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Summer 2018

Pearson Edexcel GCE Mathematics

In AS Further Mechanics M2 Paper 8FM0_26

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Summer 2018
Publications Code 8FM0_26_1806_ER
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© Pearson Education Ltd 2018
Introduction

There were fewer than 100 students for this first sitting of the new AS Further Mechanics
paper 2.

There were a few very able students who demonstrated a strong command of all the
topics examined. The work of the majority of students suggested that they had not had
sufficient time for a detailed study of all the topics, and that they had not had much
practice working though questions on similar topics from the old specification. It was
also evident from the responses to Question 4 that many students did not have a confident
understanding of the calculus required - indeed some students commented that they had
not yet covered this work in their Pure Mathematics.

Much of the work was clearly set out and followed through in a logical order. Some of
the weaker solutions would have benefitted from the use of clearly labelled diagrams,
correct use of mathematical notation, and some commentary on what the candidate
thought was happening at each stage.

Question 1

(a) By this stage in their mathematics, students should be aware of the need to read
questions very carefully. This question talks about a rod being used to form a frame, but
several students started by treating the frame as a triangular lamina. Rather than
reconsider their strategy, some of these students then forced their working to produce the
given answer.

(b) Fully correct solutions to this part of the question were unusual. The question talks
about applying a horizontal force to maintain AB in a vertical position. Many students
worked through their solution as if they were attaching a particle to the frame, with its
weight acting vertically and AB horizontal. The distance that was actually needed was
given in part (a), but the majority of students felt that they needed to know the vertical
distance of the centre of mass of the frame from BC and to use that.

Question 2

(a) The majority of students started by resolving the forces acting on the car - usually
working horizontally and vertically. A small number of students considered the forces
acting parallel to the plane. Many of the equations were correct, but there was some
evidence of sine/cosine confusion. Most students converted the speed of the car from
km h 1 to ms 1 and went on to use their equations to find the value of  , with several
reaching the correct answer.
 v2
A few students quoted a remembered formula tan   . In this instance it was a valid
rg
approach, but it was a risky strategy because if the formula was misquoted then the only
mark available was the mark for correct conversion of units.

(b) The only model mentioned in the question is of the car as a particle. Most comments
did not relate to this model at all. There were several comments about the friction, and
the unlikelihood of uniform banking of the bend. Many students did not make any
comment.

(c) More able students understood that friction would increase as the speed of the car
increased, but they were not so confident about the direction. Many had the force acting
towards the centre of the circle.

Question 3

(a) Virtually all the responses to this part of the question were correct, although some
were quite long-winded given that there was only one mark available. It was sufficient to
say that the figure was symmetrical about AD.

(b) Most students located the centres of mass of the components of the lamina correctly.
The mass ratios used were often incorrect, sometimes due to an error in calculating an
area, but more often because the information about mass per unit area had been
overlooked. The majority of students understood how to form the moments equation.
Although the question talks about the distance from D, many students created extra work
for themselves by working from AF or AB. The majority of students ignored the hint in
part (a) and formed two separate equations for the horizontal and vertical distances, often
getting two different values. Some students did obtain the given answer correctly, but
there was a fair bit of fudging. Some students worked out from the given answer what
their working should give as an answer, but they did not usually trace back their errors.
The distances in the question are all given in terms of a, so this should have been present
throughout the working - in some cases it only appeared at the end.

(c) This was the sort of question the students were expecting. Several of them used the
1 3
given answer to obtain the distances a and a and then found the required angle
2 2
correctly.

Question 4

(a) The stronger students completed this with no difficulty. The lack of mathematical
experience of the majority was very evident; this question required separation of
variables, recognition of the form of the integral and conversion from logarithms to
exponentials. Several students did reach the given answer, but they worked through the
manipulation of the equations in a very laborious manner.

(b) This question was effectively a test of whether the students knew about the behaviour
of e2.5t for large values of t. For many students this was an easy mark, but some talked
about a maximum value, rather than the limiting value.

(c) This should have been the easier of the two integrals, but many students did not make
dx
the link between v and . If they did get to the correct integral then the task was not
dt
that complex. Independently of the integration, many students did find the correct value
of t for v = 2.5. Again, lack of experience showed in the large number of values left as
2 1
t   ln . Substituting to obtain the given form was a challenge - many students could
5 2
only do it with the assistance of a calculator.
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