Some advice before I start IB?

[Writer]

Hey, I am thinking of choosing Math sl next year and I wanted to ask you guys who probably know how I should prepare myself for it. I am weak in math but I want to go in sciences so i have to take it. Can any of you guys please tell me how you guys study for Ib effectively for math and how I should prepare myself over the summer for it. Thanks

[dniviE]

OK, I am just going to ignore the fact that you have set your final exams as May 2013...

Tip 1: practice

Tip 2: practice

Tip 3: even more practice

Tip 4: practice past papers

[Mahuta ♥]

First of all, your topic title is very vague, you are less likely to get answers that way. Second of all, you haven't started IB yet so my advice for you is to not worry about it until you start IB! It's February and you're worrying about a course that starts in 6 months.

Believe me, you will get by just fine without preparing for math SL before you even start IB. You need all the 'real holiday' moments you can get because the next time you can have those will be after you finish IB (i.e after two years). You will realize eventually that you were worrying yourself about very little things compared to what you're going to worry about throughout IB. I am sorry if I am freaking you out, but really..relax, you do not need to worry about IB this early.

That being said, if you are really that weak in math, then the only thing I may be comfortable advising you with is to make sure your MYP or Grade 10/11 maths is all clear in your head. That's ALL you need. Don't even get near the IB Math SL course. It's not that difficult. If, however, you want to take a look at some general advice, you should take a look at some of the pinned topics in the General IB Discussion such as the Compilation of Wisdom. But like I said, you don't have to worry about it too much.

Once you start IB and start facing problems or difficulties (and believe me you will) we will be glad to help you out. Meanwhile, enjoy!

[Kiara5]

dont do it. drop out. jk.. IB is a great program (not fully, but good enough)

[Bearmander]

I know this must be obvious but: DO YOUR HOMEWORK!, you need the practice! I made a mistake of choosing Math SL and then just not practicing at all until we started Calculus, started getting a 4 after another 4 and had to switch to Math Studies. And I got an A for Extended Math my IGCSEs! So I'm not exactly dim, I was just being lazy. Laziness at IB is basically like "it's so wrong but why does it feel so good".

If you don't understand the topic, raise your hand, ask the teacher. Those are all basic school rules really, I suppose. You have to realise that IB is pretty much...well,

Let NormalSchool = x ,

then IB* = x³

*IGCSE on acid

Edited February 21, 2013 by Vlad Frolov

[Lero]

Reiterating the advice from the above posts, the only way to succeed in mathematics is through practice. There are no shortcuts unfortunately; you need to invest time to learn the content, then twice that time to apply the knowledge acquired in a variety of questions. It's not difficult, especially SL Mathematics which isn't rigorous if you are willing to engage in learning the content.

YouTube is your friend, khanacademy and PatrickJMT both provide detailed mathematics tutorials which are certainly worth your time.

However, it is still veeeeeeeery early it seems if you are speaking of commencing in 2014. Relax and enjoy yourself and as Mahuta said, focus on knowing the MYP content fluently before starting the diploma program.

[IBchicken]

Practice math EVERY SINGLE DAY. It really helps for me as last-minute studying doesn't work at all. Especially in math.

Math SL isn't that tough either so don't worry too much