AS Use of Maths Course Requirements:
Study of this qualification will allow you to develop a critical approach to the use of statistics when used to describe and make sense of the world. You will develop a coursework portfolio in which you will report on investigations that you carry out yourself and give a critical analysis of the presentation of statistical work of others. You will learn about statistical measures and diagrams and develop anunderstanding of key ideas about the distribution of data and about correlation and regression. You will also learn to define your area of investigation clearly and critically summarise your findings and draw conclusions.
You will learn to use calculators and computers, as appropriate, to assist you with your investigations.
1. Carrying out investigations
2. Statistical Charts
3. Statistical Measures
4. Finding information from complex tables
5. Correlation and Regression
6. The Normal Distribution
7. Critical Thinking
Coursework Portfolio Requirements
Part 1
You will be asked to produce two separate investigations that use statistics to make sense of a situation.
One investigation should involve data collected by the student. The second investigation should involve secondary data.
The Coursework Portfolio must include evidence of:
· use of a spreadsheet to calculate with data and develop diagrammatic representations
· use of statistical ideas beyond the ‘core’ of the course such as those highlighted in the Extension opportunities.
In each investigation
· the purpose of the investigation should be identified clearly
· appropriate data used
· appropriate statistical measures, diagrams and techniques should be selected and used to describe, and where appropriate compare and contrast, data sets
· findings should be summarised and conclusions drawn based on the work
· findings should be communicated in non-technical language
· it should be considered how the data available may have limited the work and what additional data could improve it.
(10 hours – 5 hours for each investigation.)
Part 2
A report that analyses critically the statistical work of others and considers whether the reader of the work should accept or reject any reported findings based on the information available.
(2 hours)
