IB Diploma Programme

Course Outline for

Math SL

(Standard Level)

School: Dr. John Hugh Gillis High School

Address:105 Braemore Ave.

Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada

B2G 1L3

Phone/Fax:(902)-863-1620 / (902)-863-8284

Teacher:Anthony Grover

Email:

Webpage:

IB Mathematics SL Course Outline

Course Description:

IB Mathematics SL is designed to give students a solid background in concepts of mathematics to prepare students for further study of mathematics and related fields including chemistry, psychology and business administration. It is assumed that students enrolled in the course have a basic knowledge of mathematical skills and concepts. These basic skills and concepts have been explored in the pre-IB math program and will be re-visited and applied as a student progresses through Math SL. A student with a strong work ethic and concrete background in mathematics is a candidate for Mathematics SL.

Content is delivered in a logical comprehensive way. Emphasis is placed on varied mathematical inquiry at a reasonable pace of study. The course is a blend of direct instruction, independent student mathematical investigation and modelling, and independent research of mathematical topics. Whenever possible, students will explore new concepts through problem solving which will also serve as a means to connect prior topics to new concepts being investigated.

A variety of assessment techniques will be administered as checkpoints for student learning. These will be discussed in more detail in the assessment section of this course outline.

One of the aims of this course is to enable students to appreciate the cultural and historical perspectives of mathematics. Emphasis will be placed on student appreciation of mathematics outside of the Canadian context. This entails an international historical look at mathematics including; societal attitudes towards mathematics, individual contributions to mathematics and the development of mathematical concepts within a society. The idea of mathematics as a universal language is explored looking at differences between modern cultures such as notation differences. Students enrolled in Mathematics SL will research previous mentioned topics and present their findings. Class discussion is used to examine these issues.

Topics, Sequencing and Timing:

The time given in the table adheres to the minimum of 140 hours as stated in the syllabus for Mathematics SL. The time allotted for some of these topics may be increased depending on the time allotted by the school for the scheduling of this course.

Year 1
Unit / Title / Allotted Time (hours) / Relation to syllabus content
1 / Sequences and Series and Exponents / 4 / 1.1, 1.2
2 / Logarithms and the Binomial Theorem / 4 / 1.2, 1.3
3 / Functions / 5 / 2.1, 2.2, 2.4
4 / Transformations of Graphs and the Quadratic Function / 9 / 2.3, 2.5, 2.6
5 / Other Functions; the exponential and the logarithmic with applications / 10 / 2.7, 2.8
6 / Periodic Behaviour and Sinusoidal Functions / 6 / 3.1, 3.4
7 / Unit Circle and Trigonometric Equations / 6 / 3.2, 3.3, 3.5
8 / Applications of Trigonometry / 5 / 3.6
9 / Vectors / 16 / 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
Year 2
Unit / Title / Allotted Time (hours) / Relation to syllabus content
11 / Descriptive Statistics / 12 / 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
12 / Probability / 14 / 5.5, 5.6, 5.7
13 / Distributions / 9 / 5.8, 5.9
14 / Limits and Derivatives / 10 / 6.1
15 / Product and Quotient Rules and second Derivatives / 9 / 6.2, 6.3
16 / Indefinite and Definite Integrals / 11 / 6.4, 6.5
17 / Applications of Calculus / 6 / 6.6

Assessment:

Besides the assessment practices set forth by the guide for IB Math SL, various forms of informal and formal assessment will be given by the teacher. These forms of assessment will provide immediate feedback on the students’ progress and the attainment of outcomes as set forth in the guide. They will serve as a platform for which to deliver practice problems to the students in preparation for both the internal and external assessment. Finally, they will aid in the teacher making a better approximation of the students’ grade for IB. The aforementioned forms of assessment include:

  • Daily homework and anecdotal notes.It is not only an expectation, but it is also a requirement that you complete your homework when it is assigned. To help keep track of your homework and to allow for easy feedback, you will be required to submit your homework via Google Classroom each day that you have homework. More information will be given later in class.
  • Quizzes will be periodically administered to cover key concepts covered in a unit.
  • Tests will be administered at the end of each unit of study. Tests should be constructed in a cumulative structure allowing students to connect ideas in previous units while at the same time helping students prepare for the external assessment.
  • A variety of assignments will be given to help the student prepare for the IB internal assessment and IB exam. School exams will also be written at the end of the Grade 11 and mid-year in Grade 12.

The students registered in IB Math SL must adhere to the formal assessment practices as set forth in the guide. These guides are updated on a regular basis and as such these assessment practices and percentages may be subject to change. If that happens students will be informed of any changes prior to writing these assessments.

Internal Assessment: 20%

The internally assessed component in these courses is a mathematical exploration. This is a short report written by thestudent based on a topic chosen by him or her, and it should focus on the mathematics of that particular area. The emphasis is on mathematical communication (including formulae, diagrams, graphs and so on), with accompanyingcommentary, good mathematical writing and thoughtful reflection. A student should develop his or her own focus, withthe teacher providing feedback via, for example, discussion and interview. This will allow all students to develop an areaof interest for them, without a time constraint as in an examination, and will allow all to experience a feeling of success. The exploration is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IBO.

External Assessment: 80%

Paper 1 (40%): 1 hour 30 minutes

Non-calculator section

Paper 2 (40%): 1 hour 30 minutes

Graphing calculator required

Technological and International Components:

Besides equipping students with the necessary mathematical skills to perform a critical analysis of various problems, the proper use of technology will be included as well. The advent of powerful graphing calculators, spreadsheets, computer based laboratories, and graphing software have permitted students to explore more challenging and complex problems where the tedious mathematical computations are no longer the focus, but the interpretations and analysis of the problems have taken the forefront.

The students enrolled in IB Math SL will explore mathematics in a global context. They will look at the historical and cultural contributions to the field of mathematics. This will be accomplished by looking at:

  • The history of mathematicians as well as time-line facts.
  • The invention and use of the various tools and instruments of mathematics.
  • The various number systems of the world.
  • Mathematical linguistics.
  • The universal approach to mathematical symbolism.

Resources:

Class resources:

  • * Mathematics for the International Student: Mathematics SL Third Edition, HaeseMathematics

ISBN: 1-921972-08-9

  • * Solutions Book Mathematics SL – Worked Solutions Third Edition, HaeseMathematics

ISBN: 1-927972-09-6

  • Calculus: A Search for Meaning, Gage
  • Calculus: Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic, Prentice Hall
  • There are many other resources that I have in my classroom as well as the school library which will be used as supplementary resources.

Materials:

  • Scientific calculator
  • Graph paper/scribbler
  • Math set
  • Graphing calculator (You are not required to purchase a calculator as one will be assigned to you by the instructor)

School Based Evaluation:

Year 1:

Assignments/ Homework Quizzes20%

Tests30%

Exam50%

Year 2:

Year 1 mark10%

Internal Assessment20%

January Exam70%

Note: Your final exam will consist of material covered from the entire semester for the school based exam and will consist of material from the entire course for the international exam.

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