IA (HL) What does the IB mean by mathematical modelling and what is this type II IA about anyways?

[norsul]

Hi guys!

I am soon going to get my assignment for HL math IA type II - mathematical modelling. I've been looking at some of the previous portfolio titles, and found myself quite confused as to what is this IA all about. They seem to require you to make up parameters and identify variables and stuff. Besides, I don't seem to quite understand what does the IBO mean by a "mathematical model". Is it an equation? Is it a couple of equations? Just what is it?

Basically the question that I am asking here, is what is this type II IA all about, what is expected of me and what the hell is a "mathematical model"?

Thank you in advance!

[Emmi]

Modelling (the Type 2 portfolio) basically requires you to interpret a set of data or a problem and come up with a model that represents the data. This is typically an equation of some sort. Parameters are just restraints or elements that you need to work with that will affect the outcome of the model (i.e. what types of functions could be suitable possibilities, is there a maximum value that the function can obtain, rates of increase or decrease, etc).

For example (I never took HL) for my Type 2 SL porfolio I was given the population of China for a selected number of years, and the goal of the portfolio was to use those data points and the generalized formula in the instructions to investigate parameters and growth to develop a model for population growth that could be used to predict population numbers in the future based on current data. I'm assuming that HL has similar tasks.

[norsul]

Thank you very much! Although in HL it seems that they give you less data...