1. Year 9 Maths Course Outline – Semester 1, 2010
Number Skills
(Strands: Number, Structure)
This unit involves a lot of revision of basic number skills. It includes estimation and
rounding, decimals, fractions and percentages and how to convert from one to another. The
students will work with index notation, square roots and higher roots. They will be
introduced to the concept on scientific notation and how and where it can be used. They
will revise multiples and factors, and understand the concept of irrational numbers. These
students have used surds before, but until now have not worked with surds, simplifying,
adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. This will be a new concept for year 9 students.
There will be a TEST at the conclusion of this unit.
Pythagoras & Trigonometry
(Strands: Structure, Working Mathematically, Measurement, Chance & Data, Space,
Number)
As both the theories of Pythagoras and the study of Trigonometry are based on the right-
angled triangle, these two studies will be done as one unit. We will look at the right-angled
triangle and how it is named for use in mathematics. The students will work out how to find
the length of sides, and work with composite shapes. They will also work with Pythagorean
Triads. They will then be shown the link to Trigonometry, and how it can be used to
calculate unknown sides and angles, as well as angles of elevation and depression. There
will be a TEST at the conclusion of this unit.
Measurement
(Strand: Space, Measurement, Working Mathematically)
This unit is designed to revise and build on skills such as area, perimeter, surface area of
prisms, cylinders and other solids. There will also be work with the volume of 3D shapes,
including prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones, spheres and composite shapes. The
assessment task for this unit will be a PROJECT – ‘Sprinkler Project’, which is based on
designing a watering system for a garden, and using their measuring skills and calculating
skills to get the best design at the cheapest cost.
Quadratic Algebra
(Strands: Number, Structure, Working Mathematically)
Pronumerals should already be part of these students’ mathematical experience, but this
unit revises it then expands their knowledge. They should know how to substitute, work
with brackets, simplify and expand expressions, multiply and divide pronumerals, and
expand brackets and factorise using pronumerals.
Using this knowledge as a foundation, the unit moves straight into quadratic equations,
factorising & expanding and trinomials. This is then applied to hypothetical situations in
science, engineering, economics and other fields. This is a challenging unit, but should give
the students a lot of satisfaction. The unit will conclude with a TEST.
