sadgoldfish Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Hi everyone, I am currently in my first year of IB and I took HL because my teacher recommended HL course to me, looking at my grade and attitude in class during GCSE course. However, for all of my tests so far (Unit tests), I am failing to get the marks that I want. I got 60 % for my first test, but the marks dropped all the way to 50 % and 30 % for the next two.I have done my mid year exam recently and I don't think I did a great job on that as well because I could not do three big marker questions. I was really disappointed on how I did because this time, I did more revision, including past papers and revision questions that my teacher gave us. I am considering whether I should drop the subject or not. I personally don't want to and still want to try my best because I need at least a 6 in HL Math to get into Business courses in Universities that I really want to enter. I also don't really have any other subject to replace Math HL Does anyone have a better revision plan for me? I also want to hear your own personal experiences on your Math HL course and some good textbook recommendation. Also, my weakest part of the course is graphs and when it comes to graphs, I go numb and can't do anything. Does anyone have a good advice on this? Thanks, Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
behaaa Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 I am sorry but HL math is really for the crazy people out there (in my opinion). With that in mind, I don't think math HL is a requirement for business degrees, I know for sure it is one for economics degrees, but thats only for the more prestigious universities like Imperial College. So drop it if you can and switch to something easier. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
veregudmen Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 (edited) Math HL is the type of subject where you really need to get the concept ingrained and drilled into your skull. I did extended math at IGCSE, and I found it ridiculously easy; I actually didn't study math at ALL for a 7 month period (except during tests) but really struggled with HL at the start. The problem with HL is the 'simple' questions are fairly all-or-nothing in terms of marks; either you get all the marks possible or basically nothing, and the 'tough' questions are just really tough. The concepts aren't too difficult; the workload on the other hand...... In my own case, my first ever test (functions) i got a 2. After that, what I started doing was really studying the concept as I would for say Psychology or Chemistry. For functions, I wrote down all the 'rules' for transformations and whatnot and explained the logic behind every little thing; e.g. reciprocal graphs have asymptotes because at some point the denominator equals 0 and x/0 is undefined. After that I did practice questions, and when I got the hang of the concept I started making them time trials; giving myself 55, then 50, then 40 seconds per mark for a set of questions. My first ever test was a 2; my final test last term was a 7. I put in almost all my study time into math, and I can't really sustain it this term so I'm aiming for a 6 this term. You don't really need to put in all your time for math though; you do have other subjects and they will need attention If you're struggling with cross topic questions, do this; find some cross-topic questions, and instead of solving them, just list each and every concept you would need to solve that problem. Do this a few times with a number of questions and then start solving them. Don't panic at one-off bad tests, as long as you're understanding things overall. My own grades fluctuate between 4 and 7 but as long as I'm averaging a 6 (which I comfortably manage now) I have no reason to panic. As far as books go, use Cambridge and Pearson; I find them the most complete and complementary; they both have some things missing but they fill each other's gaps. As far as dropping is concerned; that's really up to you. If you NEED it then you obviously don't have a choice, but if you don't need it you should decide based on your interests and priorities. In my own case, I didn't consider dropping it at any point (even though i have 4 HLs and got a 2 in my first math test) as I had dropped additional math during IGCSE and always regretted it because extended math was slow and boring. Whatever you decide, best of luck! @behaaa: I'm not crazy Edited March 4, 2015 by veregudmen 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SYL Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I think that Math HL is definitely conquerable, personally i prepared for the topics in advance with tutor so didn't have much trouble for the majority of IB. That said, the exam questions definitely require you to think broadly and apply concepts in unique ways. In class, we used the Cambridge book. Its pretty good in that it includes color codes to indicate difficulty of questions, with the hardest being close to the medium to hard question in the exams. Overall, you have to continuously practice on the past paper questions and familiarise with the style and flow of such questions. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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