How To Study Class 11 Mathematics

The Class 10th Board Exams are over, students who worked hard during the board examination preparations have found the fruit of their patience and hard work, students have just finished the small week of holidays that is usually given before moving on to the next academic year. Those who studied their fullest for Mathematics in the Class 10th Board Exams have either moved opted for the Arts & Science streams, or they have simply joined the Commerce stream, where studying Mathematics is mandatory as it is a core fundamental subject for Commerce students.

And so students are here, Class 11th, next comes Class 12, and then comes college. However, students need not bother about colleges yet, unless they’re aiming for competitive exams like JEE Main. Class 11 should be the main focus of each and every passed out Class 10th student right now, this is because they have entered the last two years of their academic years in school. It is exactly these two long and crucial years when the subjects that they studied at a basic level until Class 10 will become much more complex in Class 11 & 12, which means that students will be required to put in extra work and dedication into scoring the best marks in their respective subjects. 

Not only that, students who pass Class 11 and get to Class 12 will also have to study way harder when the Class 12 Board examinations dawns upon them, this is because the results of the Class 12 Board examinations will determine which college a student will get tot study in, especially if the said students are planning to study in the prestigious Delhi University which publishes abnormally high cut-offs for its colleges every year (it even reaches 100% for some of the best college like St. Stephens!).

However, in order to even give the daunting Class 12 board examination, students will have to focus on making the best out of their academic session in Class 11. This is because it is during this year that students will be able to familiarize themselves with giving exams at a much higher level than Class 10, so students can treat Class 11 as a practice session before they arrive in Class 12, but that does not mean they take Class 11 examinations lightly, especially in some of the more difficult & complex subjects!

This article is written to help students who have taken Mathematics (they’re most probably Commerce students or PCMB students) as one of their subjects to be included in their syllabus. Mathematics is still a hard subject, despite what parents say about practice and hard-work, and a student will definitely want to be able to make it through Class 11 Mathematics with ease, but that ease does not come easy. This article will help students understand the different methods, tricks, and habits they must pick up and practice in order to make studying Mathematics an easy job. 

• Concentrate during classes — This should already be a given, but it is a common sight to see that students do not all concentrate during classes when it takes place, especially when it’s Mathematics, a subject where you will lose grip of even if you’re distracted for a second. You’ve got something to say to a friend about the gossip this week? Don’t, A friend is bothering you because they want to talk to you? Don’t, There’s something going on in the middle of the school ground and everyone’s gathering there? You can learn about it later. It’s the small distractions of everyday school life that can be the cause of a student lacking behind in class when the teacher is teaching. So it is suggested that students devote 100% of their concentration and attention towards the class board and what the teacher is explaining when studying Mathematics because if students miss an important formulae or question, then it just stacks up into the amount of the problems that students will later have to clarify from the teacher after class. This is also an important tip because weekly or monthly tests will occur every time, and students who concentrate in class will always be one step ahead if they remember whatever was taught in class.

• Utilize the textbook prescribed in your syllabus — Class 11 students are advised to follow this rule religiously. It’s school time and students are prescribed a syllabus that every one of them must follow because it is from this textbook that students will learn the subject. Another reason why it is important to utilize your textbook is because it is more than enough for you to score marks in your exams, just by studying these textbooks a student can pass their exams with flying colors.

• Give special attention to the hardest chapters of the textbook — Every subject has its hardest topics and chapters, and studying these chapters thoroughly is the key to scoring good marks in those subjects. In Class 11 NCERT Maths for example, the hardest chapters include Trigonometric Functions, Binomial Theorem, Sequence and Series, Conic Sections, Straight Lines, and Limits and Derivatives. These chapters are the hardest out of the 16 chapters that are in the NCERT Book for Class 11 Maths, so students are suggested to thoroughly got through these chapters, study them individually at the very least for 2 hours in a day, make notes, revise, and keep practicing the exercise questions of these chapters. Students must also remember that the other chapters are equally important for them too, and they must not neglect them because they are comparatively easier.

Conclusion

Class 11 Maths is just the beginning of what is to come in Class 12 Mathematics, but its very important that students get a firm grasp of the concepts that are taught in Class 11 Maths because these concepts will further ease the student’s understanding of future concepts in Class 12. Students can also refer to solution and problem books like RD Sharma Class 11 Solutions (in PDF) because these books will help them practice all the harder as well as easy questions.