Mathematics is the study of order, relation and pattern. From its origins in counting and measuring, it has
evolved in highly sophisticated and elegant ways to become the language now used to describe much of the
modern world. Statistics are concerned with collecting, analysing, modelling and interpreting data in order
to investigate and understand real-world phenomena and solve problems in context. Together, mathematics
and statistics provide a framework for thinking and a means of communication that is powerful, logical,
concise and precise.
The major themes of the Mathematics Methods (ATAR) course are calculus and statistics. They include, as
necessary prerequisites, studies of algebra, functions and their graphs, and probability. They are developed
systematically, with increasing levels of sophistication and complexity. Calculus is essential for developing an
understanding of the physical world because many of the laws of science are relationships involving rates of
change. Statistics is used to describe and analyse phenomena involving uncertainty and variation. For these
reasons, this course provides a foundation for further studies in disciplines in which mathematics and
statistics have important roles. It is also advantageous for further studies in the health and social sciences.
This course is designed for students whose future pathways may involve mathematics and statistics and their
applications in a range of disciplines at the tertiary level.
For all content areas of the Mathematics Methods (ATAR) course, the proficiency strands of the Year 7–10
curriculum continue to be applicable and should be inherent in students’ learning of this course. These
strands are Understanding, Fluency, Problem-solving and Reasoning, and they are both essential and
mutually reinforcing. For all content areas, practice allows students to achieve fluency in skills, such as
calculating derivatives and integrals, or solving quadratic equations, and frees up working memory for more
complex aspects of problem solving. The ability to transfer skills to solve problems based on a wide range of
applications is a vital part of this course. Because both calculus and statistics are widely applicable as models
of the world around us, there is ample opportunity for problem-solving throughout the course.