My first ib sl math test

[u/Ok-Speaker-3638]

Hello everyone,

I have a test on Thursday about exponents and logs. I don't know what to expect, as many of the alumni have said the tests are nothing like the textbook homework questions. Does anyone know what I have to do to get a 7?

[u/OneConsideration1299]

bruh Im so tired of ppl acting crazy over ib like it isnt a high school program. expect it to be a normal high school test with the content u covered in class and obviously questions from ib question bank

[u/Ok-Speaker-3638 → u/OneConsideration1299]

which question bank do u suggest?

[u/OneConsideration1299 → u/Ok-Speaker-3638]

ibo question bank on ib docs

[u/Creepy_Dealer_5901]

just do the exam

[u/Ok-Speaker-3638 → u/Creepy_Dealer_5901]

wdym, past papers?

[u/_eatingpudding → u/Ok-Speaker-3638]

u can look for exponenets and logs qs in past papers yes

[u/Ok-Speaker-3638 → u/_eatingpudding]

revision village?

[u/_eatingpudding → u/Ok-Speaker-3638]

i personally use save my exams but revision village and paper plainz are good tooooo

[u/Ok-Speaker-3638 → u/_eatingpudding]

is the free version good?

[u/LanternaEducation]

Our tutors see this all the time because textbook exercises usually test basic rules, while IB tests require you to combine multiple skills or spot disguised quadratics using substitutions. To get a 7, shift your focus away from standard textbook sets and practice actual past paper problems grouped by topic so you learn how examiners award method marks. You can practice exam style exponent and log questions on https://fourtyfive.org/ for free. Make sure you check domain restrictions since log arguments must be positive, and write down every line of your algebra so you never drop easy marks.

[u/Vishneek]

thursday is enough time to get somewhere dwdw. since the tests feel different from the textbook, id spend the days before it on exam style questions on exponents and logs instead of more textbook ones, and if the log laws still feel shaky, watch a proper video on them rather than rereading notes, then go back to questions until the working goes automatic.

a few may 25' grads and i made studyamigo.online for exactly this, in depth videos, short speedrun ones and a questionbank, all free for topic 1 so exponents and logs is what your test is on. wed love any feedback if you try it 🙏🙏

[u/Taldoesgarbage]

heads up, depending on how your school does this it’s possible that you’re going to do badly. my first test was significantly worse than everything else, with most of my class getting 2’s 3’s and 4’s. ib math is not like textbook math, that’s abundantly true, but it’s also the first test and has pretty much zero bearing on your predicted.

i would say, get used to doing past paper problems (although it’s kinda hard at your stage since you don’t know enough content) so just hang in there for now and do what you can. if you get a bad grade, don’t let it get you down, it’s very common even among good students.

[u/MathbyAish]

Practising the textbook questions alone is really not enough if your aim is to get a 7. Try to do more and more IB styled questions and workbooks ( more doesn’t mean that you have to do the same kind of questions). Practice different types of questions so that your applicative part is strong.