OK so that title is misleading. I am not going to say if I think for sure GCSEs are getting harder, though I do think the maths exams of the last couple of years are making more demands of Students.
But I will give the answer to the question I posted two days ago.
I think what is interesting about this question is that its unlikely the student has seen a question quite like this before.
Its hard to know how to prepare for the question. What it is looking for is a ‘feel’ for the situation. I think the new 9-1 exams are designed so that this ‘feel’ is required to get top grades.
So how do we answer it? Well, we are given the common factorisation of a2 – b2. We are told for the values of a and b this is a prime number.
But we also are given a multiply sum (a + b)(a – b) with this as the answer. And what is the only multiply sum that has a given prime number p as the answer?
Its p x 1 ! So either a + b = 1 or a – b = 1. A + b can’t = 1 because we can’t have two positive whole numbers adding up to 1.
so a – b = 1, or a = b + 1. In other words they are consecutive numbers, as the question says.
And that’s it – It is only two marks after all. A knowledge of what prime numbers are, but in an unfamiliar context, is what is required for these marks.
And that’s what I mean by, an ability, a confidence, of recognising skills and facts learnt when seen in unfamiliar surroundings is what is required to get an 8 or 9 in the new GCSE. It will reward true understanding.