Free preview · Senior 2 Mathematics · Practical activities
Senior 2 practical activities
11 units · 22 activities. In every unit, activity 1 is improvised (simple local materials) and activity 2 is conventional (mathematical instruments): two different activities. Below are 5 free pages; then get the whole level in one PDF.
- Title and aim of every activity
- Required materials and safety notes
- A clear, diagram or diagram
- Step-by-step procedure and a results table to fill in
- Observation and conclusion
- Three questions per activity, with sample results and answers at the end of the unit
See all 22 activities of this level and what each one is about
- Unit 1: Indices and Surds
- 1.1 Improvised · Folding paper: powers of 2. To see how quickly powers grow by folding paper, and to use indices to estimate the thickness of one sheet.
- 1.2 Conventional · The square-root spiral. To construct lengths √2, √3, √4, … with a ruler and set square, and to compare them with calculator values.
- Unit 2: Polynomials
- 2.1 Improvised · Cardboard algebra tiles. To multiply and factorise simple polynomials using area tiles cut from cardboard.
- 2.2 Conventional · The biggest open box. To find the cut that gives an open box of maximum volume from an A4 card by evaluating a polynomial.
- Unit 3: Simultaneous Linear Equations
- 3.1 Improvised · A coat-hanger balance. To model and solve a pair of simultaneous equations using a balance.
- 3.2 Conventional · Which phone plan is cheaper? A graphical solution. To solve simultaneous equations by drawing two straight lines and finding their point of intersection.
- Unit 4: Volume of Solids
- 4.1 Improvised · Cone and cylinder: filling with rice. To find the relationship between the volume of a cone and the volume of a cylinder with the same base and height.
- 4.2 Conventional · Nets, surface area and volume of a cuboid and a prism. To construct nets accurately, make the solids, and calculate their surface areas and volumes.
- Unit 5: Thales Theorems
- 5.1 Improvised · Equal parts with exercise-book lines. To divide a strip of any length into equal parts using the parallel lines of an exercise book.
- 5.2 Conventional · Checking Thales’ theorem in a triangle. To show by measuring that a line parallel to one side of a triangle divides the other sides in the same ratio.
- Unit 6: Pythagoras’ Theorem
- 6.1 Improvised · The knotted rope right angle. To make a right angle with a rope of 12 equal spaces and test the corners of the classroom.
- 6.2 Conventional · Squares on the sides of a right-angled triangle. To verify Pythagoras’ theorem by measuring and by comparing areas.
- Unit 7: Vectors
- 7.1 Improvised · Treasure hunt with paces. To describe journeys on the school field as column vectors and to add vectors.
- 7.2 Conventional · Vector addition on graph paper. To add and subtract vectors by drawing and to compare measured magnitudes with calculated values.
- Unit 8: Parallel and Orthogonal Projections
- 8.1 Improvised · Shadow of a tilted stick. To show that the orthogonal projection of a segment of length L at angle θ to a line has length L cos θ.
- 8.2 Conventional · Projecting points onto a line. To construct orthogonal and parallel projections of points onto a line on graph paper.
- Unit 9: Isometries
- 9.1 Improvised · Ink blots and pin rotations. To make reflections and rotations with paper and to find which properties of a shape stay the same.
- 9.2 Conventional · Transformations on a coordinate grid. To perform translations, reflections and rotations on coordinate axes and find the rules for the coordinates.
- Unit 10: Statistics with Grouped Data
- 10.1 Improvised · Grouping leaf lengths. To collect continuous data and organise it in a grouped frequency table.
- 10.2 Conventional · Histogram and frequency polygon of heights. To draw a histogram and a frequency polygon from grouped data and estimate the mean.
- Unit 11: Tree Diagrams in Probability
- 11.1 Improvised · Drawing bottle tops without replacement. To use a tree diagram to find probabilities of two events without replacement and compare with experiment.
- 11.2 Conventional · Simulating with the calculator’s random numbers. To simulate a two-stage event with the calculator’s random number key and compare with a tree diagram.
i5 free pages to readScroll down: the free pages show the contents and a complete activity, so you can see exactly what you get.