Year 8 Mathematics – Term 3 (WA Curriculum): Probability and Statistics - Data Analysis and Chance Events

What this unit covers

In Term 3, Year 8 Mathematics in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Probability and Statistics - Data Analysis and Chance Events”.

Students explore probability concepts including exclusive and inclusive events, complementary events, compound events, statistical measures with outliers, mutually exclusive events, data collection techniques, sampling methods, and critical analysis of data representations.

Lesson sequence (30 lessons)

The unit breaks down into the following lesson-by-lesson sequence — each title below is a teachable lesson, in order:

1. Introduction to Sample Spaces and Outcomes
2. Constructing Sample Spaces for Two-Event Scenarios
3. Basketball Free Throws: Exploring All Possible Outcomes
4. Understanding Exclusive 'Or' Events in Probability
5. Exploring Inclusive 'Or' Events with Real Examples
6. Introduction to Complementary Events
7. Calculating Probabilities of Complementary Events
8. Dice Rolling: Event and Complement Relationships
9. Verifying that Complementary Probabilities Sum to One
10. Simple Events vs Compound Events
11. Conducting Coin Toss Simulations for Compound Events
12. Predicting Outcomes Before Testing with Simulations
13. Using Random Number Generators for Probability Experiments
14. Comparing Predicted and Actual Probabilities
15. Calculating Mean, Mode, Median and Range from Data Tables
16. Identifying Outliers in Statistical Data
17. Analyzing the Effect of Outliers on Statistical Measures
18. Coffee Consumption Data: With and Without Outliers
19. Introduction to Mutually Exclusive Events
20. Two-Way Tables: Organizing and Analyzing Data
21. Netball Club Jacket Orders: Mutually Exclusive Analysis
22. Making Predictions from Two-Way Table Data
23. Data Collection Techniques and Their Applications
24. Australian Bureau of Statistics: Large-Scale Surveys
25. Understanding Populations, Samples and Random Sampling
26. Sample Variation in Year 8 Height Data
27. Analyzing Validity and Reliability in Data Collection
28. Identifying Misleading Features in Graphs and Charts
29. Critical Analysis of Day Care Business Cost Graphs
30. Game Analysis: Determining Best Winning Strategies with Dice

Curriculum codes in this unit

Content codes:

Reading the codes: WA codes (the ones starting with WA) pack the year level, learning area, strand and content number into one string, while the national Australian Curriculum v9 uses a different anatomy that starts with AC9 — same content family, different labels. Our complete WA Curriculum guide decodes both, character by character.

Planning notes for Term 3

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 3 runs from Monday 20 July to Friday 25 September — 10 weeks for WA public schools. With 30 lessons in this unit, that leaves breathing room for assessment, moderation and the weeks that disappear to carnivals, camps and public holidays — plan the assessable work to land two to three weeks before the end of term rather than in the final week.