This course focuses on the use of calculus and statistical analysis. The study of calculus provides a basis for understanding rates of change in the physical world, and includes the use of functions, their derivatives and integrals, in modelling physical processes. The study of statistics develops students’ ability to describe and analyse phenomena that involve uncertainty and variation.
Mathematics Methods provides a foundation for further studies in disciplines in which mathematics and statistics have important roles. It is also advantageous for further studies in the health and social sciences. In summary, this course is designed for students whose future pathways may involve mathematics and statistics and their applications in a range of disciplines at the tertiary level.
In this unit, students’ study of calculus continues by introducing the derivatives of exponential and trigonometric functions and their applications, as well as some basic differentiation techniques and the concept of a second derivative, its meaning and applications. The aim is to demonstrate to students the beauty and power of calculus and the breadth of its applications.
In this unit logarithmic function and its derivative are studied. Continuous random variables are introduced and their applications examined. Probabilities associated with continuous distributions are calculated using definite integrals. In this unit, students are introduced to one of the most important parts of statistics, namely, statistical inference, where the goal is to estimate an unknown parameter associated with a population using a sample of that population. In this unit, inference is restricted to estimating proportions in two-outcome populations.
Pre-requisites
C grade with 60% in Year 11 Mathematics Methods
Mr Trevor Price
Head of Mathematics
Trevor.Price@cewa.edu.au