Andrew's IB Maths Vault

Hiya! It's almost August, and another cohort is starting the course very soon. As I've repeated like a broken record, solid algebraic skills are crucial if you want to get a respectable score at the end of the course. Seven key areas to focus on: numbers, expansion, factorisation, surds, equations, inequalities, simultaneous equations. If you can handle most questions with ease you're ready for the course. If you don't think you're ready yet, please have a look at the Algebraic Skills booklet on the website to brush up before commencing the course.  AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! After a three week break, I am BACK with more unit tests. This time around: SL quadratics and transformations, and HL polynomials, transformations and modulus. HL students will take  both  the SL test and the HL test. Typical 4 questions per standard that cover a lot of key points you're expected to know for your finals.  AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: May the odds be ever in your favour.  Andrew  

Hiya! Welcome back to Trigonometric functions and equations v2.5. High quality content that you signed up for. Three standards: trig functions, trig equations and MORE trig equations! AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! Welcome to complex numbers v2.5, where we'll work on complex complex numbers problems - extending the properties you've seen for real numbers to the complex plane. Five questions on complex number manipulation, four equations and two longer problems - all of which to be done in an hour. Good luck! AAHL: AAHL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! Third round of Synoptic! Now we're back to Synoptic 1, covering the basics of IB Maths. These questions are quite straightforward, hence the cutoffs for various grades are higher than the previous versions. As usual, there is a bit of stats, a bit of calculus, a bit of trigonometry and a bit of functions in all papers.  AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! This is the last calculus test of the entire series of test - Further Calculus. 4 questions on Maclaurin series, 4 questions on differential equations - all questions are moderately challenging for the strongest attainers. The M26 exams are coming up soon, so keep an eye on that!  AAHL: AAHL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! Second round of Synoptic 3. Many students are preparing for the May exams at the time of posting - hopefully these questions provide additional practice on top of the plethora of resources available on the website. HL has a nice induction question and SL has a tiny cute question on unfamiliar functions with calculus. Enjoy!  AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! For the second round of Synoptic 2, allow me to combine probability and logs, trig and proofs, and anywhere in between. Enjoy! AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! This is probably the last unit test for 2025. We'll be working on trig identities. For AA students, mastering these is CRUCIAL as they show up time and time again in differentiation and integration, as even more if you decide to pursue a STEM path in engineering.  If you're looking for more personalised support, don't hesitate to reach out and complete the form ! I'm @adventurousandrew on Discord.     AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Merry Christmas!  Andrew  

Hiya! Second round of Synoptic! I plan to post one of these every 2 weeks until we reach Version 2.5. On today's episode of Synoptic we have surds, calculus and exponential equations. Enjoy! AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! After last week's algebra post to kickstart the year, we're back with a Synoptic. This is Synoptic 3, taken when students have done most of the content of the course. 1 hour, 3 standards, a lot of good questions if I dare to say it myself. c: For HL, trig identities make a comeback. For SL, there's a good old probability question.  AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! After a quick recap of algebra to start off the year, now we shall move on to vectors - one of the beloved topics. From dot product, cross product, equations of lines and planes to simultaneous equations, this test contains quite a lot of questions for students at various levels of attainment. Enjoy! AAHL: AAHL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! Let's start 2026 with a unit test on basic algebraic skills. This test is ideally taken at the start of DP1, but it's still not too late to turn around if your algebra is not as strong as it should. c;  Starting off with basic number skills and ending with inequalities, this test covers everything you need to know to succeed in IB maths.  AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! Here's the Christmas present!  Following Synoptic 1 two weeks ago, here's the first instalment of Synoptic 2. Same structure, same level of difficulty. No more handholding folks. The test contains questions from the first 11 units in the course - so that's basically more than a year's worth of content.  May the odds be ever in your favour.  AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! Starting 2026, I'll be slowly adding a new series of tests: Synoptic! There are  three  synoptic units: Synoptic 1 (covering the first 8 units), Synoptic 2 (covering the first 11 units) and Synoptic 3 (covering the first 14 units). All Synoptic tests are cumulative , providing more opportunities to draw various parts of the syllabus together. The number for the Synoptic will restart at v2.1 and eventually get to v2.5 - so expect a TON of Synoptic tests coming this year.   Structure of the test For HL: a   few short questions followed by two long questions. For SL: a few short questions, 2 medium-length questions and one long question. Due to the synoptic nature of the tests, you are  not  required to reach a minimum number of points on any particular section.  Without any further ado, here are the tests!     [test description] AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

This page contains all the Synoptic unit tests I've ever written. Synoptic is a new series that I've recently added to provide students with more opportunities to practice solving section B-style questions and recapping content that they have not seen in a hot while. There are three synoptic tests, all of which are cumulative. The content for each unit test is outlined below. To do well on Synoptic tests, one must understand the content covered inside out - and be ready to apply them in unfamiliar situations. The short answer questions are similar to Section A questions on the real exam. The medium questions (SL only) are a stepping stone to the hard questions (1 for SL, 2 for HL), in which you're expected to draw from various parts of the course. It is totally expected that these unit tests are harder than usual.  I try my best to combine the topics, sometimes in the most unexpected ways, to test how far you can apply what you've learned. The links shall be updated on...

Hiya! Just another few tests before we close off 2025. Today we'll focus on logarithms. 3 standards, 12 questions, one hour. From log identities to log functions.    If you're looking for more personalised support, don't hesitate to reach out and complete the form ! I'm @adventurousandrew on Discord.       AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew  

Hiya! This is the second test in the Unit Test v2.5 series! Today we're going to test your understanding in integration. As usual, if you can't answer every single question, that's absolutely fine and frankly, to be expected. But you should be able to solve the basic questions on the test if you're on track for a 4/5.  SL integration covers integration techniques, kinematics and finding area between curves. HL integration covers more integration techniques (integration by parts, partial fractions) as well as various applications. Best of luck!  AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: If you're looking for more personalised support, don't hesitate to reach out and complete the form ! I'm @adventurousandrew on Discord.       Andrew  

Hiya! The prob and stats section on the website has been a little lacking - let's change that! I lumped binomial expansion with counting and binomial distribution because they all require the use of combinations. Also made a great acronym... particularly when you're solving counting problems.  Please note that the  HL  test runs for 90 minutes (first 45 mins without calculator, remaining 45 mins with calculator). SL students can use a calculator for all questions. May the odds be ever in your favour.    AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: If you're looking for more personalised support, don't hesitate to reach out and complete the form ! I'm @adventurousandrew on Discord.       Andrew  

Hiya! Just two weeks before the N25 exams! I'll only have time to only post another set of unit tests before the papers. All the questions cover the differentiation content in the course, from the differentiation trio (product rule, quotient rule and chain rule), curve sketching and higher derivatives for HL.   If you're looking for more personalised support, don't hesitate to reach out and complete the form ! I'm @adventurousandrew on Discord.     AAHL: AAHL MS: AASL: AASL MS: Andrew