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I’ve started using biology paper 1 course for my year 9 son as the school has started some of the gcse content already. We will go on to buy the full version in year 10. The notes and quizzes are very good. Some pictures/diagrammes alongside the notes will really help.
OCR Spec B (MEI) A Level Maths Revision Guide
OCR Specification B - AS Level Maths (H630) OCR Specification B - A Level Maths (H640)
If you’re studying OCR A Level Maths B (MEI), revision can feel a bit overwhelming at first. The good news? Once you understand how the exams are structured and what each paper is testing, revising becomes much more focused and manageable 💪
📄 How Many Papers Are There?
📘There are three exam papers in total for OCR A Level Maths B:
Paper 1: Pure Mathematics and Mechanics
Paper 2: Pure Mathematics and Statistics
Paper 3: Pure Mathematics and Comprehension
All three papers:
are equally weighted
count towards your final A Level grade
are taken at the end of Year 13
OCR (Spec B) A-Level Maths Paper 1. Pure Mathematics and Mechanics
⏰Duration: 2 hours
🏆Marks: 100 marks (36.4%) of total grade
📌Content:
✏️ What Pure Mathematics Includes:
Proof (deduction, exhaustion, counter-example etc.)
Algebra and functions (manipulation, solving equations/inequalities, functions and their inverses, modelling)
Graphs and transformations, coordinate geometry (straight lines, circles, parametric and vector approach)
Sequences and series (arithmetic, geometric series; sigma notation; possibly binomial expansion)
Trigonometry - identities, equations, graphs, trigonometric modelling
Logarithms and exponentials (laws, solving equations)
Calculus - differentiation and integration, including working with functions, rates of change, tangents/gradients, areas, possibly implicit differentiation and more advanced techniques.
Vectors - 2-D vector geometry (including arguments, magnitude, vector equations) and applications.
⚙️ Mechanics - What You Need to Know:
Kinematics: motion under uniform acceleration (including motion under gravity), displacement/velocity/acceleration relations
Forces: understanding forces including contact forces, friction, normal reaction; resolving forces; Newton’s laws
Moments (simple moments): turning effects of forces, equilibrium.
Ability to model real-world situations mathematically (e.g. projectiles, forces, motion) using algebra/calculus plus mechanics ideas.
❓Question Types:
🧠 Paper 1 – Pure Mathematics and Mechanics
Section A – Shorter, more direct questions
Section B – Longer, multi-step problem-solving questions
Section A
Short, focused questions on pure maths and basic mechanics
“Find…”, “Solve…”, “Show that…” style tasks
Little reading - mainly straightforward method-based questions
Often test:
algebra manipulation
calculus
trigonometric skills
simple kinematics or basic force diagrams
Section B
Longer, structured problems
Much more contextual/mechanics-based
Require:
modelling real situations (forces, motion, friction, moments)
setting up equations from a description
interpreting results
using calculus in applied contexts
Overall in Paper 1
You will encounter a mix of routine maths questions and applied problems requiring clear reasoning and mathematical modelling.
OCR (Spec B) A Level Maths Paper 2. Pure Mathematics and Statistics
⏰Duration: 2 hours
🏆Marks: 100 marks (36.4%) of total grade
📌Content:
✏️ Pure Mathematics Content
The pure maths content is similar to Paper 1.
📊 Statistics - What You Need to Know
Data handling: dealing with sample data, summarising, interpreting data, statistical diagrams/charts when required.
Probability: working with events, combined events, conditional probability (as per typical A-level statistics content) - though not every nuance is specified in the overview, it's implied under “probability calculations.”
Distributions: specifically binomial distribution and Normal distribution as models - using them appropriately.
Statistical inference: using sample data to make inferences about populations; hypothesis testing - a major skill.
❓Question Types:
📊 Paper 2 – Pure Mathematics and Statistics
Section A – Shorter pure maths questions
Section B – Mixed pure + statistics application questions
Section A
Similar style to Paper 1 Section A
Short method-based pure maths tasks
Calculation and manipulation questions with minimal context
Section B
Longer, applied statistics questions
Often require interpretation, explanation, and contextual reasoning
Include:
probability questions
use of the binomial and Normal distributions
data interpretation tasks
hypothesis testing questions
questions informed by the Large Data Set (LDS) (you won’t get raw data, but summary values or contextual information)
Overall in Paper 2
Expect a blend of pure maths questions and statistics questions where you must explain, interpret and justify conclusions, not just calculate.
OCR (Spec B) A-Level Maths Paper 3. Pure Mathematics and Comprehension
⏰Duration: 2 hours
🏆Marks: 75 marks (27.3% of total grade)
📌Content: Paper 3 focuses on pure mathematics only (comprehension), but still assumes students understand mechanics and statistics content (i.e. you don’t get statistics or mechanics questions, but pure maths may build on concepts that draw on the general mathematical maturity developed via all content).
📌 Pure Mathematics Content
This paper tests pure maths across the full A Level course, including:
Algebra and proof
Functions and modelling
Trigonometry
Sequences and series
Coordinate geometry
Exponentials and logarithms
Differentiation and integration
Vectors
Although there is no mechanics or statistics content, questions are often:
longer
more problem-solving focused
based on interpreting unfamiliar situations
📖 This paper rewards clear mathematical reasoning and communication.
❓Question Types:
✏️ Paper 3 – Pure Mathematics and Comprehension
Section A (~60 marks) – Standard pure mathematics
Section B (~15 marks) – Mathematical comprehension task
Section A
Pure maths problems across the entire specification
Mix of short questions and multi-part problems
Often include:
solving equations
proofs
calculus applications
trigonometry
sequences and series
vectors
functions and graphs
Section B – Comprehension
This section is unique to OCR MEI.
You’re given a short mathematical passage (an article or explanation) and asked questions on it.
Question types include:
interpreting definitions or results from the passage
adapting a method shown in the text
explaining or justifying why something works
using unfamiliar notation introduced in the passage
applying pure maths ideas to a new situation
Overall in Paper 3
This paper tests your ability not only to do maths but to understand, interpret and communicate mathematics clearly, especially in unfamiliar contexts.
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OCR-B A-Level Maths Paper 1 | Past Papers
OCR-B A-Level Maths Paper 2 | Past Papers
OCR-B A-Level Maths Paper 3 | Past Papers
OCR (Spec B) AS Level Maths Paper 1
📑 Paper 1: Pure Mathematics and Mechanics
⏰Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
🏆Marks: 70 marks (50% of total grade)
📌Content: Pure Maths makes up the majority of this paper, with mechanics questions mixed in.
✏️ Pure Mathematics Content
You should be confident with the following areas:
✅Proof
- Simple algebraic proof and logical reasoning
✅ Algebra
Manipulating expressions
Solving equations and inequalities
Quadratics, indices, and surds
✅ Functions
Function notation
Composite and inverse functions
Domain and range
✅ Coordinate Geometry
Straight-line graphs
Finding intersections
✅ Trigonometry
Trigonometric ratios
Trigonometric graphs
Identities and equations
Radians
✅ Exponentials and Logarithms
Laws of logs
Solving exponential and logarithmic equations
Modelling growth and decay
✅ Graphs
- Sketching and interpreting graphs
- Graph transformations
✅Vectors
- Using vectors to represent displacement
Simple vector geometry
✅ Calculus
Differentiation (including applications to gradients and turning points)
Integration
Areas under curves
Rates of change
⚙️ Mechanics Content
Mechanics questions test how maths applies to real-life motion and forces 🚗
✅Physical quantities and units
Understanding modelling assumption
✅ Kinematics
Distance, speed and acceleration
SUVAT equations
Motion in a straight line (constant acceleration)
Interpreting displacement-time and velocity-time graphs
✅ Forces and Newton’s Laws
Forces acting on a particle
Free-body diagrams
Newton’s First and Second Laws
Resolving forces
Connected particles (simple pulley-type systems)
❓Question Types: Mostly structured, multi-step problems with method marks. Some short-answer questions for definitions or quick calculations.
Section A: tends to have shorter, more routine questions with minimal reading or interpretation.
Section B: has longer questions - more demanding, problem-solving, often multi-step, possibly involving modelling or interpretation.
✏️ Pure Mathematics Question Types
You can expect questions such as:
- Algebra and Functions: Simplify expressions, solve equations, manipulate surds and logarithms.
- Calculus: Differentiate and integrate functions, apply to curves, tangents and areas.
- Sequences and Series: Work with arithmetic and geometric progressions, binomial expansion.
- Trigonometry: Solve trig equations, use identities and apply to real-world contexts.
⚙️ Mechanics Question Types
Mechanics questions often involve real-world modelling, so clear diagrams and explanations really matter.
Typical question types include:
- Forces and Motion: Identify forces acting on particles, draw diagrams, apply Newton’s laws.
Kinematics: Use SUVAT equations, interpret motion graphs, calculate displacement/velocity.
Moments and Equilibrium: Solve problems involving rigid bodies and balance conditions.
OCR B AS Level Maths Paper 1 | Past Papers
OCR (Spec B) AS Level Maths Paper 2
📑 Paper 2: Pure Mathematics and Statistics
⏰Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
🏆Marks: 70 marks (50% of total grade)
📌Content: This paper combines core maths skills with working with data, probability and interpretation. You will need to know the Pure Mathematics content from Paper 1.
You should be confident with:
✅Sampling
- Populations and samples
- Sampling methods
Sampling bias
✅Data presentation and interpretation
- Tables, charts, and graphs
- Scatter diagrams
- Interpreting real-world data
✅Probability
- Probability rules
- Mutually exclusive and independent events
- Venn diagrams
- Tree diagrams
- Conditional probability
✅Probability distributions
- Using the binomial distribution
- Interpreting probability models
✅Statistical hypothesis testing
- Forming null and alternative hypotheses
- Using significance levels
- Critical values
Writing conclusions in context
❓Question Types: Mix of short-answer and extended reasoning questions. Often includes real-world data sets and interpretation tasks.
✏️ Pure Mathematics Question Types
Pure maths questions on Paper 2 are very similar to those on Paper 1, so skills transfer directly ✅
You’ll again see:
Algebra, calculus, graphs, functions, trigonometry, exponentials and vectors
Both short skills questions and longer problem-solving tasks
📈 Statistics Question Types
Statistics questions are often context-based and require written explanations as well as calculations.
Probability: Calculate probabilities using tree diagrams, conditional probability, and independence.
Distributions: Work with binomial and normal distributions, including approximations.
Data Analysis: Interpret statistical diagrams, calculate measures of central tendency and spread.
Hypothesis Testing: Apply significance tests using given data.
OCR B AS Level Maths Paper 2 | Past Papers
How to revise for OCR A Level Maths
✨Here are some top tips to make your revision more effective:
1. Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses✅
Start by identifying which areas you find hardest:
calculus?
mechanics problem-solving?
hypothesis tests?
Target revision where it will make the biggest difference 🎯
2. Practise with Exam-Style Questions📝
OCR Maths B questions are often:
longer
more applied
less repetitive than GCSE
Use:
past papers (you will find the links to past papers on this page!)
topic-by-topic exam questions
mark schemes (to learn how marks are awarded!)
🧠 Don’t just check what the answer is – check how it’s written.
3. Revise Pure Maths for Every Paper🧩
Pure maths appears in all three exams, so:
prioritise core skills like algebra manipulation and calculus
practise linking topics together
This gives you the highest return on revision time 🔄
4. Mechanics and Statistics = Understanding + Practice⚙️
For mechanics:
draw diagrams
define forces clearly
write down equations before calculating
For statistics:
memorise hypotheses wording
practise calculator use
explain conclusions clearly in context
Marks are often lost through poor explanation, not maths errors ✍️
5. Build Exam Stamina⏱️
Two hours is a long paper! Try:
timed practice
full papers under exam conditions
reviewing common mistakes afterwards
Confidence comes from familiarity 😊
🌟 Final Thoughts
OCR A Level Maths B rewards:
clear mathematical communication
strong problem-solving skills
consistent practice over time
Stick to a structured revision plan, practise regularly,and don’t ignore exam technique – it really matters. You’ve got this! 🚀