How assessment questions are written to test your knowledge of The Discriminant.

The discriminant first appears for most students in Year 11 MM, where we show students where it comes from and how it is used to find the number of x-intercepts of a quadratic function. In Year 12, the rule hasn’t changed, but the context of the question has. This little formula often rears its head in the EOY Exams. Let me show you how the questions involving the discriminant have evolved from Year 11 to Year 12.

NOTE: A similar question to this appeared in the 2014 VCAA Paper 2 – Multiple choice. Only 53% of students answered it correctly! Get this skill under your belt and you’ll already be ‘one-up’ on half of the state.

For a higher level question on this topic, check out the 2013 VCAA Exam 2 Paper, Multiple choice Qn 21. Just 29% of students got this one correct that year – give it a go and let me know if you run into trouble.

Click below to access past papers.

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/studies/mathematics/cas/casexams.aspx

The copyright in this material is owned by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). Used with permission.

The VCAA does not endorse this publication and makes no warranties regarding the correctness or accuracy of its content.
To the extent permitted by law, the VCAA excludes all liability for any loss or damage suffered or incurred as a result of accessing, using or relying on the content.

How assessment questions are written to test your knowledge of The Discriminant.

The copyright in this material is owned by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). Used with permission.

The VCAA does not endorse this publication and makes no warranties regarding the correctness or accuracy of its content. To the extent permitted by law, the VCAA excludes all liability for any loss or damage suffered or incurred as a result of accessing, using or relying on the content.

The VCAA does not endorse this publication and makes no warranties regarding the correctness or accuracy of its content.
To the extent permitted by law, the VCAA excludes all liability for any loss or damage suffered or incurred as a result of accessing, using or relying on the content.