CSEC Mathematics Syllabus 2026

Fundamental Number Concepts

• Sets of Numbers

  Students will learn to distinguish and categorize natural, whole, integers, rational, irrational, and real numbers, understanding their relationships.

• Powers and Roots of Real Numbers

  Students will compute powers and roots of real numbers, including squares, cubes, square roots, and cube roots.

• Basic Operations and Order of Operations

  Students will evaluate numerical expressions using the four basic operations on real numbers and apply the correct order of operations.

Number Representation and Integer Properties

• Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Conversion

  Students will convert numbers between fractional, decimal, and percentage forms.

• Factors, Multiples, HCF, and LCM

  Students will identify factors and multiples of integers and compute the Highest Common Factor and Lowest Common Multiple.

Number Systems, Precision, and Properties

• Number Bases and Place Value

  Students will state the place value and face value of digits in numerals in bases 2, 4, 8, and 10.

• Units and Conversions

  Students will convert between different units, including metric scales and 12-hour and 24-hour clock formats.

• Significant Figures and Decimal Places

  Students will express numerical values to a specified number of significant figures or decimal places.

• Properties of Operations

  Students will apply properties such as closure, commutativity, associativity, and distributivity in computational tasks.

• Scientific Notation

  Students will express any rational number using scientific notation.

Proportional Reasoning

• Fractions and Percentages of Quantities

  Students will calculate fractions or percentages of quantities and express one quantity as a fraction or percentage of another.

• Ratio, Proportion, and Rates

  Students will compare quantities using ratios, proportions, and rates.

Number Ordering and Sequences

• Ordering Real Numbers

  Students will arrange a given set of real numbers in ascending or descending order.

• Number Sequences

  Students will compute terms of a sequence from a given rule and derive rules from sequence terms.

Real-World Number Applications

• Dividing Quantities by Ratio

  Students will divide a given quantity into parts according to a specified ratio.

• Problem Solving in Number Theory

  Students will solve complex problems integrating various concepts from number theory, computation, ratio, rates, and proportion.

Commercial Arithmetic Fundamentals

• Profit, Loss, and Discount

  Students will learn to calculate absolute and percentage profit, loss, discount, and sales tax from given values.

• Percentage Expressions and Problem Solving

  This chapter covers expressing financial outcomes as percentages and solving comprehensive problems involving price, profit, loss, and discount.

Instalment Payments

• Hire Purchase and Mortgages

  Students will solve problems involving payments by instalments, specifically focusing on hire purchase agreements and mortgages.

Interest and Value Changes

• Simple Interest

  Students will learn to solve problems involving simple interest, calculating principal, time, rate, or total amount.

• Compound Interest, Appreciation, and Depreciation

  This chapter focuses on solving problems involving compound interest, appreciation, and depreciation using relevant formulae and calculator tools.

Consumer Finance Applications

Fundamental Set Concepts

• Set Definition and Representation

  Students will learn what sets are, identify set elements, distinguish types of sets, and represent them using various notations.

• Set Relationships and Subsets

  Students will understand and apply set notation to describe relationships like subsets, equality, and equivalence, and identify various set operations.

Performing Set Operations

• Calculating Set Elements

  Students will determine elements in unions, intersections, and complements of sets and apply the cardinality formula for set union.

• Venn Diagram Application

  Students will draw and use Venn diagrams to visually represent and solve problems involving relationships among sets, including the universal set.

Practical Set Theory

• Problem Solving with Sets

  Students will apply set theory concepts to solve practical problems across Number Theory, Algebra, and Geometry.

Units and Conversion

• Units of Measurement and Conversion

  Students will learn to convert between different units and use appropriate SI units for various quantities.

Perimeter of Plane Shapes

• Perimeter of Plane Shapes

  Students will determine the perimeter of various plane shapes, including compound and irregular figures.

• Arc Length and Sector Perimeter

  Students will calculate the length of an arc and the perimeter of a sector of a circle.

Area of Plane Shapes

• Estimating and Calculating Area of Polygons and Circles

  Students will estimate and calculate the area of various plane shapes, including polygons and circles.

• Area of Sectors, Triangles, and Segments

  Students will calculate the area of sectors, triangles (given two sides and included angle), and segments of circles.

Surface Area and Volume of Solids

• Surface Area of Solids

Data Types and Organization

• Sample and Population Attributes

  Differentiate between sample statistics and population parameters, understanding their significance in data analysis.

• Frequency Tables and Class Features

  Construct frequency tables for discrete and continuous data, identifying class intervals, boundaries, limits, midpoints, and width.

Statistical Diagrams

• Constructing Basic Diagrams

  Construct pie charts, bar charts, line graphs, histograms with equal bars, and frequency polygons from given data.

• Cumulative Frequency Curve

  Draw and interpret cumulative frequency curves (ogives) using appropriate scales and class boundaries to represent data.

Measures of Central Tendency

• Mean, Median, and Mode Calculation

  Calculate the mean, median, and mode for raw, ungrouped, and grouped data sets to find the average value.

• Choosing the Best Average

  Determine when it is most appropriate to use the mean, median, or mode based on data characteristics like extreme values and measurement scales.

Algebraic Fundamentals

• Symbolic Representation and Worded Expressions

  Students will use symbols for numbers, operations, variables, and relations, and translate between algebraic symbols and worded expressions.

• Basic Operations and Expression Evaluation

  This chapter covers evaluating arithmetic operations with directed numbers, simplifying algebraic expressions, and substituting numbers for variables.

• Binary Operations and Distributive Law

  Students will evaluate expressions involving binary operations and apply the distributive law to factorise or expand algebraic expressions.

• Algebraic Fractions

  This chapter focuses on simplifying algebraic fractions using the four basic operations.

• Laws of Indices

  Students will learn and apply the laws of indices to manipulate expressions involving integral indices.

Solving Equations and Formulae

• Linear Equations in One Unknown

  This chapter teaches how to solve linear equations involving a single unknown variable.

Relations and Functional Operations

• Relations and Functions

  Students will define relations and functions, identify their characteristics, and represent them in various forms, distinguishing between the two concepts.

• Functional Notation and Operations

  Students will use functional notation, derive composite and inverse functions, state their relationships, and evaluate functions at given values.

Linear Relations and Coordinate Geometry

• Linear Functions and Graphs

  Students will draw linear function graphs, determine intercepts and gradients, and derive the equation of a straight line using various methods.

• Parallel, Perpendicular Lines and Line Segments

  Students will solve problems involving gradients of parallel and perpendicular lines, and determine the length and midpoint of line segments.

Systems of Equations and Inequalities

• Graphical Solutions of Linear Equations

  Students will graphically solve a pair of simultaneous linear equations by finding the intersection of their graphs.

Fundamental Geometric Concepts and Constructions

• Basic Geometric Concepts

  This chapter defines fundamental geometric elements such as points, lines, angles, planes, and identifies parts of three-dimensional figures.

• Geometric Drawing and Measurement

  Learn to accurately draw and measure angles and line segments using standard geometric instruments.

• Geometric Constructions

  Master the construction of lines, angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, and other polygons using compass and straightedge.

Properties of Geometric Figures

• Symmetry of Plane Figures

  Identify and describe line symmetry, rotational symmetry, and the order of rotational symmetry for given plane figures.

• Properties of Geometric Figures

  Solve problems by applying properties of angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, other polygons, congruency, similarity, and three-dimensional solids.

Circle Geometry

• Circle Properties and Theorems

Vectors

• Vector Concepts

  Students will learn fundamental vector definitions including magnitude, unit vector, direction, scalar, and scalar multiples like parallel and equal vectors.

• Vector Algebra and Geometry

  Students will simplify vector expressions using addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication, and apply the triangle and parallelogram laws.

• Position and Displacement Vectors

  Students will represent position and displacement vectors of points using coordinates in the x-y plane.

• Magnitude and Direction of Vectors

  Students will determine the magnitude and direction of given vectors, including unit vectors.

• Vector Applications in Geometry

  Students will use vectors to solve geometric problems involving collinear points, parallel lines, displacement, velocity, and weight.

Matrices

• Matrix Concepts

  Students will explain basic concepts associated with matrices, including rows, columns, order, and types like square and identity matrices.

• Matrix Operations

  Students will perform addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication, and multiplication of conformable matrices, noting equality and non-commutativity.