This is one of the easiest topics to score in PMR Math exam especially if your languages are good. Even if you are not, you can observe how the sentences look like and eventually you will remember them too. This topic has been appearing in both paper 1 and paper 2 so far. And what do you need to know to master this Form 2 chapter 9 topic? There are basically three important points to note.

First of all, do you know how many loci there are altogether? Yes? That is good for you. You are one third there. No? My question to you is, “As in a game of DotA, if you do not know your team players or assuming you do not know where the opponents’ Ancients are, then how are you going to destroy them?” You have to know your team players well to form strategies and to work closely together to destroy the opponents’ Ancients in order to win the game. It is the same for Math. If you do not know how many loci there are altogether? Then how could master the chapter?

Some of you might have already flipped through your textbook and found out that there are a total of four loci in the chapter of Loci in Two Dimensions namely, Circle, Perpendicular bisector, Parallel line and Angle bisector. The second point you must know is how each locus is defined. For example, the locus of a circle is usually describe as a locus with constant distant from a fixed point. In some questions, instead of using the words constant distant, the question may say directly, “locus of X is 4 units from the point P or some questions may be in this format where it tell you that the locus of Y such that YJ is equaled to JN (refer to the picture on the right).

Therefore, it is important to know how each type of locus is defined and the variations of the definition. Perpendicular bisector is usually defined as a locus that is equidistant from two fixed points or the question may say directly ‘equidistant from P and Q.‘ For Parallel line, it is defined as constant distant from a line or question may tell you directly that the locus is 1 cm or constant distant from AB. The last of the locus is Angle bisector which is defined as a locus equidistant from two lines or directly (looking at the previous picture on the right)equidistant from SR and SP.

You may ask me, “How can I know the variations of the definition of each type of locus?” My answer will be pretty straight forward – Practice.” Through practicing, not only will you gain confidence in tackling questions on Loci, you will also learn the variations of the definition of each type of locus.

Before ending this post, the third point to mastering Loci in Two Dimensions is to know how to draw each type of Locus.

What you need to know for the last part of the question is usually the intersection of two loci; the intersection point/points will satisfy the conditions of the two loci.

So you can see that Loci in Two Dimensions is an easy topic which you can score. All you need to know are:

1. How many different type of locus in this chapters and the name for each locus.
2. The definition for each type of locus.
3. How to draw each type of locus.

After knowing this, the key to mastering this topic is still – Practice!

I do hope that after reading this post, you will put the date in BLOCK LETTER on a piece of paper where you can see it everyday and make your study plan. I remember asking a student previously if he knows how many topics there are altogether which he needs to prepare for PMR Math. He had no idea and most students would tell you they do not know too. There are altogether 29 Chapters from Form 1 to Form 3 and each of this chapter will appear either in Paper 1 or Paper 2. Some topics like Statistics, Graphs of Functions and Loci in Two Dimensions have been appearing in both Paper 1 and Paper 2 so far.

In fact, Topics like Statistics, Graphs of Functions and Loci in Two Dimensions are pretty easy to score especially if either your English or BM is good. However, in Math, you can make up for the poor understanding in language by practicing; the more you practice, the more you’ll see a pattern of how the questions are asked. All you need to do is to be extra careful when you are reading the questions. Are you aware of all these? And do you know that there are only 4 Loci in the Form 2 topic of Loci in Two Dimensions. All you need to know and remember are the different ways of how to describe each of the locus.

Thus, preparing for your PMR Math involves knowing little details like these, which will make it easier for you to study. What you would still need to do, especially in Math, is still to put what you know into practice. Getting an ‘A’ in Math could be this simple.

If you didn’t do well for your mid-year Math exam, you do not really need tuition. All you need to do is to find out which topics you are not doing well, clarify all the doubts with your friends or teachers, then put the new understandings into practice.

What do you want to see in your PMR or SPM examination certificate? You may be asking me just what do I mean by asking you that question; it is not as if you can design your own certification. On the contrary, you have as much to say as you want to in your certificate. You can even ‘design’ the grades that you want to see on it; be it an ‘A’ for BM or an ‘A’ for Sejarah or an ‘A’ for Geografi or ‘A’ for both Math and Science. Or simply just straight ‘A’s for all subjects.

Stop reading at this very moment. Take out a piece of A4 size paper and start writing down all the subjects you are required to take for the PMR or SPM examination and create another column besides it and write down all the grades that you want in that column. Let me stress again – write down all the grades that you want to get in your examination. It is normal to doubt if you can really get all the grades that you want but just put it all down anyway. There is another more effective way to do it; find someone who has already gotten his/her PMR or SPM certificate, then make a photocopy of it and then erase the name on it and put down your own name. Then erase all the grades of that person and put down the grades that you want on that certificate.

After you are done, paste this certificate at a place where you can see very often and where your family can see it too so that they can remind you often. Do take this exercise very seriously as the moment you are doing this exercise, your grades are already changing.

Now that you are done with that simple exercise, let us talk about putting that ‘designed’ certification into reality. Putting that grades on your photocopied certificate is a way of wishing or hoping that you will really get all that grades. There is a different between just wishing and hoping for it to happen and working effortlessly towards it. If you are doing the topic of Probability in Form 5 A Math, you would know that the Probability of just wishing for the straight ‘A’s is as good as zero.

However, if you start building foundation to that wish of yours, you have a much higher chance of making it real just as Walt Disney built the foundation to his dream of Disneyland. And what do I mean by building the foundation to your wish? Simply put, I am talking about putting in the extra hard work and taking action in your study, especially in the subjects which you are not doing well now. Put in as much effort, if not more, as you had in your Dota, or Facebook game or anything which you are already doing very well in. When it comes to Mathematics, the hard work or effort is synonymous to practicing; do as much past year questions as you can.

Just the other day I was marking some A Math assignments in Trigonometry and Function by a student that I got quite pissed off; my blood was literally boiling. And for a very good why I should be pissed off: she has been giving me the same not careful mistakes again and again; it was (x – 3) in one moment and then when she copied it to the next part of the question, it became (x + 3) and everything was not right after that.

The very reason I was so pissed is because she knew exactly how to do the question. She followed the right strategy and steps in solving the Function question but she gave away marks to these kind of not careful mistakes. Trigonometry is a bigger challenge to her at this point but it will get better for sure with more practice. Right now she needs to take care of a few fundamental issues first which is crippling her progress in A Math. We will work together to take down these issues one by one. There is not much time to lose before she takes her Trial Examination follows by her SPM examinations at the end of the year.

On Wednesday while I was coaching her, we talked about her dream to study Aeronautical Engineering. I asked if she really has the passion in doing it. Depending on the fields of study which she will pursue in Aeronautical Engineering, whether she likes it or not, she will have to deal with higher Mathematics. In fact, in most engineering course, she will need to take higher mathematics. And thus it is important to build her foundation well now. I told her if Aeronautical Engineering is really her passion, then she will surely find all ways to break down all the challenges to get there.

She shared with me that she doesn’t hate A Math, it’s just that she can’t seem to understand it. I wasn’t surprising she couldn’t seem to understand it. In Mathematics, we not only have to understand the concept, we also have to practice; which is the thing she has not been doing yet. And being a kinesthetic person, who learn best by doing, then all the more she needs to practice. Just as a question I have always asked her, “How did you remember all the lyrics?” She told me she just sung them again and again and again. She responded that if only A Math was like singing. I said, “Why not? I am not stopping you. If you find that by singing it out you can remember, then by all mean sing it out!”