How to Succeed in IB Mathematics
Success Point 1: Right Learning Materials
Practise with the right materials. We noticed that many students mainly utilise textbook questions to practise, which may lead them to get only level 5 results. These old textbooks may not reflect the latest curriculum and question types. So it is important to check IBO’s resources and learning materials for practising IB mathematics.
Success Point 2: Past Papers
Practise at least 10 years past papers to score a level 7 in mathematics. Most of the time, IB mathematics exam questions were quite repetitive. Therefore if you cover at least the past 10 years of past exam questions, then you cover all kinds of question types. This is why the power of doing the past paper questions will be able to help you boost your knowledge.
Once you finish your full IB mathematics past papers, you must review your mistakes. If you do not, you won’t learn from your errors and will keep getting the same questions wrong.
Success Point 3: Time Yourself
When, for example, you practise questions in paper 1, you will have 2 hours to complete the paper. Spending 5 hours finishing the paper does not help to get a level 7 even if you get all questions right. So you will need to practice to complete all questions in a given timeframe to a level 7 score. For instance, you are given approximately 6 minutes to finish a 6-mark question, as the maximum mark for a certain paper examination paper is 110.
You will need to familiarise yourself with the timeframe of each course. On each paper, you will have the following time limits:
Analysis & Approaches SL
- Paper 1: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Paper 2: 1 hour 30 minutes
Analysis & Approaches HL
- Paper 1: 2 hours
- Paper 2: 2 hours
- Paper 3: 1 hour
Applications & Interpretation SL
- Paper 1: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Paper 2: 1 hour 30 minutes
Applications & Interpretation HL
- Paper 1: 2 hours
- Paper 2: 2 hours
- Paper 3: 1 hour
Algebra Algebraic Fractions Arc Binomial Expansion Capacity Common Difference Common Ratio Differentiation Double-Angle Formula Equation Exponent Exponential Function Factorise Functions Geometric Sequence Geometric Series Index Laws Inequality Integration Kinematics Length Conversion Logarithm Logarithmic Functions Mass Conversion Mathematical Induction Measurement Perfect Square Perimeter Prime Factorisation Probability Product Rule Proof Pythagoras Theorem Quadratic Quadratic Factorise Ratio Rational Functions Sequence Sketching Graphs Surds Time Transformation Trigonometric Functions Trigonometric Properties Volume
Responses