NSW Mathematics Standard 2 Stage 6 syllabus strand and dot-point structure, expressed in Dux teaching language.
Dux tracks each dot point separately, so “I did Mathematics Standard 2” becomes a list of specific things you can already do and specific things you have never been asked. Open a module for all of its dot points, written out.
Linear relationships, simultaneous equations and the shapes of common relationships, all used as modelling tools rather than as algebra for its own sake.
Length, area, volume, time and rates, including the unit conversions that decide whether an answer is plausible.
Interest, depreciation, annuities and loans: the mathematics a student will actually use as an adult, and the one most easily got wrong by applying the wrong formula.
Summarising and interpreting data, the normal distribution, and bivariate analysis with a line of best fit.
Graphs, paths, minimum spanning trees and critical path analysis, where the answer is a structure or a schedule rather than a number.
Right-angled and non-right-angled triangles, bearings, and the applications where the diagram is the problem.
A Mathematics Standard 2 paper is not one question type repeated. Each command word asks for a different shape of answer, and each is worth a different number of marks.
| Command word | Question type | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| analyse | Short answer | 3–5 |
| calculate | Calculation | 2–4 |
| calculate | Multiple choice | 1 |
| calculate | Problem solving | 4–6 |
| compare | Short answer | 3–5 |
| distinguish | Multiple choice | 1 |
| evaluate | Problem solving | 3–4 |
| evaluate | Short answer | 3–6 |
| explain | Short answer | 2–4 |
| identify | Multiple choice | 1 |
| interpret | Multiple choice | 1 |
| justify | Short answer | 3–4 |
| justify | Multiple choice | 1 |
| solve | Problem solving | 4–5 |
| solve | Calculation | 2–4 |
HSC Mathematics Standard 2 - Trial Paper Shape — 100 marks, 150 minutes. Practice papers in Dux are assembled to this shape rather than invented, so the timing is training too.
Diagnostic first, then questions written in the shape this course uses. Written answers come back marked against the bands, not just scored.