i thought i was good at math until i put myself into hl math and it all went to shit down the drain. i have never had to study particularly hard for math as i have for other courses so starting over as a rookie feels strange but liberating. my math mark has improved greatly and so here is my guide on how to study math!
questionbank (if you have mac download winebottler to open) [will straight up save your life if you’re in ib hl math]
khan academy [bit annoying in that the videos are unnecessarily long because of mistakes, but useful for learning specific concepts]
wolfram alpha [helpful for double-checking annoying calculations]
google calculator [sometimes i forget my graphing calculator at school and i hate this calculator but i like it better than my phone]
your textbook [a bunch of practice questions with answers is a gift from heaven]
your friends [probably nice and want to help out]
your teacher [probably nice and want to help out, but if not, then ask another math teacher at your school]
solve as many practice questions as you can - practice really makes perfect
do your homework. a lot of classes have homework questions on the test, just with different numbers
do your homework right, and by that i mean check your answers. math textbooks usually have answers, but if there aren’t any, compare with a friend. you need to know if you’re doing it right or not
write your notes using graph paper or buy a graph notebook because once you get into functions there’s no going back
math is all about pattern recognition, especially with word problems
word problems have key vocabulary that let you figure out what kind of math you need to use
if you have to draw a diagram, try to draw it somewhat to scale. you can sort of check if your answer makes sense that way
skipping steps is useful because speed is important but if it’s a step you feel uncomfortable skipping, then don’t do it; it will screw you over
a lot of people don’t get math because it’s hard! if you feel you understand what’s happening, try and help someone. it’ll benefit them and you, because that’s how you know if you really understand
learn how to use your graphing calculator. you can really use it to your advantage
memorize the math terminology and symbols. it may not feel necessary, but it’s useful and you could get screwed over on a test because you didn’t know summation notation or the symbol for integers
make sure your handwriting is as legible as possible. sometimes your answer is wrong simply because you couldn’t read your handwriting during the process and calculated the wrong numbers
asking for help is important because you always build your knowledge and even if you memorize and get away with it now, you will get screwed later. if your teacher scares you, ask a friend or get a tutor
specific tips for ib maths:
questionbank is the best resource you have. use it, love it, become best friends with it - especially if you’re in hl. ib hl questions are hard to come up with, so most teachers will take test questions from questionbank. even if they don’t, however, it’s good practice. hl is hard simply because they combine the topics you learn in ways you wouldn’t think of. practice, and you will be fine.
remember how to do basic math calculations. paper 1 of sl and hl don’t allow any calculators, so you really want to remember how to do 2 by 2 digit multiplication and division etc.
having a formula booklet on a test or exam is great only if you know what to do with the formulas you’re given
get to know your formula booklet because it could save you some brain space not memorizing formulas
math ain’t got nothing on you babes good luck x dev
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