GCSE: Maths Coursework

"Part of this low rating is not the author's fault: the graphs and exponents which are, essentially, a key part of this project are missing and that's merely due to the transfer to it going online. However, the maths isn't particularly strong. The results for the gradient of the tangents are way off and the fix for them to become "correct" seems magic and convenient. The evaluation is poor, and considering all it says is "measurements could go wrong: and did," really isn't contributing anything. The idea of proof is misguided. A formula is constructed from the data, and when tested against the data, the author asserts it is correct. At GCSE level a more concrete understanding is not necessary at any means, but this seems to me to be a real surface level understanding. No means of explanation or interpretation of the result is offered. TSR User:DavyS"

"This is a good start to your coursework, however I feel that it needs to be explained in a lot more detail. The introduction is quite short, however the aim makes up for this and it is quite clear what you are trying to achieve. Obviously the work is incomplete, but I would have like to have seen what results you gain. Overall, this is not a bad start, but there is a lot of work that still needs to be done. TSR User: boosh_slayer"

"The maths is most certainly correct, but viewed simplistically. The formulae are all retrofitted to correct results, but the author seems to think that the only justification necessary is using a higher number. For example, he devises the formula using results gained from empirical evidence on n = 1, 2, 3, 4 and then by showing that it works for n = 5, he seems content that it is a correct formula. The generalisation could have gone further to a very general case but, disappointingly, he seemed to stop at a very arbitrary point. The presentation of data is very clear, and the language shows the author has a clear understanding of what is going on. TSR User:DavyS"

"Good read, although I found the repetitiveness of 'Therefore' far too much! Instead of saying 'therefore', I would explain why these results cause this graph to occur, etc. Although I did think it was an interesting read and overall a good essay. TSR User:Phobia27"

"It's a good, standard piece of GCSE statistics coursework. The maths is most definitely sound. There is a range of data analysis techniques used; it's a shame that saving it to be put on the internet has lost some of the more ambitious graphs. The author gets occasionally confused between the different hypotheses that are going on. They use stratified sample to consider the school as a whole, which is excellent, but they use this same sample when they are comparing and contrasting the data gathered between boys and girls, which means comparing data between a sample of 49 and 51 students. They also fail to consider one quite sizeable problem in this tally... the data that they get is a bit meaningless. "On average, boys in this story are taller than girls" which is a bit vague, as it doesn't take into account whether boys are older on average etc. On the surface, it's a solid piece of work, but it doesn't step out much from beyond the safe statistical analysis to actually consider what the statistics are meaning to show, or do. TSR User:DavyS"