IB Math AA Paper 1

Paper 1 is the first examination you'll face in your IB Math AA assessments. In this post, we’ll provide a thorough breakdown of IB Math AA Paper 1, ensuring you are familiarised with the structure of the exam and know what type of questions to expect. 

IB Math AA Paper 1

• For SL, Paper 1 contributes 40% to the overall subject grade, while for HL, it accounts for 30%
• SL students have 1 hour 30 minutes, while HL students are given 2 hours to complete Paper 1
• No technology is allowed for this exam
• Paper 1 is made up of two sections  – Section A and Section B

Section A

• Section A is made up of short-response questions based on the syllabus.
• Students may score up to approximately 40 marks. 
• The intention of this section is to assess students across the breadth of the syllabus. However, it should not be assumed that the separate topics are given equal emphasis. 
• A small number of steps are needed to solve each question.
• Questions may be presented in the form of words, symbols, diagrams or tables, or combinations of these. 

A typical Section A SL question may look like this:

Given that dy/dx = 3x² cos(3𝑥³ + 𝜋/2) and that the graph of y passes through the point (0, −1), find an expression for y in terms of x. [5 marks]

A typical Section A HL question may look like this:

Consider four complex numbers: z₁ = -1 + 4i, z₂ = -3 - 2i, z₃ = 2 + 3i and z₄ = x + yi. Points A, B, C, and D represent z₁, z₂, z₃, and z₄ on the Argand diagram, respectively. Using a geomatric method find z₄ so that ABCD is a parallelogram. [4 marks]

Section B

• This section consists of a small number of extended-response questions based on the whole syllabus. 
• It is worth approximately 40 marks. 
• Individual questions may require knowledge of more than one topic.
• The intention of this section is to assess students across the breadth of the syllabus in depth. 
• The range of syllabus topics tested in this section may be narrower than that tested in section A.

A typical Section B SL question may look like this:

Let f(x) = mx² - 2mx, where x ∈ R and m ∈ R. The line y = mx - 9 meets the graph f of at exactly one point. 

(a) Show that m = 4. [6 marks]

The function f can be expressed in the form f(x) = 4(x - p)(x - q), where p, q ∈ R. 

(b) Find the value of p and the value of q. [2 marks]

The function f can also be expressed in the form f(x) = 4(x - h)² + k, where h, k ∈ R. 

(c) Find the value of h and the value of k. [3 marks]

(d) Hence find the values of x where the graph of f is both negative and increasing. [3 marks]

A typical Section B HL question may look like this:

The tangent to the graph f(x) at x = e is y = ax + 3e.

(a) Write down the value of f(e) and f'(e) in terms of a. [3 marks]

(b) If y = ln(2x - e), show that y' = ln (2x - e) + 2x/ 2x - e. [2 marks]

Let g(x) = {f(xln(2x - e))}³ . 

The gradient of the normal to g(x) at x = e is 1/ 18(a³ + 3a²)e². Given that g(x) does not have a horizontal tangent at x = e,

(c) Find the value of a.

We hope you found this post helpful. For more useful materials associated with the IB check out the wide variety of IA, EE and TOK exemplars available at Clastify.