We are working on our internal assessment - the Math Exploration.
Rubric and Assessment Criteria:
Here is the IB rubric listing the criterion as well as a guide about what to include in your Exploration.
Due Dates:
On Friday, December 12, you should have the "math" portion of your exploration done. That means all of your calculations and research and working is complete. Afterwards, you should just be typing up your results and perhaps tweaking a few things, but should be doing no major new math.
Your final draft will be due Tuesday December 23rd by 11:59 PM. Submit a PDF file to Turnitin.com. Our Class ID is 9196663 and the Enrollment Password is 2015.
Checklist:
Based on reading some of your classmates' drafts, here is a checklist of things you can probably do to really make your paper nice:
In general, please consult the above rubric and go through each Criterion to see if you've met the requirements. Specifically, look at the second to last row of the first page of the rubric sheet, in the row that says "'how to' get full marks" and see if you did those things.
- Did you define ALL your variables and equations explicitly?
- Did you include ALL raw data in a table (if applicable)?
- If you cited any works, did you include a final "Works Cited" page?
- In your conclusion, did you analyze your exploration - that is, did you talk about implications your results have, or limitations of your exploration, or natural extensions you could explore if you had more time, or historical/global perspectives of your exploration?
- If you provided pictures, did you cite them?
- Did you explain ALL diagrams fully?
- If you're using chi squared tests, did you make mention of what a null hypothesis is and what your null hypothesis is for your experiment and whether or not you can reject it?
Sample Papers:
Anchor papers and sample papers are hard to give because the topics are so individualized, but if you follow the guidelines we gave to you, you will be fine. Make sure you're meeting all the criteria of the rubric. The following example papers at this link are examples only and are not necessary "anchors" - example papers 6, 7, and 8 scored particularly high, but the structure and content of these papers may be very different than what will work for your Math Exploration.
Making Math Equations:
- In Word, you can go to the "Insert" tab and click on "Equation". A keyboard shortcut is to hold the "Alt" key and press the "=" key. This should reveal a whole new "Design" tab that has many options and buttons for you to create nice looking equations. Explore this tab to find what you'll need for your paper.
- In Google Docs, you can go to the "Insert" menu and click on "Equation". After you've done that once, a new "Equation" toolbar should appear that will let you easily add new equations with one mouse click.
- In either program, there are keyboard shortcuts for all common mathematical symbols. A pretty comprehensive list can be found here. For example, while in an equation editing field, you can type \pi to get the symbol for pi, or you can type \infty to get the infinity symbol.
Topics:
Here are the slides about choosing a recommendation. Here are the stimulus problems if you choose to do Route 1 for choosing your topic.
Here is a Google Spreadsheet where you should record your topic. Find your name (alphabetical by recitation) and fill in your topic or question:
- Everyone should use specific, formal language. For example, "How does a quarterback implicitly use vectors, trigonometry, and kinematics on the field?" is a much better question/topic than "Football and math".
- For Route 1, include which stimulus question you are doing, and also include the generalizations or extensions you will be looking at. For example, "#8 counting paths on a grid, and I will generalize to include n rows and m columns as well as look at what happens when there are holes in the grid"
- For Route 2, include a description of your topic or question and what specifically you are exploring. For example, "How do exponential and logarithmic functions play a role in radioactive decay and how do the instantaneous rates of decay compare across elements?"