Prior Knowledge

[RayanSaleh]

Hey IB fellows,

I will be beginning IB the next school year(after this summer), and have learned a lot about the IB and its benefits.

I will be taking the math course at a higher level hoping to score a 7 at it, but i wanted to take your advice as to how to prepare for it in the summer. I do not want to study chapters of it, since it will be wasting my time, i would like to know what prior knowledge can i learn this summer to prepare me very well for math at HL. Perhaps basic math(like algebra 1 or 2) or basic information about certain topics, i do not know, and that's why i am asking you, former HL students to help me achieve the best score and prepare well for it in this summer. 

[MaximilianP]

Going into IB the most important thing is reading the material before class. I'm not sure whether you did IGCSE/Pre-Ib etc. in grade 10 but the mathematics additional syllabus at IGCSE is almost a perfect bridge between the two classes so maybe read up on that. Most students, at least in my class, have problems with Integration and complex numbers, so maybe read up on those subjects. Overall if you want a 7 at IB Mathematics HL you're going to have to do a lot of stuff outside of the class, as often the teacher won't have time to cover some of the subjects to an appropriate level of depth, and it's also important you re-read your notes throughout the year as the course works in a very incremental way, trigonometry will come up again in calculus, and then in complex numbers etc. 

From your question, I'm not sure about your level of Mathematics, but over the summer you shouldn't be worrying that much about Math HL, instead, try and reset from the stress of exams you just took.