Assignment Task
Aim
This section should demonstrate your understanding of the task/problem and what you are going to do. Important points to consider:
- Write two to three sentences which clearly state in your own words the aim(s) of the problem.
- Start the aim with words that clearly set the scene, for example The aim of this problem Analyse the information provided in the problem question to show your understanding of it, include key words, and give meaning to any numerical data.
Methods and calculations
This section should include written explanations of the methods used and the associated calculations. It might include tables and figures. Important points to consider:
- Clearly describe the methods and specific calculations used to solve the problem.
- Perform and display the necessary calculations, including working.
- Communicate the solution in a logically sequenced way. The length of this section will depend on the type of calculations, tables and figures used.
Conclusion
This section should include written summaries of the results, as well as discussion of the assumptions related to the problem question and real-world relevance. Important points to consider:
- Evaluate and analyse your results and method by writing a clear concluding statement(s) of the results. Note, your results should not just be repeated, you will need to express what they mean in regard to how they help answer the aim
- Comment on any assumptions/limitations/decisions that have influenced your methods and calculations. Note: an assumption is something you consider likely to be true in relation to solving the problem.
- Discuss the real-world relevance of the problem.
Question
1. Estimating area
As part of an Eco-School Grant, a primary school is revitalising the immediate outside space into a nature playground . There are grass play areas that extend beyond the immediate outside space and are not a consideration for this planning. The school building features some irregularly shaped exterior features and the nature playground will involve significant landscaping. The plan of the nature playground is illustrated in .
The brown areas in Figure 2 show the play area that will be mulched. Defined areas around the base of each plant species, the frog pond, and the paths will not be mulched. The nature playground landscaping team must choose between two different types of wood mulch.
The school committee want to know the initial cost of the wood mulch and also the ongoing costs to rejuvenate the mulch (to meet minimum depth safety standards) within a ten-year budget cycle. A total costing amount should also be determined.
Your Task
Using the information given (and Figure 2 on the next page) calculate the total volume of mulch to be purchased and determine which type of mulch would be most cost-effective
Information
- Landscaping information
- Plant species A is a large tree, with an overhanging canopy 3.76 metres across
- Plant species B is circular and has a diameter of 1.6 metres
- The frog pond (blue) has a diameter of 2.64 metres
- Wood mulch will be initially spread so that it is 280 millimetres deep.
- Wood mulch must be rejuvenated back to 280 millimetre depth once it degrades to half the initial depth (140 millimetres).
- Type 1: Degrades to 140 millimetre depth after 22 months. Cost $76.00 per cubic metre.
- Type 2: Degrades to 140 millimetre depth after 16 months. Cost $57.50 per cubic metres.
For the conclusion
- Discuss and recommend which wood mulch should be used for the nature playground.
- Discuss the assumptions/decisions you made when doing the calculations (at least three).
- Discuss the relevance to the real-world.
2. Online engagement with learning resources
Allira has just enrolled to study online for the first time. She wants to know what strategies will help her succeed over the next term, so she talks to the unit assessor about what has helped past students (Figure 3). The unit assessor has student data from a previous term so they plan to explore if there is a relationship between students’ grades, and their use of the online resources. They download data from 30 past students on the number of times students accessed the online site learning materials (online site access), the number of practice quiz completions, and the students’ final grade.
Your task
Explore the relationships between online site access and grades, and practice quiz completion and grades, commenting on the accuracy of any predictions made from the relationships.
For the conclusion
- Explain the differences between the relationships of the two data sets with final grade using your knowledge of linear equations (gradients and coefficient of determination (R2). Comment on the accuracy of these equations and estimations.
- Discuss the assumptions/decisions you made when doing the calculations (at least three).
- Discuss the relevance to the real-world.
3. Interpreting infographics
A 25-year-old male university student is given the task in their exercise physiology class to record their heart rate (in beats per minute) while completing three different activities (resting, walking and running) each day for a month. He uses excel to create box and whisker plots to compare central tendency and the spread of the data collected. In words (written in complete sentences but can be presented as a paragraph or separate dot points);
- Explain and compare the information by determining and discussing relevant values including median, maximum, minimum and interquartile range for the three activity types.
- What percentage of recordings at rest were between 80 – 95 beats per minute?
- Does the student have a healthy resting heart rate (see Figure 5)?
- Has the data been presented effectively in Figure 4? Please explain your answer.