IDU — Aesthetics
Term 3
Interdisciplinary unit · Symmetry & form (Criterion D)
Learning Objectives
PrintMathematical Aesthetics
- 1. Identify symmetry (reflective, rotational and translational) in a piece of art, architecture or natural form.
- 2. Use geometric vocabulary (proportion, ratio, tessellation, fractal) to describe an aesthetic choice.
- 3. Investigate the golden ratio $\varphi$ and where it appears in art, architecture and biology.
- 4. Construct a geometric pattern, tessellation or fractal that meets a stated aesthetic constraint.
Interdisciplinary Inquiry (Criterion D)
- 5. Compare how mathematics and another subject (Language, Visual Arts, Music) each describe a chosen aesthetic concept.
- 6. Bring evidence from both disciplines together to support a single interdisciplinary claim.
- 7. Reflect on how a mathematical lens changes the way an aesthetic object is read or made.
- 8. Discuss age-appropriate Theory of Knowledge questions about beauty, pattern and proof.
Presenting the IDU
- 9. Plan and produce an IDU artefact (poster, slide deck, model or short report) that meets Criterion D expectations.
- 10. Use consistent terminology and notation across the mathematical and non-mathematical parts of the IDU.
- 11. Cite sources for images, ideas and data, including images of artworks and architecture.
- 12. Evaluate the final IDU against the published rubric and reflect on what worked and what to improve.
Assessments
Symmetry and form interdisciplinary task
Criterion D
80 min
Working with the visual arts department, students analyse symmetry, proportion and form in a chosen artwork or building, quantify the mathematical features they find (for example, ratios, lines of symmetry, transformations), and present their findings in a short report.
Review Pack
Open review hub
Fluency Pack A — 40 questions
Fluency Pack B — 40 questions
Problem-solving — 12 unfamiliar tasks
Worked solutions (Pack A + B + problems)