GCSE Statistics

Course description

Exam Board: Edexcel

This course will give students the opportunity to combine theoretical mathematical methods, ICT skills and practical applications. Much of what is reported in the media has some form of statistical basis and it is important to be able to recognise misleading or incorrect information. These skills will also be of benefit in many occupations where the use and interpretation of statistical methods are required. If you choose this option you will be able to take the higher or foundation level, so it is open to all ability levels.

All of the statistical topics that have been learnt in GCSE Maths are also covered in GCSE Statistics such as Averages (mean, median and mode), Statistical Diagrams (Bar Charts, Pie, Chart, Histograms etc) and Probability (Theoretical Probability, Tree Diagrams, Venn Diagrams etc) which can strengthen a students understanding in this area. It then looks deeper into many of these topics, at how they are used more practically in real life situations and different variations of these topics that wouldn't otherwise be covered in GCSE Maths such as considering the Geometric Mean as well as the more commonly used Arithmetic Mean or rather than just identifying a correlation from a scatter graph, being able to calculate Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient to give you an exact value for it

Assessment

The course is entirely assessed by exams. These will be at the end of the course, where you will take two written papers, both calculator and both one and a half hours long.

Key Skills

You will develop the following skills:

• To actively engage students in an accessible and relevant discipline

• To help students acquire knowledge of statistical techniques and concepts

• To encourage statistical problem solving

• To develop student understanding of the importance and limitations of statistics

Where can it take me?

The skills you learn will really help you in your normal mathematics, as well as letting you see how mathematics is used in the real world. The knowledge acquired, is highly transferable to other subjects, being useful for A Level courses in: Mathematics, Geography, Psychology, Business Studies, Economics, Biology, Sociology and more.

The course contains four key areas:

• Planning and Data Collection
• Processing and Representing
• Reasoning and Interpreting
• Probability

Further information

Please contact: Mrs K Finch (Faculty Director of Mathematics)

Useful Websites

www.edexcel.com
www.mymaths.co.uk