Mathematics: applications and interpretation

teacher support material

First assessment 2021
Mathematics: applications and interpretation
teacher support material
First assessment 2021
 Diploma Programme
Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

Published February 2019

Updated August 2019, February 2020, November 2020, March 2021, July 2021,
February 2023, June 2023

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 IB mission statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who
help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop
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These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong
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 IB learner profile
profile IB learner
arner profile IB le
ile IB learner prof
IB learner profile H E IB L E AR
N

ER
er profile IB learn

PROFILE
IB learner profile
The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common
humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.
As IB learners we strive to be:

We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories,
research. We know how to learn independently and with others. as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate
We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the
throughout life. experience.

We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a
knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference
and ideas that have local and global significance. in the lives of others and in the world around us.

We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination;
responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas
making reasoned, ethical decisions. and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the
face of challenges and change.
We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one
language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of
carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups. our lives—intellectual, physical, and emotional—to achieve
well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interde-
pendence with other people and with the world in which we live.
We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of
fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and expe-
of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions rience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in
and their consequences. order to support our learning and personal development.

The IB learner profile represents 10 attributes valued by IB World Schools. We believe these attributes, and others
like them, can help individuals and groups become responsible members of local, national and global communities.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2017

International Baccalaureate® | Baccalauréat International® | Bachillerato Internacional®
Introduction and general guidance

Aims and overview

Welcome to the mathematics teacher support material (TSM). This TSM is designed to assist both new and
experienced teachers to build or revise their course design so that it reflects the aims and objectives of the
mathematics courses.
The TSM is designed to:
• support experienced and inexperienced teachers alike in structuring and delivering a course
• support teachers with the organization of practical and investigative work
• complement IB professional development.
The TSM is structured to cover generic issues such as the approaches to teaching and learning and TOK and
how these relate to mathematics, as well as subject-specific considerations for the teaching of mathematics.
There are three sections to the TSM, which are organized as follows.
• Structuring the courses and making connections—practical advice and suggestions on the
organization of classes and an overview of the structure of the courses.
• The “toolkit”—exemplar classroom activities to support the development of inquiry, proof, modelling,
and the use of technology. These activities can be used as they stand or can be adapted. They are
designed to give teachers guidance and to encourage teachers to develop their own resources. They
also contain downloadable materials that can be used with students.
• Assessment—practical advice from experienced teachers and examiners on preparing students for the
IA and the HL paper 3.
This TSM has been written by experienced practitioners to support teachers in designing and delivering this
subject in a variety of different schools. It is not intended to be prescriptive or an exhaustive way of
addressing every issue.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 1

Introduction and general guidance

Mathematics: applications and interpretation at a

glance

This course recognizes the increasing role that mathematics and technology play in a diverse range of fields
in a data-rich world. As such, it emphasizes the meaning of mathematics in context by focusing on topics
that are often used as applications or in mathematical modelling. To give this understanding a firm base,
this course also includes topics that are traditionally part of a pre-university mathematics course such as
calculus and statistics.
The course makes extensive use of technology to allow students to explore and construct mathematical
models. Mathematics: applications and interpretation will develop mathematical thinking, often in the
context of a practical problem and using technology to justify conjectures.
Students who choose this subject at Standard (SL) or Higher Level (HL) should enjoy seeing mathematics
used in real-world contexts and to solve real-world problems. Students who wish to take Mathematics:
applications and interpretation at HL will have good algebraic skills and experience of solving real-world
problems. They will be students who get pleasure and satisfaction when exploring challenging problems
and who are comfortable undertaking this exploration using technology.

2 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

Introduction and general guidance

Approaches to teaching and learning

Approaches to teaching and learning across the Diploma Programme refer to deliberate strategies, skills
and attitudes that permeate the teaching and learning environment. These approaches and tools,
intrinsically linked with the IB learner profile attributes, enhance student learning and assist student
preparation for the Diploma Programme assessment and beyond.
The aims of approaches to teaching and learning in the Diploma Programme are to:
• empower teachers as teachers of learners as well as teachers of content
• empower teachers to create clearer strategies for facilitating learning experiences in which students
are more meaningfully engaged in structured inquiry and greater critical and creative thinking
• promote both the aims of individual subjects (making them more than course aspirations) and linking
previously-isolated knowledge (concurrency of learning)
• encourage students to develop an explicit variety of skills that will equip them to continue to be
actively engaged in learning after they leave school, and to help them not only obtain university
admission through better grades but also prepare them for success during tertiary education and
beyond
• enhance further the coherence and relevance of the students’ Diploma Programme experience
• allow schools to identify the distinctive nature of an IB Diploma Programme education, with its blend
of idealism and practicality.
The five approaches to learning (developing thinking skills, social skills, communication skills, self-
management skills and research skills) along with the six approaches to teaching (teaching that is inquiry-
based, conceptually-focused, contextualized, collaborative, differentiated and informed by assessment)
encompass the key values and principles that underpin IB pedagogy.
More advice and support on these approaches to teaching and learning can be found in the "Approaches to
teaching and approaches to learning" section in the subject guide. Additionally, a suite of materials on
approaches to teaching and learning in the Diploma Programme is available on the programme resource
centre. The guidance given below builds on these resources.

Approaches to teaching and learning and

mathematics
The following articulation of the approaches to teaching and learning is for guidance only and to
demonstrate how mathematics as a course facilitates the development of these skills. The links and
examples given are not exhaustive, and teachers and students may identify other ways in which these skills
are linked to their teaching and learning within mathematics.

Six approaches to teaching

1. Teaching based on inquiry
2. Teaching focused on conceptual understanding
3. Teaching developed in local and global contexts
4. Teaching focused on effective teamwork and collaboration
5. Teaching differentiated to meet the needs of all learners
6. Teaching informed by assessment (formative and summative)

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 3

Approaches to teaching and learning

Five approaches to learning

1. Thinking skills
2. Social skills
3. Communication skills
4. Self-management skills
5. Research skills

Approaches to teaching
Inquiry and mathematics
The aims of the mathematics courses emphasize developing students’ curiosity and enabling them to use
external resources so that they can independently extend their understanding of mathematics. These aims
can be achieved through mathematical inquiry. Inquiry based teaching in DP mathematics is a pedagogical
approach which allows students to develop conceptual understanding.

Teaching based on inquiry

The idea behind inquiry-based teaching in IB programmes is to develop students’ natural curiosity together
with the skills of self-management, thinking, research and collaborative learning so that they can become
motivated and autonomous lifelong learners.
There are different types of inquiry-based learning, and these include:
• experiential learning
• problem and project-based learning
• discovery learning.
The most significant aspect of inquiry-based teaching is that students are actively engaged in their own
learning, constructing their own understandings.
DP mathematics teachers should provide students with opportunities to learn through mathematical
inquiry. Lesson plans should accommodate appropriate levels of inquiry (structured, guided, open-ended)
that suits different students’ needs. In a classroom where inquiry-based teaching is happening, there is
much interaction between students, and between students and teacher. The teacher’s primary role in such
a setting is to promote questions and to facilitate the learning process.
Guiding or essential mathematical questions in the form of facts, concepts and debatable knowledge
encourage the learner’s curiosity. Students have a degree of freedom to make decisions about how to
proceed in their learning, which most often progresses from the concrete towards the abstract.

Conceptual understanding and mathematics

In DP mathematics courses, conceptual understandings are key to promoting deep learning. These
conceptual understandings are supported by twelve fundamental concepts which relate with varying
emphasis to each of the five topics. Teachers can use these concepts to develop the curriculum. Schools
may identify and develop additional concepts to meet local circumstances and curriculum requirements.
Each topic in the guide begins with a description of the essential understandings of the topic, suggestions
of concepts fundamental to the topic, and statements about conceptual understanding relevant to the
content within the topic.

Teaching focused on conceptual understanding

An important motivation for conceptually focused teaching in IB programmes is to help students build their
ability to engage with significant and complex ideas. Equally valuable are the discussions of the “essential
understandings” behind a topic, which can help students get to the heart of why they are learning what
they are learning.

4 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Approaches to teaching and learning

To appreciate the role of concepts in building lasting and significant understandings, it is helpful to think of
concepts as the building blocks of students’ cognitive frameworks. When they are learning at a conceptual
level, students are integrating new knowledge into their existing understandings. They learn how
seemingly discrete topics are connected and are ready to transfer their learning to new contexts. A subject
emerges for them in a holistic light. In a classroom where conceptually focused teaching is happening,
there is continuous movement between facts and what they mean, with students asking why the facts
matter as a natural part of their learning process.

Local and global contexts and mathematics

The structure of the mathematics guide provides links to real-life applications, where appropriate, that
allow students to contextualize their mathematical learning. The topics in the course have many
applications to other disciplines. Mathematical concepts should be taught in a real-world context where
appropriate to help students understand local and global phenomena. Students should be given the right
content and context in order for them to be able to interpret the given mathematical concept in the global
sense. For example, students can learn exponential growth and decay within the context of spread of
disease in order to better understand the spread of cholera in Africa.

Teaching developed in local and global contexts

As young individuals and as members of local and global communities, students make sense of the world
through their life experiences and the world around them. IB programmes emphasize contextualized
teaching because the more students can relate their learning to real-life contexts, the more likely they are
to engage with it. IB programmes also enable students to apply their learning; contextualized teaching, like
conceptually-focused teaching, helps students to get to the heart of why they are learning what they are
learning.
In order to appreciate the role of contexts for relevant learning, it is helpful to think of contexts as students’
frames of reference. When they are learning in a contextualized way, students are grounding abstract ideas
and new information in familiar real-life situations. In a classroom in which contextualized teaching is
happening, concepts and theories are related to accessible and meaningful examples, illustrations and
stories, which in turn inform further conceptual and theoretical understandings.

Effective teamwork and collaboration and mathematics

The mathematics courses encourage students to develop an awareness of different approaches and
different interpretations of mathematics. Being able to discuss and share approaches to the mathematics
content being studied and justify different interpretations provides a rich and meaningful learning
opportunity. Students can develop their ability to listen to and respond to one another respectfully and
critically, and at times may find that their own approach or interpretation can be influenced by the views of
others and that they can influence the approach or interpretation of others.
In mathematics, activities can be developed that encourage students to work effectively in teams. This may
involve collaboration at the start of an activity to gather ideas, information or data; during the activity
where students take on different roles, for instance analysing data, checking the work of another student,
giving feedback on an approach or critiquing an interpretation of a model which helps the group make
further progress; and at the end of an activity where, for instance, they might present their approaches or
interpretations to the class as a group.
Group work could include using software to create activities in the form of a jigsaw or dominoes set
together, a student creating a problem to be solved by one or more classmates, or mind mapping together
at the start of a small project. Document-sharing packages can be used in and out of the mathematics
classroom as an efficient way for students to share and create their study notes per topic. At the end of a
unit of work, students can work in groups to pool their understandings and their understanding of the
connections between a topic and others they have studied. Teachers can ask students to recap in groups at
the end of each unit by adding their ideas to a poster or to an online padlet.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 5

Approaches to teaching and learning

The exploration internal assessment provides a very valuable learning experience for students to peer
review each other’s work by providing constructive feedback on their topic and their interpretation and
understanding of the assessment criteria.

Teaching focused on effective teamwork and collaboration

IB programmes acknowledge that learning is a social activity. Students and teachers come together, each
with unique life experiences, beliefs, ideas, strengths and weaknesses. Learning is the result of these
complex interactions between unique individuals.
An important aspect of the learning process is regular feedback from students to teachers on what they
have and have not yet understood. Concrete and constructive feedback from teachers to students on
performance is similarly crucial for learning to take place.

Meeting the needs of all learners and mathematics

The structure of the course allows teachers to choose how they will proceed through the course and
choose materials and activities that are appropriate and accessible for their students. Being able to
supplement the content with a wide range of videos, technology, strategies, types of activities, etc also
provides opportunities for teachers to differentiate and provide alternative approaches or interpretations
on concepts or topics being discussed.

Teaching differentiated to meet the needs of all learners

IB programmes promote equal access to the curriculum for all learners. Differentiation entails planning for
student differences through the use of a variety of teaching approaches, implementing a variety of learning
activities and making a variety of formats and modes of exploring knowledge and understanding available
to students. It also involves identifying, with each student, the most effective strategies to develop, pursue
and achieve realistic and motivational learning goals. In the context of an IB education, special
consideration often needs to be given to students’ language backgrounds and skills. Affirming students’
identity and valuing their prior knowledge are important aspects of treating students as unique individuals
and helping them develop holistically as young people.

Assessment and mathematics

Both the internal and external assessment tasks of mathematics reflect the aims of the course. Being able to
demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving is essential to mathematics and the assessments are
designed to facilitate this. The internal assessment exploration is an opportunity for students to
demonstrate their understanding and insights into an area of mathematics that is of interest to them, and
to participate in an activity which gives them an insight into what it means to be a mathematician.
Students should be introduced to the assessment criteria of the course early on and these should be
regularly referred to in terms of the skills being developed throughout the learning process. Students must
have a clear understanding of how they will be assessed, and the expectations of the course.
Teacher feedback is crucial and should allow students to monitor their progress and reflect upon their
learning and skills development.

Teaching informed by assessment (formative and summative)

Assessment plays a crucial role in IB programmes in supporting and measuring learning. Formal Diploma
Programme assessments are based on course aims and objectives and, therefore, effective guidance of
these requirements also ensures effective teaching. Formative assessments developed by teachers are tools
and processes to improve student learning. Here, feedback is most effective as a two-way process: students
learn how they are doing and teachers learn what students understand, struggle with, and find engaging. In
addition to assessment tasks, such feedback can be provided more informally.

6 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Approaches to teaching and learning

Approaches to learning
Thinking skills and mathematics
Thinking skills, and particularly critical thinking, are developed and practised continuously in mathematics;
students are challenged to apply their knowledge and skills to unfamiliar contexts or to abstract problems.
Thinking skills are further developed through the emphasis in the teaching on conceptual understanding
and making the links between different topics. Students of mathematics are encouraged to engage with
the approaches or interpretations of problems critically.

Thinking skills
IB programmes pride themselves on giving students opportunities to develop their thinking skills and an
awareness of themselves as thinkers and learners. Being “thinkers” is one of the IB learner profile attributes,
and is defined in terms of exercising initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize
and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
Thinking skills consist of a large number of related skills. In the Diploma Programme, particular emphasis is
placed on skills such as metacognition, reflection, critical thinking, creative thinking, and
transfer. Metacognition, or control over one’s cognitive processes of learning, can be thought of as a
foundation for developing other thinking skills. When practising metacognition, students think about the
ways in which they process information, find patterns, and build conceptual understandings. Once they
become aware that they are using a variety of techniques and strategies to perform even the most basic
learning tasks, students can be encouraged to consider if there are more effective or efficient ways to
achieve the same learning, try out these new ways and evaluate them. Similarly, reflection is a thinking skill
that plays a critical role in improving learning. When practising reflection, students think about the success,
value or otherwise of their learning. The Diploma Programme course aims, assessment objectives and
assessment tasks place a premium on higher-order thinking skills, such as critical thinking, creative thinking
and transfer.

Communication skills and mathematics

In mathematics, communication skills are practised in a number of different ways; as a subject it invites
approaches to teaching that encourage dialogue and discussion, but also requires a reflective engagement
with the way in which the mathematics is expressed both verbally and in writing. This discussion can reveal
alternative perspectives to problem solving.

Communication skills
Communication skills are not only important in IB programmes but are also an essential part of a wider
dynamic in the learning community: they help to form and maintain good relationships between students,
and between students and adults. Furthermore, being able to communicate well contributes to the
development of students’ self confidence and enhances their future prospects, as communication skills are
a critical ingredient of success in working life.
Communication skills consist of a cluster of different skills and forms of communication. The ability to listen
and understand various spoken messages, to read and understand diverse written texts and other forms of
media, and to respond clearly and convincingly in spoken, written and digital form are all part of how
students engage with others in the world. Some of these forms of communication are independent of era
and culture, but interacting in and with the digital space is a significant part of most students’
communication and social interaction. Online activities, which are often collaborative in nature, present
exciting opportunities for the development of students’ communication skills.

Social skills and mathematics

There are strong correlations between social skills, affective skills and the ability to reflect. These all play a
very important role in mathematics. Much of the content and skills students develop will provoke students
to consider their own understandings and how these are expressed to others. Students should be

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 7

Approaches to teaching and learning

challenged to think about the relationship between the learner profile attributes and mathematics. For
example, how do the attributes of caring and being principled relate to what they are learning in
mathematics? The structure of the DP mathematics guides provides students with opportunities to
appreciate the contributions that other cultures have made to the understanding of mathematics. This, and
the section in the guide referring to international-mindedness, can be used to provoke class discussions in
which students will reflect on their own views and those of others.

Social skills
Closely related to, and perhaps even more important than, communication skills are social skills, whose
importance in IB programmes has to do with the development of the learner as a whole and the value of a
community for learning. A starting point for developing students’ social skills is to acknowledge that people
differ greatly in terms of their degree of introversion or extroversion and that these differences should be
respected. Similarly, different cultures have different expectations of appropriate behaviours in social
situations. To be able to understand the perspectives of others, to form good relationships and to regulate
one’s own emotions and behaviour are at the heart of many of the IB learner profile attributes and the IB’s
aspiration to develop internationally minded students. School, being such a formative community in young
people’s lives, can play a significant part in the development of their social and emotional skills.

Self-management skills and mathematics

IB learners also need to learn to persevere and be emotionally stable as individuals. Learning to manage
themselves is important for students in a demanding educational programme like the Diploma Programme,
as well as a highly desirable competency for their later studies and employment.
DP mathematics is a course based around problem solving, with students being required to use the inquiry
and modelling cycles and often, within this framework, being required to develop their own strategies. As
such, students often need to persevere when a solution is not immediately apparent. The IB promotes the
development of educational opportunities for students which set challenging goals and help to develop
their persistence to achieve them.
The DP mathematics courses encourage students to analyse and propose solutions to real-life problems.
This is considered one of the challenges in the DP mathematics course. Self-management skills are required
for students to learn to persevere through problem solving. The learners need to follow a sequential
process to solve the problem which is outlined in the inquiry and modelling processes. First they have to
understand the problem, then devise a plan, create possible solutions, and interpret their answers.
Throughout the process students may struggle and may not be able to solve the problem. In that case it is
very important that teachers foster a growth mindset with their students and emphasize that with effort,
dedication and perseverance understanding can be achieved.
The internal assessment exploration task also requires students to plan and organize their time, to ensure
they have appropriate research techniques and the tenacity to engage with mathematics, to reflect upon
this and monitor their own progress. It is an important part of the course as it allows students to engage in
authentic mathematical activity. The time allocated to the “toolkit” is designed to provide students with a
variety of strategies to help support them through their study of the content and will be invaluable to their
success in the internal assessment exploration.

Self-management skills
Self-management skills consist of organization skills, such as setting goals and managing time and tasks
effectively, and affective skills, such as managing one’s state of mind, motivation and resilience.
Like other learning skills, self-management skills can be modelled and practised. For Diploma Programme
students, time management is often a particularly pertinent organization skill. Strategies for improving time
management include breaking down assignments into achievable steps and timelining each step, planning
revision and study plans for tests and examinations, and building study timetables. An important aspect of
such strategies is not only what they factually achieve with students’ use of time but that they give students
a perception of greater control over their time.

8 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Approaches to teaching and learning

Effective self-management skills, in turn, enable students to gain some control over their mood, their
motivation, and their ability to deal with setbacks and difficulties. A school environment where students
feel they have a degree of autonomy and self direction and where they do not need to get things right the
first time, where challenging but not too difficult objectives are set, and even where psychological
techniques such as mindfulness training are taught, can all support the development of students’ effective
skills.

Research skills and mathematics

Research skills in mathematics are closely aligned with approaches to learning, focused on conceptual
understanding and inquiry. Throughout the mathematics course students engage with methods and
concepts developed by others. However, the internal assessment exploration gives them the opportunity
to demonstrate their own engagement and understanding of an area of mathematics of interest to them.
The aim of this task is to give students the experience of doing mathematics and the opportunity to reflect
on this practice.

Research skills
Research skills are a central element of the inquiry-based pedagogy of IB programmes. While good research
skills have always been at the heart of academic endeavour, the availability of digital resources and the
explosion in the amount of information easily accessible to students make the development of research
skills a particularly pertinent part of today’s education. Also, learning to work with academic integrity and
respecting the intellectual contributions of others is an important aspect of learning in all IB programmes.
Fundamental research skills include formulating focused and precise research questions, appraising
sources, recording, analysing, evaluating and synthesizing information, and presenting and evaluating
results.
Additionally, research today requires much more validating, comparing and contrasting of available
information, and narrowing down the volume of data into a manageable quantity with regard to being
discerning about what is relevant. Though confident in browsing and communicating online, students
often lack the information literacy skills they need for the kind of effective and self-directed research they
are expected to do as part of their inquiries.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 9

Introduction and general guidance

Cognitive academic language proficiency and

mathematics

A framework for the use of cognitive academic

language proficiency
IB students must become fluent in the academic language associated with each of the subjects they study
so that they can fully engage and demonstrate their proficiency. Mathematics has its own language in
which many everyday words have a different, and often much more precise, meaning. This language also
incorporates mathematical symbols and depictions that need to be understood and interpreted. The
precision is what allows mathematics to be a powerful way of knowing and forms the basis of thinking in
mathematics. The agreed understanding of meanings among mathematicians globally allows them to
communicate and collaborate and to make progress in their mathematical endeavours. In developing their
mathematical understandings, students are developing their cognitive academic language proficiency
(CALP).
The grid below is a framework to help teachers plan strategies for student CALP development as part of
learning within mathematics.

10 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Cognitive academic language proficiency and mathematics

Figure 1
A framework for planning CALP development

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 11

Cognitive academic language proficiency and mathematics

Understanding the framework for planning

cognitive academic language proficiency
development
This framework is organized as a grid. The component skills of CALP (including thinking skills, which
support academic language proficiency) are set out in rows and the pedagogy is set out in columns.
Activating background knowledge
Background knowledge is the existing knowledge a student has in terms of the language of the subject.
This may be from a previous course and could be in a different language altogether. When this is activated
it provides a base for new learning.
Scaffolding and practice
Scaffolding is a strategy that enables learners to build on their background knowledge to extend their
learning so they can accomplish more difficult tasks. Scaffolding activities allow for contextualization so
new learning input is meaningful. New learning is fully acquired through practice.
Demonstrating cognitive academic language proficiency
Independently demonstrating and applying new CALP in novel and varied situations is a sign of successful
learning. This new learning will become part of a student’s background knowledge upon which more new
and extended learning can be built during the next cycle.

Using the framework for planning cognitive

academic language proficiency development
It is not expected that every single box on the framework will be completed in detail in each case. A lesson
is often likely to focus on only some skills and aspects of pedagogy. However, over a period of time or a
series of lessons, it would be sound practice to ensure that all the dimensions have been adequately
addressed.
Additional pedagogy: Affirming identity
Affirming student identity is a central underpinning pedagogical principle for successful learning in which
the activities for developing CALP are embedded. Affirming identity includes explicitly valuing students’
skills and knowledge in all their languages and recognizing these as resources for teaching and learning
new ways of thinking and knowing.
The following activities have been designed to develop CALP in mathematics.

Working with numbers written in the form a × 10k where 1 ≤ a < 10 and k is an integer
The analysis of graphs
Working with vectors and equations of straight lines

12 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

Structuring the courses and making connections

Structuring the mathematics courses

There are numerous ways of structuring the Diploma Programme mathematics courses. The 60 hours of
content common to the SL courses and the SL courses being a subset of the HL courses allows many
different models of delivery to be considered. This allows schools to consider what will work in their own
context and adopt the model which best suits their needs.
The mathematics guides, published in 2019 for first assessment in 2021, contain full details of the courses in
terms of their nature and content. This TSM section on structuring the mathematics classes is designed to
help teachers and schools think about the different ways that the classes could be structured.
The precise model used in a school could depend on many factors including:
• the needs of the students, their abilities, aspirations and motivations
• the resources available, including number of teachers and classrooms
• the skillset of the teachers
• the number of students taking a particular course
• timetabling and scheduling constraints
• the ratio of lessons for SL:HL is 5:8 (150 hours vs 240 hours).
When considering these factors, it is also worth keeping in mind that Mathematics: applications and
interpretation at SL and HL will involve the extensive use of technology and it might be desirable for some
lessons to have access to a suite of computers or other devices to support the teaching and learning of
mathematics.

General considerations
Whichever model is used for the teaching of mathematics (considering the different approaches used in the
two subjects) there will be opportunities for collaboration between groups of students studying different
courses. The benefits of this are to enable students to appreciate the cohesive nature of mathematics and
how their learning is interrelated. This might be while working on the internal assessment, for an inquiry-
based lesson on the common content, or in applications of technology where students from one course can
support students in another course.
Whichever model is used by schools, it is important that planning and reflection with the faculty/
department takes place on a regular basis.
Depending on the teaching order of the topics, a school may allow students to move between SL and HL, or
even between Mathematics: analysis and approaches, and Mathematics: applications and interpretation at
an early point. It will be hoped that a number of students choosing to take an SL course at the beginning of
their Diploma Programme studies, who then discover a passion for the type of mathematics they have
chosen, will and can decide to take the HL course.

Model 1
Four separate classes where both Mathematics: analysis and approaches, and Mathematics: applications
and interpretation HL are taught separately similarly for the two SL courses. All four courses can be taught
throughout the two years of the Diploma Programme allowing for concurrency of learning.
A school could also adapt this model and offer three (or two) of the four courses.

Years 1 and 2
Course 1 Mathematics: analysis and approaches SL

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 13

Structuring the mathematics courses

Years 1 and 2
Course 2 Mathematics: analysis and approaches HL
Course 3 Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL
Course 4 Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL

Model 2
Both SL courses are taught as a subset of lessons of their respective HL courses. This means that for every
eight scheduled lessons, SL students are present for five of these lessons alongside HL students. HL
students have an additional three lessons on their own. This model would allow for both subjects to be
offered at SL and HL using two teachers, although classes could be split and taught with more than one
teacher.
Schools will need to take care in selecting topics, especially at the start of the course so that they are not
introducing AHL material which requires the SL content to have been covered previously. The guides are
not scope and sequence, or scheme of work documents. However, their structure guides makes clear the
common content, the SL content and the AHL content.

Years 1 and 2
Course 1 Mathematics: analysis and approaches SL (five lessons)
Mathematics: analysis and approaches HL (three additional lessons)
Course 2 Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL (five lessons)
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL (three additional lessons)

Model 3
A combination of models 1 and 2 where a school may have three DP Mathematics teachers.
Mathematics: applications and interpretation is offered with SL and HL being taught separately throughout
the two years, and Mathematics: analysis and approaches is taught as a combined class in the manner of
model 2, or vice versa.

Years 1 and 2
Course 1 Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL
Course 2 Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL
Course 3 Mathematics: analysis and approaches SL (five lessons)
Mathematics: analysis and approaches HL (three additional lessons)

14 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

Structuring the courses and making connections

Incorporating the IB learner profile

DP mathematics courses at SL and HL are closely linked to and aim to engage students with the attributes
of the IB learner profile. For example, the requirements of the internal assessment provide opportunities for
students to develop every aspect of the profile. For each aim suggested, learner profile attributes are
referenced below. Teachers are encouraged to discuss the interrelationship of the IB learner profile
attributes and the aims of the mathematics course with their students. Some of the 10 learner profile
attributes sit very easily with mathematics and students should be encouraged to think about those that do
not immediately spring to mind when thinking about what it is to be a mathematician.
A discussion or activity related to this at the beginning and at points during the course can be a useful
exercise for students to reflect upon their own development in terms of the learner profile attributes and as
mathematicians.

Link to mathematics aims Learner profile attributes

Develop a curiosity and enjoyment of mathematics, and appreciate its Inquirer
elegance and power
Develop an understanding of the concepts, principles and nature of Knowledgeable
mathematics
Communicate mathematics clearly, concisely and confidently in a variety Communicator
of contexts
Develop logical and creative thinking, and patience and persistence in Thinker, balanced
problem solving to instil confidence in using mathematics
Employ and refine their powers of abstraction and generalization Reflective
Take action to apply and transfer skills to alternative situations, to other Open-minded, risk-takers
areas of knowledge and to future developments in their local and global
communities
Appreciate how developments in technology and mathematics influence Knowledgeable, reflective
each other
Appreciate the moral, social and ethical questions arising from the work of Principled, caring
mathematicians and the applications of mathematics
Appreciate the universality of mathematics and its multicultural, Open-minded
international and historical perspectives
Appreciate the contribution of mathematics to other disciplines, and as a Knowledgeable, balanced
particular “area of knowledge” in the TOK course
Develop the ability to reflect critically upon their own work and the work Reflective, communicator
of others
Independently and collaboratively extend their understanding of Inquirer
mathematics

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 15

Structuring the courses and making connections

Connecting the content

Mind maps
The following resource will enable teachers and students to visualize the entire content of the mathematics
courses and the connections between the various elements of those courses. This can be used in a variety
of ways, for instance:
• a revision aid
• a way to introduce a topic and connect it to other parts of the course
• printed and posted in the classroom for reference
• projected and discussed to review a topic after the content has been covered
• used to find connections during classroom teaching.

Mind map

16 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

The toolkit

Supporting classroom activities

Time has been allocated within the teaching hours for students to undertake the types of activities that
mathematicians in the real world undertake and to allow students time to develop the skill of thinking like a
mathematician; in other words, providing students with a mathematical “toolkit” which will allow them to
approach any type of mathematical problem. Underpinning this are the six pedagogical approaches to
teaching and the five approaches to learning which support all IB programmes. This time gives students
opportunities in the classroom for undertaking an inquiry-based approach and focusing on conceptual
understanding of the content, developing their awareness of mathematics in local and global contexts,
gives them opportunities for teamwork and collaboration as well as time to reflect upon their own learning
of mathematics.
Students should be encouraged to actively identify skills that they might add to their personal mathematics
“toolkit”. Teachers are encouraged to make explicit where these skills might transfer across areas of
mathematics content and allow students to reflect upon where these skills transfer to other subjects the
student is studying.
This section contains ideas and resources that teachers can use with their students to encourage the
development of mathematical thinking skills. These resources have been developed by experienced
teachers for use in their own classrooms. They have a content focus to give them a context but are not
exhaustive.
The example activities have been designed to be used in three different ways. The first is that they could be
used by teachers with their students as they stand, the second is that teachers could adapt the materials for
their own context and the third is that they might inspire teachers to develop their own materials, perhaps
using the same technique but with different content.
• Cognitive activators–engaging starting points
• Conceptual understandings–making use of the statements of conceptual understanding from the
guide
• Using technology–some subject-specific examples of the ways in which technology can be used to
teach certain skills or topics
• Modelling–an example of a modelling activity with notes as to why it is a good example
• Voronoi diagrams
• Differential equations, phase portraits and Euler’s method

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 17

The toolkit

Cognitive activators

Cognitive activators can be thought of as the strategies we use to get students ready to learn and engage
with the subject material. Cognitive activators serve to introduce a new topic or concept and from there can
lead into subsequent learning activities to acquire a certain skill or knowledge within a topic. They relate
strongly to the activation phase of the cognitive proficiency in academic language. In this section several
examples are provided to serve as examples of cognitive activators. They can be thought of as an
implementation of the approaches to teaching which describe the key pedagogical principles that
underpin the IB programme.
The strategies presented are based upon the ATL and recent research outcomes such as the Harvard visible-
thinking project (see “Further reading for teachers and students”).
As teachers we might not always be aware when we are (or are not) using cognitive activators when
starting a new topic or lesson, but it is generally thought to be pedagogically sound to create some context
or give some introduction to the students before launching into something new. Then, while studying the
topic, we can better rely on our students to develop their inquiry and thinking skills to learn mathematics,
rather than being instructed on a specific mathematical procedure. Being explicit about this is in itself a
strategy that can help students to engage in learning experiences and become more self-managed in their
approach to learning. Cognitive activation is thus meant to activate students, engaging them in the topic,
and preparing them to discover the new material.
The following is a selection of strategies used by experienced IB teachers in their mathematics classes.
These are aimed at inspiring and guiding teachers to adapt and use them in their own classrooms. Some of
the common elements of cognitive activators are:
• connecting to previous learning on the topic or different topics within the same concept (for example,
to introduce the “average rate of change” one could activate students by reminding them of the
concept of “change”, the slope of a line or increasing versus decreasing)
• starting with an essential question that can be understood by the students but only successfully
answered by the new learning material. This can be supported by, for example, a random group
generator, no-hands-up activity, think pair share etc. to organise collaboration.
• an activity that enables students to start their work on the topic
• ideas for reflection and/or extension to further topics.
In essence, cognitive activation is about teaching students the strategies that encourage them to think
more deeply in order to find solutions and to focus on the method they use to reach the answer rather than
simply focusing on the answer itself. As such it is a useful introduction to the skills needed for the internal
assessment exploration. When considering other resources within this toolkit teachers and students will
recognize elements of cognitive activation within them.
Cognitive activation has been identified as one of several practices that support the development of
mathematical literacy.

Saving for a college fund–annuities and amortization

Fractals–matrices and transformations
Getting a feel for data
Getting a feel for data—student dataset
Anscombe’s quartet
Anscombe’s quartet–dataset

18 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

The toolkit

Conceptual understandings

The aim of this section of the TSM is to facilitate the use of the mathematics concepts by teachers to
enhance learning within the classroom and therefore promote deeper understanding.
Concepts are important because they increase mathematical understanding and allow students to make
connections and generalizations which are key in problem solving. This in turn makes students less reliant
on learned techniques and structures and more able to think creatively when faced with more complex
problems.

The concepts
The DP mathematics courses identify 12 fundamental concepts as shown below.
These can inform units of work and can help to organize teaching and learning. Explanations of each of
these concepts in a mathematical context have also been provided. Teachers may identify and develop
additional concepts as required by local circumstances and national or state curriculums.

Approximation This concept refers to a quantity or a representation which is nearly but not exactly
correct.
Change This concept refers to a variation in size, amount or behaviour.
Equivalence This concept refers to the state of being identically equal or interchangeable, applied
to statements, quantities or expressions.
Generalization This concept refers to a general statement made on the basis of specific examples.

Modelling This concept refers to the way in which mathematics can be used to represent the real
world.
Patterns This concept refers to the underlying order, regularity or predictability of the elements
of a mathematical system.
Quantity This concept refers to an amount or number.
Relationships This concept refers to the connection between quantities, properties or concepts;
these connections may be expressed as models, rules or statements. Relationships
provide opportunities for students to explore patterns in the world around them.
Representation This concept refers to using words, formulae, diagrams, tables, charts, graphs and
models to represent mathematical information.
Space This concept refers to the frame of geometrical dimensions describing an entity.
Systems This concept refers to groups of interrelated elements.
Validity This concept refers to using well-founded, logical mathematics to come to a true and
accurate conclusion or a reasonable interpretation of results.

Ideas about how to use the concepts

The concepts can be used in many different ways and teachers can decide on approaches appropriate to
their own classes and contexts. The 12 concepts need not be used in each topic but should be developed
across the whole curriculum as and when appropriate.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 19

Conceptual understandings

Different concepts provide different approaches to learning a topic and also enable links to be made within
topics, across topics and to other subject areas.
Each topic in the guide begins by stating the essential understanding(s) of the topic, and gives some
suggested content-specific statements of understanding. Teachers are encouraged to develop their own
statements.
These tasks illustrate how the concepts and teaching for conceptual understanding can be implemented.

Triangular tangles–SL applications

The power of matrices–HL applications

20 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

The toolkit

Using technology

The use of technology is an integral part of DP mathematics courses. Developing an appreciation of how
developments in technology and mathematics have influenced each other is one of the aims of the courses
and using technology accurately, appropriately and efficiently both to explore new ideas and to solve
problems is one of the assessment objectives. Learning how to use different forms of technology is an
important skill in mathematics and time has been allowed in each topic of the syllabus and through the
“toolkit” in order to do this.
Technology is a powerful tool in mathematics and in recent years increased student and teacher access to
this technology has supported and advanced the teaching and learning of mathematics. Discerning use of
technology can make more mathematics accessible and motivating to a greater number of students.
Teachers can use technology to support and enhance student understanding in many ways including:
• to bring out teaching points
• to address misconceptions
• to aid visualisation
• to enhance understanding of concepts that would otherwise be restricted by lengthy numerical
calculations or algebraic manipulation
• to support students in making conjectures and checking generalizations
• to explicitly make the links between different mathematical representations or approaches.
Students can also use technology to engage with the learning process in many ways, including the
following:
• to develop and enhance their own personal conceptual understanding
• to search for patterns
• to test conjectures or generalizations
• to justify interpretations
• to collaborate on project-based work
• to help organize and analyse data.
In the classroom teachers and students can use technology working individually or collaboratively to
explore mathematical concepts. Key to successful learning of mathematics with technology is the fine
balance between the teacher and student use of technology, with carefully chosen use of technology to
support the understanding and the communication of the mathematics itself.
Many topics within the DP mathematics courses lend themselves to the use of technology. Graphical
calculators, dynamic graphing software, spreadsheets, simulations, apps, dynamic geometry software and
interactive whiteboard software are just a few of the many kinds of technology available to support the
teaching and learning of mathematics.
Within the guide the term “technology” is used for any form of calculator, hardware or software that may be
available in the classroom. The terms “analysis” and “analytic approach” are generally used in the guide to
indicate an algebraic approach that may not require the use of technology. It is important to note there will
be restrictions on which technology may be used in examinations, which will be detailed in relevant
documents.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 21

Using technology

Finance packages on the graphical display

calculator
Graphical calculators have functionality that allows finance calculations to be carried out with ease. The
following unit plans illustrate two different scenarios which might arise in the course.

Financial applications of geometric sequences and series

Amortization and annuities

Monte Carlo simulations

Modern technology allows us to answer many questions to a high degree of accuracy, even if we cannot
find the exact solution. One extremely powerful modern method of doing this is called Monte Carlo
simulation, where we use random numbers to generate many possible sets of data and use this to
investigate the question.
Although computers are an important part of the simulation process there are still three key skills which
students need to develop. In many situations, these are far more important mathematical skills than the
analytic methods traditionally emphasized in mathematics teaching.
• Describing the situation mathematically
• Converting this description into a computer simulation
• Interpreting the results of the simulation, including realising when a simulation fails
The following two classic examples of simulation should give students a valuable insight into modern
mathematics and allow them to develop these skills. Sample datasets are available here as well, which can
be adapted or used as a model for creating original datasets.

Shooting arrows at a target

Shooting arrows at a target–dataset
Overloading lifts
Overloading lifts–dataset

22 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

The toolkit

Problem solving

The toolkit allocates time for teachers to provide learning activities to meet the needs of their own
students. Video 3 in the Appendices, “Effective use of the mathematics toolkit”, is already included in the
TSM. This demonstrates toolkit lessons in action: for example, in open-ended investigative activities that
involve student collaboration and teacher facilitation.
This section of the TSM focuses on how some of the toolkit time could be allocated to the development of
problem-solving skills.

What is a “problem” in DP mathematics?

Students’ experiences as learners of mathematics, both before and during the DP, will often include the
practice of exercises and the challenge of problems.
Exercises are often used to practise a skill, such as the solution of a system of equations. In many exercises,
the method is known in advance. Repeated practice of exercises aims to increase the student’s proficiency.
Problems are tasks in which the context is unfamiliar and/or the method(s) to be used is not immediately
obvious to the student. For example, the common term “word problem” refers to tasks set in a context
and/or written in full sentences, from which the information needed to approach the solution must be
deduced. Problems can be closed, open, have a single solution, or sometimes many solutions.
Problems involve challenges for the student that are distinct from those found in exercises. For some
students, it is not clear how to approach these challenges and engage with them. Meanwhile, educators
such as Zeitz (2007: xi) hold that “problem solving can be taught and can be learned”.

Problem solving in DP mathematics

In this publication, “problem solving” refers to a collection of strategies that can be learned and applied to
help solve problems. These are helpful for DP students and teachers for two reasons. First, one aim of DP
mathematics is to enable students “to develop logical and creative thinking, and patience and persistence
in problem solving to instil confidence in using mathematics” (IBO, 2019). Second, problem-solving skills are
transferrable to other subjects and to wider challenges.
In addition, as students progress and become more proficient and confident in engaging with mathematics
in unfamiliar contexts, they are enabled to “develop a curiosity and enjoyment of mathematics, and
appreciate its elegance and power” (IBO, 2019).
External assessment includes the assessment of problem-solving skills: “Problem solving is central to
learning mathematics and involves the acquisition of mathematical skills and concepts in a wide range of
situations, including non-routine, open-ended and real-world problems” (IBO, 2019).
This publication details various problem-solving strategies for DP mathematics students. The strategies
given can be applied to investigative and modelling tasks as well as to the internal assessment. In this
instance, as an introduction to problem solving they have been applied to examination questions. In the
examination questions below, either the context of the mathematics is unfamiliar to the student, or the
method to be used is not immediately obvious. Note that not all examination questions will demonstrate
these properties. The way that the mathematics classroom and physical resources can be organized to
support problem solving is also considered.
References for other problem-solving resources are included at the end of this section.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 23

Problem solving

Toolkit lessons in problem solving supported by

approaches to learning and approaches to
teaching
When planning toolkit lessons to develop problem-solving skills, teaching can be supported by the
following approaches:
• teaching based on inquiry
• teaching based on effective teamwork and collaboration.
These approaches to teaching work in synergy with these approaches to learning:
• thinking skills
• self-management skills.
As the teacher chooses how best to apply these, they can also consider how the learning environment is
arranged. This may be physical or virtual. For example, Swan (2005) considered how best to set up the
classroom to make learning more “visible” as follows.
• Arrange desks in groups rather than in rows.
• Provide poster paper, whiteboards, and physical or virtual writing spaces to enable students to
collaborate, share ideas and focus on these in small groups.
• Rather than “teaching from the front” the teacher can move around the class, observing students’
progress and acting as a facilitator.
• Students can share their progress by moving around the class and reading the work of each group.
This process can also take place online via document sharing.
• Making laptops and graphic display calculators (GDCs) available helps students add resourceful use of
technology to their mathematical toolkit.
Once the practical aspects of the toolkit lesson have been set up, teachers can reflect on the following
points as they look ahead to how they will manage the lesson.
• Cognitive activation—Students can be made ready to learn and engage by reading a problem in
silence for a few minutes, then discussing their understandings in a pair and in a group. Investing time
in silent reading and thinking is also experienced in the final examination during the 5-minute reading
time. It is useful for students to rehearse this process.
• Salient themes, misconceptions, or common challenges may emerge. As the teacher draws these
points out for discussion, the teaching is informed by formative assessment.
• Resisting the temptation to tell students “the answer” until later can ensure that problem-solving
lessons are first and foremost about processes, i.e. strategies: the product (the answer) will follow.
• In a plenary session towards the end of the lesson, students could make notes of what they have
learned. Successful strategies could be recorded on a class poster for later recall in the course and for
application in other contexts.

Problem-solving approaches and strategies

The strategies given in this section are not exhaustive nor are they compulsory. Teachers will have their
own ideas and versions of the strategies that work for their own students. Collaborative planning within
mathematics departments can include discussion and sharing of teachers’ own strategies. Writers such as
Swan (2005), Polya (1990), Steel et al. (2015) and Zeitz (2007) have described various problem-solving
strategies, some of which are summarized below using Polya’s four steps as a framework:

24 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Problem solving

Figure 2
A four-step framework for problem solving

Understand the problem

Read the problem, then explore the context, interpret the terminology, and consider relevant concepts and
command terms. What information is already given in the problem? What is the answer that needs to be
found? Can technology be applied in finding the answer?

Make a plan
A range of strategies are possible, including the following.
• Solve a smaller, similar problem.
• Select an appropriate representation.
• Draw a diagram.
• Modify the diagram given, by adding lines.
• Annotate the diagram given, with labels or values.
• Represent the given information in a table.
• Generate data and look for a pattern; this could involve sorting, matching or categorizing.
• Apply a formula.
• Recall and adapt a similar problem that has been solved previously.
• Write down everything that can be deduced from what has been given: for example, relationships
between variables.
• Is there something that can be done even if you are not sure where it will lead? If so, do it and then
reflect on what the result is saying.
• Apply technology.

Carry out the plan

This could involve solving an equation or equations, creating a formula or expression, considering the
features of a graph, carrying out a calculation, making a prediction, or writing a demonstration or a proof. In
all approaches the student arrives at a result.

Examine the result

Does the result make sense in the context of the problem? If not, have the steps of the plan been carried
out correctly? Repeat the process if necessary, either by carefully repeating the steps to identify errors or by
modifying the strategy.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 25

The toolkit

Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

The questions explored in this section can form part of problem-solving lessons. Each question can be
given to students as a stand-alone problem. Managing the toolkit lesson so that learning problem-solving
strategies takes place requires reflection on the part of the teacher and the student. Each problem below
therefore includes a reflection.

Problem A
Mathematics: applications and interpretation—SL specimen paper 1
(Topic 3: Geometry and trigonometry)

In (a) we find an exercise/routine problem. In contrast, (b) is a problem-solving task. There is no “hence” to
signal that (a) can/should be used in the solution. The solution of (b) requires the following.

Understand the problem

Infer from the context that is a right angle. Understand the importance of the bold text.

26 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Make a plan
Annotate the diagram, deducing the value of . Add an element to the diagram that represents Ollie’s
position when he first activates the sensor. Hence write down equations that will lead to the result required.

Carry out the plan

Solve the equations to find the result.

Examine the result

The result must be in the interval ]0, 5[. If not, repeat the cycle.

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

Reading silently for 2–3 minutes, understanding the context, then discussing in a pair, leads to cognitive
activation through discussion of what the context means.

Problem B
Mathematics: analysis and approaches—HL specimen paper 2 (Topic
2: Functions)

At first sight, this question might seem routine. The knowledge that at a point of intersection of two
functions their y coordinates are equal will be familiar to many HL students. However, for many students,
the context will be unusual because it involves a parameter m.

First approach
Understand the problem
Understand that m can be any real number, including negative values, and that m is a parameter, not a
variable.

Make a plan
Equate the two formulae for y so that a set of values for m can be found.

Carry out the plan

Solve the equation to find the set of values for m, using either the discriminant or consideration of an
inequality.

Examine the result

The plan executed needs to be examined carefully, otherwise the fact that m = 1 is also a member of the
solution set can be missed.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 27

Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

An alternative approach
Understand the problem
Understand that the rational function has an oblique asymptote and that m effects a vertical stretch on the
linear function. Use of the GDC here can help the student explore the context.

Make a plan
Express the rational function in parts so that the oblique asymptote is determined. Consider how changing
the value of m affects the number of solutions.

Carry out the plan

Apply knowledge and understanding of asymptotic behaviour and vertical stretches to construct the
reasoning needed to determine the solution set.

Examine the result

The GDC can be used to examine if the solution set is correct, including consideration of m = 1.
This alternative approach leans more towards the inquiry cycle, especially at the “Carry out the plan” stage.
The student thinks about how the linear and rational functions compare when the parameter m takes
different values. For top students, the reasoning will come quickly; for others, some investigation with the
GDC may be needed.

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

The fact that at least two methods exist adds to the toolkit lesson discussion: which is the most efficient
method? Use of dynamic geometry software in the lesson can help explore the context and add to the
discussion.

28 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Problem C
Mathematics: analysis and approaches—SL May 2021, paper 2, time
zone 1 (Topic 3: Geometry and trigonometry)

Understand the problem

The context of a Ferris wheel may already be familiar to students. Ferris wheels are mentioned in the
Mathematics: applications and interpretation guide and Mathematics: analysis and approaches guide.
Understand that the function given is periodic, and deduce from the context that the minimum and
maximum values of h(t) are 10 and 120.

Make a plan
Write down all that is true about the parameters of h(t), given what has been deduced so far from the
context. Do this by applying knowledge and understanding of amplitude, period, and the meaning of c.

Carry out the plan

Hence find the values of a, b and c.

Examine the result

In this paper 2 question, the result can be examined efficiently on the GDC. At this point, some students will
discover that the value of the amplitude may be correct only in magnitude. They may then adjust the final
answer accordingly.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 29

Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

The value of using the GDC to examine the result in this paper 2 question cannot be overstated. The answer
a = 55 is a common error. This can quickly be identified using the GDC by examining the graph of the
function.

Problem D
Mathematics: applications and interpretation—SL specimen paper 1
(Topic 1: Number and algebra)

Understand the problem

The context presents itself as a problem because of its unfamiliarity: most students will not have thought of
the intensity of sound before. Understand that (a) requires substitution of S and (b) requires solving for S.

Make a plan
For (a), write down an expression for L using the given value of S.
For (b), write down an equation for S using the given value of L.

Carry out the plan

Use the GDC to find (a) by replacement of S = 6 . 4 × 10−3.
Use the GDC to solve the equation for S, or solve by rearrangement.

Examine the result

Given the detailed context, it is advisable to check thoroughly all the workings students have written down.

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

Logarithmic functions are not mentioned in Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL. However, all
that is required here is substitution in a formula, which is prior learning. The definition of a logarithm and
the concept of a function are both in the Mathematics: applications and interpretation course. If a context
like this (sound intensity) is unfamiliar, students may wish to spend some of their silent reading time
understanding it better. Part (b) can be solved on the GDC by a graph or numerical equation solver.

30 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Problem E
Mathematics: analysis and approaches—HL May 2021, paper 1, time
zone 1 (Topic 2: Number and algebra)

Understand the problem

Understand that even though the problem has three 8s, and therefore looks unfamiliar, this does not affect
the possibility of applying the formulae needed to solve the problem.

Make a plan
Two equations are given and two unknowns are asked for. Apply the strategy that can be used in many
situations of this type by writing down a system of simultaneous equations.

Carry out the plan

Solve the system of equations to find u1 and d.

Examine the result

As a paper 1 question, the result is best examined by replacing the values of u1 and d and checking that
u8 = S8 = 8.

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

This is a straightforward problem. Nevertheless, it is a good opportunity to highlight how easy it is, in this
case, to determine that the answer is correct at the “Examine the result” stage.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 31

Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Problem F
Mathematics: analysis and approaches—HL May 2021, paper 1, time
zone 1 (Topic 4: Statistics and probability)

Understand the problem

Understand from the diagram that L must be less than U , and that since the diagram is not to scale,
nothing else can be deduced from it other than 10 < L < 40 < U < 75.

Make a plan
Write down all that can be deduced from the context, such as the value given of the interquartile range and
the fact that there are no outliers.

Carry out the plan

Use deductive logic to find the minimum value of U from the equations/inequalities written in the plan.

Examine the result

Check that the values of U and L fit with the diagram.

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

In the early stages of the problem-solving process, some students may not have noticed that there are no
outliers. Students may need to re-examine the context and think about what can be deduced from the fact
that there are no outliers.

32 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Problem G
Mathematics: analysis and approaches—HL May 2021, paper 2, time
zone 2 (Topic 1: Number and algebra)

Understand the problem

Understand from the information given that although z ≠ 1, z = 1.

Make a plan
The following are all viable plans.
• 1+z
Replace z = cos θ + i sin(θ) in and carry out the division.
1−z
• 1+z
Replace z = eiθ in and carry out the division.
1−z
• 1+z
Express in terms of z and z *.
1−z
• Sketch z, 1 + z and 1 − z on an Argand diagram. Annotate the diagram and make deductions.

Carry out the plan

Apply knowledge and understanding of the algebraic geometry of complex numbers, and deductive logic,
1+z
to show that Re = 0.
1−z

Examine the result

Are the steps set out clearly in demonstrating the result, such that the examiner can award maximum
marks?

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

There is an opportunity to compare and contrast different plans: which is most efficient? There is also an
opportunity to remind students that in complex numbers, different representations are available. Showing
how different approaches can lead to the same conclusion reinforces teaching for conceptual
understanding, as well as links to TOK.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 33

Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Problem H
Adapted from Mathematics: applications and interpretation—HL
November 2021, paper 1 (Topic 5: Calculus)

Understand the problem

Deduce from the context that the shape is a prism and notice that θ is in radians. Understand that as θ
increases, r must decrease, but the total length of wire is fixed, as is the height of the prism. Consider the
possible values of θ.

Make a plan
Write down everything that can be deduced from the context, including an equation for the volume and an
equation for r. Aim to make an equation for the volume in terms of one variable only.

Carry out the plan

Explore the volume function to find the value of θ that will maximize the volume.

Examine the result

Check carefully all the steps taken in setting up the equations. Reflect on the solution with respect to the
domain of the volume function.

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

This problem allows for different outcomes in the toolkit lesson. Once the function for the volume is
determined, it can be explored with a GDC or through first and second derivatives. Hence the teacher can
facilitate bringing both approaches into the discussion. It is also worth noting that optimization problems
often involve writing an expression for the variable to be optimized, and a second equation that enables
the first equation to be written in terms of one variable.
The prism could be constructed and explored using dynamic geometry software within the toolkit lesson.
This approach can help students imagine problems of this type for which the shape changes dynamically.

34 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Problem I
Mathematics: applications and interpretation—HL November 2021,
paper 1 (Topic 3: Geometry and trigonometry)

Understand the problem

Understand that the angle 40° and the position of B are fixed. The position of C can vary and the diagram is
not to scale. Nate must use all 7 metres of fencing to find the minimum possible area.

Make a plan
Add elements to the diagram to show different positions of C.
Common plans involve the application of the ambiguous case of the sine rule, or setting up an equation
using the cosine rule in triangle ABC, with AC as a variable.

Carry out the plan

Determine the possible positions of C when Nate uses all the fencing. Hence find the minimum area
1
possible using the formula A = ab sin C.
2

Examine the result

The result could be compared to the area found when BC and L1 are perpendicular.

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

In response to “Find the minimum possible area”, some students may use calculus as an approach: for
example, by setting up an area function A x = 5x sin 40° where x = AC. This can lead to the correct
answer, but only when knowledge and understanding of trigonometry are then applied, as shown above.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 35

Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Hence this is not an efficient method and critical thinking about this can be introduced into the class
discussion. The fact that the knowledge produced by calculus and trigonometry are consistent shows links
between different topics.

Problem J
Mathematics: analysis and approaches SL—May 2021, paper 1, time
zone 2 (Topic 3: Geometry and trigonometry)

Understand the problem

Each side of the triangle is labelled either with a value or a variable. This suggests that the cosine rule can be
applied. However, the area of the triangle is to be found, and that requires another formula. What is the
connection?

Make a plan
Using the strategy “Is there something that can be done even if you are not sure where it will lead?”, write
down an equation for 102 using the cosine rule.

Carry out the plan

Solve the equation to find x.

Understand the problem (revisited)

The area has not yet been found. All three sides of the triangle are now known, but to use the formula for
the area of the triangle, sin Ĉ must be known.

Make a plan
Using the strategy “Write down everything that can be deduced from what has been given”, write down an
expression for sin Ĉ by sketching a right-angled triangle or by using the Pythagorean identity.

36 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

Carry out the plan

Find sin Ĉ and hence find the area.

Examine the result

p q
To gain full marks, the answer must be given in the form where p, q ∈ ℤ+.
2

Toolkit teaching and learning reflection

This examination question can be classified as a problem, as the context gives multiple pieces of
information that are not obviously connected to finding the area. This problem involves what Zeitz (2007)
called the “penultimate step” approach: once the value of x is found, there is only one more step to the final
result. Having found x, reflecting on this success and knowing that just one more step is needed can help
build patience and persistence in problem solving.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 37

The toolkit

Planning for problem solving

In planning schemes of work or unit plans, teachers can decide the best timings and appropriate frequency
for problem solving within the toolkit, so that students’ learning of problem-solving strategies progresses
over the mathematics course. Increasing their awareness of problem-solving strategies over time will
support the development of patience and persistence with problem solving.
Teachers can read the subject reports published on the programme resource centre after each examination
session to learn about the common misconceptions and challenges faced by that session’s student cohort
during their assessment. For example, previous subject reports have noted that students could often best
represent probability contexts with an appropriate diagram rather than a formula to solve a problem. This
shows the potential for practice of two problem-solving strategies: “Select an appropriate representation”
and “Draw a diagram”.
Problems can be set in a wide range of contexts and present diverse challenges. It is not possible to plan for
every eventuality in problem solving, but planning the teaching and learning of problem-solving skills can
improve students’ resilience in the face of these challenges.

References
Some resources specifically focused on problem solving are listed below. These also appear in the
Appendices at the end of this publication.
Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA). 2015. GCSE Mathematics: 90 maths problem solving questions.
Manchester, UK. AQA.
Bliss, K, Fowler, K, Galluzzo, B, Garfunkel, S, Giordano, F, Godbold, L, Gould, H, Levy, R, Libertini, J, Long, M,
Malkevitch, J, Montgomery, M, Pollak, H, Teague, D, Van Der Kooij, H, and Zbiek, R . 2016. GAIMME:
Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Mathematical Modeling Education. Bedford, USA. Consortium for
Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)
IBO. 2019. Mathematics: analysis and approaches guide. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate
Organization.
IBO. 2019. Mathematics: applications and interpretation guide. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate
Organization.
Mosteller, F. 1965. Fifty Challenging Problems In Probability With Solutions. New York, USA. Dover
Publications.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). 2000. Principles and Standards for School
Mathematics. Reston, USA. NCTM.
Polya, G. 1990. How to Solve It. London, UK. Penguin.
Steel, T, Thomas, C, Dawes, M, and Watson, S. 2015. Mathematics: Higher GCSE for AQA Problem-solving Book.
Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.
Swan, M. 2005. Standards Unit—Improving learning in mathematics: challenges and strategies. London, UK.
Department for Education and Skills.
Zeitz, P. 2007. The Art and Craft of Problem Solving (second edition). Hoboken, USA. John Wiley & Sons.

38 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

The toolkit

Mathematical modelling

Modelling is an important skill in mathematics with a wide range of applications in the modern world. As
technology develops, the bounds of what can be modelled by technology also increase. Consequently, it
becomes ever more important that students are given exposure to big, messy, reality-based problems as
part of their DP mathematics studies. To do this, teachers need a deep understanding of the mathematical
modelling process and its stages, as illustrated below.

Figure 3
The cycle of mathematical modelling

The modelling process

The GAIMME report (2016: 8) defines mathematical modelling as “a process that uses mathematics to
represent, analyze, make predictions, or otherwise provide insight into real-world phenomena”. Students
gain experience of the process by:
• identifying a problem or question to address

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 39

Mathematical modelling

• making and stating assumptions

• carrying out research
• building a unique mathematical model (based on certain parameters) that represents the real-world
situation
• evaluating and analysing the validity of their model
• iterating this process to make the model increasingly accurate and sophisticated (note: this is not
necessarily linear).
When developing mathematical modelling skills with students, it is not necessary to ask them to complete
every step of the modelling process for every task assigned. Before tackling larger, more complex and
perhaps “messy” real-world problems, it is often advantageous to focus on a specific aspect of the process.
This will help support the skills development and familiarity with the process.
Mathematical content knowledge and understanding should not be viewed as a prerequisite for tackling a
modelling problem. Learning activities that incorporate modelling tasks need to be interwoven with the
classroom experience and should be part of the knowledge acquisition process.

Functions for modelling

The course guide defines a range of different functions with which students should become familiar and
that can be used for modelling. In the “Syllabus content” section, guidance is given on different contexts
where these functions could arise: either under Connections in the “Links to other subjects”, or in the
“Guidance, clarification and syllabus links” columns. This list of functions can be extended for the internal
assessment (IA) and could include:
• linear functions that model constant change
• exponential functions that model growth and decay
• trigonometric functions that model periodic phenomena
• statistical models that use real-life data
• probability models that use real-life or simulated data to define chance.
There are many online resources with data available. However, it is often more engaging for students to
gather their own data if the context allows.

The toolkit and the internal assessment

The toolkit allows for the time needed to incorporate mathematical modelling into classroom activities.
Meanwhile the IA, known as “the exploration”, offers the opportunity to carry out a modelling task of the
student’s own choosing.
The IA is an open-ended inquiry-based assignment where students:
• carry out their own research
• identify variables and relationships between quantities
• make decisions
• assess errors and validity associated with results
• consider limitations
• analyse the impact of their findings.
Through this, students can gain experience with nearly every aspect of the modelling process. While not all
students will focus their exploration on a modelling-based task, many will be using some aspect of
modelling in their exploration.

Example modelling activity

“Poachers on the game reserve” is an example modelling activity which has been designed to introduce the
most important stages of modelling. It demonstrates what the modelling cycle discussed above looks like
when this type of activity is carried out in the classroom.

40 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Mathematical modelling

Poachers on the game reserve

Student activity
Teacher notes

Another way to introduce students to modelling is to take a simple word problem that students can adapt
into a mathematical modelling task. An example used by an educator is given here.

Javier is running a fundraiser for his school by selling t-shirts showing the school logo and mascot.
Each shirt costs Javier $9.50. He sells them for $15. His goal is to raise a total of $600. How many
shirts must Javier sell to meet his goal?
Students can collaborate on this problem, and most will likely arrive at an answer quickly. However, the task
can be extended by asking students what might happen if Javier can purchase t-shirts in bulk. Some
companies will sell t-shirts at a lower unit price if they are ordered in higher quantities. There may be
multiple price tiers offering larger discounts for higher quantities purchased. Students may be able to
research the kinds of deals that exist for companies in their geographic area.
Teachers might also ask students to consider shipping, tax, or environmental factors associated with Javier’s
purchase. Or, students could consider the maximum price the community would be willing to pay for such
an item. The teacher also might pose an opinion-based question, like “Should Javier charge more than $15
for the t-shirts? If so, why?”

Questions like these allow students to perform their own research, draw their own conclusions, and
consider a real-world context for mathematical applications. They can also defend their position using logic,
critical-thinking skills and effective mathematical communication (whether written or verbal).

Examples
To support these activities, the examples discussed below show how mathematical modelling has been
incorporated into several of the student examples in Mathematics assessed student work on the programme
resource centre.
The quality of these examples varies, as do their overall scores. Nevertheless, they are helpful to understand
how students can use mathematical modelling to produce a mathematics-based exploration. Note that the
“extend” stage of the modelling cycle is sometimes not addressed, perhaps due to time or page number
constraints.

Example 21: Gabriel Dawe’s rainbow coloured curves

Stage 1—Pose a real-world problem
Page 1: The student poses a real-world question: “Is some art inherently mathematical?” They also
demonstrate a plan for how they will model a piece of art mathematically.

Stage 2—Develop a model

Page 2: The student initially assumes that the resulting model would be hyperbolic. They then note that this
is not the case, based on research. The student then sets out to prove that the model representing the
string art curve is not hyperbolic as initially anticipated.
Page 5: The student identifies necessary variables and begins to establish a relationship between them.

Stage 3—Test the model (return to stage 2 if the model is rejected)

Page 8: The student draws conclusions and correctly discards a result, because it would lead to a non-real
value which does not fit the context of the real-world problem.

Stage 4—Reflect on and apply the model

Page 9: The student considers limitations and restrictions necessary for the model to be applied to the
given real-world context.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 41

Mathematical modelling

Page 11: The student further discusses the limitations of the model used and thus the results.

Stage 5—Extend
Page 12: The student addresses extensions and further implications of study in the context of this problem.

Example 22: Titus tunnel bridge

Note: It is recommended that explorations are double spaced.

Stage 1—Pose a real-world problem

Page 1: The student clearly identifies the research question and immediately demonstrates effective
research skills.

Stage 2—Develop a model

Page 2: The student clearly defines aspects of the real-world problem that are not common knowledge and
begins defining the variables necessary to establish a valid mathematical model for the Titus tunnel bridge.
Page 3: Consideration of real-world quantities is shown. The student demonstrates their use of research to
correctly apply the weight of limestone.
Page 4: The student considers another aspect of the bridge design that must be incorporated into the
established model to improve the model’s accuracy.

Stage 3—Test the model (return to stage 2 if the model is rejected)

Page 5: The student considers the impact that one of their assumptions could make on the validity of their
mathematical model (the weight of limestone versus compacted soil).

Stage 4—Reflect on and apply the model

Pages 6–7: The student addresses their approach, assumptions, and decision-making process. They defend
their decisions with mathematical reasoning. Evidence of critical thinking is also clearly shown.
Pages 11–12: The student effectively evaluates their results, and clearly addresses the limitations to their
approach.

Example 36: Internal temperature of cookies

Stage 1—Pose a real-world problem
Pages 2–3: The student identifies a real-world question and discusses the task at hand. They immediately
demonstrate effective research skills and consider the question from multiple perspectives.

Stage 2—Develop a model

Pages 4–5: In the process of building the mathematical model, the student identifies several issues and
considers how to account for them mathematically. The student considers not only issues with the model
itself, but also with the experimental procedure being used. The student demonstrates the iterative nature
of the modelling process by discussing the revision of the experimental design and the approach to the
mathematical model.

Stage 3—Test the model (return to stage 2 if the model is rejected)

Page 6: The student considers the realistic aspects of temperature changes and demonstrates
understanding of time and temperature as continuous variables. They also discuss the validity of rounding
to two decimal places in the context of the given investigation.
Pages 7–14: The student considers two possible model options, again indicating the potentially iterative
nature of mathematical modelling: the sinusoidal model and the cubic model.

Stage 4—Reflect on and apply the model

Pages 15–18: The student discusses the validity of each model and the limitations to each approach.

42 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Mathematical modelling

Stage 5—Extend
Pages 19–20: The student clearly addresses the limitations to their exploration of the change in internal
temperature as a cookie bakes in the oven. They also address potential opportunities for expanding on their
exploration, and ways to make their exploration more accurate or comprehensive.

Example 42: Terrarium design for garden spiders

Note: This paper demonstrates how a student can initiate the mathematical modelling process yet not
demonstrate the later stages of the modelling process.

Stage 1—Pose a real-world problem

Page 3: The student considers the real-world question about maximizing the volume of a constructed
terrarium within a given set of constraints, including a financial budget.

Stage 2—Develop a model

Page 4: The student considers all variables involved and begins to build an appropriate model for the
situation at hand. However, once the student establishes the model, the process falls apart as the student’s
paper lacks reflection on the application of the model and a few errors are made that invalidate the results.

Stage 4—Reflect on and apply the model

Page 13: The student addresses some possible limitations to their approach but does not address where
these limitations come from. They also only suggest technology as a potential resolution to those
limitations.

Example 46: Robotic arm

Stage 1—Pose a real-world problem
Page 2: The paper poses a real-world question and demonstrates effective use of research to determine the
applicability and potential contexts in which the answer may be useful.

Stage 2—Develop a model

Page 3: The student considers the variables required to answer the research question and begins to
establish the relationship between the variables and necessary quantities in the given problem.

Stage 3—Test the model (return to stage 2 if the model is rejected)

Page 4: The student chooses to simplify the problem by considering a robotic arm with only two segments
instead of three. This allows them to establish an effective model in a simpler context before expanding on
it.

Stage 4—Reflect on and apply the model

Page 15: The student reaches a valid conclusion to the research problem.
Page 16: The student begins a detailed discussion of the limitations of the formulae for the angles on the
robotic arm, summarized on page 15. They explain these limitations both mathematically and in context.
Page 17: The student provides a discussion of implications drawn from the limitations described on page 16
and puts them into perspective via a real-life application.
Page 18: The student discusses the advantages and disadvantages of their chosen approach to the
problem.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 43

The toolkit

Voronoi diagrams

Voronoi diagrams are being used increasingly widely and are a very authentic use of a mathematics
application. They have many practical uses in ecology, epidemiology, urban planning, deliveries, service
areas, control of robots, rovers and driverless cars, and in graphic design.
Voronoi diagrams partition space and can be used for questions such as these.
• How can we accurately map the territories of animals to prevent overcrowding?
• Where’s the best place to open a new restaurant to steal competition from another restaurant?
• If a city has several hospitals with a helicopter, what’s the service area of each helicopter?
• If I know how much it has rained in several locations, how can I estimate rainfall in other nearby
locations?
Voronoi diagrams are a rich application of mathematics and are becoming of more and more of interest to
mathematicians as technology has developed to support their creation. They are a fine example of how
developments in technology and mathematics influence each other (aim 7). This resource aims to introduce
teachers and students to the concept of the diagram, how they are constructed and two important
techniques connected to the Voronoi diagram–the incremental algorithm and the nearest neighbour
interpolation. There are also six learning activities which teachers may use directly or adapt for their own
uses.

What’s a Voronoi diagram?

Suppose we are given a set of sites (points) in a bounded or unbounded plane (Fig 4). A Voronoi diagram
answers this question: which points are closest to point A? To point B? To point C? The Voronoi diagram for
this set of sites divides the plane into Voronoi cells or regions (polygons). Each cell contains all the points
in the plane that are closer to that site than any other (Fig 5). The line segments dividing cells are edges or
boundaries and intersection points of edges are vertices.

Figure 4
Sites A, B, C

44 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Voronoi diagrams

Figure 5
Cells for sites A, B, C

Now, given any point in the plane, we can determine which site it is closest to. Any point in the blue region,
for example, is closer to site C than to sites A or B.
A more complex example is shown in Figure 6:

Figure 6

Constructing a Voronoi diagram

There are many algorithms for constructing Voronoi diagrams. The one demonstrated here is an
incremental algorithm that builds the diagram recursively, adding one site at a time.
To understand it, we first look at the structure of a Voronoi diagram. Because each edge of a Voronoi
diagram is equidistant to two sites, it must lie on the perpendicular bisector of the segment joining those
sites (Fig 7). This implies that each vertex of the Voronoi diagram is a circumcentre of a triangle formed by a
set of three sites (Fig 8).

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 45

Voronoi diagrams

Figure 7
Edges lie on perpendicular bisectors of AB, BC, AC

Figure 8
Vertex O is the circumcentre of triangle ABC

The incremental algorithm utilizes these relationships to build the diagram recursively, one site at a time.
Given the diagram above, suppose we wish to add a fourth site, D. We draw the perpendicular bisectors
with all nearby sites, AD, BD, and CD, as shown in Figure 9.

46 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Voronoi diagrams

Figure 9
Adding a fourth site D and its associated perpendicular bisectors

Travel along the perpendicular bisectors to create the new cell:

1. begin with the bisector of CD, because D is inside cell C
2. follow this bisector in either direction toward an edge. In this example, we reach the edge between
sites B and C

Figure 10
Incremental algorithm, steps 1 and 2

1. follow the perpendicular bisector of site D and the new site (in this case, B) until another edge is
reached

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 47

Voronoi diagrams

Figure 11
Incremental algorithm, step 3

1. repeat until you either intersect the boundary of the diagram or return to site D. If you hit a boundary,
return to site D and start the same process but in the opposite direction
2. the segments you’ve travelled along are the edges of the new Voronoi cell for site D (the shaded area).

Figure 12
Incremental Algorithm, steps 4 and 5

Nearest neighbour interpolation

An important application of Voronoi diagrams is to interpolate values of a function at points near sites,
given its value at those sites. For example, suppose we measure lead concentration levels at various sites:

Site A B C D E F G H I

48 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Voronoi diagrams

Lead concentration (ppm) 1140 970 1365 525 350 680 310 120 70

How can we estimate concentration levels at another point? The simplest method is called nearest
neighbour interpolation: determine the cell to which the point belongs, and assign it the same function
value as the cell’s site. That is, if point X lies in the cell of site S1, then we estimate that f (X) = f S1 for a
function f that assigns a real-number value to points in the diagram.

Uses and contexts

Voronoi diagrams can be used to answer three broad categories of questions.
1. Distance: Which points are equidistant to several sites? What’s the furthest distance from any site in
the diagram? What’s a path that stays as far as possible away from the sites? Where can we locate
something so that it is as far as possible from existing sites?
2. Area: What are the ”territories” of animals/restaurants/helicopters–regions of influence? Where can we
put a new site so that it can be used by the most/least current areas?
3. Function interpolation: Estimate values at different locations; find an average value over a whole
diagram.
They appear in a variety of contexts, including:
• ecology–sites are, for example, watering holes where animals congregate; cells are areas that depend
on that water source
• epidemiology–spread of disease from contaminated sites (this was an original use of the diagrams; see
article in "Further reading")
• urban planning–sites are a resource such as schools, police, firemen; cells are areas that utilize that
resource
• deliveries–sites are warehouses; cells are delivery areas
• service area of Craigslist sites
• robots/rovers taking a path to avoid certain objects on a factory floor/planet

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 49

Voronoi diagrams

• Colouring graphics–sites are specific colours; cells are areas of similar colour; natural neighbour
interpolation used to blend colours gradually from one site to another.
Other techniques that can be used:
• function interpolation–natural neighbour interpolation (more accurate)
• sweep line algorithm for constructing diagrams
• area calculations: Heron’s formula, Pick’s theorem
• using different metrics (for example, taxi-cab metric for fire stations).

50 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

The toolkit

Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Learning activity 1: Three ice cream stands

Key understanding: students will understand the definition of a Voronoi diagram by constructing one in a
real-world context.
Time: 15 minutes.
Part 1: explore: if you are somewhere in North Boulder Park and want ice cream as fast as possible, which
ice cream stall should you go to?

Desmos option: ask students to complete Desmos Activity: Ice Cream following the accompanying teacher
notes.
Low-tech option
• Print out or project the map above and ask students to find the closest ice cream stand for several
points.
• Copy the map onto transparencies and ask students to colour in the area closest to each ice cream
stand.
• Collect students’ sketches and overlay and display them.
• Compare and discuss areas of agreement and non-agreement in the sketches.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 51

Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

• Then ask students to reflect and discuss–how could we create a more accurate solution?
Part 2: Introduce the Voronoi diagram
• Show students the Voronoi diagram below—how well does it agree with their predictions?
• This diagram can be used to introduce basic vocabulary—sites, cells, edges, vertices.

Learning activity 2: Constructing simple Voronoi

diagrams
Key understanding: students will understand how perpendicular bisectors can be systematically chosen to
construct a small Voronoi diagram.
Time: 30–40 minutes.
Prior knowledge: students will need to be familiar with the concept of a perpendicular bisector and be
able to use the GeoGebra tool or straight edge and compass to construct them.
Materials: GeoGebra Applet, internet access, and/or paper, compass and straight edge.
Differentiation: the entire activity can be modified to be more or less challenging by requiring only two
points to be investigated or investigating four points. Students may also find it helpful to demonstrate the
equal distance of the edges to the sites by modelling with people and string/measuring tape.

Investigation questions
1. Open the GeoGebra Voronoi App. Observe—how are the edges positioned relative to the sites? Be as
specific as possible.
2. Move the sites A, B, and C around. Do the relationships you observe still hold? Be sure to test extreme
cases.

52 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

3. Connect two sites with a line segment. How is the edge between these two sites related to this
segment? Test your conjecture with other pairs of sites.
4. Describe a mathematical method for constructing your own Voronoi diagram of three sites.
5. Compare your method with another student’s. Are your methods similar? What revisions, if any, do
you want to make to yours?
6. On a blank GeoGebra template (or sheet of paper), plot three sites and construct their Voronoi
diagram using perpendicular bisectors.
7. Test your Voronoi diagram’s accuracy by choosing several points in different cells and measuring to
verify that they are indeed closest to the site in their cell.
8. What point(s) will be equally distant to all sites? Justify your answer.
9. Optional: check your diagram by constructing the diagram using GeoGebra’s “Voronoi” command.

Learning activity 3: Using the power of algorithms

Key understanding: students will understand the logic of an incremental algorithm for constructing larger
Voronoi diagrams and use it to evaluate how adding a new site to an existing diagram affects distances and
areas.
Time: one hour
Materials: copies of maps for students to sketch on; GeoGebra access.
Differentiation: extensions—Pick’s Theorem for calculating the areas of polygons; use of taxicab metric
instead of Euclidean metric to calculate distances.

Investigation: Beekeeping and bigger diagrams

Beekeepers can share the location of their apiaries (clusters of beehives) on the internet. This can be useful
to prevent overcrowding, as each beehive needs sufficient territory to survive. Below is a map of part of
Melbourne, Australia with apiaries marked in orange. You can search for your apiary map on the internet.

Step 1: Which apiaries do you suspect have the smallest territories? Which have the largest? How would a
Voronoi diagram help us answer this question more precisely?
Step 2: Think about the method you’ve developed for constructing a three-site Voronoi diagram. What
modifications or challenges do you anticipate in extending this to 10 sites?
As there are many sites in the diagram, it could be helpful to construct the diagram one site at a time. We
call this process an incremental algorithm. To understand how it works, suppose that you have already
drawn the diagram for nine of the 10 sites (apiaries) in orange.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 53

Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Step 3: Based on your knowledge of the relationship between Voronoi edges and sites, sketch the new
Voronoi cell for the 10th site, highlighted in purple, on your paper copy of this map.
Step 4: Now try sketching the cell if the 10th site is the one highlighted in purple.

Step 5: Next go through the incremental algorithm step-by-step to accurately construct the Voronoi cell for
the 10th site that you just sketched. As you go through the animation, draw along on a fresh copy of the
map. You may find it helpful to outline the updated diagram’s edges with marker.

54 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Step 6: Try performing the incremental algorithm on the other cell that you sketched above. You can check
your answer with this diagram.
Step 7: Choose a location for an 11th apiary that you think would result in having the largest possible area
for its cell. Use the incremental algorithm to add that 11th apiary to the 10-site map that you created in step
five.
Step 8: Reflection questions
• Why does this method work? Are there any cases where it would not work? If so, can it be adjusted to
work?
• Why do the perpendicular bisectors intersect each other at an edge of the existing Voronoi diagram?
Extension—bees thrive when their beehive has a radius of at least 1.5km from neighbouring beehives.
Which apiaries in the diagram meet this requirement?

Application: Post office delivery areas

A new post office delivery centre is to be opened in Warsaw, Poland, and the government is considering
two locations for it (labelled A and B) in the diagram.

Step 1: What relevant information might a Voronoi diagram provide about the post office locations?
Step 2: The government decides it would like to choose the location that will service a larger area. Below is
the Voronoi diagram for the existing offices. Use the incremental algorithm to construct Voronoi cells for
the two new sites.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 55

Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Step 3: Based on your diagrams, estimate which location will provide a larger service area. You can check
your diagrams and see exact areas of the two Voronoi cells with the solution here.

Learning activity 4: Predicting from Voronoi

diagrams
Key understanding: students will understand that the data values at sites of Voronoi diagrams can be used
to interpolate data values of nearby locations.
Time: 15–25 minutes.
Differentiation: students can also apply the natural neighbour interpolation to more accurately calculate
the pollution level. This is illustrated at the end.

Investigation: Predicting pollution levels

The element lead is found in soil and can be toxic to humans, especially children. The US Environmental
Protection Agency states that the maximum safe lead concentration in soil is 1200 parts per million (ppm).
However, for children’s play areas, the maximum safe level is 400 ppm.
The EPA tests the lead concentration at several sites in the city of Chicago. Lead concentrations in ppm for
each site are given in the table, corresponding to locations on the map.

Site A B C D E F G H I
Lead concentration (ppm) 1140 970 1365 525 350 680 310 120 70

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 Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Step 1: Why might a Voronoi diagram provide useful information in this context?
Step 2: Use GeoGebra to construct a Voronoi diagram of the sites.
Step 3: The city has proposed building a children’s playground at point P. Estimate the lead concentration
at this point, supporting your answer with reason(s).
Step 4: One simple way we can estimate the lead concentration at point P is by assuming it is the same as
at site G, because point P belongs to cell G. This is called nearest neighbour interpolation. What are
advantages to this interpolation method? What are disadvantages or sources of inaccuracy for this method?
Step 5: On a printout of your diagram, shade the locations that are unsafe for building a playground,
according to the nearest neighbour interpolation.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 57

Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Solutions

Point P is in the cell of site G, so its level is 310 ppm < 400 ppm. Hence it is safe.
It requires only drawing the Voronoi diagram but is not too accurate because it assumes the value stays the
same within the entire cell.
Shade all cells with concentration > 400 ppm.

Extension: Natural neighbour interpolation

Step 1: On the diagram (by hand or in GeoGebra), draw and calculate the areas that would be needed to
calculate the natural neighbour interpolation for point P.
Step 2: Find the natural neighbour interpolation of the lead concentration at point P. Based on this, is it safe
to build a playground in this location?
Step 3: Which interpolation method provides the more accurate estimate of the playground’s lead
concentration: nearest neighbour or natural neighbour? Why?

Solution
Solution 1: Draw the Voronoi cell for site P (using the incremental method) on top of the original Voronoi
diagram. Measure the area of each existing cell that the new Voronoi cell of site P would “steal” area from.

58 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Solution 2: The interpolated value is an average of the values at relevant sites weighted by area “stolen”
from those sites:

Site A B C D E F G H I
Lead concentration (ppm) 1140 970 1365 525 350 680 310 120 70

f (C) × 0 . 5 + f (D) × 0 . 2 + f (F) × 0 . 3 + f (G) × 1 . 1

f (p) =
(0 . 5 + 0 . 2 + 0 . 3 + 1 . 1)

(1365 × 0 . 5 + 525 × 0 . 2 + 680 × 0 . 3 + 310 × 1 . 1)

=
(0 . 5 + 0 . 2 + 0 . 3 + 1 . 1)

= 635

Solution 3: As soil concentration is continuous, natural neighbour is a more accurate estimate. Hence, the
soil is not safe for a playground.

Learning activity 5: Helicopter service in the

coordinate plane
Key understanding: students can apply concepts of coordinate geometry to identify edges, vertices, and
areas of Voronoi diagrams and interpret these in context.
Time: 20–30 minutes.
Materials: handout of Voronoi diagram with grid.

Application: Helicopter service

The Rega organization provides emergency helicopter services to the country of Switzerland, except for
Valais Canton. It has 14 bases placed throughout the country, as shown in the map (https://
www.rega.ch/en/our-missions/locations-and-infrastructure).

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 59

Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

You are part of a consulting team that is evaluating the efficiency of the helicopter services.
Step 1: Your colleague suggests that a Voronoi diagram with the helicopter bases as sites would provide
useful information about the service area of each helicopter. Explain whether you agree.
Here is a Voronoi diagram created in a coordinate plane with a scale of 1 unit = 10 km.

Step 2: On the diagram, identify the point or points that can be serviced equally quickly from bases three,
four, or 14. Explain your reasoning.
Step 3: Given that the point furthest from any base lies in the Voronoi cell for base four, find this point and
its distance from a base. Use the coordinate plane when calculating distances to increase the accuracy of
your answer.
Step 4: When an emergency call is received, a base can get a helicopter flying within four minutes.
Helicopters travel 400 km/hr on average. Rega’s objective “is to be able to reach any location in

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 Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Switzerland–except in the canton of Valais–within 15 minutes’ flying time.” Can Rega reach its goal of
responding to an accident anywhere in the country within 15 minutes? Justify your answer.

Solutions
Solution 2: The circle in blue is the only point equidistant from all three bases, as it is the intersection point
of the three perpendicular bisectors of segments B3B4, B3B10, B10B4.
Solution 3: Use distance formula to calculate distance to each vertex you (can exclude ones that are
obviously not the farthest). Farthest is the site directly north of the site, distance 5.76 units = 57.6km
Solution 4: All locations are within 58km of a base, as this point is the furthest in the entire diagram.
At 400 km/hr, 58km takes 0.145 hrs = 8.7 min
Total time = 8.7 min < 15 min
Yes, it can.

Learning activity 6: Interpolating precipitation in

the coordinate plane
Key understanding: students can apply concepts of coordinate geometry to identify edges, vertices, and
areas of Voronoi diagrams and interpret these in context.
Time: 1.5–3 hours.
Materials: copies of diagram with grid to draw on.
Differentiation: using GeoGebra to find coordinates and/or areas will lessen the algebraic difficulty of the
task.

Application: Precipitation in Boulder County

Note: throughout this activity, round your answers appropriately so that your final solutions are accurate to
one decimal place.
Meteorologists in Boulder County, Colorado in the US track the cm of precipitation (rainfall and snowfall)
received at three sites, marked on the map below:

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 61

Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Step 1a: Which station would best predict the precipitation of Lyons? Nederland? Jamestown? Explain your
reasoning.
Step 1b: What information would a Voronoi diagram give you about this situation?
A Voronoi diagram of the three precipitation collection sites is now drawn on the grid below, with a scale of
1 unit = 1.6km for both axes.
Step 2a: Use this diagram to confirm your answers to 1(a).
Step 2b: Find the equation of each edge using your knowledge of perpendicular bisectors.
Step 2c: Find the exact coordinates of the point that is equidistant from all three sites. Show your entire
process.

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 Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Step 3: The meteorologists get additional funding to place a fourth precipitation collection site. Where
should they place this site if they want the most accurate data possible for the whole county? Explain your
reasoning.
Step 4: The diagram below shows the coordinates where the fourth site was placed, north of Nederland. In
addition, Boulder County has been estimated as a rectangle with given coordinates. On your handout, use
the incremental algorithm to construct the new Voronoi diagram that includes all four sites. Write the
equations of any edges that are added.

The meteorologists want to estimate average precipitation across the entire county, because an annual
precipitation below 46cm sharply increases the likelihood of wildfires.
Step 5a: Use your four-site diagram to calculate the area of each cell. Make sure to clearly show your entire
process for determining any relevant coordinates and lengths.
Step 5b: Given the data below, calculate the average precipitation for all of Boulder County from June 2016
to June 2017. Each site’s rainfall should be weighted by the area it represents.

Site Boulder Longmont Allenspark Nederland

Precipitation, June 52.63 36.22 50.40 36.58
2016-June 2017
(cm)

Step 5c: Should the meteorologists recommend that the wildfire danger level be increased? Explain.

Selected solutions
GeoGebra—Boulder County Rainfall—students can check intersection points and polygon areas.
Solution 2b: Equations of edges in three-site diagram:
12
y − 14 . 5 = (x − 18)
13
11
y − 14 . 5 = − (x − 29 . 5)
13
x = 23 . 5

Solution 2c: Intersection point (solve system of equations or use technology): 23.5, 19.6.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 63

Voronoi diagrams: Learning activities

Solution 4: Diagram with fourth site added:

New edges: x = 18, y = 14 . 5

Solution 5a: Areas:

Site Boulder Longmont Allenspark Nederland

Precipitation, June 52.63 36.22 50.40 36.58
2016-June 2017
(cm)
Area (km2) 660 429 461 416

52 . 63 × 660 + 36 . 22 × 429 + 50 . 40 × 461 + 36 . 58 × 416

Weighted average =
660 + 429 + 461 + 416

= 45 . 13 cm/km2

64 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

The toolkit

Differential equations, phase portraits and Euler’s

method (HL only)

The Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL course content covers exploring exact and
approximate solutions to coupled systems of differential equations with an emphasis on long-term
behaviour. It draws together several seemingly-disparate parts of the course and in doing so draws out a
few of the many interconnections between different areas of mathematics.
In particular, the linked topics include: linear systems, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, complex numbers and
exact and approximate methods for solving differential equations.
This section supports the teaching and learning of these interconnected areas.

Content-specific conceptual understandings from

the guide
• Many physical phenomena can be modelled using differential equations and analytic and numeric
methods can be used to calculate optimum quantities
• Phase portraits enable us to visualize the behaviour of dynamic systems

Differential equations, phase portraits and Euler’s method

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 65

Assessment

Preparing for the internal assessment exploration

How to use this section of the teacher support

material
This teacher support material (TSM) is designed to support new and experienced teachers as they approach
and implement the internal assessment (IA) with their students. It should be read in conjunction with the
Diploma Programme Mathematics: applications and interpretation guide (published February 2019 for first
examination in 2021), which contains the curriculum and assessment requirements at standard level (SL)
and at higher level (HL).
This section offers suggestions and guidance for the implementation of the internally assessed
component–the exploration. General regulation and procedures relating to internal assessment have not
been reproduced here but can be found in the relevant section of the Diploma Programme Assessment
procedures.
This publication contains material contributed by teachers to help other teachers and is intended to
provide support and inspiration in a number of ways.
Another section of the TSM shows the application of the criteria in the assessment of explorations. It
consists of explorations that have been assessed by experienced teachers using the assessment criteria. To
look at the explorations teachers should go to the assessment section of this website and select "Assessed
student work".
The internally assessed component in these courses is a mathematical exploration. This is a short report
written by the student, based upon a topic chosen by him or her, and it should focus on the mathematics of
that particular area. The emphasis is on mathematical communication (including formulae, diagrams,
graphs and so on), with accompanying commentary, good mathematical writing and thoughtful reflection.
A student should develop his or her own focus, with the teacher providing feedback via, for example,
discussion and interview. This will allow all students to develop an area of interest for them, without a time
constraint as in an examination, and will allow all to experience a feeling of success.
In addition to testing the assessment objectives of the courses, the exploration is intended to provide
students with opportunities to increase their understanding of mathematical concepts and processes, and
to develop a wider appreciation of mathematics. These are noted in the aims of the courses, in particular
aims 6-11. It is intended that, by doing the exploration, students benefit from the mathematical activities
undertaken and find them both stimulating and rewarding. It will enable students to acquire the attributes
of the IB learner profile.

Teacher responsibilities
The teacher has nine main responsibilities.
During the process:
• to advise students in choosing an appropriate topic for an exploration
• to provide opportunities for students to learn the skills related to exploration work
• to ensure that students understand the assessment criteria and how they will be applied
• to encourage and support students throughout the research and writing of explorations
• to provide students with feedback on work completed at various stages of the exploration
• to give assistance to individual students in overcoming particular problems.
At the end of the process:

66 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Preparing for the internal assessment exploration

• to verify the accuracy of all calculations and to indicate on the exploration where mistakes have been
made
• to assess the work accurately, annotating it appropriately to indicate where achievement levels have
been awarded
• to ensure that students fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the exploration.
It is important that relevant background information and comments regarding each criterion are included
with the sample. It is recommended that this be indicated on the work itself.

Skills and strategies required by students

The exploration is a significant part of the course. It is useful to think of it as a developing piece of work,
which requires particular skills and strategies. As a general rule, it is unrealistic to expect all students to have
these specific skills and to follow particular strategies before commencing the course.
Many of the skills and strategies identified below can be integrated into the course of study by applying
them to a variety of different situations both inside and outside the classroom. In this way, students can
practise certain skills and learn to follow appropriate strategies in a more structured environment before
moving on to working independently on their explorations.

Choosing a topic
It is essential that students choose a topic that can offer a productive route of inquiry, involve the use of
relevant mathematics and engage the interest and enthusiasm of the student. The concept of the
exploration should be introduced early in the course. Ideas for topics for explorations should be identified
by students, in discussion with their teachers, as the course progresses.
For the majority of students, finding a suitable topic is the most difficult part of the process. Consequently,
as soon as students are ready to begin work on their explorations, the teacher should allocate class time
over two to three weeks to guide individual students through this process.
At the start of the process, teachers should discuss with students the overall form of the assessment as this
may, in part, help to direct the flow of ideas and ultimately the focus of the exploration. Whole-class
discussions where ideas are shared may help to lend focus to a topic. For students who have difficulty in
choosing a topic, the following ideas may help.
• Identify an appropriate topic, taking in to consideration a student’s own areas of interest
• Consider whether the focus will be analytic or an application of mathematics
• Look at the list of titles that have been submitted previously
• Look at the exemplars available here and consider the structure and features that have made them
successful
Once a topic has been chosen:
• devise a focus that is well defined and appropriate
• make a detailed plan to give structure to the undertaking and the writing of the exploration
• ensure that the topic lends itself to a concise exploration
• if using data, ensure that enough data can be generated to ensure the mathematical techniques used
are valid.
A list of previously submitted titles can be found in the appendices.

Presentation
• Express ideas clearly
• Identify a clear aim for the exploration
• Focus on the aim and avoiding irrelevance
• Structure ideas in a logical manner
• Include graphs, tables and diagrams at appropriate places

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 67

Preparing for the internal assessment exploration

• Edit the exploration so that it is easy to follow

• Cite references where appropriate

Mathematical communication
• Use appropriate mathematical language and representation
• Define key terms and variables, where required
• Select appropriate mathematical tools (including information and communication technology)
• Set out any proofs in a logical way
• Express results to an appropriate degree of accuracy

Personal engagement
• Ask questions, make conjectures and investigate mathematical ideas
• Read about mathematics and research areas of interest
• Look for and create mathematical models for real-world situations
• Consider historical and global perspectives
• Explore unfamiliar mathematics

Reflection
• Discuss the implications of results
• Consider the significance of the exploration
• Look at possible limitations and/or extensions
• Make links to different fields and/or areas of mathematics
• Consider “what next?”

Use of mathematics
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding
• Apply mathematics in different contexts
• Apply problem-solving techniques
• Recognize and explain patterns, where appropriate
• Generalize and justify conclusions

Use of technology
Assessment objective 4 for all DP mathematics courses is to “use technology accurately, appropriately and
efficiently both to explore new ideas and to solve problems”.
The exploration may offer opportunities for this objective to be achieved, although this is not a requirement
for the exploration. In the exploration there are no limitations on the use of technology. It is reasonable, but
not essential, to expect that students, when producing their explorations, will utilize technology in one or
more ways.
Examples may include:
• any kind of calculators, hand-held or on the internet
• data-logging devices, simulations and modelling software
• word-processing packages, spreadsheets, graphics packages
• dynamic geometry software
• statistics packages or computer algebra packages.

68 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Preparing for the internal assessment exploration

Developing the exploration

Although the exploration is likely to be written in the second year of the course, students should be made
familiar with the concept of the exploration at a very early stage. The specific planning and timing of the
exploration will vary from school to school.
The following are suggestions that could be adopted at the different stages of the exploration.

Before students start the exploration

• Give out the criteria and stimuli early in the course and familiarize students with aims 6-11
• Give notice of a time frame for doing the exploration
• Encourage students to keep a record of ideas during the course (journal, notebook, blog)
• Encourage students to look for ideas everywhere (for example, reading mathematical material), and
give access to such material (for example, TV, internet, other courses)
• Point out opportunities for exploring mathematics in everyday syllabus work
• Give students opportunities to practise mathematical writing
• Familiarize students with available technology

At the beginning of the exploration

• Look at examples from the TSM or other students’ work
• Brainstorm and/or use mind-mapping activities to find a suitable topic
• Encourage the sharing and questioning of ideas
• Ensure that students have a clear, written focus before starting to write the exploration.

While students are doing the exploration

• Encourage self assessment and peer assessment
• Provide opportunities for discussion and questions between peers and with the teacher
• Provide appropriate feedback on the draft

After students have submitted the exploration

• Ensure that internal standardization between teachers takes place, including between SL and HL
mathematics teachers
• Discuss with students the strengths and weaknesses of their exploration

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 69

Assessment

Planning

1. Ensure that students have time to explore the mathematics.

2. Give a realistic deadline for submission of a draft of the written exploration.
3. Give a realistic deadline for feedback to the students.
4. Give a realistic deadline for final submission.

Developing a schedule
Deadlines for the completion of different stages of the exploration, preferably agreed to by both student
and teacher, need to be firmly established. In particular, there need to be deadlines for the submission of:
• the exploration title and a brief description of the task, outlining the purpose of the exploration
together with the strategies and techniques that will be used and, if applicable, how data is to be
collected or generated, and how stimulus material has been used to generate ideas
• the draft of the exploration
• the finished exploration.

Long-term planning
The aim of long-term planning is to put the exploration into perspective in relation to the whole course.It
should take into account:
• the sequencing of teaching units over the duration of the course
• those topics that are more applicable to the exploration
• appropriate places where the skills and strategies of the exploration can be introduced
• opportunities for students to record and develop ideas relevant to the exploration, for example,
journals or blogs
• the resources available
• the role, if any, that the exploration will play in terms of a school's non-IB assessment(s)
• timetabling exploration deadlines into the school calendar.

Short-term planning
The aim of short-term planning is to provide a framework for the exploration so that students gain the
maximum benefit from the experience.
It is expected that teachers will give help and guidance to the students while they are doing the
exploration. Ten hours of class time should be allocated to management of the exploration work. Some of
this time can be taken up with individual or group activities, where students learn some of the skills
associated with exploration work. It is expected that students will spend additional time working on their
explorations outside class time. Teachers should briefly discuss the exploration early during the course, so
that students are aware of what is required and that this is an essential part of the course.

Stimuli
Students sometimes find it difficult to know where to start with a task as open-ended as this. While it is
hoped that students will appreciate the richness of opportunities for mathematical exploration, it may
sometimes be useful to provide a stimulus as a means of helping them to get started on their explorations.

70 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Planning

Possible stimuli that could be given to the students

• sport • architecture
• archaeology • codes
• computers • the internet
• algorithms • communication
• cell phones • tiling
• music • population
• sine • agriculture
• musical harmony • viruses
• motion • health
• e • dance
• electricity • play
• water • pi (π)
• space • geography
• orbits • biology
• food • business
• volcanoes • economics
• diet • physics
• Euler • chemistry
• games • information technology in a global society
• symmetry • psychology

A possible mind map for the stimulus “water”

During introductory discussions about the exploration, the use of group discussion sessions can be useful
to generate ideas. In particular, the use of a mind map has been shown to be useful in helping students to
generate thoughts on this. The mind map below illustrates how, starting with the stimulus “water”, some
possible foci for a mathematical exploration could be generated.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 71

Planning

Figure 13

Record keeping
Teachers are advised to keep detailed records about the exploration. It may be helpful to use forms such as
forms A and B, for recording all the relevant information at the planning and feedback on the draft stages;
these forms can be adapted for your own use. Please note that these are internal documents for the teacher
and are not official IB forms.
Use of these forms is not mandatory and the forms can be adapted for individual circumstances. They have
been suggested by a number of experienced teachers who have found them to be very useful. Form A
(Initial planning) relates to the end of the initial planning stage and Form B (Teacher feedback to student on
draft) relates to the teacher feedback following the students’ submission of their draft explorations.

Form A—Exploration: Initial planning

Form B—Exploration: Teacher feedback to student on draft

72 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

Assessment

Authenticity

Authenticity must be verified by signing the relevant form from the Diploma Programme Assessment
procedures by both student and teacher.
By supervising students throughout, teachers should be monitoring the progress that individual students
are making and be in a position to discuss with them the source of any new material that appears, or is
referred to, in their explorations. Often students are not aware of when it is permissible to use material
written by others or when to seek help from other sources. Consequently, open discussion in the early
stages is a good way of avoiding these potential problems.
However, if teachers are unsure as to whether an exploration is the student’s own work, they should
employ a range of methods to check this fact. These may include:
• discussion with the student
• asking the student to explain the methods used and to summarize the results and conclusions
• asking the student to replicate part of the analysis using different data
• inviting the students to give a class presentation of their exploration.

Referencing and bibliography

Students should be made aware that direct or indirect use of the words of another person (in written, oral
or electronic formats) must be acknowledged appropriately, as must any visual material used in the
exploration that has been derived from another source. A student’s failure to comply with this requirement
will be viewed as plagiarism, and, as such, may be treated as a case of malpractice. Students should be
familiar with the IB academic honesty policy, available on the programme resource centre.
The bibliography, or list of references, should include only those works (for example, books and journals)
that the student has consulted while working on the exploration. An accepted form of quoting and
documenting sources should be applied consistently. The major documentation systems are divided into
two groups: parenthetical in-text name–date systems and numbered systems. Either may be used, provided
this is done consistently and clearly.
Each work consulted, regardless of whether or not it has already been cited in the text as a reference, must
be listed in the bibliography. The bibliography should specify: author(s), title, date and place of publication,
and the name of the publisher, and should follow consistently one standard method of listing sources (for
example, the Harvard system or the Vancouver system). Possible examples are:
Appadurai, A. 1990. “Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy”. Theory, Culture and Society.
Vol 7. Pp 295-310.
Miller, D. 2011. Tales from Facebook. Cambridge, UK. Polity Press.
Peterson, ADC. 2003. Schools Across Frontiers: The Story of the International Baccalaureate and the United
World Colleges. 2nd ed. Chicago. Open Court Publishing Company.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 73

Assessment

Assessment criteria

Each exploration should be assessed against the following five criteria.

Criterion A Presentation
Criterion B Mathematical
communication
Criterion C Personal
engagement
Criterion D Reflection
Criterion E Use of mathematics

The descriptions of the achievement levels for each of these five assessment criteria follow and it is
important to note that each achievement level represents the minimum requirement for that level to be
awarded. The final mark for each exploration is obtained by adding together the achievement levels
awarded for each criterion A-E. It should be noted that the descriptors for criterion E are different for SL and
HL.
The maximum possible mark is 20.

Applying the assessment criteria

The method of assessment used is criterion referenced, not norm referenced. That is, the method of
assessing each exploration judges students by their performance in relation to identified assessment
criteria and not in relation to the work of other students.
Each exploration submitted for mathematics is assessed against the five criteria A to E. For each assessment
criterion, different levels of achievement are described that concentrate on positive achievement. The
description of each achievement level represents the minimum requirement for that level to be achieved.
The aim is to find, for each criterion, the level descriptor that conveys most adequately the achievement
level attained by the student.
Teachers should read the description of each achievement level, starting with level 0, until one is reached
that describes a level of achievement that has not been reached. The level of achievement gained by the
student is therefore the preceding one, and it is this that should be recorded.
For example, when considering successive achievement levels for a particular criterion, if the description for
level 3 does not apply, then level 2 should be recorded.
For each criterion, whole numbers only may be recorded; fractions and decimals are not acceptable.
The highest achievement levels do not imply faultless performance, and teachers should not hesitate to use
the extremes, including 0, if they are appropriate descriptions of the work being assessed.
A student who attains a high level of achievement in relation to one criterion will not necessarily attain high
levels of achievement in relation to the other criteria. Similarly, a student who attains a low level of
achievement for one criterion will not necessarily attain low achievement levels for the other criteria.
Teachers should not assume that the overall assessment of the students will produce any particular
distribution of marks.
It is expected that the assessment criteria will be available to students at all times. Descriptors of the
achievement levels for each assessment criterion are given in the tables in the following section.

74 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Assessment criteria

Students should be made aware that they will not receive a grade for mathematics if they have not
submitted an exploration.

Achievement levels
Criterion A: Presentation
Achievement level Descriptor
0 The exploration does not reach the standard described by the descriptors below.
1 The exploration has some coherence or some organization.
2 The exploration has some coherence and shows some organization.
3 The exploration is coherent and well organized.
4 The exploration is coherent, well organized, concise.

The “presentation” criterion assesses the organization and coherence of the exploration.
A coherent exploration is logically developed, easy to follow and meets its aim. This refers to the overall
structure or framework, including introduction, body, conclusion and how well the different parts link to
each other.
A well-organized exploration includes an introduction, describes the aim of the exploration and has a
conclusion. Relevant graphs, tables and diagrams should accompany the work in the appropriate place and
not be attached as appendices to the document. Appendices should be used to include information on
large data sets, additional graphs, diagrams and tables.
A concise exploration does not show irrelevant or unnecessary repetitive calculations, graphs or
descriptions.
The use of technology is not required but encouraged where appropriate. However, the use of analytic
approaches rather than technological ones does not necessarily mean lack of conciseness, and should not
be penalized. This does not mean that repetitive calculations are condoned.

Criterion B: Mathematical communication

Achievement level Descriptor
0 The exploration does not reach the standard described by the descriptors below.
1 The exploration contains some relevant mathematical communication, which is
partially appropriate.
2 The exploration contains some relevant appropriate mathematical communication.
3 The mathematical communication is relevant, appropriate and is mostly consistent.
4 The mathematical communication is relevant, appropriate and consistent
throughout.

The “mathematical communication” criterion assesses to what extent the student has:
• used appropriate mathematical language (notation, symbols, terminology). Calculator and
computer notation is acceptable only if it is software generated. Otherwise it is expected that students
use appropriate mathematical notation in their work
• defined key terms and variables, where required
• used multiple forms of mathematical representation, such as formulae, diagrams, tables, charts,
graphs and models, where appropriate
• used a deductive method and set out proofs logically where appropriate

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 75

Assessment criteria

Examples of level 1 can include graphs not being labelled, consistent use of computer notation with no
other forms of correct mathematical communication.
Level 4 can be achieved by using only one form of mathematical representation as long as this is
appropriate to the topic being explored. For level 4, any minor errors that do not impair clear
communication should not be penalized.

Criterion C: Personal engagement

Achievement level Descriptor
0 The exploration does not reach the standard described by the descriptors below.
1 There is evidence of some personal engagement.
2 There is evidence of significant personal engagement.
3 There is evidence of outstanding personal engagement.

The “personal engagement” criterion assesses the extent to which the student engages with the topic by
exploring the mathematics and making it their own. It is not a measure of effort.
Personal engagement may be recognized in different ways. These include thinking independently or
creatively, presenting mathematical ideas in their own way, exploring the topic from different perspectives,
making and testing predictions. Further (but not exhaustive) examples of personal engagement at different
levels are given in the teacher support material (TSM).
There must be evidence of personal engagement demonstrated in the student’s work. It is not sufficient
that a teacher comments that a student was highly engaged.
Textbook style explorations or reproduction of readily available mathematics without the candidate’s own
perspective are unlikely to achieve the higher levels.
Significant: The student demonstrates authentic personal engagement in the exploration on a few
occasions and it is evident that these drive the exploration forward and help the reader to better
understand the writer’s intentions.
Outstanding: The student demonstrates authentic personal engagement in the exploration in numerous
instances and they are of a high quality. It is evident that these drive the exploration forward in a creative
way. It leaves the impression that the student has developed, through their approach, a complete
understanding of the context of the exploration topic and the reader better understands the writer’s
intentions.

Criterion D: Reflection
Achievement level Descriptor
0 The exploration does not reach the standard described by the descriptors below.
1 There is evidence of limited reflection.
2 There is evidence of meaningful reflection.
3 There is substantial evidence of critical reflection.

The “reflection” criterion assesses how the student reviews, analyses and evaluates the exploration.
Although reflection may be seen in the conclusion to the exploration, it may also be found throughout the
exploration.
Simply describing results represents limited reflection. Further consideration is required to achieve the
higher levels.
Some ways of showing meaningful reflection are: linking to the aims of the exploration, commenting on
what they have learned, considering some limitation or comparing different mathematical approaches.

76 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Assessment criteria

Critical reflection is reflection that is crucial, deciding or deeply insightful. It will often develop the
exploration by addressing the mathematical results and their impact on the student’s understanding of the
topic. Some ways of showing critical reflection are: considering what next, discussing implications of results,
discussing strengths and weaknesses of approaches, and considering different perspectives.
Substantial evidence means that the critical reflection is present throughout the exploration. If it appears
at the end of the exploration it must be of high quality and demonstrate how it developed the exploration
in order to achieve a level 3.

Criterion E: Use of mathematics

The achievement levels and descriptors for criterion E are different for SL and HL.

SL only

Achievement level Descriptor

0 The exploration does not reach the standard described by the descriptors below.
1 Some relevant mathematics is used.
2 Some relevant mathematics is used. Limited understanding is demonstrated.
3 Relevant mathematics commensurate with the level of the course is used. Limited
understanding is demonstrated.
4 Relevant mathematics commensurate with the level of the course is used. The
mathematics explored is partially correct. Some knowledge and understanding
are demonstrated.
5 Relevant mathematics commensurate with the level of the course is used. The
mathematics explored is mostly correct. Good knowledge and understanding are
demonstrated.
6 Relevant mathematics commensurate with the level of the course is used. The
mathematics explored is correct. Thorough knowledge and understanding are
demonstrated.

The “Use of mathematics” SL criterion assesses to what extent students use mathematics that is relevant to
the exploration.
Relevant refers to mathematics that supports the development of the exploration towards the completion
of its aim. Overly complicated mathematics where simple mathematics would suffice is not relevant.
Students are expected to produce work that is commensurate with the level of the course, which means it
should not be completely based on mathematics listed in the prior learning. The mathematics explored
should either be part of the syllabus, or at a similar level.
A key word in the descriptor is demonstrated. The command term demonstrate means “to make clear by
reasoning or evidence, illustrating with examples or practical application”. Obtaining the correct answer is
not sufficient to demonstrate understanding (even some understanding) in order to achieve level 2 or
higher.
For knowledge and understanding to be thorough it must be demonstrated throughout.
The mathematics can be regarded as correct even if there are occasional minor errors as long as they do
not detract from the flow of the mathematics or lead to an unreasonable outcome.
Students are encouraged to use technology to obtain results where appropriate, but understanding must
be demonstrated in order for the student to achieve higher than level 1, for example merely substituting
values into a formula does not necessarily demonstrate understanding of the results.
The mathematics only needs to be what is required to support the development of the exploration. This
could be a few small elements of mathematics or even a single topic (or sub-topic) from the syllabus. It is
better to do a few things well than a lot of things not so well. If the mathematics used is relevant to the

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 77

Assessment criteria

topic being explored, commensurate with the level of the course and understood by the student, then it
can achieve a high level in this criterion.

HL only

Achievement level Descriptor

0 The exploration does not reach the standard described by the descriptors below.
1 Some relevant mathematics is used. Limited understanding is demonstrated.
2 Some relevant mathematics is used. The mathematics explored is partially correct.
Some knowledge and understanding are demonstrated.
3 Relevant mathematics commensurate with the level of the course is used. The
mathematics explored is correct. Some knowledge and understanding are
demonstrated.
4 Relevant mathematics commensurate with the level of the course is used. The
mathematics explored is correct. Good knowledge and understanding are
demonstrated.
5 Relevant mathematics commensurate with the level of the course is used. The
mathematics explored is correct and demonstrates sophistication or rigour.
Thorough knowledge and understanding are demonstrated.
6 Relevant mathematics commensurate with the level of the course is used. The
mathematics explored is precise and demonstrates sophistication and rigour.
Thorough knowledge and understanding are demonstrated.

The “Use of mathematics” HL criterion assesses to what extent students use relevant mathematics in the
exploration.
Students are expected to produce work that is commensurate with the level of the course, which means it
should not be completely based on mathematics listed in the prior learning. The mathematics explored
should either be part of the syllabus, at a similar level or slightly beyond. However, mathematics of a level
slightly beyond the syllabus is not required to achieve the highest levels.
A key word in the descriptor is demonstrated. The command term demonstrate means to make clear by
reasoning or evidence, illustrating with examples or practical application. Obtaining the correct answer is
not sufficient to demonstrate understanding (even some understanding) in order to achieve level 2 or
higher.
For knowledge and understanding to be thorough it must be demonstrated throughout. Lines of reasoning
must be shown to justify steps in the mathematical development of the exploration.
Relevant refers to mathematics that supports the development of the exploration towards the completion
of its aim. Overly complicated mathematics where simple mathematics would suffice is not relevant.
The mathematics can be regarded as correct even if there are occasional minor errors as long as they do
not detract from the flow of the mathematics or lead to an unreasonable outcome. Precise mathematics is
error-free and uses an appropriate level of accuracy at all times.
Sophistication: To be considered as sophisticated the mathematics used should be commensurate with
the HL syllabus or, if contained in the SL syllabus, the mathematics has been used in a complex way that is
beyond what could reasonably be expected of an SL student. Sophistication in mathematics may include
understanding and using challenging mathematical concepts, looking at a problem from different
perspectives and seeing underlying structures to link different areas of mathematics.
Rigour involves clarity of logic and language when making mathematical arguments and calculations.
Mathematical claims relevant to the development of the exploration must be justified or proven.

78 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Assessment criteria

Students are encouraged to use technology to obtain results where appropriate, but understanding must
be demonstrated in order for the student to achieve level 1 or higher, for example merely substituting
values into a formula does not necessarily demonstrate understanding of the results.
The mathematics only needs to be what is required to support the development of the exploration. This
could be a few small elements of mathematics or even a single topic (or sub-topic) from the syllabus. It is
better to do a few things well than a lot of things not so well. If the mathematics used is relevant to the
topic being explored, commensurate with the level of the course and understood by the student, then it
can achieve a high level in this criterion.

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Assessment

Frequently asked questions about the IA

What is the difference between an exploration in mathematics and an extended essay in

mathematics?
The criteria are completely different. It is intended that the exploration is to be a much less extensive piece
of work than a mathematics extended essay. The intention is for students to “explore” an idea rather than
have to do the formal research demanded in an extended essay.
How long should it be?
It is difficult to be prescriptive about mathematical writing. However, the Mathematics: analysis and
approaches and the Mathematics: applications and interpretation guides state that 12 to 20 pages should be
appropriate. An exploration may be less than 12 pages, however. A more common failing of mathematical
writing is excessive repetition, and this should be avoided as such explorations will be penalized for lack of
conciseness. It is recognized however that some explorations will require the use of several diagrams, which
may extend them beyond the recommended page limit.
Are there any particular topics to be avoided?
A topic must be chosen so that the assessment criteria can be applied to it. Purely descriptive historical
topics, for example, are not appropriate. See the appendices for a list of previously submitted titles.
When is a good time to introduce the exploration?
It is a good idea to mention it as early as possible, so that students are aware of the requirements, and to
refer to it during the early part of the course. Certain topics may lend themselves more easily to exploration
work, and teachers should try to make suggestions about this when appropriate. Ideally, the work on the
exploration should start before the end of the first year.
Is any particular format for the exploration to be used?
No particular format is required. Students may write both the text of explorations and draw graphs and/or
tables by hand, or explorations may be fully or partially word-processed. Either form is acceptable as long as
the exploration is clearly legible. In recent years, students have used various forms of technology (for
example, spreadsheets) to present data, construct tables and graphs, and perform calculations.
Does the exploration need a title?
It is good practice to have a title for all pieces of work. If the exploration is based on a stimulus, it is
recommended that that the title not just be the stimulus. Rather, the title should give a better indication of
where the stimulus has taken the student. For example, rather than have the title “Number patterns”, the
title could be “Number patterns—exploring patterns in final digits of prime numbers”.
What should the target audience be for a student when writing the exploration?
The exploration should be accessible to fellow students.
Can the students use mathematics other than that which they have done in class?
Yes, but this must be clearly explained and referenced, and teacher comments should clarify this.
Can students use mathematics that is outside the syllabus?
It is not necessary to do this to obtain full or high marks. If students decide to explore mathematics outside
the syllabus it is recommended that the level is commensurate with the syllabus.
Is interpretation of results a separate section or should comments be made during the exploration?
Commenting on and interpreting results at the point at which these are used enhances the communication
and should be summarized in a conclusion. This may also apply to comments on the validity of results.
Must students use external resource material?

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 Frequently asked questions about the IA

There is no requirement for the use of external resource material. However, students often find it necessary
to obtain material from other sources (for example, for obtaining data, or for using formulae). In these cases,
students should acknowledge these sources and list them in a bibliography and state any sampling
processes used when using secondary data.
Can a student use data for an exploration that has already been used for other Diploma Programme
internally assessed work (for example, the extended essay, fieldwork or experiments)?
This is to be discouraged, since it is unlikely that data collected for one particular use will lend themselves to
being treated in a different manner. It may well be possible that students could use the data collected from
work completed in other subjects, provided that it is analysed in a totally different manner. However, it is
the student’s responsibility to inform the teacher that these data have been collected for a different subject.
The teacher must then ensure that no overlap occurs.
What is personal engagement?
The exploration is intended to be an opportunity for students to use mathematics to develop an area of
interest to them rather than merely to solve a problem set by someone else. Criterion C (personal
engagement) will be looking at how well the student is able to demonstrate that he or she has “made the
exploration their own” and expressed ideas in an individual way.
What is the difference between precise and correct?
As outlined in criterion E (use of mathematics), “precise” mathematics requires absolute accuracy with
appropriate use of notation. “Correct” mathematics may contain the occasional error as long as it does not
seriously interfere with the flow of the work or give rise to conclusions or answers that are clearly wrong.
How can the teacher best monitor the work of students?
Having a schedule of due dates will help. It is also important that the teacher takes the time to review the
work of students as the due dates come around. Developing a checklist of tasks and allowing for brief
comment might help to keep open communication channels between students and the teacher.
Records of the progress made might best be kept by the students themselves, in the form of weekly
journals. Teachers can simply read the journals and add a few brief comments. It may also be helpful to
allow students to exchange journals for discussion or critique of work done during class time.
How much time should a student be spending on the exploration?
A total of 10 to 15 hours should be set aside for the exploration work in class. A portion of these hours can
be spent on general class business (for example, reviewing policies and procedures, explaining the
assessment criteria, reviewing progress, developing topics). Time spent on the exploration outside of class
time should be in line with the normal homework expectation for 10 to 15 hours of class time.
What is the recommended target date for completion of the exploration?
This will, of course, vary from school to school depending upon several factors, not to mention other
deadlines set within the Diploma Programme (for example, guided coursework, extended essays,
laboratory reports). Teachers should also allow themselves plenty of time for the assessment process. The
IB’s deadline for samples of student work for moderation is in April for a May session school or October for a
November session school. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for teachers to collect final explorations six to
eight weeks prior to this deadline. Having an early deadline for completion may also make allowances for
that student who undoubtedly will have a last-minute calamity.
Is there any way to deal with students who do little or no work on the exploration?
The obvious way to present to any student who is hesitant to make progress with their exploration is to
emphasize the possible impact on the final assessment, with the exploration making up 20% of their final
mark. If a student is reluctant to do any work at all, then perhaps a meeting of student, parents or
guardians, the teacher and the Diploma Programme coordinator is advisable. At such a meeting, it would
be appropriate to review the consequences of not submitting an exploration. Students should be made
aware that they will not receive a grade for mathematics if they have not submitted an exploration.
It may also be helpful to develop a school or departmental policy for internal assessments, so that
guidelines, due dates, expectations, consequences, and so on are made clear to both students and parents
early in the course.

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Frequently asked questions about the IA

Some teachers are confused about how to apply the exploration assessment descriptors. Is guidance
available?
In addition to this TSM, teachers can attend a mathematics workshop before it is time to assess the
explorations of their students. Diploma Programme coordinators have information about workshops; such
information can also be found on the IB public website (http://www.ibo.org). Another idea might be to ask
advice from an experienced teacher. Obtaining a second opinion from an experienced teacher can be
extremely helpful.
Can all students from one class submit explorations on exactly the same topic?
No. In fact, no two students should submit explorations that are exactly the same mathematically (they can,
however, be from the same area or topic of mathematics, for instance "vectors"). The exploration is
intended to be the sole work of an individual student. Whole class discussion can be used when generating
ideas, selecting the topics for exploration, sharing research sources, acquiring the necessary knowledge,
skills and understanding, and seeking peer-feedback on writing. However, the final exploration submitted
must be the work of the individual student.
Can students in the same class/school use the same title for the exploration?
Yes, but the explorations must be different, based on the avenues followed by the student. As noted above,
the title should give an idea of what the exploration is about.
Can SL and HL students use the same stimulus?
Yes, there is no reason to restrict any stimulus to a particular level, although the assessment of criterion E
will be different.
Do teachers need to use stimuli?
No, but choosing a topic is often the most difficult part of the process for students, so it may be useful to
provide stimuli as a means of helping students to get started on their exploration. Teachers are free to use
their own stimulus material.
How many explorations should be done by a student during the course?
The exploration is a significant piece of work and, as such, the advice would be that there is no necessity to
undertake more than one during the course. However, in line with the “Approaches to the teaching and
learning” section of the two guides, students should be given many opportunities to use modelling and
investigative techniques to develop the sorts of skills necessary to perform well in the exploration. The time
allocated to the “toolkit” provides space to develop these skills.
Should the scope and sequence of the course be influenced by the exploration?
Ideally, it should not be. It is intended that the exploration should be a natural opportunity to develop ideas
that students have become familiar with as a part of the course. However, if it is felt that particular skills are
likely to be needed in order for students to undertake the exploration successfully, then a teacher or school
may wish to consider this when deciding on the teaching sequence.
What constitutes a draft of the exploration and how much feedback can be given on it?
The draft is the only time prior to the student handing in the final exploration that the teacher can give
formal feedback (written or otherwise) to the student. Teachers can, if they wish to, use or adapt Form B for
this purpose. As the guide states, “teachers should read and give advice to students on one draft of the
work. The teacher should provide oral or written advice on how the work could be improved, but not edit
the draft”. This advice should be in terms of the way the work could be improved, but this first draft must
not be heavily annotated or edited by the teacher. The next version handed to the teacher after the draft
must be the final one. It is good practice for a teacher to provide informal feedback at all other stages of the
exploration process.
How much help can the teacher give to the student with the mathematical content of the
exploration?
If a student needs help with the revision of a particular topic because they are having some problems using
this in their exploration, then it is permissible (indeed, this is good practice) for the teacher to give this help.
However, this must be done in such a way that is not directly connected with the exploration.

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If a school has a large number of students (or several classes) doing the exploration, must only one
teacher mark all the explorations?
The exploration should be marked by the teacher who has supervised the class. However, teachers should
be aware that moderation is applied to a school rather than to individual teachers. It is, therefore, of the
utmost importance that teachers collaborate and agree on their marking standards. Guidance is available in
the Diploma Programme Assessment procedures.
Should the student’s final exploration be annotated?
As stated in the TSM, one of the teacher responsibilities is to assess the work accurately, annotating it
appropriately to indicate where achievement levels have been awarded. It is essential that annotations are
included on the student work to show why and where a level has been awarded. This includes assessing the
mathematics and identifying and noting any errors. Without supporting comments, it is more difficult for
the moderator to confirm the mark of the teacher.
Where can teachers receive more advice on the exploration?
Teachers should be aware that all questions on exploration work can be posted in the mathematics
communities on the programme resource centre, and advice will then be offered by experienced teachers
and the online faculty member. The programme resource centre also has many resources that have been
posted by experienced teachers in the Communities, and these may provide a useful starting point for new
teachers. However, it is important to understand that all opinions expressed by users of the programme
resource centre are expressed strictly in their individual capacities, and not as representatives of the IB.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 83

Assessment

Preparing for papers 1 and 2

This section provides a useful resource in the form of a set of practice papers with examiner commentary
(for use in the classroom, or for assessment purposes with students or for professional development by
individual or groups of teachers), as well as some practical advice from examiners about papers 1 and 2.
These practice papers with examiner commentary and the advice given below have been developed by
experienced DP mathematics senior examiners and teachers.
The practice paper questions seek to indicate the ways in which new content could be assessed, the
examiner commentary highlights some commonly occurring errors that students make and the
accompanying markschemes with commentary seek to show clearly how and why the marks are allocated.
Teachers should not regard these papers as additional specimen papers but rather a collection of questions
on new topics in the form of an examination paper.
This resource can be used in a number of ways; some suggestions are:
• As the basis of professional development by individuals or groups of teachers
• As a learning and teaching resource to help students understand, for instance, what certain command
terms imply about how students should express their answers
• As a learning and teaching resource to help students understand how marks are allocated and what
examiners will be looking to see written down, particularly when using technology to find a solution
• As a whole paper to form additional practice for classwork or homework, or for summative or
formative assessment
• As individual questions for discussion in the classroom to illustrate a teaching point or to highlight a
common misconception.

Global notes
Teachers often have questions regarding accuracy, use of units and how students should communicate their
answers in examinations, particularly when using technology to find solutions. The following global notes
seek to clarify these areas which are exemplified within the practice papers by the examiner comments.

Accuracy
The rubric on the cover of examination papers states “Unless otherwise stated in the question, all numerical
answers should be given exactly or correct to three significant figures”. Although final answers can be
expressed to three significant figures, students should be encouraged to also write down the full answer
prior to the rounding so that if their rounding is incorrect, marks may still be awarded for the correct full
answer.
Students should not round intermediate answers as these approximations can combine to produce a final
answer that is significantly inaccurate.
Follow-through marking means that full marks can be awarded in subsequent parts for using a candidate’s
rounded answer to an earlier part; however, students should be encouraged to use exact/unrounded values
between question parts.

Units
Students should be encouraged to include units as appropriate in their answers, even when they are not
explicitly requested in the question. Students should interpret the context and the units of any given data
when finalising their answer. The omission of units will not always be penalized but some marks may be lost
and hence students are advised to always include units where appropriate.

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 Preparing for papers 1 and 2

Communication
Students should be encouraged to present their responses in a coherent and structured format in order
that the examiner can follow their solution and award appropriate marks. Although some method marks
will be implied by correct answers, students should try to show all working. For instance this could include:
• defining new variables
• stating values/expressions they are entering into the calculator
• quoting intermediate values they find on their way to the correct answer.
In this way, appropriate marks can be awarded even if the final answer is incorrect. Stating “Using the GDC”
in isolation will rarely be enough for an M1 mark, but a more specific statement clarifying the application
being used (e.g. graphing; solver; statistical distributions etc.) and the values being used will clearly
communicate the candidate’s strategy to the examiner.
If students do not want a specific part of their response marked they should cross it out and the examiner
will ignore it. However, students are advised to only do this if they intend to replace the response.
Examiners frequently see incorrect or incomplete responses which have been crossed out and not replaced
however the original M1 mark might have been awarded had the candidate not crossed it out.
Where a student has provided two responses to the same question, the examiner will only mark one. The
student should indicate which response they wish to be marked (by crossing out or some other indication),
but in lieu of this the examiner will mark the first response given.
Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 1
Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 1—annotated
Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 1 markscheme
Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 1 markscheme—annotated
Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 2
Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 2—annotated
Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 2 markscheme
Mathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 2 markscheme—annotated
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 1
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 1—annotated
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 1 markscheme
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 1 markscheme—annotated
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 2
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 2—annotated
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 2 markscheme
Mathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 2 markscheme—annotated

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 85

Assessment

Preparing for HL paper 3

This section gives some useful background information on the type and style of the questions from
teachers involved in the development of the HL paper 3 and also advice from students involved in the
trialling of the papers. This section should be read in conjunction with the external assessment details of
the HL paper 3 in the subject guide.

General comments on the style of questions.

There will be two questions and the marks for each question will normally lie in the range 23 to 32.
The questions can be best thought of as extended closed problems.
The early parts of the question will be accessible to all students and there will be a general gradation of
difficulty as the question progresses.
The length of the question will allow for a more exploratory type of question than is possible in papers 1 or
2.
The questions will usually include either unfamiliar mathematics or familiar mathematics used in unfamiliar
settings. Hence, it is possible that the question may include topics outside of the guide. In these cases,
sufficient support will be given in the question to ensure all parts are accessible.

Assessment objectives
The “Assessment objectives in practice” table within the course guide indicates the greater emphasis of
inquiry approaches rather than knowledge and understanding compared with the other papers. This
reflects that the questions asked might be focused on a small area of the syllabus with the ideas developed
further than might be possible in a shorter question. There is also an emphasis on assessment objective 4
(Technology: use technology accurately, appropriately and efficiently both to explore new ideas and to
solve problems) as for both subjects this paper requires the use of technology.

Approaches by course
The assessment objectives for problem solving and inquiry approaches state that students should be able
to demonstrate the following.
• Problem-solving: recall, select and use their knowledge of mathematical skills, results and models in
both abstract and real-world contexts to solve problems.
• Inquiry approaches: investigate unfamiliar situations, both abstract and from the real-world, involving
organizing and analysing information, making conjectures, drawing conclusions, and testing their
validity.
This distinction between abstract and real-world contexts is likely to be apparent when comparing the HL
paper 3 from the two subjects, though there will always be an overlap between the two.
The Mathematics: analysis and approaches questions will frequently require the student to discover general
patterns, to verify them and to informally justify or prove the result.
The Mathematics: applications and interpretation questions will frequently follow through the solution of a
problem in a real-world context using mathematics developed in the course.
In some ways the Mathematics: analysis and approaches questions can be viewed as an extension of
Criterion B: Investigating Patterns in the MYP, and the Mathematics: applications and interpretation
questions an extension of Criterion D: Applying mathematics in real-life contexts.

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 Preparing for HL paper 3

Advice to students before taking the paper

It is easy for students to feel uncomfortable with extended questions, particularly if they have difficulties on
the early parts. For this reason, the questions will be structured so that failure to do an early part of the
question will not normally prevent a student from accessing later parts.
If a student encounters a difficulty while doing the questions they should look for points where they can
“get back into” a question. Often the early parts will be “show that”, which enable students to carry the
result of one part into subsequent parts. Students should use the result given and not a different one that
they might have found.
Though the questions will generally have an incline of difficulty, sometimes the nature of the question
means a trickier part comes earlier and the final part might be a simple application of the result derived. The
five minutes of reading time should be used to carefully read through the whole question.
The questions will always include a small introductory paragraph explaining their purpose–why they are
exploring this particular problem. The questions do not have to completed in the order in which they are
presented on the paper and an initial oversight of the problem may help candidates decide in which order
to do the questions.
All of the skills needed for the AHL paper 3 are also needed for papers 1, 2 and the IA. However, some need
to be more explicitly highlighted for the AHL paper 3. Some are general investigative approaches–although
technology plays an important part in the AHL paper 3 so there are certain skills students should become
familiar with in order to be successful.

Skills
• Solving systems of differential equations using Euler method
• Changing the parameters in a function, justifying accuracy of solutions by considering bounds
• Manipulation of matrices
• Choosing the appropriate statistical tests when given a dataset
• How to perform the statistical tests with the GDC
• Use of lists and list functions to manipulate datasets (for example, subtracting pairs of values to find a
difference)
• Familiarity with the command terms which may require a written sentence, such as “suggest” and
“comment”
Mathematics: applications and interpretation practice HL paper 3 questions
Mathematics: applications and interpretation practice HL paper 3 questions—annotated

A note on datasets in Mathematics: applications and interpretation

This paper may include analysis of a large dataset. At some point it is intended that the permitted
technology will allow the candidates to be given the dataset. Currently though, they will need to enter the
data themselves. The number of data points will be limited to what can reasonably be expected to be
entered into a GDC in the time allocated, and the construction of the paper will include provision for this.
Teachers should make students aware that there will frequently be a value given (for example the mean of
the data) which they can use to check they have entered the data correctly into their calculators.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 87

Appendices

List of previously submitted IA titles

The following list gives the titles of some explorations for the internal assessment that attained a variety of
marks. Some titles are more descriptive than others and in most cases the original wording has been
retained. These categories and titles are not an exhaustive list and have been chosen only as guidance.

Aesthetics
Calculating beauty–the golden ratio
Colour preferences
Daylight in a classroom–architectural design
Is my mirror showing an accurate image?
M.C. Escher: Symmetry and infinity of art
Modelling the surface area of the glass dome of the Galleria Vittoriio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy
Searching for the ideal sound
Shadows and height

Business and finance

A comparative study of shares, real estate, bonds and banks
Analysis of stock market changes
Applications of calculus to the economics of firms
Buying a car or a house–payment options
Code breaking
Economic development and levels of income
Finding the lowest values of the dimensions of differently shaped storage rooms using differential
calculus and optimisation
International phone call pricing
Statistics on flight information for an international airline

Food and drink

Costs of products bought online compared to local grocery stores
Dine in or dine out?
How many peas are there in a 500 gram box of peas?
Jelly bean study
The cookie problem–taste is all-important
The operation of a tuck shop
The volume of an egg
What is the greatest candy bar in the world?

88 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 List of previously submitted IA titles

Health and fitness

A comparison between calorie intake and gender
A comparison between lung capacity, age, weight and body fat
Aids awareness in Maseru
Blood pressure
Breakfast and school grades
Breast and cervical cancer–ethnic comparison
Infant mortality
Investigating reaction times
The SIR model in relation to world epidemics

Geometry and trigonometry

Geodesic domes
Graph theory–finding the shortest path
Newton-Raphson
Origami applications to mathematics
Sine waves in pitch frequencies
Spanning trees
Spherical geometry
Stacking bricks
The ideal cut of a diamond
The Ferris wheel
The open Knight’s Tour on a chessboard
Topography and distance

Nature and natural resources

Airfoil and lift force
Analysis of the cost and utility of gas versus electricity in an average domestic situation
Animal population
Calculating the time of sunrise and sunset
Chaos theory: universal prediction
Counting weeds
Earthquakes–can they be predicted?
Florence Nightingale and modelling spread of disease
Graphing the Pharmacokinetic Profile
How does population density affect the transmission of Ebola?
Is the swell of the sea influenced by the temperature?
Modelling Arctic Sea ice cover
Modelling rainfall
Modelling the cooling of a cup of tea
Optimum dimensions of an aluminium drink can
Predicting cooling times

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 89

List of previously submitted IA titles

Rainfall compared to grape vine yield

Statistical investigation of leaves
The quality of local water
The SIR model in relation to world epidemics
The volume of an egg
Sunspot cycles
What is the relationship between the duration of drainage and water height in my bathtub?

Number
Approximation of pi
Cyclic situations and patterns through happy numbers
e, π and φ: are they related?
The golden number phi
What is e?
Euler’s totient theorem

People
Assuming a person has an 85% chance of meeting a soul mate during their lifetime, what does that
mean about the number of potential soul mates in the world?
Correlation between divorce rate and financial uncertainty
Does gender influence choice of favourite animal?
Does the electoral college in the US truly represent the political choice of the people?
Effect on tipping percentages
Exploring the gamblers’ fallacy–why it can cause fatal decisions
Is film genre choice more dependent on nationality or gender?
Gender-based discrimination
Left-handed students
Memory
Perception of time
Relationship between a country’s human development index and infant mortality rate
Relationship between GDP and fertility rate in countries across the world
Relationship between income inequality and rate of corruption in a country
Relations between international and bilingual students: jobs, pocket money and spending behaviour
Relationship between unemployment and criminality in Sweden from 1988-1999
Relationship between women’s secondary education and fertility rates in developing countries
Statistical comparison of the number of words in a sentence in different languages
The birthday paradox
When can I use “swimmed” and “knowed” correctly?
Voter turnout

Sport and leisure

Baseball bat speed compared with body weight
Body proportions for track and field events

90 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 List of previously submitted IA titles

Does the team win when it was the dominating team during the match?
Effective short corners in hockey
Exploring card counting in blackjack using probability
Factors affecting athletic performance
Has sports performance improved more on land or in water?
Height, weight and swimming performance
How does the amplitude of a ski turn affect the speed of the skier?
How far do tennis balls roll?
The geometry involved in billiards
Modelling musical chords
Modelling the jump of a horse
Practice makes perfect
Relationship between skiing ability and distance travelled to ski
Resistance of fishing line
Rollerblading and the maths behind it
The Monty Hall problem
The Tower of Hanoi puzzle
Video games and response times
Will female swimmers ever overtake male swimmers?

Travel and transport

Cost efficiency of vehicles
Driving skills
How many bicycles are there in Amsterdam?
Petrol prices
Public transportation costs and car usage: a personal comparison
Running late and driving habits
Seat belt use
The effect of blood alcohol content law on the number of traffic collisions in Sacramento
Traffic study of Schiphol International Airport
Transport safety in town centres

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 91

Appendices

Glossary of terminology: Graph theory

Introduction
Teachers and students should be aware that many different terminologies exist in graph theory, and that
different reference sources may employ different combinations of these. Examples of these include:
• vertex/node/point
• edge/link/line
• degree of a vertex/order of a vertex
• multiple edges/parallel edges
• loop/self-loop.
In IB examination questions, the terminology used will be as presented in the guide. For clarity, these terms
are defined below.

Term Definition
Adjacency matrix A square matrix whose entries indicate whether pairs of vertices are adjacent
or not in the graph.
The (i, j)th entry of Ak gives the number of walks from i to j that traverse
exactly k edges.
Adjacent edges Two edges that share a common vertex.
Adjacent vertices Two vertices joined by an edge.
Circuit A walk that begins and ends at the same vertex and has no repeated edges.
Complete graph A simple graph in which each pair of vertices is joined by an edge.
Connected graph A graph in which each pair of vertices is joined by a path.
Cycle A walk that begins and ends at the same vertex and has no other repeated
vertices.
Degree of a vertex The number of edges joined to the vertex.
Directed graph A graph whose edges have an indicated direction.
Eulerian circuit A circuit that contains every edge of a graph.
Eulerian trail A trail that contains every edge of a graph.
Graph Consists of a set of vertices and a set of edges.
Hamiltonian cycle A cycle that contains all the vertices of a graph.
Hamiltonian path A path that contains all the vertices of a graph.
In degree and out degree For a vertex of a directed graph, “in degree” refers to the number of edges
of a vertex leading to the vertex, and “out degree” refers to the number of edges
leading from the vertex.
Loop An edge joining a vertex to itself.
Minimum spanning tree A spanning tree of a weighted graph that has the minimum total weight.
Path A walk with no repeated vertices.

92 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Glossary of terminology: Graph theory

Term Definition
Simple graph An undirected graph without loops, and one edge at most, between any pair
of vertices.
Spanning tree of a graph A subgraph that is a tree, containing every vertex of the graph.
Strongly connected graph A directed graph in which every vertex can be reached from every other
vertex.
Subgraph A graph within a graph.
Trail A walk in which no edge appears more than once.
Transition matrix A matrix whose (i, j)th entry gives the probability that an element moves from
the jth state to the ith state in a single step of the process.

Tree A connected graph that contains no cycles.

Undirected graph A graph whose edges are bidirectional.
Walk A sequence of linked edges.
Weighted adjacency table A table in which the (i, j)th entry gives the weight of the edge connecting
vertex i and vertex j in the corresponding graph.
Weighted graph A graph in which each edge is allocated a number or weight.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 93

Appendices

Further reading

For teachers and students

The following is a list of suggested reading for students and for teachers. The suggestions for students can
be useful starting points for the internal assessment and are interesting recreational reading. The lists are
not exhaustive and are not recommended textbooks.
Abbott, E. 1992. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. New York, USA. Dover Publications Inc.
Acheson, D. 2010. 1089 and All That: A Journey into Mathematics. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.
Crilly, T. 2007. 50 Mathematical Ideas You Really Need to Know. London, UK. Quercus.
Christian, B and Griffiths, T. 2017. Algorithms to Live by: The Computer Science of Human Decisions. London,
UK. William Collins.
Devlin, K. 1998. Mathematics: the new Golden Age. London, UK. Penguin.
Devlin, K. 2001. The Maths Gene: Why Everyone has it, but most people don’t use it. London, UK. Phoenix.
Eastaway, R and Wyndham, J. 2005. Why do Buses come in Threes? The Hidden Mathematics of Everyday Life.
London, UK. Portico.
Gardner, M. 2008. Hexaflexagons, probability paradoxes, and the Tower of Hanoi: Martin Gardner’s first book of
mathematical puzzles and games. Washington, DC, USA. Mathematical Association of America.
Grinstead, C and Snell, J. 2009. Ginstead and Snell’s Introduction to Probability. Gainesville, USA. University
Press of Florida.
Hemmings, R and Tahta, D. 1992. Images of Infinity. St Albans, UK. Tarquin Publications.
Huff, D. 1973. How to lie with statistics. London, UK. Penguin.
Kline, M. 1982. Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.
Korner, T. 1996. The Pleasures of Counting. Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.
Munroe, R. 2015. What if? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. London, UK. John
Murray.
Polya, G. 1990. How to Solve It. London, UK. Penguin.
Stewart, I. 2006. How to Cut a Cake: and other mathematical conundrums. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.
Stewart, I. 2013. 17 Equations that Changed the World. London, UK. Profile Books.
Stewart, I. 1997. Does God Play Dice. London, UK. Penguin.
Project zero. Visible Thinking. http://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/
VisibleThinking1.html. Accessed 26.04.2018.
Zeitz, P. 2007. The Art and Craft of Problem Solving (second edition). Hoboken, USA. John Wiley & Sons.

For teachers
Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA). 2015. GCSE Mathematics: 90 maths problem solving questions.
Manchester, UK. AQA.
Black, P and Wiliam, D. 1998. “Assessment and Classroom Learning” in Assessment in Education: Principles,
Policy and Practice, Vol 5(1), p7–74.
Bliss, K, Fowler, K, Galluzzo, B, Garfunkel, S, Giordano, F, Godbold, L, Gould, H, Levy, R, Libertini, J, Long, M,
Malkevitch, J, Montgomery, M, Pollak, H, Teague, D, Van Der Kooij, H, and Zbiek, R . 2016. GAIMME:
Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Mathematical Modeling Education. Bedford, USA. Consortium for
Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)

94 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

 Further reading

Boaler, J. 2016. Mathematical Mindsets. San Francisco, USA. Jossey Bass.

Burge, B, Lenkeit, J and Sizmur, J. 2015. PISA in Practice–Cognitive activation in Maths: How to use it in the
classroom. NFER. Available at: https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/PQUK04/ (accessed 28 March 2018)
De Lange, J. 2003. “Mathematics for literacy” in Madison B (Ed), Quantitative Literacy: Why Numeracy Matters
for Schools and Colleges. Available at: https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/QL/pgs75_89.pdf
(accessed 28 March 2018)
Eichler, A and Zapata-Cardona, L. 2016. Empirical Research in Statistics Education (ICME-13 Topical Surveys).
New York, USA. Springer.
Ellenberg, J. 2015. How Not to be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking. New York, USA. Penguin
Random House.
Evan, S. 2011. Graph Algorithms (2nd edition). Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.
Greefrath, G and Vorholter, K. 2016. Teaching and Learning Mathematical Modelling: Approaches and
Developments from German Speaking Countries (ICME-13 Topical Surveys). New York, USA. Springer.
Hegedus, S, Laborde, C, Brady, C, Dalton, S, Siller, S, Tabach, M, Trgalova, J and Moreno-Armella, L. 2016.
Uses of Technology in Upper Secondary Mathematics Education (ICME-13 Topical Surveys). New York, USA.
Springer.
IBO. 2019. Mathematics: analysis and approaches guide. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate
Organization.
IBO. 2019. Mathematics: applications and interpretation guide. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate
Organization.
Mosteller, F. 1965. Fifty Challenging Problems In Probability With Solutions. New York, USA. Dover
Publications.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). 2000. Principles and Standards for School
Mathematics. Reston, USA. NCTM.
Ritchhart, R, Church, M and Morrison, K. 2011. Making Thinking Visible. San Francisco, USA. Jossey Bass.
Rosa, M, D’Ambrosio, U, Clark Orey, D, Shirley, L, Alangui W, Palhares, P and Gavarrete, M. 2016. Current and
Future Perspectives of Ethnomathematics as a Program (ICME-13). New York, USA. Springer.
Rouncefield, M and Holmes, P. 1989. Practical Statistics. London, UK. Palgrave Macmillan.
Steel, T, Thomas, C, Dawes, M, and Watson, S. 2015. Mathematics: Higher GCSE for AQA Problem-solving Book.
Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.
Swan, M. 2005. Standards Unit—Improving learning in mathematics: challenges and strategies. London, UK.
Department for Education and Skills.
Trudeau, R. 2003. Introduction to Graph Theory. New York, USA. Dover Publications.
Wathall, J. 2016. Concept-based Mathematics: Teaching for deep understanding in secondary classrooms.
Thousand Oaks, USA. Corwin.
Wiliam, D and Leahy S. 2015. Embedding formative assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 classrooms. La
Vergne, USA. LSI.
Willingham, DT. 2007. Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach? American Educator, 31, 8–19.

Voronoi diagrams
Consortium for mathematics and its applications, Mathematics: modelling our world www.comap.com/
mmow/Course2.html. [Accessed on 18 June 2018].
De Lange, J. 2001. Mathematics for literacy. Paper presented at the 2001 National Forum on Qualitative
Literacy, National Academy of Sciences. Washington DC. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/987f/
4158fbe08bab5a0cc68cd51849f8bd05a612.pdf. [Accessed on 18 June 2018].
Drysdale, S. 1993. Voronoi Diagrams: Applications from Archaeology to Zoology. https://www.ics.uci.edu/
~eppstein/gina/scot.drysdale.html. [Accessed on 18 June 2018].

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 95

Further reading

Lynch P (2017). How Voronoi diagrams help us understand the world. The Irish Times, 23 January. https://
www.irishtimes.com/news/science/how-voronoi-diagrams-help-us-understand-our-world-1.2947681.
[Accessed on 18 June 2018].

96 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material

Appendices

Videos

Video 1
Preparing for the HL paper 3

Video 2
Technology in the DP mathematics classroom

Video 3
The effective use of the mathematics toolkit

Video 4
Course selection: communicating choices

Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material 97

Appendices

Updates to the publication

This section outlines the updates made to this publication over the past two years. The changes are ordered
from the most recent to the oldest updates. Minor spelling and typographical corrections are not listed.

Corrections for June 2023

The toolkit > Problem solving
This new section describes what problem solving in DP mathematics is, toolkit lessons in problem solving,
and problem-solving approaches and strategies.

The toolkit > Problem-solving approaches and external assessment

This new section provides 10 mathematical problems as found in examination papers, and suggests
approaches to solving them.

The toolkit > Planning for problem solving

This new section considers planning for problem solving, and suggests further reading focused on problem
solving.

The toolkit > Mathematical modelling

This section has been updated with new content on the modelling process, and examples showing how
some students have incorporated mathematical modelling in the Mathematics assessed student work.

Corrections for February 2023

The toolkit > Using technology
Amendment in response to stakeholder feedback.

“Financial applications of geometric sequences and series”

In this unit planner, the solution for question 3 (a) was changed.
There was an error in the original solution where the quarterly payment period had been calculated twice.
The solution has been changed to illustrate the approach that can be taken to calculate real interest earned
when the nominal interest rate period and the compounding periods are not the same.

“Amortization and annuities”

In the second sentence for question 4 in this unit planner, the term “monthly” was changed to “annually” so
the sentence now reads: “At the end of every year Meredith will deposit money into an annuity fund,
earning 6% per annum compounding annually”.

98 Mathematics: applications and interpretation teacher support material