Narrabundah College

Assessment Period: 2022 Q1

Course: MATHEMATICAL METHODS
Unit: Unit 2a: Mathematical Methods (0.5)
Accreditation: T
Year: 11

Specific Unit Goals

This unit should enable students to:
• understand the concepts and techniques used in algebra, sequences and series, functions, graphs and
calculus
• solve problems in algebra, sequences and series, functions, graphs and calculus
• apply reasoning skills in algebra, sequences and series, functions, graphs and calculuS

• interpret and evaluate mathematical and statistical information and ascertain the reasonableness of
solutions to problemS

• communicate arguments and strategies when solving problems.

Content Descriptions
Topic 1: Exponential functions
• Indices and the index laws:
o review indices (including fractional indices) and the index laws
o use radicals and convert to and from fractional indices
o understand and use scientific notation and significant figures.

• Exponential functions:
o establish and use the algebraic properties of exponential functions
o recognise the qualitative features of the graph of including asymptotes, and of
its translations ( and )

o identify contexts suitable for modelling by exponential functions and use them to solve
practical problems
o solve equations involving exponential functions using technology, and algebraically in simple
cases.

Topic 2 Arithmetic and geometric sequences and series

• Arithmetic sequences:
o recognise and use the recursive definition of an arithmetic sequence:

o use the formula for the general term of an arithmetic sequence and
recognise its linear nature
o use arithmetic sequences in contexts involving discrete linear growth or decay, such as simple
interest
o establish and use the formula for the sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic sequence

•
 •
Geometric sequences:
o recognise and use the recursive definition of a geometric sequence:

o use the formula for the general term of a geometric sequence and recognise its
exponential nature
o understand the limiting behaviour as of the terms in a geometric sequence
and its dependence on the value of the common ratio r
o establish and use the formula for the sum of the first n terms of a geometric

sequence
o use geometric sequences in contexts involving geometric growth or decay, such as compound
interest.

Assessment Tasks
Name Due Date Weighting
In class Assignment Monday Week 5: 28 February 25%
End-of-unit Test Test Week: 25 March - 31 March 75%

Specific Unit Information

Line 1 - Greg Clarke
Line 2 - Susan Warner
Line 3 - Greg Clarke
Line 4 - Nicole Burg / Kathryn Trenholme
Line 5 - Sanjay Sharma ( Unit coordinator)
Line 6 - Terry Gibson
Line 7 - Neil Gabbitas

School Assessment Information

For penalties for late and non-submission of work
Assessment tasks must be submitted on the date specified on this unit outline. Unless otherwise specified,
physical submissions are due by 4:30 pm and electronic submissions are due by 11:59 pm on the due date.
Extensions can be requested prior to the due date if an appropriate reason is supplied. Extension requests can
be made to your teacher, the Head of Faculty or to your Student Adviser.
A late penalty of 5% of the possible marks per day up to a maximum of 7 days, including weekends and public
holidays, is applied if work is not submitted on time.
If the assessment task is not submitted you will receive a notional zero for the task. You must complete at
least 70% of the assessment in a unit to get a grade and a score. You must also substantially complete your
assessment tasks: that is, you must make a genuine attempt to respond appropriately to the task and
demonstrate some understanding of the work being assessed.
You can find details of the college's assessment policy here: Student Info Handbook: Assessment General
Use this flowchart to see what to do if you miss an in-class task or test: What to Do if You Miss a Task

See BSSS Policy and Procedure Manual 4.3.10 for further information.

For academic integrity

Academic Integrity means that students are required to complete all assessment tasks honestly and with their
own work.
Breaches of the Academic Integrity Policy include (but are not limited to) plagiarism, cheating, collusion, not
contributing to a group task or attempting to change marks. Penalties are applied for breaches of this policy
and they become more serious if there are repeated breaches (see the BSSS link below).
To avoid plagiarism, all students are required to submit assessment tasks written at home through Turnitin.
Students must forward a copy of their Turnitin report to their teacher. Further information about avoiding
plagiarism can be found here: Student Info Handbook: Plagiarism
To help students correctly reference their sources, Citemaker is recommended.
Assistance with using Turnitin and Citemaker is available at the library.
All at-home assessment tasks must be submitted with a completed Declaration of Original Work,
downloadable from here: Declaration Form

See BSSS Policy and Procedure Manual 4.3.12 for further information.

For appeals processes

If you want to query the mark you have received on an assessment task, please do the following:
1. Speak to your teacher and ask them to review the mark they have given, explaining your reason for
requesting a Review.
2. If you want to discuss the Review further, speak to the Head of Faculty.
3. If you are not happy with the outcome of the Review, you can Appeal your mark. This is more serious than a
Review, so please read the information here Student Info Handbook: Appeals Policy and the information from
the BSSS website linked below.
See BSSS Policy and Procedure Manual 7.2 for further information.
For moderation procedures (internal and external)
Internal moderation is used to make sure students' results can be compared with each other, to rank them
appropriately in their courses. Teachers moderate assessment tasks before they are distributed to students, to
make sure they are assessing to the same standard. They then moderate the students' responses, so that
students who submit responses of a similar quality get a similar score or grade. For example, all students
studying a language at any level are grouped together, so the Languages teachers moderate together.
Likewise in English, students study different texts, but their essay responses are moderated against each other.
When students receive their mark for an assessment task, the task has already been moderated.

External moderation happens twice a year in March and August. Teachers look at portfolios of work from
other colleges, moderate the grades awarded to the students and provide feedback on the assessment tasks.
This ensures that the quality of assessment and the grading of students is consistent across the ACT system.

See BSSS Policy and Procedure Manual 5 for further information.

For meshing procedures

Meshing is used when the results of students from different courses are combined together in one scaling
group. For example, all of the tertiary Maths courses are meshed together, so a student's score in Maths
reflects their ranking when compared with all other students studying tertiary Maths, not just their rank within
their individual course. Similarly History, Politics, Legal Studies, Geography and Philosophy scores are meshed
together, so a student's score in one of these courses reflects their ranking compared with all students in
these courses.
Meshing and moderation are closely linked. Decisions about meshing may be based on meshing tests,
common questions in tasks, common types of assessment and historical data.
See BSSS Policy and Procedure Manual 5.4.1 for further information.

For method of unit score calculation

In T units, unit scores are calculated by adding together a student's moderated results for each assessment
task, weighted by the percentage displayed on this unit outline. The marks are then scaled (the mean and
standard deviation are adjusted) to make all of the unit scores comparable across the college. So, for example,
a score of 65 in English is the same as a 65 in Exercise Science.
At the beginning of Year 11, the means and standard deviations for the scaling of each course are based on
historical data and by comparison to the students' performances in the English and Maths courses. All later
scores are backscaled to the students' results in the previous unit, that is the mean and standard deviation
from the students' previous session is used to adjust the scores for the next session. This means that a
student's performance from session to session is also able to be compared.
Student Info Handbook: ACT Senior Secondary Certificate and the ATAR
Unit scores show a student's ranking in a scaling group that can contain one or more courses. Grades are
awarded in A, T and M units, based on criteria which are at the end of this outline. For T units, scores do not
determine grades. This means a student can have the same score in two courses, or in two different sessions,
but a different grade depending on how well they met the grade descriptors.
See BSSS Policy and Procedure Manual 4.3.6.2 for further information.
For procedures for calculating course scores
Units are grouped into courses to create minors, majors, major-minors or double majors, depending on how
many units the student has studied. Student Info Handbook: Course Rules
Some units can be grouped from different courses into integrated courses: Student Info Handbook: Integrated
Courses
For students completing a T package, the BSSS calculates the student's course scores, based on the best 80%
of the units completed (this rule can change if the student has been awarded a Status or Recognition grade).
These course scores are scaled at the end of Year 12, based on the AST results, to generate an ATAR.
Information sessions on grades, scores and the AST are run for parents/carers and students in Year 11 and 12.
See BSSS Policy and Procedure Manual 4.3.13.2 for further information.

Other School assessment policies

IB Learner Profile Attributes addressed in this unit: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators,
Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Taker, Balanced, Reflective
 Achievement Standards for MATHEMATICAL METHODS T - Year 11

A student who achieves an A A student who achieves a B A student who achieves a C A student who achieves a D A student who achieves an E
grade typically grade typically grade typically grade typically grade typically

●  critically applies mathematical ●  applies mathematical concepts in ●  applies mathematical concepts in ●  applies simple mathematical ●  applies simple mathematical
concepts in a variety of complex a variety of contexts to routine and some contexts to routine and non- concepts in limited contexts to routine concepts in structured contexts
Concepts and Techniques

contexts to routine and non-routine non-routine problems routine problems problems

problems ●  selects and applies mathematical ●  applies mathematical techniques ●  applies simple mathematical ●  uses simple mathematical
●  selects and applies advanced techniques to solve routine and non- to solve routine and non-routine techniques to solve routine problems techniques to solve routine problems
mathematical techniques to solve routine problems in a variety of problems in some contexts in limited contexts in structured contexts
complex problems in a variety of contexts ●  demonstrates limited familiarity
●  applies mathematical models to ●  applies simple mathematical
contexts
●  selects and applies mathematical routine and non-routine problems in models to routine problems in limited with mathematical models in
●  constructs, selects and applies models to routine and non-routine some contexts contexts structured contexts
complex mathematical models to problems to a variety of contexts ●  uses digital technologies ●  uses digital technologies ●  uses digital technologies to solve
routine and non-routine problems in a ●  uses digital technologies appropriately to solve routine and appropriately to solve routine routine problems in structured
variety of contexts effectively to solve routine and non- non-routine problems in some problems in limited contexts contexts
●  uses digital technologies efficiently routine problems in a variety of contexts
to solve routine and non-routine contexts 
problems in a variety of contexts
●  represents complex mathematical ●  represents mathematical concepts ●  represents mathematical concepts ●  represents simple mathematical ●  represents simple mathematical
concepts in numerical, graphical and in numerical, graphical and symbolic in numerical, graphical and symbolic concepts in numerical, graphical or concepts in numerical, graphical or
symbolic form in routine and non- form in routine and non-routine form to some routine and some non- symbolic form in routine problems in symbolic form in structured contexts
routine problems in a variety of problems a variety of contexts routine problems in some contexts limited contexts
Reasoning and Communications

●  communicates simple
contexts ●  communicates mathematical ●  communicates mathematical ●  communicates simple mathematical information in oral,
●  communicates mathematical judgements and arguments in oral, judgements and arguments in oral, mathematical judgements or written and/or multimodal forms, with
judgements and arguments in oral, written and/or multimodal forms, written and/or multimodal forms, arguments in oral, written and/or limited use of appropriate language
written and/or multimodal forms, which are clear and reasoned, using using appropriate and accurate multimodal forms, with some use of
●  identifies solutions to routine
which are succinct and well- appropriate and accurate language language  appropriate language
problems in structured contexts
reasoned, using appropriate and
●  analyses the reasonableness of ●  explains the reasonableness of ●  describes the appropriateness of
accurate language
solutions to routine and non-routine solutions to some routine and non- solutions to routine problems ●  reflects on their own thinking with
●  evaluates the reasonableness of problems routine problems little or no reference to planning, time
solutions to routine and non-routine ●  reflects on their own thinking with management, use of appropriate
●  reflects on their own thinking and ●  reflects on their own thinking and
problems in a variety of contexts some reference to planning, time strategies to work independently and
analyses planning, time explains planning, time management,
●  reflects with insight on their own management, use of appropriate use of appropriate strategies to work management, use of appropriate collaboratively
thinking and that of others and strategies to work independently and independently and collaboratively strategies to work independently and
●  identifies some ways in which
evaluates planning, time collaboratively collaboratively
●  explains the potential of Mathematics is used to generate
management, use of appropriate ●  analyses the potential of Mathematics to generate knowledge ●  describes the potential of knowledge in the public good
strategies to work independently and Mathematics to generate knowledge in the public good Mathematics to generate knowledge
collaboratively in the public good in the public good
●  evaluates the potential of
Mathematics to generate knowledge
in the public good
Maths Methods 1 2022
Text: Cambridge Senior Maths Mathematical Methods Units 1 & 2

Week 1 MONDAY Year 11s and new Year 12s only

31 Jan- 4 Feb Review of Index Laws Ex 14A
THURS 3 FEB: BEING@BUNDAH DAY
Radicals and Fractional Indices Ex 14B
Week 2 Scientific notation and accuracy Ex 14C
7 – 11 Feb
Graphs of Exponential Functions and Transformations Ex 14D
(Focus on using Graphic Calculators)
Week 3 Exponential equations Ex 14E 1 – 5
14 – 18 Feb
Exponential models (w/o using logarithms) Ex 11.08
(Handout)
(Solve by graphing or n-solve) exclude Q6
Week 4 Definition of a sequence – explicit and recursive Ex 15A
21 – 25 Feb
Arithmetic sequences Ex 15B

Week 5 MONDAY 28 FEB: IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT

28 Feb - 4 Mar TUE 1 MARCH: MODERATION DAY
Arithmetic Series Ex 15C

Week 6 GEOMETRIC SEQUENCES Ex 15D

7 – 11 Mar

Geometric Series Ex 15E

Week 7 Mon 14 March: Canberra Day
14 – 18 Mar Infinite geometric series Ex 15F
Revision – Exponential Functions and Series Chapter 14 &
15 Review

Week 8 Revision
21 – 25 Mar

Crossline Tests commence Friday 25th March

Week 9 CROSSLINE TESTS END THURSDAY 31ST MARCH
28 Mar – 1 Apr

IB ATTRIBUTES
IB Learner Profile Attributes addressed in this unit: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled,
Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced and Reflective.

GENERAL SKILLS ARISING FROM STUDYING THIS UNIT

Transferable skills arising from a study of this unit include enhanced:
• Team Work – work confidently within a group, as well as build leadership skills by motivating and directing others
• Attention to Detail – thoroughness and accuracy when completing tasks
• Perseverance – continuing diligence in the face of adversity
• Initiative and Enterprise – identifying opportunities not immediately obvious as well as being prepared to be
adventurous in a professional setting
• Technology – use current and emerging technologies in a variety of ways