IB Diploma Programme
Course Outline for
Math SL
(Standard Level)
School:
Address:
Phone/Fax:
Teacher:
Email:
Webpage:
Dr. John Hugh Gillis High School
105 Braemore Ave.
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
B2G 1L3
(902)-863-1620 / (902)-863-8284
Anthony Grover
anthony.grover@srsb.ca
https://goo.gl/Ucpvef
IB Mathematics SL Course Outline
Course Description:
IB Mathematics SL is designed to give students a solid background in concepts
of mathematics to prepare students for further study of mathematics and related
fields including chemistry, psychology and business administration. It is
assumed that students enrolled in the course have a basic knowledge of
mathematical skills and concepts. These basic skills and concepts have been
explored in the pre-IB math program and will be re-visited and applied as a
student progresses through Math SL. A student with a strong work ethic and
concrete background in mathematics is a candidate for Mathematics SL.
Content is delivered in a logical comprehensive way. Emphasis is placed on
varied mathematical inquiry at a reasonable pace of study. The course is a blend
of direct instruction, independent student mathematical investigation and
modelling, and independent research of mathematical topics. Whenever
possible, students will explore new concepts through problem solving which
will also serve as a means to connect prior topics to new concepts being
investigated.
A variety of assessment techniques will be administered as checkpoints for
student learning. These will be discussed in more detail in the assessment
section of this course outline.
One of the aims of this course is to enable students to appreciate the cultural
and historical perspectives of mathematics. Emphasis will be placed on student
appreciation of mathematics outside of the Canadian context. This entails an
international historical look at mathematics including; societal attitudes towards
mathematics, individual contributions to mathematics and the development of
mathematical concepts within a society. The idea of mathematics as a universal
language is explored looking at differences between modern cultures such as
notation differences. Students enrolled in Mathematics SL will research
previous mentioned topics and present their findings. Class discussion is used
to examine these issues.
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Topics, Sequencing and Timing:
The time given in the table adheres to the minimum of 140 hours as stated in
the syllabus for Mathematics SL. The time allotted for some of these topics
may be increased depending on the time allotted by the school for the
scheduling of this course.
Year 1
Unit
Title
Allotted
Time
(hours)
Relation to
syllabus content
1
Sequences and Series and Exponents
4
1.1, 1.2
2
Logarithms and the Binomial Theorem
4
1.2, 1.3
3
Functions
5
2.1, 2.2, 2.4
4
Transformations of Graphs and the
Quadratic Function
9
2.3, 2.5, 2.6
5
Other Functions; the exponential and the
logarithmic with applications
10
2.7, 2.8
6
Periodic Behaviour and Sinusoidal
Functions
6
3.1, 3.4
7
Unit Circle and Trigonometric Equations
6
3.2, 3.3, 3.5
8
Applications of Trigonometry
5
3.6
9
Vectors
16
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
3
Year 2
Unit
Title
Allotted
Time
(hours)
Relation to
syllabus content
11
Descriptive Statistics
12
5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
12
Probability
14
5.5, 5.6, 5.7
13
Distributions
9
5.8, 5.9
14
Limits and Derivatives
10
6.1
15
Product and Quotient Rules and second
Derivatives
9
6.2, 6.3
16
Indefinite and Definite Integrals
11
6.4, 6.5
17
Applications of Calculus
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6.6
Assessment:
Besides the assessment practices set forth by the guide for IB Math SL,
various forms of informal and formal assessment will be given by the
teacher. These forms of assessment will provide immediate feedback on the
students’ progress and the attainment of outcomes as set forth in the guide.
They will serve as a platform for which to deliver practice problems to the
students in preparation for both the internal and external assessment. Finally,
they will aid in the teacher making a better approximation of the students’
grade for IB. The aforementioned forms of assessment include:
 Daily homework and anecdotal notes. It is not only an expectation,
but it is also a requirement that you complete your homework when it
is assigned. To help keep track of your homework and to allow for
easy feedback, you will be required to submit your homework via
Google Classroom each day that you have homework. More
information will be given later in class.
 Quizzes will be periodically administered to cover key concepts
covered in a unit.
 Tests will be administered at the end of each unit of study. Tests
should be constructed in a cumulative structure allowing students to
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
connect ideas in previous units while at the same time helping
students prepare for the external assessment.
A variety of assignments will be given to help the student prepare
for the IB internal assessment and IB exam. School exams will also
be written at the end of the Grade 11 and mid-year in Grade 12.
The students registered in IB Math SL must adhere to the formal assessment
practices as set forth in the guide. These guides are updated on a regular basis
and as such these assessment practices and percentages may be subject to
change. If that happens students will be informed of any changes prior to
writing these assessments.
Internal Assessment: 20%
The internally assessed component in these courses is a mathematical
exploration. This is a short report written by the student based on 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. The exploration is internally assessed by the
teacher and externally moderated by the IBO.
External Assessment: 80%
Paper 1 (40%): 1 hour 30 minutes
Non-calculator section
Paper 2 (40%): 1 hour 30 minutes
Graphing calculator required
Technological and International Components:
Besides equipping students with the necessary mathematical skills to perform a
critical analysis of various problems, the proper use of technology will be
included as well. The advent of powerful graphing calculators, spreadsheets,
computer based laboratories, and graphing software have permitted students to
explore more challenging and complex problems where the tedious
mathematical computations are no longer the focus, but the interpretations and
analysis of the problems have taken the forefront.
The students enrolled in IB Math SL will explore mathematics in a global
context. They will look at the historical and cultural contributions to the field
of mathematics. This will be accomplished by looking at:
 The history of mathematicians as well as time-line facts.
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



The invention and use of the various tools and instruments of
mathematics.
The various number systems of the world.
Mathematical linguistics.
The universal approach to mathematical symbolism.
Resources:
Class resources:
 * Mathematics for the International Student: Mathematics SL Third
Edition, Haese Mathematics
ISBN: 1-921972-08-9
 * Solutions Book Mathematics SL – Worked Solutions Third Edition,
Haese Mathematics
ISBN: 1-927972-09-6
 Calculus: A Search for Meaning, Gage
 Calculus: Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic, Prentice Hall
 There are many other resources that I have in my classroom as well as
the school library which will be used as supplementary resources.
Materials:
 Scientific calculator
 Graph paper/scribbler
 Math set
 Graphing calculator (You are not required to purchase a calculator as
one will be assigned to you by the instructor)
School Based Evaluation:
Year 1:
Assignments/ Homework Quizzes
Tests
Exam
20%
30%
50%
Year 2:
Year 1 mark
Internal Assessment
January Exam
10%
20%
70%
Note: Your final exam will consist of material covered from the entire semester
for the school based exam and will consist of material from the entire course for
the international exam.
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