Blog · 11 September 2026

First-year maths: the term-one units and how to study them

Four units in term one: algebra and functions, similarity, proportionality theorems, and trigonometry — plus how to study each.

The term-one syllabus

First-year maths, term one, is four units:

  1. Algebra, relations and functions — starting with an introduction to complex numbers, determining the nature of the roots of a quadratic, and the relation between the roots and the coefficients.
  2. Similarity
  3. Proportionality theorems in the triangle
  4. Trigonometry — directed angles, the trigonometric functions and their applications.

So: algebra + geometry + trigonometry. There is no separate statistics unit in term one.

The rhythm of the year

Teaching runs September to December, with January for general revision and the end-of-term exam (9 – 14 January 2027).

How to study it

  1. Algebra accumulates. If complex numbers are hazy, everything after them becomes memorisation.
  2. Geometry by drawing. In similarity and proportionality, draw the figure by hand before writing an equation.
  3. Trigonometry on the circle. Understand the directed angle on the unit circle once and the rest follows.
  4. Solve, don't read. Maths is the one subject where "I understood it" is not enough.
  5. The weekly assessment is 15% of your mark, not a small test. The breakdown

Languages school or Arabic school?

We carry both versions: Maths (English) and Maths (Arabic). About exam language, the ministry confirmed arabisation continues. Details

Why it matters more than its mark

It is your ticket to a track. In year two, Medicine & Life Sciences asks you to choose between physics and maths; in year three, the Engineering track's two subjects are advanced maths and advanced physics. Where maths appears on each track

On GoBachaloria

More than one teacher per subject, the first 5 videos free, and you can compare before choosing. How GoBachaloria works

Sources

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