i’m going to be a junior next year and am currently in algebra 2 honors with an A. I work really hard to get that A and i don’t love math (although i do enjoy trig). im most likely majoring in the humanities and plan on taking AP Stat senior year. should i take ib math studies or precalc H? mY School gives the ib a higher weighting and ive heard its easier. (Sorry for the sloppy typing im rusing to finish my apush outlining!)
Thanks!
IB Math Studies is generally considered harder than Precalc, but it focuses on very different things. It all depends on your focus within math. From what I’ve heard, IBMS is all about real-world applications–i.e., a lot of word problems. If that’s your forte, then I’d say go for it. Neither are terribly difficult
I chose IB Math Studies because for a future Humanities/Social Science major, it was ideal. It’s actually a 2-year course and it includes AP stats. There’s enough precalc for you to take Math 2, too. As gonfaloniere said, it’s about word problems and real world applications - really interesting stuff but less theoretical than what you’d study in a typical Precalc Class (the key question is always “How does this relate to the world we live in?”) However, it is NOT harder than precalc and is not meant for students who intend on taking calculus in college. IB Math SL is more in line with traditional Precalc-Calc, with IB Math HL being AB-BC+.
For sure go with math studies if you never want to do anything math or science related. I’ve taken Math Studies and Precalculus and math studies is def the easier of the two. Math studies is basically remedial math with a heavy dose of statistics. So this will help you if you want to take the AP stat exam as well.
@gonfaloniere having taken both math studies and precalculus, math studies is definitely the easier of the two and is usually considered so since the first year of Math SL is basically pre-calculus.
IB math sl is easier than precalculus. I really dont think their is a higher weight… my school gives 5.0 for pap/honors precal and 5.0 for math sl. I would stick with precalculus, more ideal preparation for AP Calculus and the Math level 2 exam. Math level 2 is especially important if you want a career in math or science. Calculus doesnt have the kind of arithmetic thats on math 2 so stick with precalculus. Ib math sl… they do cover precalculus topics but not in depth and usually at the end of the year.