Which IBDP Math Course is Right for You
Congratulations on your decision to enroll in the IB Diploma Program! You have two demanding and gratifying years ahead of you, and we know you are already beginning to feel the pressure and anticipation of them. There are many choices to be made if you are still deciding the subjects you will take in the IB. Your focus for the following two years will be on the topics you choose. And Several factors should influence your best options.
You have two main choices in math: Mathematical Applications and Interpretations and Mathematical Analysis and Approaches, both of which are available at either a Higher Level (HL) or Standard Level (SL). These new subjects have just replaced the previous system of three primary subjects, which included Math Studies, Standard, and Higher. Unfortunately, there aren’t presently many resources to assist students and families in understanding these changes and making the best decision for themselves because the changes are so new.
When deciding on your IB Math level, a variety of factors must be weighed, from your degree of enthusiasm for the subject to your future educational and professional goals. I also hope that this essay may assist you in making a decision.
IB Mathematics: Applications and Interpretations
The subject of Math’s Applications and Interpretations, or simply Math’s AI, places more of an emphasis on how mathematical ideas can be used to solve real-world issues in the sciences, business, and a variety of other spheres of human activity. In this way, AI is targeted at students who are most curious about how mathematics relates to and is applied in everyday life.
To complete the IB Mathematics Course Material, the IB advises that Math’s AI students receive 150 hours of instruction, with HL students receiving an extra 90 hours. Both levels cover the following five areas:
· Algebra and numbers
· Functions
· Geometry and Trigonometry
· Statics and Probability
· Calculus
While HL students study the same subjects as SL students, they do so in greater detail, covering each subtopic in greater depth and complexity. HL students also get an additional paper (the dreaded Paper 3!) in their final exams, as they do in other subjects.
Math’s AI has more emphasis on technology than Math’s AA and requires you to become an experienced user of your graphic display calculator. You will be urged to use technology whenever possible to swiftly find solutions to issues that would take considerably longer and be much harder to complete by hand. Instant equation solvers, graphing applications, and lessons on how to make the most of them will all be strongly included in the instruction.
Every exam paper will allow you to use a graphic calculator, which could seem amazing! However, keep in mind that the questions are prepared with the assumption that you will be using your GDC, so you must be familiar with your calculator to perform well. You can run out of time if you attempt too many questions manually.
Students interested in careers in the humanities, statistics, commerce, or specific scientific subjects like chemistry and biology, where more abstract mathematics understanding is not necessary, are probably best suited for Math’s AI. A student of math and artificial intelligence could also wish to think about careers in design, psychology, or specific areas of economics.
IB Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches
Compared to AI, Math’s Analysis and Approaches (Math’s AA) emphasizes more theoretical and abstract ideas. This entails placing more emphasis on subjects like calculus as well as the concept of proof, mathematical theorems, and mathematical argument in general. While AI is the more practical type, it might be referred to as “Pure Mathematics.” Students who are enthusiastic about abstract mathematical thought and want to test the limits of their mathematical understanding are the target audience for AA in this fashion.
Similar to AI, Math’s AA requires 150 hours of instruction to complete the SL level, with 240 hours required for HL students. The same five curriculum areas are covered by Math’s AA students as they are for AI:
· Algebra and numbers
· Functions
· Geometry and Trigonometry
· Statics and Probability
· Calculus
Even though both AA and AI students bother to study the same five topics on the syllabus, they devote very different amounts of time to each. For instance, if you decide to take Math’s AI HL, statistics and calculus will each take up 25% of your entire study time. On the other hand, if you decide to take Math’s AA HL, you will spend more than a quarter of your time on calculus and less than a sixth of your time on statistics. The total teaching time for these two HL subjects is the same, hence the variation is in how that time is allocated. Which type of math you would like to take can depend on if you are aware of a particular area where you excel or struggle.
The final exam for the AA course includes Paper 1, a non-calculator paper. This contributes 30% to your ultimate Higher Level mark and 40% to your Standard Level grade. Other than that, the assessment methodology is quite similar to AI, with Higher Level students taking an additional Paper 3 that has two “extended answer problem-solving problems” and internal assessments accounting for 20% of the subject’s overall score.
Students interested in pursuing pure mathematics, engineering, physics, or specific aspects of economics should take Math’s AA due to its more abstract and difficult content. Keep in mind that it is crucial to confirm with your preferred universities whether your degree considers students with Higher Level Math’s AA as sufficient or whether HL is required.
You’ll frequently hear that the new standard-level AI course is just a replica of the previous Math’s Studies course. The new AA SL course is essentially the previous Math’s SL course, and the new AA HL course is essentially the previous Math’s HL course. According to this understanding, Math’s AI HL is the only course that is actually “new.” However, this interpretation is incorrect, and what the IB has done is liquefy much of its older subject matter and redistribute it in four entirely new ways. Some of the content is brand-new, while other stuff that was previously in the Math’s HL choices has been made core.
