What students learn in AC9M10ST03
This unit helps students build a clear, usable understanding of Construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2.... The goal is not to memorise one answer pattern. Students should be able to explain the idea, recognise it in a new example and apply it in a short practice or worksheet task.
- Start with the main idea: construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2 numerical variables in terms of strength, direction and linearity.
- Use concrete examples, pictures, oral explanation and short written responses before moving to independent practice.
- discussing the difference between association and cause and effect, and relating this to situations such as health, diversity of species and climate control using statistical evidence to make, justify and critique claims about association between variables, such as in contexts of climate change, migration, online shopping and social media
- Finish with mixed questions so students must choose the correct strategy rather than copy the last example.
Curriculum coverage and elaborations
The content description and elaborations below show the curriculum ideas taught in this unit. Items marked as teaching context support lesson planning but may not appear in the initial eight-question activity.
- Content description: construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2 numerical variables in terms of strength, direction and linearity
- E1: discussing the difference between association and cause and effect, and relating this to situations such as health, diversity of species and climate control
- E2: using statistical evidence to make, justify and critique claims about association between variables, such as in contexts of climate change, migration, online shopping and social media
- E3: informally using a line of good fit by eye to discuss reliability of any predictions
- E4: exploring how scatter plots and association help data scientists gain insights into the data, identify relationships, and can be applied to machine learning to make informed decisions about feature engineering and assess model performance
- E5: investigating artificial intelligence systems that analyse bivariate data to forecast or make predictions based on association using correlation analysis and discussing limitations; for example, the artificial intelligence may not capture the causality between variables or account for the contextual or ethical implications
- E6: investigating the relationship between 2 variables of spear throwers used by First Peoples of Australia by using data to construct scatterplots, make comparisons and draw conclusions
How to use this unit
Read the topic guide, use the teacher slide for instruction, then complete the Worksheet, Practice and Test. These three activities use the same eight-question unit bank.
Teacher resource
AC9M10ST03 teacher slide
Use this one-page PDF to introduce the key idea, vocabulary and teaching sequence before students begin the activities.
Open teacher slide (PDF)Common mistakes to watch for
- Rushing to a rule before checking the concrete model, drawing or number sentence.
- Using the correct answer once but not being able to explain why it works.
- Mixing up similar vocabulary such as more/less, before/after, longer/shorter or equal groups/sharing.
International curriculum mapping
This table gives closest-topic mapping for search and planning. The Australian Curriculum code is exact; overseas entries are broad equivalents because each jurisdiction structures outcomes differently.
| Region | Curriculum | Closest mapping |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Australian Curriculum v9.0 | AC9M10ST03 — construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2 numerical variables in terms of strength, direction and linearity |
| Victoria | Victorian Curriculum F-10 | Year 10 Maths: closest match in Statistics. Use this page as a VIC-aligned practice and worksheet reference. |
| NSW | NSW Curriculum | Stage 5 Maths: closest content focus for Construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2... and related outcomes. |
| United States | Common Core / NGSS | Grade 10 Common Core Mathematics/ELA closest topic match for Construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2.... |
| England / UK | National Curriculum | Key Stage 4 / Year 10: closest programme-of-study match for Construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2.... |
| Canada | Provincial and territory curricula | Grade 10 closest topic match. Canada varies by province, so use this as a broad Ontario/BC-style learning outcome reference. |
| New Zealand | New Zealand Curriculum | Level 5 Maths: closest achievement-objective topic for Construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2.... |
| India | NCERT / CBSE | Class 10 closest NCERT/CBSE topic match for Construct scatterplots and comment on the association between the 2.... |