Has IB Chemistry 'dumbed down' over the years? This is a difficult, if not impossible, question to answer as the skills and knowledge that a student taking the programme now are required to master are very different to those from the past. It is however a pertinent question to ask as a report has been published in the UK decrying the fact that the mathematical content of comparable science courses (i.e. British A levels) has diminished considerably and students are no longer being adequately prepared to study science degree courses at university or to enter industry. The report is published by SCORE (a partnership of the Association for Science Education, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Society of Biology). SCORE looked at both the mathematical requirements of A levels and also at the level of questions asked in examinations. The full report is available as a pdf file and a short article that summarises it can be found as a BBC News item. The conclusion of SCORE was that over the past few years the examinations have become much easier in terms of the amount and level of mathematics required to answer science questions. Although they did not include any of the IB science subjects in this survey I suspect they would have found the same trend.

Certainly in recent years the concepts that need to be understood by IB Chemistry students have still been quite challenging but they have not required a strong mathematical background or understanding. Modern analytical chemistry and the reaction mechanisms in Further Organic Chemistry are two good examples of this. Spectroscopy and organic reaction mechanisms were absent from the IB Chemistry programme prior to 1996 and many other concepts, particularly in the options, have also been introduced since then. However the amount of physical chemistry requiring mathematical ability has reduced considerably. Topics such as colligative properties, K_p, integration of rate equations, partition coefficients, partial pressures, radioactive decay, use of Planck's constant etc. have all been taken out and others such as solubility product are now just a small avoidable part of a particular option. In terms of mathematical requirements the use of logarithms and putting an equation into its logarithmic form have all but disappeared and there is no need for students to use calculus or solve quadratic equations.

Does this actually matter? Students seem to find it hard enough to perform simple arithmetical manipulations such as deal with proportionality and work out molar calculations. However, will they really be able to cope with studying a science or science-related subject at university if they cannot perform more complex mathematical manipulations? Today’s IB Chemistry students might be horrified to learn that in the early years of the IB the multiple choice paper contained sixty questions (to be answered in 90 minutes) each with five possible answers many of which contained quite complex calculations.  Are we in danger of dumbing down our subject too much by ignoring the mathematics underpinning it? Many universities now have to run remedial maths classes for Chemistry students in order to try to bring them up to the required level. These are the sort of questions that the subject review body should be asking as they come to write the new programme for 2014 onwards - particularly as SCORE has called for a review of the mathematical requirements for Chemistry A level.