IB Mathematics

Overview of the course

The IB Diploma gives students the opportunity to study Mathematics at standard or higher level or Further Mathematics at higher level. The IB Diploma mathematics course has a strong focus on developing the students' analytical and technical skills so that they can in turn apply these skills to solve a wide range of mathematical real world problems.

The IB maths course content covers the following areas: algebra, functions and equations, circular functions and trigonometry, matrices, vectors, statistics and probability and calculus. In addition, students are required to produce a portfolio consisting of two pieces of work, one based on mathematical investigation and the other based on mathematical modeling.

Further Maths assumes the students have already acquired the knowledge outlined in higher level mathematics and extends the learning further by covering topics such as: geometry, statistics and probability, sets, relations and groups, series and differential equations and discrete mathematics.

Although our Chinese students have a very strong mathematical knowledge when they join our centres, they have generally had little exposure to western teaching methods. Therefore, a strong emphasis is put on working in an investigative and enquiring manner coupled with developing the academic English required to explain calculations in the context of the questions set.