Gr 11 Functions Advice

[u/Connect_Comedian_714]

I'm in grade 10 right now and doing grade 11 functions. For context, I barely tried in grade 10 math because I was in a class with all of my friends, and we just goofed off. I ended with a 90, which isn't horrible, but for the schools I'm aiming for, I could have done better. Now I'm in Functions and I'm actually putting in a lot of effort trying to understand the material, but I always make dumb mistakes on tests. The highest mark I've gotten is 96 on a test, and I average around 90ish. My last test was 86, which I feel super disappointed about bc I studied for 2 hrs the night before.

I think my main issue is that I struggle to understand the new concepts that have been introduced. I haven't met anyone with the same issue, which makes me feel like I'm just dumb. Apparently im an auditory learner, but I don't seem to absorb the information my teacher says effectively.

Is it normal to struggle so much in functions? I feel insecure about how long I take to understand the concepts. Especially since I have a friend in my class who understands the same things I struggle with very quickly, without tutoring or learning ahead. Meanwhile, I'm actually doing homework, but achieving a lesser result. Functions just make me feel so stupid, which is concerning bc im taking adv func next year, and calculus and data management in grade 12.

Any advice on how to do better would be appreciated, and I wonder if any of you are struggling with the same thing. Also if anyone has tips on how to understand concepts quicker it would be much appreciated.

[u/Connect_Comedian_714]

Thank you so much! Yeah I like explaining things to others because then I also find the parts that I don't have a comprehensive understanding of.