Topic 0: Introduc on to the IB Program:

Aims:

The aims of all DP mathema cs courses are to enable students to:

1. develop a curiosity and enjoyment of mathema cs, and appreciate its elegance and power

2. develop an understanding of the concepts, principles and nature of mathema cs

3. communicate mathema cs clearly, concisely and confidently in a variety of contexts

4. develop logical and crea ve thinking, and pa ence and persistence in problem solving to ins l
confidence in using mathema cs

5. employ and refine their powers of abstrac on and generaliza on

6. take ac on to apply and transfer skills to alterna ve situa ons, to other areas of knowledge and to
future developments in their local and global communi es

7. appreciate how developments in technology and mathema cs influence each other

8. appreciate the moral, social and ethical ques ons arising from the work of mathema cians and the
applica ons of mathema cs

9. appreciate the universality of mathema cs and its mul cultural, interna onal and historical
perspec ves

10. appreciate the contribu on of mathema cs to other disciplines, and as a par cular “area of
knowledge” in the TOK course

11. develop the ability to reflect cri cally upon their own work and the work of others

12. independently and collabora vely extend their understanding of mathema cs

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Assessment Outline: AI HL

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IBDP Topic 1 Number and Algebra:

1.1 Scien fic form

Understandings

Applica on and skills

Very large and very small numbers, for example astronomical distances, sub-atomic par cles in
physics, global financial figures

Scien fic nota on

You already know that it can be useful to write very large or very small numbers in the form a × 10
where 1 ≤ a < 10 and k ∈ ℤ. This is o en referred to as standard index form, standard form or scien fic
nota on.

Example 1:

Example 2

Exercise:

1. Show that if a = 4.7 × 10 , b = 7.1 × 10 , then a - b = 3.99 × 10

2. 12 grams of carbon contains 6.02 × 10 atoms. What is the mass (in grams) of one atom of
carbon? Give your answer in the form a × 10 where 1 ≤ a < 10 and k ∈ ℤ.

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 3. The area of Africa is approximately 3.04 × 10 𝑚 . The area of Europe is approximately 1.02 ×
10 𝑚 . The popula on of Africa is approximately 1.2 billion and the popula on of Europe is
741 million.
a. How many mes bigger is Africa than Europe?
b. Write the popula on of Europe in the form a × 10 where 1 ≤ a < 10 and k ∈ ℤ.
c. Does Africa or Europe have more people per metre squared? Jus fy your answer

1.6 Approxima on, bounds, percentage errors, es ma on

Understandings
Approxima on: decimal places, significant figures
Upper and lower bounds of rounded numbers.
Percentage errors.
Es ma on.
Applica on and skills
Currency approxima ons are o en to nearest whole number, for example peso, yen; to nearest cent,
euro, dollar, pound; meteorology, alterna ve rounding methods
finding the maximum percentage error in the area of a circle if the radius measured is 2.5 cm to one
decimal place.

Approxima on: Decimal places or Significant figures.

An answer to a calcula on will o en have many (or possibly infinitely many) digits. You will usually want
to round your answer to a certain number of decimal places or significant figures. Decimal places are the
digits a er the decimal point. For example, 4.25 is given to two decimal places, 142.3 to one decimal
place, and 0.00405 to five decimal places. Significant figures are the digits a er any leading zeros (in
decimals) or before any trailing zeroes (in very large numbers). For example, 342000, 0.00 503 and
0.0310 are all given to three significant figures. It is only the zeros at the start of the number that do not
count as significant. Note that in a whole number, the zeros at the end may or may not be significant; for
example, 1203 rounded to two significant figures is 1200, and rounded to three significant figures is also
1200. The rules for rounding are the same for both decimal places and significant figures: you look at the
next digit and round up if it is 5 or more.

Example 1

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When rounding an answer to a calcula on, it is important to choose an appropriate level of accuracy. A
common rule is to choose the lowest level of accuracy among the numbers used in the calcula on. This
is because your final answer should not be given to a higher level of accuracy than the informa on used
to calculate it.

Example 2

Upper bound Lower bound

If you are given a number that has been rounded (for example, a measurement or an answer to a
calcula on) you may want to know what the original number could have been. The value range that the
original number could have been are described with the upper and lower bounds. The lower bound is
the smallest value that rounds to the given number. The upper bound is the smallest number above the
given number that does not round to it.

Example 1:

Example 2

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Percentage errors

When you round a measurement or an answer to a calcula on, it is important to know how large an
error you are making. This is usually measured as a percentage.

The modulus sign ensures that the answer is always posi ve, regardless of whether the approximate
value is larger or smaller than the true value.

Example 1

Example 2

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Es ma on

In the Mathema cs: applica ons and interpreta on SL course you will always have access to a calculator.
However, working out a rough es mate for an answer can help you iden fy whether you have made a
mistake. You should always check whether your answer is sensible in the context of the ques on, and
whether it is given to an appropriate degree of accuracy

Example 1:

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Exercise:

1. The exact value of x is 128.37.

a. Write the value of x correct to
i. one decimal place
ii. two significant figures.
b. Find the percentage error in rounding x to two significant figures.

2. A cuboid has length 2.4cm, width 5.1cm and height 3.8cm. a Find the exact volume of the cuboid
in cm3. b Round your answer to part a to: i two decimal places ii two significant figures.

3. A right-angled triangle ABC has AB = 4.7cm to one

decimal place and BC = 12.3 to one decimal place
as shown. a Write an inequality for the possible
length of AC. b Find the maximum percentage
error in any stated length of AC within the range
found in part a.

4. Voltage (V), current (I) and resistance (R) in an electrical circuit are related by the formula V = IR.
Eva measures the voltage to be 240V to two significant figures and the resistance to be 18Ω to
two significant figures. Find the upper and lower bounds of the current.

1.2 Arithme c sequences and series

Understandings
Use of the formulae for the nth term and the sum of the first n terms of the sequence.
Use of sigma nota on for sums of arithme c sequences
Applica on and skills
Graphing and func ons skills on GDC.
Iden fying the general rule and finding the sum to n terms
Sequences:

One area of overlap between mathema cs, science and art is pa erns. While these might seem purely
aesthe c in art, some ar sts have made use of mathema cs in their drawings and sculptures, from the
ancient Greeks to Leonardo da Vinci, to in modern mes the graphic ar st Escher. In science, pa erns

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appearing in experimental data have led to advances in theore cal understanding. In mathema cs, an
understanding of simple rela onships can help in modelling more complex pa erns in the future.

Arithme c Sequences:

An arithme c sequence is formed by adding or subtrac ng the same number to get to the next term.

Example 1:

Example 2

Example 3

Sum of n terms of Arithme c sequence:

It is also useful to have a formula for the sum of the first n terms of an arithme c sequence. This sum is
some mes called an arithme c series. There are two versions of this.

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Example 1:

Example 2:

Exercise:

1. An arithme c sequence has first term 7 and common difference 11. a Find the 20th term of the
sequence. b Find the sum of the first 20 terms
2. Sam invests £300 at 4% simple interest. She does not withdraw any money. a How much does
she have in her account at the end of the first year? b How much does she have in her account at
the end of the 10th year?
3. The height of each step in a stairway follows an arithme c sequence. The first step is 10cm off
the ground and each subsequence step is 20cm higher. If the staircase is 270cm high, how many
steps does it have?

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