Year 8 Mathematics

Classes are mixed ability for term 1. A small Essential (modified) maths class is formed early term 1 to provide extra support students with particular numeracy needs. All remaining students are offered either general maths or advanced mathematics from term 2, 3 and 4 based on achievement. Students are able to move between classes based on teacher recommendations.

Course Description

The proficiency strands understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning are an integral part of mathematics content across the three content strands: number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. The proficiencies reinforce the significance of working mathematically within the content and describe how the content is explored or developed. Mathematical content can be found here Mathematics Year 8 Content

Assessment Components

Teachers use a variety of assessment approaches to accurately reflect student understanding and skills. These approaches include, but are not limited to  investigations, group work, projects, observations, online tasks, conversations, and tests.

Additional Information

Calculators and appropriate IT will be used throughout the year. Mathematical competitions run throughout the year extend students’ knowledge and understanding. Maths help at lunchtimes is available in the very popular central maths area to all students, with maths teachers always on hand to help with homework, assignments and test preparation.

Australian Curriculum Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 8, students

• solve everyday problems involving rates, ratios and percentages
• describe index laws and apply them to whole numbers.
• describe rational and irrational numbers
• solve problems involving profit and loss
• make connections between expanding and factorising algebraic expressions
• solve problems relating to the volume of prisms
• make sense of time duration in real applications
• identify conditions for the congruence of triangles and deduce the properties of quadrilaterals
• model authentic situations with two-way tables and Venn diagrams
• choose appropriate language to describe events and experiments
• explain issues related to the collection of data and the effect of outliers on means and medians in that data
• use efficient mental and written strategies to carry out the four operations with integers
• simplify a variety of algebraic expressions
• solve linear equations and graph linear relationships on the Cartesian plane
• convert between units of measurement for area and volume
• perform calculations to determine perimeter and area of parallelograms, rhombuses and kites
• name the features of circles and calculate the areas and circumferences of circles
• determine the probabilities of complementary events and calculate the sum of probabilities.

Assumed Knowledge

There are three levels of maths classes. A small Essential (modified) maths class provides extra support students with particular numeracy needs. All remaining students are offered either general maths or advanced mathematics based on achievement in year 8. Students are able to move between classes based on teacher recommendations and parent/carer discussions, although students wishing to study advanced mathematics in senior school must study advanced mathematics at years 8, 9 and 10.

Course Description

The proficiency strands understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning are an integral part of mathematics content across the three content strands: number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. The proficiencies reinforce the significance of working mathematically within the content and describe how the content is explored and developed. A full description of the Australian mathematical content can be found here Mathematics Year 9 Content

Assessment Components

Teachers use a variety of assessment approaches to accurately reflect student understanding and skills. These approaches include, but are not limited to investigations, group work, projects, observations, online tasks, discussions, and tests.

Additional Information

Calculators and appropriate IT will be used throughout the year. Mathematical competitions run throughout the year to extend students’ interest, knowledge and understanding of mathematics and its applications in the world. Maths help at lunchtimes is available to all students in the central maths area, where teachers are on hand to assist with homework, assignments and test preparation.

Australian Curriculum Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 9, students:

• solve problems involving simple interest
• interpret ratio and scale factors in similar figures
• explain similarity of triangles
• recognise the connections between similarity and the trigonometric ratios
• compare techniques for collecting data from primary and secondary sources
• make sense of the position of the mean and median in skewed, symmetric and bi-modal displays to describe and interpret data
• apply the index laws to numbers and express numbers in scientific notation
• expand binomial expressions
• find the distance between two points on the Cartesian plane and the gradient and midpoint of a line segment
• sketch linear and non-linear relations
• calculate areas of shapes and the volume and surface area of right prisms and cylinders
• use Pythagoras’ Theorem and trigonometry to find unknown sides of right-angled triangles
• calculate relative frequencies to estimate probabilities, list outcomes for two-step experiments and assign probabilities for those outcomes
• construct histograms and back-to-back stem-and-leaf plots.

By the end of Year 10, students:

• recognise the connection between simple and compound interest
• solve problems involving linear equations and inequalities
• make the connections between algebraic and graphical representations of relations
• solve surface area and volume problems relating to composite solids
• recognise the relationships between parallel and perpendicular lines
• apply deductive reasoning to proofs and numerical exercises involving plane shapes
• compare data sets by referring to the shapes of the various data displays
• describe bivariate data where the independent variable is time
• describe statistical relationships between two continuous variables
• evaluate statistical reports
• expand binomial expressions and factorise monic quadratic expressions
• find unknown values after substitution into formulas
• perform the four operations with simple algebraic fractions
• solve simple quadratic equations and pairs of simultaneous equations
• use triangle and angle properties to prove congruence and similarity
• use trigonometry to calculate unknown angles in right-angled triangles
• list outcomes for multi-step chance experiments and assign probabilities for these experiments
• calculate quartiles and inter-quartile ranges.