Introduction

Introduction
Welcome to Cambridge Lower Secondary Mathematics Stage 9
The Cambridge Lower Secondary Mathematics course covers the Cambridge Lower
Secondary Mathematics curriculum framework and is divided into three stages: 7, 8 and 9.
During your course, you will learn a lot of facts, information and techniques. You will start
to think like a mathematician. This book covers all you need to know for Stage 9.
The curriculum is presented in four content areas:
• Number
• Algebra
• Geometry and measures
• Statistics and probability.
This book has 15 units, each related to one of the four content areas. However, there
are no clear dividing lines between these areas of mathematics; skills learned in
one unit are often used in other units. The book encourages you to understand the
concepts that you need to learn, and gives opportunity for you to practise the
necessary skills.
Many of the questions and activities are marked with an icon that indicates that
they are designed to develop certain thinking and working mathematically skills.
There are eight characteristics that you will develop and apply
throughout the course:
• Specialising – testing ideas against specific criteria;
• Generalising – recognising wider patterns;
• Conjecturing – forming questions or ideas about mathematics;
• Convincing – presenting evidence to justify or challenge a mathematical idea;
• Characterising – identifying and describing properties of mathematical objects;
• Classifying – organising mathematical objects into groups;
• Critiquing – comparing and evaluating ideas for solutions;
• Improving – Refining your mathematical ideas to reach more effective
approaches or solutions.
Your teacher can help you develop these skills, and you will also develop your
ability to apply these different strategies.
We hope you will find your learning interesting and enjoyable.
Greg Byrd, Lynn Byrd and Chris Pearce