Is SL maths hard?

[MaryamB]

Hello everyone

I am gonna be an IB student next year.

I know IB HL maths is extremley challenging since I have some friends of mine who have done it and have struggled for 2 years. Considering the fact that I am in core mathematics in IGCSE, students usually do maths studies instead. But, due to our limited numbers in school, our maths co-ordinator is allowing some of us to join SL maths. I was wondering if any of you out there have done it?? and do you recommend it or studies better? I can accept a few challenges and can definitley work hard in order to achieve my goals, however i am really interested in your guys's opinions.

Thank you

[Bishup]

If you don't need maths sl for what you want to do at uni don't even bother. I have a friend of mine who wants to do law, intelligent guy, did sl maths and decided that there was no point and that he'd rather have an easy 7. If you do want to do sl or if you need it as a prerequisite then it is not hard if you keep at it. Sl requires that you appreciate the different techniques needed to solve a problem but it's not to the same standard as higher. If I were you I'd do standard and then drop if you feel that you find it difficult.

Ps : Don't compare IGCSE, GCSE to IB there is no directy link

[Sonneteer_Trombonist]

I don't find it difficult, I think the main thing is to do a couple practice problems of the concept the same day as it's taught to make sure you're on the same page.

The main thing when deciding what math is to go into, as the above poster said, is to see what the prerequisite is for whatever you want to do at uni. I find SL fun, but if you're not a math-minded person and you don't need it then maybe consider studies (I don't know anyone who has taken it so I can't comment on it) but if you like math then I don't see why it can't also be easy for you.

[__inthemaking]

I found it fairly easy but I'm very science/maths oriented. Doing a lot of practice papers will help though because there's only so many different ways they can test you on something in the syllabus.

[Mahuta ♥]

I have done math SL.

I see it like this:

Studies: Mostly statistics

Standard: Mostly calculus

Higher: Both

If I am wrong, feel free to correct me.

SL is just about doing lots of past papers, although I should admit that to me personally, you can have rare moments where a question just looks impossible to solve, but again, it depends on your maths skills.

I have done IGCSE as well, and I should be honest with you, I got an A* in math Extended but I still found a little bit of difficulty in SL IB, not so much but in certain occasions. So unless you're doing core and knowing deep inside you could have done extended, then try SL, if not, then don't waste precious IB points like that.

Be sure to take in considerations what you want career you're considering, because in terms of SL and St, it matters in some universities.

[Caustica]

Ps : Don't compare IGCSE, GCSE to IB there is no directy link

There is no direct link, but you can still compare the difficulty. Maths SL is a lot harder than Core Maths @ IGCSE. It's only slightly harder than Additional Maths @ IGCSE. It's slightly easier than A Level Maths, whereas HL is in between A Level Maths & Further Maths.

Maths SL is manageable if you like Maths. However, since you've only done Core Maths, it may present a bit of a challenge since it's quite a big leap (imo). If you're studying humanities/social sciences in university (excl. Econ/BS), then it may just be a waste of time. But, of course, if you like Maths, then go for it

[MaryamB]

Thank you all so greatly

I appreciate your immediate responses.

I am definitley going into journalism and media studies in the future. Do you guys think I should just o for maths studies instead (cause I gotta say, maths and I just dont get along very well :/)

Thanks a million in advance

Edited June 4, 2011 by Summer Glau
no text speak

[Caustica]

Yeah, in that case, DEFINITELY go for Maths Studies. It'll free up more time for you to concentrate on subjects like English, and it'll make your two years a whole lot more enjoyable

[MaryamB]

Again, thank you big time!

I appreciate you taking some of your time into answering my questions

thank you loooaaddsss...

[James Hart]

Maths SL can get hard if you let it get on top of you. You need to keep up to date going over your notes every few weeks. However if you do this I have no doubt you will be fine. Good Luck!

[goTiffany]

Math studies is the way to go.

In IB1 of Math studies we focused on the core topics (this is nice mash up of the 8-math topics: Financial math, functions, sets/logic, trig/geom, algebra, Introductory differential calculus, stats)

In IB2 we focused in depth on the Stats and Introductory differential calculus. Also, did our math I.A. which was a piece of cake considering we had just done the stats topic ( I would suggest doing a Stats projects with correlation or chi squared)

I'm pretty sure I did extremely well on my exam, it's a lot of different topics, but they are easy to master.

[James Hart]

I agree in that Maths Studies is the way to go if you don't want to do anything to do with maths in the future. I personally am taking economics which requires maths so if you need maths do standard level. If not do studies

[Herrrrrro]

I dont think my IB coordinator would let me take Studies and he only reluctantly let me drop down from HL maths to SL as i am pretty good at maths. SL is definitely a lot easier than HL but if you really do not care about maths and do not need it in UNI then Studies is the way to go, otherwise just take standard if you find maths abit challenging but still need it for UNI

[CkyBlue]

Well I don't have any knowledge of Math Studies, but Math SL is not the hardest course out there definitely. Judging from what you have said, you're all set since from my perspective, there aren't really any challenges.Just keep consistent with your studies, and if you're not that mathematically inclined, then your "challenge" attribute will help out there.

I kinda of jerked off calculus and vectors, ended with a 32 on portfolios, and a 6 as a predicted grade.. I really had to force myself to get that 7. Well that was a challenge for me, but again if you are consistent with your work habits, Math SL will not be hard for you, and that challenge will not even be there!

[Loopiez]

I don't think Math SL is all that hard to be honest. If you have calculus and algebra background [i took Additional Mathematics at the 'O' Levels] you won't find it that difficult. The hardest part is just getting around to all the practice you need to do to do well in Math. Most topics in Math SL can be easily mastered by constant practice - and it doesn't hurt to practice the same question twice.

[jmw]

I think you should also take into account that SL maths is usually considered a "non-prefered" subject to most top-universities. Obviously if your course involves no maths, then most unis wont have a problem with it, but the better ones might.

SL is really meant to be a course for most people, so if you think you can dedicate enough time everynight to math study, there is no reason why you couldn't get a 7 - it will just require more work than studies.