C4 Cheat Sheet

Chapter
1 Partial
Fractions

Usual types of questions

Be able to split a fraction whose
denominator is a product of
linear expressions, e.g. ( )

Tips
The textbook provides two methods for dealing with top
heavy fractions. The algebraic long division method is miles
easier!

Be able to split a fraction where

one (or more) of the factors in
the denominator are squared,
e.g. ( )

e.g.

Deal with top-heavy fractions

where the highest power in the
denominator is greater or equal
to the highest power in the

Then split the

denominator, e.g

Know that

( )
(This makes sense as we have just divided
numerator and denominator by )

Be able to integrate parametric

equations.
Be able to convert parametric
equations into a single Cartesian
one.

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. Using long division we get a quotient of 1

and a remainder of

2 Parametric
Equations

, thus:

What can go ugly

Forgetting the extra term when the
denominators factors are squared.
Being sloppy at algebraic long division!
Be careful with substitution of negative
values.

(
)
into partial fractions as normal.
)

Dont forget that when you have a squared factor in the

denominator, you need two fractions in your partial fraction
sum:
(
)
When you have three unknowns its generally easiest to use
substitution to get two of them (e.g. the and the ) then
compare the coefficients of to get the . For the above
example:
(
)
(
)
We can see immediately, without needing to write out the
expansion, that
, by comparing terms.
Note: You will NOT be asked to sketch parametric equations.
To convert parametric equations involving trig functions to
Cartesian ones, the strategy is usually to make
and
the subject before using the identity
. Often squaring one of the parametric equations helps so
that we have
and/or
:

( ) )

Hitting a dead end converting parametric

equations to Cartesian. See tips on left.
Forgetting to multiply by when
integrating parametric equations.
Remember that the
in
can be
replaced with
, which is easy to
remember, as the s cancel if we think of
and just as quantities.

3 Binomial
Expansion

Expanding out an expression of

) , where is
the form (
negative or fractional.
Expanding out an expression of
) , where
the form (
needs to be factorised out first.
Finding the product of two
Binomial expansions, e.g.

(
) (
)

(
(

)
(

Your expression may be a binomial in disguise, e.g.

(

)(

When the first term is not 1, you have to factorise this

number out, raised to the power outside the brackets. e.g.
)

(
(

) (

) (

)(

Many things!
Lack of brackets when squaring/cubing
things, e.g. you need ( )
not
) , forgetting to raise the
With say (
3 you factor out to the power of -1.
Forgetting to put the factorial in the
denominators of the Binomial coefficients
(a common error is instead of )

Ensure the outer brackets are maintained till the very end,
when you expand them out.
When finding the product of two expansions, then if you
needed up to the term, then you only need to find up to
the term in each of the two expansions. Only consider
things in the expansion which are up to . e.g.

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(
)

)(

Being careless in using your calculator when

simplifying coefficients.
Be ridiculously careful with signs.
Accidentally forgetting the minus in the
power what expanding say ( )

4Differentiation

Appreciate that
represents exponential growth
when
, and exponential
decay when
.
Know that ( )

Example of implicit differentiation (which frequently involves

collecting the terms on one side and factorising it out):
Given that
, find .
Differentiating both sides with respect to :
(

Be able to differentiate
implicitly, e.g. ( )
and subsequently be able to
make the subject.
Be able to set up differential
equations, e.g. understand that
the temperature falls at a rate
proportional to its current
temperature could be
represented as
Connect different derivatives
involving rates, e.g.

)
(

A differential equation is an equation involving both some

variables and derivatives involving those variables, e.g. a mix
of
and . Solving this equation means to get an
equation only involving the variables, and not the derivatives.
Whenever you see the word rate, think
.
A circles radius increases at a rate of 2cm/s. Find the rate of
increase of its area when the radius is 10cm.
First note the variables involved:
and because were
talking about rates, . We need to find . Since derivatives
behave pretty much like normal fractions, first write the
following product with the
and copied into the
diagonals:
Then fill the remaining diagonals with the remaining variable,
:
One value, in this case
, is always given. The other we
need to form some formula, in this case
(and often
using simple geometry to find an area of volume), and
differentiate:

Thus when
Thus:

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A classic is to accidentally treat or as

constants rather than variables, when
differentiating implicitly. Note that
( )
if is a constant, but
( )
by the product rule, and
not just .
When differentiating implicitly, you might
forget to put the , e.g. ( )
rather than the correct
Exponential functions do not behave like
polynomials when differentiated. e.g.
( )
, but ( )
, and
absolutely not
!
Many students often get their equation
wrong when connecting rates of change,
often say dividing instead of multiplying, or
vice versa. If you use the fill in the
diagonals tip on the left this will unlikely be
a problem.

5 - Vectors

(In rough descending order of how

frequently they appear in exams)
Find the point of intersection of
two lines or prove that two lines
do not intersect.
Find the angle between two
lines.
Finding a missing / / value of
a point on a line.
Find the length of a vector or the
distance between two points.
Find the nearest point on a line
to a point not on the line (often
the origin) note: not in your
textbook!
Show lines are perpendicular.
Show a point lies on a line.
Show 3 points are collinear (i.e.
lie on the same straight line)
Find the area of a rectangle,
parallelogram or triangle formed
by vectors.
Find the equation of a line.
Find the reflection of a point in a
line.

When you see the

unit vectors used in an exam
question, never actually use this notation yourself: always
just write all vectors in conventional column form.
Almost always draw a suitable diagram. This will be
particularly helpful when you need to find the area of some
shape (typically the last part of a question).
When finding the area of a shape, you can almost always use
your answers from previous parts of the questions, including
lengths of vectors and angles between two vectors.
Remember that area of non-right angled triangle
where the angle appears between the two sides and . A
parallelogram can be cut in half to form two congruent nonright angled triangles (i.e. multiply by 2).
To show 3 points
are collinear, just show that is a
multiple of (i.e. vectors are parallel).
Show
lies on the line with vector equation
(
)

i.e. Show ( ) lies on (

). Equating

to

Then
, so and components are same.
(
)
(
)
Let
Given point has positive vector
and lies on
such that
is perpendicular to , find .
(

Note that the direction vector of the line, and the vector
are perpendicular. is just a point on the line so can be
represented as (

) for some specific we need to

find.
Direction vector of

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is (

When finding the angle between two lines,

accidentally using the full vector
representation of the line (in your dot
product), and not just the direction
component, e.g. using (
just the correct (

).

Making sign errors when subtracting

vectors, particularly when subtracting an
expression involving a negative. Correctly:
( )

) instead of

Once finding out and (or and ) when

solving simultaneous equation to find the
intersection of two lines, forgetting to show
that these satisfy the remaining equation.
Forgetting the square root when finding the
magnitude of a vector.

Thus:
(

) (

Thus:

( )
( ))

6 - Integration

Integrate a large variety of

expressions. See the integration
cheat sheet overleaf. But by
category:
o Integrating trig
functions, including
reciprocal functions and
squared functions
,
,
etc.
o Integrating by reverse
chain rule.
o Integrating by a given
substitution.
o Integration by parts.
o Integrating by use of
partial fractions.
Be able to differentiate
parametric equations:

One often forgotten integration is exponential functions such

as . Differentiating has effect of multiplying by of the
base, and thus integrating divides by it. i.e.
(

Know the two double angle formulae for

like the back of
your hand, for use when integrating
or
For integration by reverse chain rule, always consider
some sensible expression to differentiate, then adjust for the
factor difference. e.g.
)

(
Then your working might be:
(
) . Then
Consider
(
(

Calculate volumes of revolution

both for normal and parametric

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)
)

)
(

For integration by substitution, the official specification says

Except in the simplest of cases, the substitution will be
given.
Remember that starting with the substitution, say
, it helps to make the subject, except in some
cases where theres a trigonometric substitution, e.g. if

Where to start!
One big problem is just not knowing what
method to use to integrate a particular
expression. The cheat sheet overleaf should
help, as should lots of practice of a variety
of expressions!
Similarly getting stuck on integration by
substitution, because you cant get the
whole original expression only in terms of
the new variable ( or otherwise).
Perhaps the all-time biggest mistake is
forgetting to consider the effects of chain
rule. e.g. Accidentally doing

Sign errors when integrating/differentiating

trig functions. Other than sin and cos, be
)
careful about cot/cosec: (
thus

equations:

Solve differential equations.

e.g.
Trapezium Rule as per C2, but
now with C3/C4 expressions to
integrate. You will frequently be
asked to compare the actual
error and the estimated area
using the rule, and the
percentage error.

, but
appears in the expression to
integrate, then we might make
the subject instead.
Differentiate and make
the subject also, then ensure
original expression is only in terms of new variable.
Dont feel as if you need to memorise a separate formula for
parametric volumes of revolution, since
clearly by
the fact that the s cancel.
This is more use for STEP, but remember that ( )
( ), useful when the limits are the wrong way round.
You can tidy things up sometimes using ( )
( ) , since the -1 can be factored out the integral.
For integration by parts, if you ever have to IBP twice, write
the second integral as a separate result first before
substituting it in after. This is to avoid sign errors and keep
things tidy. e.g. Workings might be:

For

Note the nice double negative tidying up trick towards the

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end.
If youre solving

, then you need the

(or

whatever variable appears at the top of ) on the LHS. This

is always achieved by a division or multiplication, which may
require factorisation first:
(

| |

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Note in the above example, we let some new constant

to help tidy things up. If we had
on the right( ).
hand-side, wed make
so that
Similarly if we had
, and hence
, we could make
.
In differential equations, if youre given initial conditions
(note, often
is often implied for the initial condition),
then its generally easier to plug them in to work out your
constant of integration sooner rather than later.

C4 Integration Cheat Sheet

( )

How to deal with it

( )

Standard result
Standard result
In formula booklet, but use
which is of the form

(+constant)

( )

Formula
booklet?
No
No
Yes

Formula
booklet?
No

(+constant)

For any product of sin and cos

with same coefficient of ,
use double angle.

( )
( )

For both
and
use identities for

( )

How to deal with it

No

Standard result

No

Use IBP, where

No
|

Use algebraic division.

No
| |

Use partial fractions.

(

No
Would use substitution
, but too
hard for exam.
Would use substitution
, but too
hard for exam.
which is of the form

Yes

Yes

Yes

( )

By observation.
By observation.

No!
Yes (but
memorise)
No
No
No

Standard result
Then differentiate implicitly.

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( )

( )
( )

Power around denominator

so NOT of form

( )
( )

Rewrite as product.
(
)
Reverse chain rule (i.e.
(
)
Consider
and differentiate.
For any function where inner
function is linear expression,
divide by coefficient of

( )

Reverse chain rule. Of form

(
|

Use sensible substitution.

or even better,
.
Reverse chain rule.

|
(

|
) (