About the syllabus

The course has been designed to offer opportunities for students to think and work mathematically through questioning, communicating, reasoning and reflecting. It is focused on enabling students to develop an understanding and appreciation for mathematics as a unique and powerful way of viewing the world.

The Mathematics Advanced course has been developed with the assumption that students have achieved the outcomes of all substrands of Stages 5.1 and 5.2 and the Stage 5.3 substrands of algebraic techniques, surds, indices, equations, linear relationships, trigonometry and Pythagoras’ theorem and single-variable data analysis. Students should also have studied at least some content from non-linear relationships and properties of geometrical figures.

Key content

Mathematics Advanced is comprised of five topics in Years 11 and 12.

Year 11 topics

• Functions
• Trigonometric functions
• Calculus
  
• Exponential and logarithmic functions
• Statistical Analysis

Year 12 topics

• Functions
• Trigonometric Functions
• Calculus
• Financial Mathematics
• Statistical Analysis

Assessment

Assessment in Mathematics Advanced consists of school-based assessment, as well as the HSC examination.

School-based assessment requirements

Year 11

• Three formal assessment tasks with a minimum weighting of 20% and a maximum weighting of 40%
• One task will be an assignment or investigative-style task with a weighting of 20-30%

Year 12

• A maximum of four assessment tasks with a minimum weighting of 10% and a maximum weighting of 40%
• One task will be an assignment or investigative-style task with a weighting of 15-30%
• Only one task may be a formal written examination with a maximum weighting of 30%.

Additional information

More information for teachers

Common content

A new feature of the Mathematics Advanced syllabus is shared content with the Mathematics Standard course. This common content will comprise up to 25% of the HSC examination. It is indicated by a paperclip icon next to content descriptions throughout the syllabus.

The assignment or investigative-style task

The assignment or investigative-style task will provide opportunities for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in different ways to the HSC examinations. It must include application and modelling opportunities, an authentic use of technology to investigate, organise, model or interpret information and the chance for students to demonstrate reasoning to support conclusions.

New to this syllabus

Statistical analysis

The topic of statistical analysis is a new inclusion to the calculus-based courses. It does include the study of probability similar to the previous syllabus but it expands on this study to incorporate new concepts, language and notations that have not previously been covered by NSW syllabuses. There is also the study of single-variable and bivariate data analysis that builds upon the content explored in Stage 5, in addition to the study of the normal distribution and its associated calculations.

New language and notations

Across the new course are several new concepts, language and notations that have not been previously explored in any of the calculus-based mathematics courses.