General Mathematics
Unit 1 & 2
Course Description
General Mathematics provides a broad course of study for a diverse group of students with widely varying career paths. General Mathematics Units 1 & 2 prepares students for General Mathematics Units 3 & 4. Areas of study are, Univariate Data, Number Patterns, Recursion & Financial Mathematics, Linear Equations and Graphs, Matirces, Bivariate Data, Networks, Variation and Space, Measurement & Trigonometry.
NB: It is highly recommended to choose this Maths subject if you were successful with a score of 50% or above in Year 10 Core Mathematics, or 40% in Advanced Maths.
The areas of study for this course are:
Unit 1
Investigating and comparing data distributions - In this area of study students cover types of data, display and description of the distribution of data, summary statistics for centre and spread, and the comparison of sets of data.
Arithmetic and geometric sequences, first-order linear recurrence relations and financial mathematics - In this area of study students cover the concept of a sequence and its representation by rule, table and
Functions, relations and graphs - In this area of study students cover linear function and relations, their graphs, modelling with linear functions, solving linear equations and simultaneous linear equations, line segment and step graphs and their applications.
Matrices - In this area of study students cover the concept of matrices and matrix operations to model and solve a range of practical problems, including population growth and decay.
Unit 2
Investigating relationships between two numerical variables - In this area of study students cover association between two numerical variables, scatterplots, and lines of good fit by eye and their interpretation.
Graphs and networks -In this area of study students cover the use of graphs and networks to model and solve a range of practical problems, including connectedness, shortest path and minimum spanning trees.
Variation - In this area of study students cover direct and inverse variation, transformations to linearity and modelling of some non-linear data.
Space, measurement and applications of trigonometry - In this area of study students cover units of measurement, accuracy, computations with formulas for different measures, similarity and scale in two and three dimensions, and their practical applications involving simple and composite shapes and objects, trigonometry, problems involving navigation and Pythagoras’ theorem and their applications in the plane.
Outcomes - On completion of this unit students will be able to:
define and explain key concepts as specified in the content from the areas of study and apply a range of related mathematical routines and procedures.
apply mathematical processes in non-routine contexts, including situations with some open-ended aspects requiring investigative, modelling or problem-solving techniques or approaches, and analyse and discuss these applications of mathematics.
apply computational thinking and use numerical, graphical, symbolic and statistical functionalities of technology to develop mathematical ideas, produce results and carry out analysis in situations requiring investigative, modelling or problem-solving techniques or approaches.
Assessment Tasks
Unit 1
Univariate Data Investigation Task
Number Patterns & Recursion Modelling Task
Linear equations and graphs Test
Matrices Analysis Task
Semester Exam 1
Semester Exam 2
Unit 2
Bivariate Data Application Task
Graphs and Networks Problem Solving Task
Variation Test
Space and trigonometry application Task
Semester Exam 1
Semester Exam 2
Pathways
Units 3 & 4 General Mathematics
Units 3 & 4 Foundation Mathematics
Units 3 & 4 VM Numeracy
Textbook requirements:
Included in School Bundle
Resources/Requirements:
School laptop provided in School Bundle
A4 Exercise Book & pens
CAS calculator (TI Nspire) highly recommended (Available to rent, lease to own or purchase on the book list)
Career Pathways
What Courses/Careers this could lead to:
This course leads into VCE Unit 3 & 4 Further Mathematics. Students completing General Mathematics are able to pursue a variety of career paths, such as:
Accountants, Aircraft Personnel, Economists, Statisticians, Banking, Stockbrokers, Builders, Insurance Assessors, Business Management, Nurses, Teachers, Computer Programmers, Tertiary Lecturer, Psychologists, Town Planners.