The Math Studies Project

for Internal Assessment A good project should be able to be

followed by a non-mathematician and be

self explanatory all the way through.

Length

The project does not have a word limit. It is the

quality of the mathematics and the processes

used and described that is important, rather

than the number of words written.

Commitment

The project is a substantial piece of work

(counts for 20% of the final IB grade)

The project should demonstrate a commitment

of time and effort by the student

Choice of Topic

The choice of topic must give students

sufficient scope to demonstrate their

mathematical ability.

Statistical

Chi-Squared test for Independence

Correlation/Linear regression

Student ‘t’ test

Spearman’s rank order correlation

Choice of Topic

Algebraic Modelling

Quadratic

Exponential

Trigonometric

Calculus

i. Optimization Problems

ii. Modelling

Choice of Topic

Number and algebra

i Sequences and series

ii Linear programming

Sets, Logic and Probability

i Venn diagrams

ii Probabilities

Financial Mathematics

Title page

The Project must have a clear title

Candidate’s name

Candidate’s number

Date

Subject

Teacher’s Name

Table of contents

Page numberring where each part of the project

can be found

A: Introduction

Task: What is the aim of the project?

The task must focus on a distinct objective with a clear hypothesis or direction

The task must be clearly stated

Plan: What must be done to achieve this aim?

Include as much detail as is necessary to be clear

Include a description of method of data collection including any sampling techniques, this will be useful for validity

Include a description of the mathematical processes to be used and the reason for choosing these processes

B: Information / Measurement The information/measurements collected may come from a

survey, internet, calculation, etc

The information/measurements must be sufficient in quantity

When the information/measurements is to be split, as in the chi squared test, more than 50 pieces of data is necessary to avoid small expected values, rendering the test invalid.

The information/measurements must be relevant

The information/measurements must be organised

The information/measurements should be reorganised each time, to suit calculations being done eg. Male, female categories

If a questionnaire is used then include this in the project

A questionnaire should be designed to collect multidimensional mathematical data

Raw data must be included to determine the accuracy of calculations

C: Mathematical Processes

Always include some relevant simple math processes What is the mathematical process used? Explanation of

mathematical technique

Why is this particular procedure useful? Relevance/validity of mathematical technique

Always state formulae used and do one calculation by hand. The GDC can be used to perform further similar calculations

Always check the accuracy of your results

Interpret results/draw conclusions from the results of the calculations

(Standard deviation is often calculated but not used or commented on.)

C: Mathematical Processes Apply relevant sophisticated processes as thoroughly as for

simple process.

Interpret results/draw conclusions from the results of the calculations

Comment on validity of results

Check the accuracy of the results

For Chi-squared tests to be valid:

Frequencies must be used, not raw data or percentages

No more than 20% of the expected cells should have a number less than 5

No expected cells should have a number less than 1

For Linear correlation

There is no point in finding the correlation coefficient or regression line if the scatter graph shows that there is no correlation

D: Interpretation of results

Always give a thorough and detailed analysis and

discussion of results

E: Validity

Validity of mathematical processes used

Validity of results obtained from these processes

F: Structure and Communication

The project should include the discussion in the body of the work

Appropriate mathematical language should always be used

The project should be presented correctly and in a systematic manner.

All sources should be acknowledged

Include website addresses in bibliography

Include raw data in body of document or in appendix

Conclusion

Did the data and calculations support your task?

Discuss limitations in its applicability within the

project.

Scope for improvement /extension of the

project

Bibliography

State websites

Footnotes as necessary

Other sources of information

Appendices

Raw data collected can be placed here