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My Five Cents: Why borrowing can cost you more

Think credit cards are basically free money? Gen Fricker will make you think again. Learn how interest rates and fees affect the money you borrow, and why they may be more expensive in the long run. Oh dear! Then test yourself with ASIC MoneySmart's "Things to think about" classroom exercises.  

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Patterns, primes and Pascal's Triangle

Are you intrigued by patterns? Check out Vi Hart as she explains how to visualise patterns in prime numbers, using Ulam's Spiral. Watch as Vi creates patterns, using Pascal's Triangle to explore relationships in number. See what happens when she circles the odd numbers. What rule does she use to create the final pattern?

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Catalyst: Take the Phi Golden challenge

The golden ratio, Phi: fact or fallacy? What about the Fibonacci sequence? We are told this ratio and its cousin Fibonacci occur everywhere in nature. Let's see which of these claims stacks up when put to the test.

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Triathlon and Fitness

This resource is a web page containing an investigative task that explores rate. The estimated rate at which a competitor burns calories per hour for each discipline of triathlon is used to answer a problem. A 'Getting started' and 'Solutions' page is also available to support the task. This resource is an activity from ...

Online

reSolve: Fibonacci Miles

This lesson introduces students to a trick for quick conversion between miles and kilometres using the Fibonacci sequence. Students are challenged to explain why the trick works. They investigate using their knowledge of ratio and discover that the miles/kilometres conversion rate is close to the golden ratio. The lesson ...

Online

reSolve: Tree Biomass

In this sequence of two lessons, students investigate how many trees would be required to supply paper for their school for a year. Students use similar triangles, Pythagoras' Theorem and algebra to design and construct a Biltmore stick, used to measure the diameter and height of a tree. They measure trees, calculate their ...

Online

reSolve: Algebra: Sums & Differences of Squares

This sequence of three lessons explores sums and differences of two squares. Students are introduced to the historical context of using lookup tables for multiplications and challenged to investigate and generalise the underlying process using algebraic means. In subsequent lessons students use visual and algebraic methods ...

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Modelling climate changes

There is a saying: 'climate is what you expect and weather is what you get'. |Understanding climate change is very difficult for most people, especially when the weather we experience is different from the information we are given by scientists about the climate changing. The difference is that weather reflects short-term ...

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MathXplosion, Ep 50: How to use a tetrahedron to solve the tree problem

How can you place four trees exactly the same distance apart from one other? By making a model! By using miniature trees to make a model of the problem, it becomes clear that a 2D solution is impossible. We learn how objects can help us visualise the problem situation, which in this case requires a 3D solution: a tetrahedron.

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Catalyst: Nautical Robots

How might you find out how much and where the Earth's oceans are warming? Watch the report by Ruben Meerman and discover how more than 3000 'nautical robots', known as argo floats, have been placed in the oceans to collect data on variations in temperature, pressure and salinity.

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Mixing More Paints

This resource is a web page containing an investigative task to explore ratios and is a follow up to the task Mixing Paints. The context of mixing paints to particular ratios of colours provides a useful task to model practical situations involving ratios. A 'Getting started' and 'Solutions' page is also available to support ...

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Burning Down

This resource is a web page containing a challenging problem solving task that requires an understanding of rate and proportion. It can be solved in a number of ways for example graphically, using fractions or equations and all involve reasoning. A printable resource and solution is also available to support the task. This ...

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Comparing fuel consumption

Is it more fuel efficient to drive or fly between two places? Watch this clip and learn how to calculate the answer. What are the various factors that need to be taken into account? This video was made using the American measurement of gallons per hour, American firgures for the average number of passengers in a car and ...

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Mixing Paints

This resource is a web page containing an investigative task to explore ratios. The context of mixing paints to particular ratios of colours provides a useful task to model practical situations involving ratios. A 'Getting started' and 'Solutions' page is also available to support the task. This resource is an activity ...

Interactive

Renovate, Calculate!

A student resource that explores the use of mathematics in the trades. Highly interactive investigations into ratio, areas of special quadrilaterals and right-angled trigonometry.

Online

reSolve: Algebra: Think of a number- Binomial Equations

This lesson engages students in investigating a 'think of a number' game and then model it visually and algebraically. This develops skills in algebraic operations including expanding, factorising and collecting like terms. Students investigate whether the game will work for any number and are challenged to generate the ...

Online

reSolve: Pythagoras' Theorem - Bent bamboo

This lesson challenges students to use Pythagoras' Theorem to solve a problem from an ancient Chinese text. They make physical models of the problem and use this to construct a graph. They use algebra skills associated with binomial expansions and simplification of fractions to show that the general solution given in the ...

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Are plants mathematicians?

Ever noticed that plants are examples of Fibonacci numbers? Watch Vi Hart draw examples of flower petals and leaf growth that follow this pattern. See how plants seem to use Phi (.), the golden ratio. Find out how to make your own 'angle-a-tron' to create interesting petal designs. This is the second in a series of two.

Online

reSolve: Algebra - Prisms and pyramids

This lesson engages students in investigating the relationship between the number of faces, edges and vertices of pyramids and prisms. Students construct their own 3D shapes, systematically record the properties of the shape and develop an algebraic formula to generalise the relationships discovered. The lesson is outlined ...

Online

reSolve: Pythagoras' Theorem - Phone finding

This lesson challenges students to apply Pythagoras' Theorem to explore a practical real-world problem. Students explore technology reliant on mathematical concepts. The lesson is outlined in detail including curriculum links, vocabulary, materials needed, sample answers, discussion points and student resources such as ...