In this unit of work, are going to formalise work learners have already completed on transformations, securing links to different areas of mathematics, specifically Pythagoras theorem and trigonometry.
We will extend learners’ understanding by exploring practical situations including real life problems and Vector Geometry. For example we will demonstrate how you can use vectors to describe the translation of shapes by plotting the translation of each of the individual points.
Extended learners will apply vectors to real life problems including finding the magnitude and direction of a vector. They will also solve problems in Vector Geometry.
Learners can have difficulty understanding the difference between vector and scalar quantities and will often struggle to understand that vectors need a direction as well as a magnitude. Some think that the magnitude of a component is equal to the magnitude of the vector, and others know the “rule” that components are shorter than the vector but have problems identifying the magnitude of the components graphically.
They can confuse the language of vectors for example speed and velocity which are often used incorrectly in the media and online, and they can also be confused by the different notation used for vectors. For this reason it is important to be rigorous when using the language of vectors and scalars in the classroom.
This unit of work is just one of several approaches that you could take when teaching this topic, and you should aim to adapt the resources to match ability level of your learners, as well as your school context.