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Level 1
Mathematics and Statistics clarifications
Show: Mathematics and Statistics homepage | All Mathematics and Statistics clarifications
91030: Apply measurement in solving problems
Updated December 2014. This document has been updated to address issues that have arisen from moderation.
Solving problems
For the award of the standard students must apply measurement in solving problems, therefore students need to be given a problem to solve. The problem needs to provide sufficient scope for students to demonstrate and develop their own thinking. If there are parts to the problem, all of the parts need to contribute to the solution.
A task with a number of discrete questions based on skills and straightforward calculations is not appropriate for students to demonstrate evidence of the required levels of thinking.
Students need to make their own decisions about what to do and how to solve problems. Where an assessment task has a series of instructions that lead students through a step or a sequence of steps towards the solution, it is likely that the opportunity for students to demonstrate all levels of thinking will be compromised.
Measurements
Students can be provided with the measurements or they can take their own. Students need to choose which measurements to use to solve the problem.
Expected evidence
The evidence from calculations must be in the context of solving a problem.
For Achieved, the requirements include selecting and using a range of methods. To be used as evidence, a ‘method’ must be relevant to the solution of the problem. The ‘methods’ also need to be at the appropriate curriculum level for the standard, for example finding the volume of a cuboid is insufficient as evidence for volume.
Evidence for the standard could also come from students calculating derived measures.
Metric units
Evidence for metric units comes from the consistent use of correct units for different attributes and converting between units. 2714 cm3 = 2.7 L is at the appropriate curriculum level, whereas 140 cm = 1.4 m is not.
Communicating solutions
At all levels there is a requirement relating to the communication of the solutions.
At Achieved, the result of a numerical calculation only is insufficient, working is expected and students need to indicate what the calculated answer represents.
At Merit, students need to clearly indicate what they are calculating and their solutions need to be linked to the context.
At Excellence, the response needs to be clearly communicated with correct mathematical statements and students need to explain any decisions they make in the solution of the problem.