Spreadsheet activities: content guide
These spreadsheets from Cambridge’s technology in maths collection can be used to supplement or extend a number of topics in NSW Stage 6 Preliminary General Mathematics. This table matches the spreadsheet activities with chapters in the Cambridge textbook for the course, by G K Powers.
Chapters in Cambridge Preliminary General Mathematics
/Spreadsheet activity title(topic)
/Content description
All / Spreadsheet Guide: introduction / Basic and general guidelines for creating spreadsheets, including formulas, functions and graphs1 Earning money / Simple monthly budget
(Managing money) / A simple monthly budget which the student can use for practical purposes, while learning basic spreadsheet principles
3 Units of measurement / Conversion of units
(Measurement) / Converting units of length, area and volume
5 The language of chance / Introductory probability: random numbers
(Chance/probability) / 1 RAND function
2 100 Random numbers
3 Extension – random colours
7 Investing money / Simple vs compound interest
(Financial mathematics) / 1 Simple vs compound interest
2 Graphing the difference in values over time
3 Extension –
8 Displaying single data sets / Bar charts and frequency tables
(Statistics) / 1 Constructing a bar chart
2 Constructing a frequency table
3 Extension – analysing the chart and data
9 Applications of area and volume / Area & volume
(Geometry of 2D/3D shapes) / Calculating area/volume/surface area of 2D & 3D shapes
10 Relative frequency and probability / Introductory probability: random numbers
(Chance/probability) / 1 RAND function used to model three dice
2 100 Random numbers
3 1000 Random numbers
4 Extension – random colours
12 Similarity of two-dimensional figures / Drawing house plans
(Measurement, scale plans) / 1 Drawing house plans on a computer
2 Extension – calculating room areas
14 Right-angled triangles / Pythagoras’ theorem
(Geometry) / 1 Calculations usingPythagoras’ theorem
2 Calculating the height of a hexagon
3 Extension – checking right angles
14 Right-angled triangles / Trigonometric ratios
(Trigonometry) / 1 Calculations with trigonometric ratios
2 Extension – using trigonometric functions