Problem-Solving
Portfolio summary
In F–2, students solve problems when they use mathematics to represent unfamiliar or meaningful situations.
In Years 3–6, students solve problems when they use mathematics to represent unfamiliar or meaningful situations and plan their approaches.
In Years 7–8, students formulate and solve problems when they use mathematics to represent unfamiliar or meaningful situations, plan their approaches, when they apply their existing strategies to seek solutions, and when they verify that their answers are reasonable.
In Years 9–10, students formulate and solve problems when they use mathematics to represent unfamiliar or meaningful situations, when they design investigations and plan their approaches, when they apply their existing strategies to seek solutions, and when they verify that their answers are reasonable. Students develop the ability to make choices, interpret, formulate, model and investigate problem situations, and communicate solutions effectively.
Work samples
View the proficiencies across F–10
Year 3 includes formulating and modelling authentic situations involving planning methods of data collection and representation, making models of three-dimensional objects and using number properties to continue number patterns.
Year 4 includes formulating, modelling and recording authentic situations involving operations, comparing large numbers with each other, comparing time durations and using properties of numbers to continue patterns.
Year 5 includes formulating and solving authentic problems using whole numbers and measurements and creating financial plans.
Year 6 includes formulating and solving authentic problems using fractions, decimals, percentages and measurements; interpreting secondary data displays; and finding the size of unknown angles.
Year 7 includes formulating and solving authentic problems using numbers and measurements, working with transformations and identifying symmetry, calculating angles and interpreting sets of data collected through chance experiments.
Year 8 includes formulating and modelling practical situations involving ratios, profit and loss, areas and perimeters of common shapes and using two-way tables and Venn diagrams to calculate probabilities.
Year 9 includes formulating and modelling practical situations involving surface areas and volumes of right prisms, applying ratio and scale factors to similar figures, solving problems involving right-angle trigonometry and collecting data from secondary sources to investigate an issue.
Year 10 includes calculating the surface area and volume of a diverse range of prisms to solve practical problems, finding unknown lengths and angles using applications of trigonometry, using algebraic and graphical techniques to find solutions to simultaneous equations and inequalities and investigating independence of events.
