Are we getting better off? Politicians and journalists often make sweeping claims about whether or not ‘we? are getting better off.
Who is this ‘we? of whom they speak?
On what do they base these claims?
What does being better off mean to you?
How would you go about assessing how well-off you are?
In attempting to resolve some of these questions, a number of important mathematical and statistical ideas arise. For example, these questions suggest a need to measure something. While it may be pretty clear how to measure say height or temperature, it is by no means clear how to set about measuring something rather vague like ‘well-offness?. This Unit begins by looking at an everyday measure which affects how well-off many people feel—the price of a loaf of bread. You will be asked to think about how comparisons over time might be made. The Unit then focuses on prices: how to measure them and how to measure price changes over time.
Think about how structural images (such as tables and graphs) are used, and look at communicating and improving your own learning and performance. You will also be introduced at statistical problem solving.
Try to make notes on the new ideas and new skills, including calculator skills, in this Unit. Sometimes, specific suggestions of thing to record will be made.
Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence
