Mathematics Hl Portfolio Tasks Pdf

I haven't seen any IA tips around so I guess I would share some tips gathered from my Mathematics HL teacher's suggestions, some IBSurvival members' suggestions, my own knowledge and my own experiences.

Cover Page

Unless this is set by your school, I recommend that your cover page includes:

• School Name (e.g. Sekolah Tiara Bangsa – ACS)

• School Crest, if available

• Subject & Level (e.g. Mathematics HL)

• Portfolio Type (e.g. Portfolio Type I)

• Portfolio Title (e.g. Patterns Within Systems of Linear Equations)

• Candidate Name (e.g. Desy Kristianti)

• Candidate Number (e.g. 001863-002)

• Examination Session (e.g. May 2012)

Header and Footer

I recommend that your Header includes:

• Candidate Name (e.g. Desy Kristianti)

• Candidate Number (e.g. 001863-002)

• Subject & Level (e.g. Mathematics HL)

• Portfolio Type & Title (e.g. Portfolio Type I – Patterns Within Systems of Linear Equations)

I recommend that your Footer includes:

• Page number in "Page X of Y" format (Page 3 of 20)

• (Note that your cover page is not included in the page number)

Formatting

I recommend that you have the following formatting:

• Font : Times New Roman or Arial

• Font Size : 12 or 11 respectively

• Font Colour : Black (Automatic)

• Line Spacing : 1.5 lines

• Alignment : Justified

• All variables and constants typed using the Equation feature in Ms. Word

• The portfolio should be printed in colour

Introduction

I recommend you to do the following in your introduction:

• Define some terms where appropriate (e.g. define Stellar Numbers). If you do not come up with the definitions by yourself, citations should be included as footnotes.

• Introduce the problem in the task

• Briefly describe what your portfolio is all about

• Mention the purpose of the portfolio

• Name the software or program(s) that you are going to use

• Include a logo of all the software or program(s) used (e.g. Figure 1)

Figure 1 Autograph

Body

I recommend you to do the following in your portfolio:

• Answer all the questions in the order of how the questions are presented in the task sheet. However, do not write your portfolio in question-answer form. There should be a nice flow throughout your portfolio.

• Define relevant variables clearly. Usually x∈ℤ or x∈ℝ. If x∈ℝ and you are asked to put in different values of x, try all possible kind of constants such as:

Integers (e.g. −12, 0, 23)
Fractions (e.g. −13/19, 1/2, 21/4)
Surds (e.g. −√2, (√5)/7, √(10⁷) )
Logarithm (e.g. − log₅ 8.5 , (log 9)/6 , ln 4)
Pi (e.g. − 2π ,5/π , 7.3π³)
Trig functions (sin 2π ,−tan 100° , 2 cos² 45° , cot 35°)
Euler's number (e.g. − e, 2e/9 , 6.8e²)
Complex number (e.g. √(-7), 3.8+4i)

• Explain what you are going to do before performing a calculation
• Show all the relevant steps for calculations. Any calculation performed should be shown.
• Calculate everything using your calculator except for rudimentary calculations
(e.g. use calculator to find the inverse of a matrix but do not use calculator to calculate 2+3)
• If you are using a calculator, put a screenshot showing just the part showing the mathematics. You do not need the program interface. These figures should be big enough that it is readable by unaided eyes but not too big.
• Use mathematical notations and terminologies where appropriate (e.g. arithmetic sequence, discriminant, augmented matrix, asymptote, infinity, etc.)
• Use a graphing software to plot graphs
• Use different colours if you plot more than one function on the same set of axes. Indicate clearly which function is which colour. Legends should be put on the same page with the
graph.
• Put the graph and the caption on the same page. If you need to rotate the graph, rotate the caption too so that the examiner know how they should see the graph.
• Do not describe step by step how to plot the graph using your graphing software. Instructions on how you got the graphs you got are not necessary, as what the examiners
are focusing on is your mathematical process, not the tools you used for the process. Just describe briefly what you are doing with that software.
• If you are asked to develop a model function, develop any of the following:

Linear
Quadratic
Cubic
Exponential
Logarithmic
Sinusoidal

• Write in third person. Do not use I, YOU and WE.

• Go the extra mile, if possible

• A good portfolio should be 16-28 pages long

Conclusion

I recommend you to do the following towards the end of your portfolio:

• Tell them that this is the end of your investigation

• Conclude your answers in 1-3 sentences

• Mention the software or program(s) used in bullet points

Calculator

I recommend you to use any of the following software or program(s):

• TI-Nspire Student Software (http://education.ti..../detail?id=6768)

• Any Graphic Display Calculator that you have

Graphing Software

I recommend you to use any of the following graphing software or program(s):

• Autograph (http://www.autograph-maths.com/)

• GeoGebra (http://www.geogebra.org)

• TI-Nspire Student Software (http://education.ti..../detail?id=6768)

• Wolfram Mathematica (http://www.wolfram.c...atica/features/)

• Microsoft Excel

• Winplot (http://math.exeter.e...is/winplot.html)

• Graphmatica (http://www8.pair.com/ksoft/)

Some other graphing software or programs you could possibly use:

• GraphCalc (http://www.graphcalc.com)

• Graphing Calculator 3D (http://calculator.ru...ing-calculator/)

• Logger Pro (http://www.vernier.com/soft/lp.html)

• Maxima (http://maxima.sourceforge.net)

• Fung-Calc (Linux only) (http://fung-calc.sourceforge.net)

• Graph (http://www.padowan.dk/graph/)

• Graphical Analysis (http://www.vernier.com/soft/ga.html)

that is all from me. the full version of the tips is available in this file and there are also details of the assessment criteria in that file.

if you guys have any other tips please post them below thank you!