MATHS

YEAR 10 CONE HATS ACTIVITY

The last topic studied in Year 10 Maths Methods in semester 1 was Measurement. In this section of the course, they have learned about length, area and volume units conversion, as well as, the techniques in finding the surface area and volume of common shapes such as cylinders, cones and pyramids.

At the end of Term 2, students were finishing off this topic and just before the final assessment, we challenged them to put their measurement skills to practical use. As part of the “celebration” for the end of semester 1 and a good term of work, students were asked to make themselves a cone hat of their choice. While doing that they must also measure and calculate the total surface area of paper used in the construction, as well as the radius of the cone hats created.

To this end, students were required to use rulers and protractors to physically measure slant height and the angle of the sector which make up the curved surface of the cone, and then apply their knowledge on total surface area and some problem-solving skills to deduce the width of the cone.

Finally, they needed to complete the task by physically making the cone with the materials given and subsequently checking all the predicted dimensions of the finished product. Besides being a fun and relaxing activity for the maths classroom, this exercise allows students to improve on their spatial reasoning skills and helps them to visualize how a 3D object can be created from a 2D shape. The perfect way to wrap up semester 1.

Dr Sandy Law

Year 10-12 Maths Teacher

ELECTION PROJECT IN YEAR 7 ELMS

During Term 2 students in the Year 7 Mathematics ELMS program completed an Election Project as part of their Fractions and Decimals topic. Students were asked to investigate the distribution of federal electorates across the states and territories in Australia and determine if they thought this distribution was fair when comparisons were made with the total population living in each state/territory. 

The project provided students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge of fractions and decimals to analyze data and statistics, and gave students a greater insight into how the federal election was conducted in May! 

“Personally, I knew little about the election system so this project definitely helped me understand the system a bit better. But most of all, I loved working with large numbers and the calculator. Especially because this was actually real statistics I was dealing with. This is for sure my favourite Maths learning task so far.” 

Sofia Kovalenko 7L

“In this learning task, I gained a deeper understanding of the election process and how voting is done in Australia.” 

Akshaj Gupta 7N

Natalie Little, Kerryn Gill & Grace Greenwood

Year 7 Mathematics ELMS Teachers