plots, frequency polygons and cumulative frequency diagrams, histograms, correlation, measures of central tendency, measures of variation, linear interpolation and coding. | |
| PROBABILITY: mutual exclusivity and independence, tree diagrams, Venn diagrams | |
| STATISTICAL DISTRIBUTIONS: discrete probability distributions | |
| STATISTICAL HYPOTHESIS TESTING: hypothesis tests, conducting hypothesis tests | |
| MECHANICS | QUANTITIES & UNITS IN MECHANICS: quantities and units |
| KINEMATICS: motion in a straight line, the SUVAT equations | |
| FORCES & NEWTON’S LAWS: motion under gravity, forces and Newton’s first law, Newton’s second law, Newton’s third law | |
| MOMENTS: (not covered at AS Level) |
1.2. AS Exam Information
Students will have the option of taking an AS in mathematics starting in September 2017. Students would take two tests in May or June of the following year after beginning their course work in September. The exams consist of two papers: one on Statistics and Mechanics and one on Pure Mathematics as follows:
- Paper 1 examines the Pure Mathematics (or core) aspects of the course. The paper is out of a possible 100 marks and is worth 62.5% of the qualification. You have 2 hours to complete them.
- Papers 2 and 3 examine the applied statistics and mechanics aspects of the course. Each paper is out of 30 marks and is worth 37.5% of the AS Maths qualification. You are given both papers which are completed within 1 hour and 15 minutes. They are out of a total possible 60 marks.
2. About A2 Maths
The second year of A-Level mathematics is referred to as A2 Maths. Students must study for a total of two years for the complete A-Level in math and take tests in the summer after Year 2. Additionally, students have the choice to get an AS Maths diploma with only a one-year study commitment.
2.1. Topics Covered in A2 Maths
| Topic Areas | Specializations |
| PURE MATHEMATICS | PROOF: proof by contradiction |
| ALGEBRA & FUNCTIONS: modulus of a function, partial fractions, inverse and composite functions, compound transformations | |
| COORDINATE GEOMETRY: parametric equations | |
| SEQUENCES & SERIES: arithmetic series (and sigma notation), geometric series, sequences, binomial expansion | |
| TRIGONOMETRY: radians, arc length & area of a sector, small angle approximations, reciprocal trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric functions, double & compound angle formulae | |
| EXPONENTIALS & LOGS: compound transformations | |
| DIFFERENTIATION: concavity, convexity & inflection points, derivatives of trigonometric functions, product, quotient & chain rule, parametric & implicit differentiation, differentiating exp/log functions, differential equations & rates. | |
| INTEGRATION: further integration, integrating with trigonometric identities, integration by substitution, integration by parts, integrate using partial fractions, solving differential equations | |
| NUMERICAL METHODS: locating roots using iteration (including Newton-Raphson), trapezium rule | |
| VECTORS: 3D vectors | |
| STATISTICS | STATISTICAL SAMPLING: (not covered in A2 Maths) |
| DATA PRESENTATION & SAMPLING:(not covered in A2 Maths) | |
| PROBABILITY: conditional probability | |
| STATISTICAL DISTRIBUTIONS: the normal distribution | |
| STATISTICAL HYPOTHESIS TESTING: more hypothesis testing | |
| MECHANICS | QUANTITIES & UNITS IN MECHANICS: (not covered in A2 Maths) |
| KINEMATICS: 2D kinematics | |
| FORCES & NEWTON’S LAWS: 2D forces | |
| MOMENTS: moments |
2.2. A2. Exam Information
From September 2017, the Edexcel Maths A-Level will be taught from a new linear syllabus. Students will start learning the material in September and will take two exams in May/June two years later. The examinations are made up of 3 papers: 2 papers on Pure Mathematics and 1 paper on Statistics and Mechanics.
- Paper 1 examines the pure (or core) aspects of the course. The paper is out of a possible 100 marks and is worth 33.33% of the A-Level qualification. Test takers have 2 hours to complete the test.
- Paper 2 covers the pure (or core) aspects of the course. The paper is out of a possible 100 marks and is worth 33.33% of the qualification. Like paper 1, contestants also have 2 hours to accomplish the test.
- Papers 3 and 4 examine the applied (statistics and mechanics) aspects of the course. Each paper is worth 50 marks in total and combined are worth 33.33% of the qualification. Both papers will be completed within 2 hours.
3. The Comparison between AS Maths and A2 Maths
3.1 The similarities between AS Maths and A2 Maths
Generally speaking, AS and A2 Maths have a lot in common as follows:
- The AS and A2 Levels are both intended to be one-year courses.
- They both require a year-long study that culminates in a series of exams.
- They both count for 50% of your final A Level mark. More specifically, to get your overall A Level score, they use the average of your two scores (50/50).
- Many A2 Maths Level papers also test on the content such as Algebra Functions or Statistical Distributions covered in the AS Maths papers because A2 Maths is built on the knowledge you learn from your AS papers.
- Both exams are offered twice a year for you to take it. Both occur in May and June and October and November respectively.
A2 Levels are generally harder than AS Levels. Before taking the A Level, you must study for and pass your AS Level. In the second to last year of high school, students typically finish the AS Level, and in the final year, they finish the A2 Level. However, there is another possibility! Some students take both the AS and the A2 Level exams at the same time. Although it may seem more challenging, it really only depends on schedule and personal desire. Therefore, choose the option that best suits your needs and schedule.
While taking the examinations simultaneously may result in a harder effort, this could be a wonderful alternative if you believe you won’t forget the material from AS by the time you take the A2 exam. Students must take the AS and A2 Level exams within a 12-month period of one another. If not, the AS mark “expires” and cannot be added to the A2 mark to qualify for an A Level.
3.2. The differences between AS and A2 Maths
It is undoubted that A2 math is far more challenging than AS math. If many students are surprised by the transition from GCSE to AS level, this surprise might recur when comparing AS level to A level. Furthermore, this difference in difficulty is impacted by a number of factors.
3.1. The content
As compared to AS level math, A2 math subject is significantly more complicated. You can be expected to expose yourself to more challenging ideas and theories that many students find indigestible to understand. Along with statistics and mechanics, you’ll study pure mathematics.
There are many topics that pure mathematics addresses. This can involve algebra, differentiation, integration, and vectors, among other things. Probability, statistical distributions, and statistical hypothesis testing are all part of statistics. Thirdly, kinematics, forces, and moments can all be a part of mechanics. As you can see from these lists, the amount and complexity of the material you’ll need to know will rise over time.
3.2. Workload
The amount of new material that is introduced in the second year of college makes for a much harder workload than what students experienced at AS level. A2 is well-known for having a heavy task, especially when compared to the requirements for GCSE and AS levels. As you will be required to learn a lot of things and to retain ideas and theories in your memory, this can make A2 more challenging than AS Maths. A2 Maths exams typically have greater content and require more preparation.
Students may discover that in order to stay up with remembering all the material, they need to spend a lot more time working on math problems, practicing questions, and exam papers. Additionally, let’s check 5 Effective Note-Taking Methods to learn more about how to take notes for A-Level Maths and make your studying more organized and smart.
3.3. Managing your time
It gets more difficult to manage your time in A2 than it does in AS. This is due to the fact that you also have other A levels, outside math, to worry about. You’ll have to deal with at least two other subjects getting difficult on top of your math certification. Each subject becoming more difficult might lead to tension and increased revision. When dealing with three topics that are getting harder and harder at the same time, students could find it challenging to manage their time. This is one of the reasons that taking four A levels is uncommon.
3.4. Final exam papers
For both the AS and full A-Level there is an Applied exam session where both the Statistics and Mechanics Papers are set.
- There are two exam sessions for the AS Exams: one for the Pure Exam and the other for two Applied Papers
- There are three exam sessions for the full A-Level Exams: two for the Pure Exam and the final for two Applied Papers. Until now, the Statistics and Mechanics exams have been combined into one Applied Paper.
4. How hard are the AS Maths and A2 Maths exams?
When people are wondering whether you should take the AS Maths or Full A-Level Maths, most of them should take the complexity into account. Even if the level of difficulty varies from person to person, you want to be sure that you’re confident in your ability to handle it and perform at a high level. To help you get well-prepared for the A-Level Maths, visit our A-Level Maths Practice Tests which are categorized into different ascending levels and various topics. Let’s check it out!