VCE General Mathematics case studies
VCE General Mathematics · Put your knowledge to work in context.
VCE General Mathematics is a Victorian Certificate of Education study, with an accreditation period from 2023 as published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. It is designed for senior secondary students who want to apply mathematics in practical, real-world contexts rather than pursue a heavily theoretical pathway. The study design covers Units 1 to 4, with the official source describing details on areas of study, outcomes and assessment for VCE Mathematics Study Design Units 1-4 from 2023. The study is organised around four broad areas of content: data analysis, probability and statistics; algebra, number and structure; functions, relations and graphs; and space and measurement. The VCE General Mathematics case studies are 5 cases and about 2,397 words.
1Comparing two fertiliser trials with unequal group sizes
A horticulture class grows basil under two fertiliser regimes. Group A (organic) has 12 plants and a mean leaf count of 34.2 with standard deviation 4.6.
502 words, about 3 min2A fundraising raffle with a suspiciously generous rule
A school raffle sells 400 tickets at 2 each. There are three prizes: first prize 150, second 80, third 40.
489 words, about 2 min3Solving a mixture problem with a hidden constraint
A café blends two coffee beans. House blend costs 18/kg, premium costs 32/kg.
478 words, about 2 min4Modelling a skate ramp with a piecewise function
A skate ramp's cross-section is modelled by a function h(d), the height in metres at horizontal distance d metres from the start. For 0 ≤ d ≤ 4 the surface rises as h(d) = 0.25d².
467 words, about 2 min5Scaling a fish tank: volume, surface area and a misleading ratio
A student designs a rectangular fish tank 60 cm long, 30 cm wide and 40 cm high, with glass 0.5 cm thick (ignore thickness for volume calculations but not for a later question). A pet-shop guide says a tank should provide "at least 1 litre of water per 1 cm of fish length" and that surface area should be "about 1.5 times the tank's length in cm² per cm of fish".
461 words, about 2 min