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Starter
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You might wish to start this section by asking where students have used data before, perhaps as a basis for making an important decision. For example, ask students how they would justify an increase in their pocket money to their parents. Ask: o Would you collect quantitative data or qualitative data? (They should collect quantitative.) o Would that data be continuous or discrete? (If it is data about money, it is discrete.) o Would you use primary or secondary data? (Expect students to suggest either but follow that by asking them to explain their answer.) There are many sources of data available on the internet that could be used to start this section. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) website, www.ons.gov.uk, is an excellent place to find data on current concerns such as recycling, education and the economy.
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Mathematics in the real world: Website designers •
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The diagram shows how website designers categorise various types of data when dealing with websites. Why not display your college/school website and encourage students to consider how it fits in to this diagram? The following are questions you could ask your students. For each one, they should consider what type of data would be collected: quantitative, qualitative, continuous or discrete. o Who do you think uses the website? o How would you test the usability of the website? o Which pages are looked at most often? o What kind of surveys might you do to find out how to improve the website? When asking questions like these, be prepared to discuss the answers with the students but do not spend too much time on it as this chapter contains a lot of material.
Mathematics in the real world: Portakabin •
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There is an excellent case study at http://businesscasestudies.co.uk (search ‘Portakabin’), which describes how Portakabin collects and uses data. Page 3 of the study deals with primary and secondary data. You might want to ask your students to read this case study for homework. Ask students: What do you think about the quality of the working environment? Does noise disturb you when you are working? The Business Case Studies website is an excellent resource from which you could take many more informative case studies to share with your students, should you wish to. There may be opportunities here to discuss share cases with business studies and/or economics courses.
Mathematics in the real world: Extraction of oil and gas • •
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This diagram shows the decline in domestic oil and gas extraction. Here are some questions you could ask your students: o Who do you think provided the data? o How do you think it was collected? o How do you think this diagram might change in the future? Why? o Will fracking play a part in the future of gas and oil extraction in the UK? Fracking is a topic that might be more relevant to some areas than others. Make use of local issues to engage students in mathematics whenever possible. AQA Level 3 Mathematical Studies (Core Maths) 16 Teacher Guide – Chapter 1
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