HL MATHS IA WORKSHOP

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 HL MATHS IA WORKSHOP

The most important things about the IA

1. The IA is an internal assessment – your teachers mark it so there is an element of

subjectivity!

a) Always be on your teacher’s good books

b) Realize that similar IAs could be given a 7 by one teacher and a 5 by another

c) Try to figure out if your teacher likes your topic (ask for constant feedback!)

d) When you submit a topic proposal, make sure you have done extensive research first
because your teacher will not have the time to do it for you. You might get approval as
long as your topic “sounds” alright but as you start to do your work, you might realize
that it is not feasible.

e) Try asking for a sample IA from your teacher – this will help you understand the
level he/she expects. They may say no but no harm in asking.

2. Look at the rubrics closely to understand what you have to do to score. You can easily
obtain the IB teachers’ guide for marking the IA here:
(https://ibpublishing.ibo.org/live-exist/rest/app/tsm.xql?doc=d_5_matsl_tsm_1205_1_e&part=1&chapter=8)

a) This component is worth 4 out of 20 (20% of your grade)

b) You should write the IA like a textbook – assume that your reader has no pre-existing
knowledge. A good way to figure out how to do so is to let your friend (who has no idea
about your IA) to read it and see if they understand it.

c) Label all graphs, tables, etc. and be consistent in the labelling.

d) A good way to structure your IA is as follows:

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 HL MATHS IA WORKSHOP

a) For the new syllabus, this is 4 out of 20 marks (20% of your grade), for the old syllabus,
it is 3 out of 20.

b) Please use the equation add-in on Microsoft Word. Be consistent. For example: typing
out sin x | sin 𝑥 . You should also be consistent about the number of DP you use.

c) Define and explain all the variables at the start when you introduce them.

d) Make sure all the graph axis are labelled correctly!

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 HL MATHS IA WORKSHOP

a) 3 out of 20 (new syllabus) and 4 out of 20 for the old syllabus

b) Every examiner knows what is real engagement versus made up engagement! You have
to show that you are truly doing an exploration on something that you are interested in
or have affected you in some way!

c) “Textbook style explorations or reproduction …” This means that if you decide to

do an IA that is similar to the sample ones found online, you definitely will not be
scoring well in this component.

d) You can use similar mathematical concept but apply it to a topic that is
“personal” to you!

For example: modelling the path of the soccer ball and finding the optimal angle to kick

My student was a goalkeeper so she wrote about a similar topic but applied it in her way whereby
she compared the varies angles she would have to kick the ball in order to target the different parts
of the field in the goal kick.

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 HL MATHS IA WORKSHOP

a) 3 out of 20 for both old and new syllabus

b) It is good to have critical reflection and findings throughout the IA and not just the
conclusion. For example, put down any limitations you faced while doing the exploration
and mention how you solved it or if you didn’t, how would the limitation affect your
results.

c) Just describing your results is not reflecting! You have to draw some inferences, link it
back to your aim, limitation and what you have gathered.

d) For example, in the soccer ball IA, why have you chosen to look at the angle of the kick
rather than the force?

In reality, accuracy of where the ball lands is more dependent on the angle of your kick. You can
apply the maximum force possible but if you kick it at a wrong angle, it will never reach your target.
Hence, kicking angle was a more critical factor.

e) Your conclusion should be a good summary showing the findings, limitations, what you
learnt and suggestion for further improvement or investigation.

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 HL MATHS IA WORKSHOP

Criterion E: Use of Mathematics HL

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 HL MATHS IA WORKSHOP

a) 6 out of 20! The bulk of the marks and the most important part!

b) A good way is to explore advanced Math topics that tend to be taught in first year of
university or a unique application of Maths concept you have learnt in the HL syllabus –
this will naturally show that you are learning

c) Only choose the math concept that is relevant! Do not put a bunch of concepts that is not
relevant to your topic.

d) Explain the formulas! It would be even better if you can derive some of them.

e) DO NOT decide to use too high level mathematical concepts that you are confused about
and your teacher might not understand. Remember that your teacher has to mark several
IAs, they will not go and learn something completely new in order to understand your IA.

f) It is critical that you think of the mathematical concepts when coming up with your topic.

General Comments

a) If you look at the rubrics, you can score well if you do Criteria A to D properly. Criteria E
involves the mathematics of your IA. This is the differentiating factor. Do this part well
and you can score a 7.

b) Choosing topics that have been done frequently will be a disadvantage.

c) Teachers allow drafts and students often don’t make use of this opportunity as they do
their IAs at the very last minute. PLEASE make use of the draft to show something that
is almost complete so you can get good feedback and work on improving it.

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 HL MATHS IA WORKSHOP

How to start your Maths IA Journey!

1. Go through the frequent topics that you see on the IB blogs online. Get an understanding
of the topics that have been done before. After which, do something different!

2. Go through the IA samples on the IBO website. It doesn’t matter if it is the old syllabus
because the grading criteria has not changed much.

3. Look for math concepts (https://ibmathsresources.com/maths-ia-maths-exploration-topics/)

4. Select a topic that has some literature review online. If there is really no information or
limited data on your topic, it may not be a good idea to do it.

5. A simple way to search might be things like “calculus in (your sport of interest)” and see
if the results interest you.

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