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Explaining derivatives - should I?


Sofia.

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Hi! I'm currently working on my Math IA (HL), in which I'll be using differential equations. Now, do I have to explain what a derivative is? As in, the gradient of a line as x --> 0 using limits? This should be in the SL syllabus, right? I don't want to include unnecessary stuff ...

Thanks for your amazing advice!

:badmath:  :typing:  :runrun:  :panic:

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Hi! I'm currently working on my Math IA (HL), in which I'll be using differential equations. Now, do I have to explain what a derivative is? As in, the gradient of a line as x --> 0 using limits? This should be in the SL syllabus, right? I don't want to include unnecessary stuff ...

Thanks for your amazing advice!

:badmath:  :typing:  :runrun:  :panic:

 

As sushichan said, you don't need to! Also, you can structure your IA in any way you like; just mention your scope of investigation before you begin your writing.

 

For example, i did mine on inhomogeneous second-order linear differential equations. However, to fully understand the inhomogeneous equations, i also needed to investigate about the homogeneous cases; and I soon realized that this is too broad. So in the beginning, I assumed that the people who read my IA knew everything about the homogeneous DE. By assuming this, i would avoid having to include the unnecessary information about the homogenous case.

 

I realized that the syllabus change in math last year leaves quite a lot of room for students to think more freely. So feel free to write it the way you like! :) Good luck

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