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HL MATH TEXTBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS


SailinWind

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Hey guys! I was looking around for textbooks for HL Math and I was wondering which one of the four I should buy?


 


1. Pearson


 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pearson-Baccalaureate-Mathematics-Diploma-International/dp/0435074962/ref=dp_ob_title_bk/275-7064412-8084468


 


2. IBID http://www.ibid.com....097_mathematics


 


3. This textbook by Peter Smythe http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/1490915710


 


4. Oxford http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0199129347


 


 


                                                                   Any input will be appreciated! Thanks! 


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Pearson or IBID

I have all the textbooks you mentioned and the Cambridge and H&H textbooks.

I feel that the Pearson one is the best. It has questions exactly like the ones on the exams. It has info and help on the investigation. In my opinion it follows the syllabus better than the rest of the textbooks.

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I have the Cambridge, Haese&Harris and the IBID books, and will be getting the Pearson Baccalaureate book from my school in August.

 

I personally like the Cambridge book the best, it's the easiest to work with on your own. That being said, both Cambridge and the IBID books are good, it's honestly just the Haese and Harris book that isn't too good. The topics are, at least for me, fairly jumbled up and there are many parts where you don't feel a logical progression. 

The IBID book has a lot of questions, and they do seem to match the type of question that appears in papers. It looks like it would be the best for exam preparation. I don't like their explanations too much though, but that could be just something that doesn't work for me, rather than an issue with the book itself. It's definitely a lot better than Haese and Harris.

 

If you plan to work on math HL before school starts, I'd recommend Cambridge. If you're trying to get in practice for a test, I'd recommend IBID. The important thing is, stay away from the Haese and Harris book :P

 

Jokes aside, I hear great things about the Pearson Baccalaureate book, it sounds like it could be worth trying out. 

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I had the opportunities of trying 3 different math books, including Pearson, Oxford, and Cambridge.


 


1. Oxford: has very good explanations, but they are often oversimplified; also the exercises are quite easy compared to other book. Generally, i don't recommend this one.


 


2. Cambridge: is the best of all in terms of explanations; so friendly to use; both mathematical symbols and ordinary English are used equally, making it much easier to understand concepts; the exercises are also up to the levels of IB.


 


3. Pearson: I used mostly this book during the IB. It's really hard to understand, especially if you are not used to the use of mathematical language (e.g. symbols, and stuff). However, it is a great book in terms of contents because it has lots of derivations of different formulas (which are vitally important when studying Math HL). Other textbooks (like Cambridge or Oxford) often just give the formulas without really explaining how we derive them. However, don't use Pearson textbook for the options, because it's really bad!


 


Generally, I recommend using both Pearson & Cambridge. Even though, Cambridge might be enough, but in maths, always use 2 books :)


PS. I also heard great things about IBID book; it has difficult questions (sometimes harder than IB's question types), so it might give you a useful practice. But I really can't say anything, because I have never tried it before.

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I strongly recommend the PEARSON Math HL book. It overs all the topics very well and I think it is actually fun to read. The e-Book is absolutely amazing! The Pearson book has questions after each subsection and even though the answers are in the back of the book, you get detailed workings in the e-Book. This is absolutely a life-saver! Sometimes I get stuck on a problem so badly, that I don't even understand how to get to the answer. This is where the e-Book shines. It also provides additional exercises, quizzes, tests, and fun links for some extra math exploration. The Pearson book is probably the best book for learning all the content in the syllabus,and after all, that's the reason you get a textbook because you practice actual problems from past IB papers. 

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Thanks for the fast replies! Now I am debating between the Cambridge and Pearson books. I might end up buying both or the Cambridge one first for the summer. http://education.cambridge.org/ca/subject/mathematics/mathematics-for-the-ib-diploma/mathematics-higher-level-for-the-ib-diploma 

Edited by SailinWind
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  • 4 months later...

I highly recommend the Cambridge book, not only does it effectively explains and goes through examples of challenging concepts from all four of the options, it also has questions that are similar if not harder than the exam questions. 

I can sell the Cambridge at 50% the price listed on amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-IB-Diploma-Higher-CD-ROM/dp/1107661730, or just for the option you're doing for the course

PM me if interested please!

Edited by SYL
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  • 3 years later...
  • 1 year later...

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