Featured pages & news
Have you seen this?
This page is here as medium for letting you know about some new resources and reminding you about some pages and resources we have on the site. As the site gets bigger and bigger, even we, as authors, need to remind ourselves what is here! Most of us don't have time to browse and so we thought we would try to provide some regular reminders here along with new pages and news about the site. New entries go at the top. This page used to be called 'Site Updates' and there is an archive, Updates Archive here of those. We changed the name and purpose to 'Featured Pages' on 2nd July 2023.
Updates, reminders and notices
October 2025
October has been a busy month so there are a few new things to check out - start with this new page of Number and Algebra - Student Quizzes which is part of a big update in process where we plan to provide lots and lots of on screen quizzes for students an teachers that can be set using Student Access. Already 13 on that page with more on the way! These are also shared in the topic sections themselves. For example see the SL Arithmetic Sequences, SL Geometric Sequences and SL Compound Interest & depreciation pages.
Also check out this upgraded Unit 4 - 1 Variable data unit plan with a new end of unit test too!
You might also have noticed lots of video lessons also appearing to go with the quizzes like these on the Number and Algebra Video Lessons page.You can find lots more under the topic pages.
September 2025
I'll be starting the academic year tomorrow and my IB2 class will be starting the Unit 6 - Geometry and Trigonometry unit with my favourite Making Cones activity, and Ill follow that up with this new Cones, Cylinders and Spheres - Basics task. Meanwhile, IB1s will start with this 15 Countries and 200 years task as part of our IB Induction programme! Check it out and hope this week goes well for all of you!
August 2025
Check out these Virtual Workshops on offer in the next few months
Virtual Think-Ins
We are excited to write about lots of opportunities there are to take part in a variety of Virtual Think-Ins organised by InThinking this autumn. Its a really effective and accessible way to train, develop,...
Make sure that new teachers have access to the following!
Advice for new teachers
The nature of the IB diploma program around the world means that every new year there will be lots of teachers everywhere teaching this course for the first time. Sure, maths is maths, but anyone who...
The course at a glance
We know from experience that many of you out there will be teaching this course for the first time and that it can be a little overwhelming to get your head around all the things that you need to know...
Which mathematics course?
This page is designed for students and parents who are about to start or have just started the diploma program want to find out about the choices and the courses in detail so they can make an informed...
Schemes of Work
We have started with a simple exercise in imagining how it all might fit in to the time allowed with these two schemes.... This is always a good first exercise. We think the following will work, but we...
July- August 2025
European summer break has seen quite a lot of work on adding these video lesson pages. You can find the under the topic headings, but here is a selection.
Compound Interest, Loans and Annuities
This page has a series of video lessons about compound interest. These can be shared with students using Student Access. These can used in class, either by teachers or students on their own, they can...
3.1 Volume and surface area - Video Lessons
This section is all about the volume and surface area of prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones and spheres! All of these shapes has their own unique properties and this section is about understanding and...
4.9 Normal Distribution
The normal distribution is a fascinating, naturally occurring phenomenon that has very relevant applications to understanding the world around us. When a data set is normally distributed it has some key...
4.11 Chi Squared Independence tests
The chi squared independence tests is a widely used technique for looking for a relationship between variables that are categorical. We can use a scatter graph to look for a relationship between GDP and...
5.1 & 5.3 Introduction to Calculus - video lessons
This is the first of three sections on differential calculus. This is significant branch of mathematics with lots of applications. It builds very nicely on other concepts in the course and those you are...
March 2025
Just added this little practise quiz for compound interest questions - Online assessment - Compound Interest set it for your classes onine using Student Access
January/February 2025
New and just about in time - Original SL Mock exam papers for use with your classes!
SL Exam Paper 1E
New Feb 2025 - Below is a full, example Paper 1: short-response questions (4 to 8 marks). Make sure that you have set up Student Access to share this page with your classes so that they can access the...
SL Exam Paper 2E
New Feb 2025 - Below is a full, example Paper 2: long-response questions (14 to 19 marks). Make sure that you have set up Student Access to share this page with your classes so that they can access the...
See these new pages
University Recognition: SL,HL,AI,AA
It's that time of the year (for the Northern hemisphere) when we will be discussing with students and their parents which mathematics course on the IB Diploma is best for them. This page: Which mathematics...
Amortization C/Y P/Y not equal
On this page you can find a short set of IB style questions focusing on the hardest type of Finance questions. Students often get confused on what value 'n' should take when C/Y and P/Y values are not...
Examiners Report 2024
As ever it is important to point out that we do not represent the IB and that all IB teachers should be finding and reading the examiners reports on 'MYIB' for themselves. As teachers ourselves we are...
October/November 2024
Make sure you watch this video about our Question bank and how to use it!
We hope the October exams for mathematics went well for all those students and their teachers! Check out some of the new additions and updates
Basic Linear Functions - online assessment
A page of questions about basic linear functions that can be set as an online assignment using Student Access and which will be marked automatically and the result put in to the grade book. Students may...
Inflation
What is inflation? How does it impact our savings, investment and loan decisions?Why is there more than one way to calculate a "real" rate of interest?Find out below, using real data on inflation and...
Financial Maths - Online Assessment
A page of questions about Compound Interest, Loans and Annuities that can be set as an online assignment using Student Access and which will be marked automatically and the result put in to the grade...
Amortization C/Y P/Y not equal
On this page you can find a short set of IB style questions focusing on the hardest type of Finance questions. Students often get confused on what value 'n' should take when C/Y and P/Y values are not...
September 2024
Its been summer for us as authors and a busy one at that! Amongst lots of updates here and there, we have spent most of our summer checking through questions for our Question bank. We are fast approaching 1000 original exam style questions that you can filter by difficulty and topic to create, save and set assignments for your students. The questions can be set as online tasks or exported and printed. Its been a huge amount of work and is, of course, ongoing. We hope it will be hugely useful to you and we are super excited to have it ourselves as well!
Also over summer we have made these pages for new teachers and anyone that needs persuasion that you should subscribe or renew!
Advice for new teachers
The nature of the IB diploma program around the world means that every new year there will be lots of teachers everywhere teaching this course for the first time. Sure, maths is maths, but anyone who...
Why Subscribe?
This InThinking subject site for Mathematics: Applications & Interpretation is a one stop shop for teachers and students of this course with all the details, advice and resources everyone needs for the...
Just now I have upgraded the SL Sinusoidal models teaching slides and you can see the slides below to get a flavour! As well as creating some help slides for this great Which Wave activity that I will be using this week!
As September goes on and we get our own classes up and running we have started adding more online quizzes that are designed to be used with Student Access, here are a couple more...
SL Geometric Sequences - Online assessment
A page of questions about geometric sequences that can be set as an online assignment using Student Access and which will be marked automatically and the result put in to the grade book. Students may...
SL Accuracy and Estimation - Online assessment
A page of questions about geometric sequences that can be set as an online assignment using Student Access and which will be marked automatically and the result put in to the grade book. Students may...
June 2024
Here are some updates from this June!
Chi Squared - Combining Categories
When expected frequencies are too small. This activity covers the issue of what happens when expected frequencies are too small. When this happens, the probabilities no longer follow the chi squared distribution...
Temperature Modelling
'Can you model, then predict, what life will be like, based on the climate, in: Thailand, Norway, Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia?'The below spreadsheet provides data on the climate in five cities...
Qbank HL Complex N° Electricity
The qbank is live and available from the Homepage by clicking on 'Student Access' (top right panel) then 'qbank' (screenshot below). This question set is focused on complex numbers.HL Complex Number Voltages...
May 2024
As May exams come to a conclusion, class goes on for the IB first years. I am teaching hypothesis testing at the moment and have just made this activity, Samples Apples & T-tests, to introduce the idea of a T-Test based on taking samples of apples. The goal is to offer a concrete experience of taking samples where this is the best we can do because whole populations are too big to handle. I will follow this up with this similar activity Goodness of fit samples - Cinema Tickets and I am working on one for the chi squared test too.
Samples Apples & T-tests
Thinking about samples and T-tests In this activity you will work with different populations of apples. The goal is to take lots of samples from those populations to understand that variation occurs naturally...
Goodness of fit samples - Cinema Tickets
What do the samples tell us?In this activity we will examine a variety of different samples from a couple of different populations to explore the notion of the chi squared goodness of fit test and how...
April 2024
I have just added a whole new set of exam style questions for SL Binomial Distribution which you can find on that link in the Exam Style Questions section. they come with worked solutions and are a good spread of the kinds of things expected for SL Binomial calculations.
March 2024
May Schools are gearing up for Internal and External assessments so it seems like a good time to remind everyone of the pages below. I have just added this Trampoline Bounces marked example to the SL Marked Example Explorations page to go with Basketball angles and Vinyl Revival. I have also been updating the IA Writing Guide in the Internal Assessment Center - For students so that I can be efficient with my time with students!
16th March - here is a new one filling a gap at 16/20 - Swimming Speeds
Internal Assessment
Everything you need to successfully navigate the Internal Assessment process!At 20% of your final grade, there is little need to persuade people how important this task is. You can make a big difference...
SL Marked Example Explorations
The Internal Assessment element is a terrific part of the course with so much value in different areas. At the same time it brings a good deal of work for teachers who have to help, direct, manage and...
External Assessment
This section of the site is about external assessment. The first exams for the current syllabus took place in May 2021 and given the significant changes that place a big focus on applications and some...
December 2023
2 sample T-test practise
Check out these new exam questions for SL 2 sample T-Tests on the SL T-test page. They each set in a different context and come with discussion provocations designed to help classes discuss the issues related to assumptions made for T-tests and the inferences we might make when interpreting the result. Its a good opportunity to dwell in the uncertainty if inferential statistics ans the associated ToK connections!
Don't miss this opportunity to consider relationships, correlation and causation with the 15 Countries and 200 years activity. there is a lot going on here and its a terrific context for introducing key ideas. Also, when we notice the logarithmic scales there is an opportunity to dig around in to logs, log scales and non linear regression
July 2023
Featured pages - As explained above, we have just changed the nature and purpose of this page. The idea is to use it to let you know about some new updates and remind you about some old pages and resources you might have never seen or forgotten about. We will also use it to let you know about site developments. The old page can be found here on Updates Archive.
Choosing courses - Many schools will be busy with helping students and their families with the choice of Which mathematics course? and it is nice to have this page at the ready to share with them. There is a slide show that teachers and coordinators can use and even a video, as well as written explanations that can be read at leisure by anyone. The page is freely available and so the link can very easily be shared.
Higher Level Functions - Higher level teachers will want to see this new HL Revision Pack Functions and Modelling page with lots of resources to help students consolidate their understanding of this topic.
Internal Assessment center - Equally, many of us will be busy with Internal Assessment again and so I'd like to remind you about this Internal Assessment Center - For students which can be shared with your students easily by using the Student Access feature. It is an invaluable source of information, ideas and advice which is written for a student audience and should really help to support you as teachers in managing this element of the course....
Easy ToK and mathematics moments - Use these videos yourselves in some quick moments or tell your ToK teachers about them!
The Mathematics of Love , Maths is the hidden secret..... and Mathematics is Forever