| Component | Max | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100 | 23 | 35 | 50 | 67 |
SL Paper 1
Many scripts were extremely weak and several later questions were skipped entirely. Candidates did best on routine algebra and tree diagrams and worst where interpretation or GDC use was needed.
Found difficult
- volume and surface area of 3d shapes
- systems of linear equations
- equation of a normal line
- trapezium rule
- hypothesis testing
- normal distribution
- conditional probability
- logarithms
- constant of integration
- gdc use
- mathematical notation
Well prepared
- pythagoras theorem
- quadratic functions
- gradient of a line
- substitution into formulae
- differentiation of polynomials
- tree diagrams
- terms of a sequence
| Q | Topic | How it went | Where marks were lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | surface area of a sloping roof | Most struggled | added the triangle area to a rectangle area instead of finding the roof faces; rounded too early or gave wrong unitsTip: Sketch each face you need before calculating, and keep full accuracy until the final answer with its unit. |
| 2 | 3D trigonometry in a cuboid | Most struggled | treated the 3D situation as a flat 2D triangle; used the wrong side as the adjacent length in the angleTip: Identify the right-angled triangle in three dimensions first; the diagonal of the base is usually needed. |
| 3 | quadratic model of height | Answered well | mixed up height and time when giving the interval; used x instead of the context variable in interval notationTip: Write intervals using the variable in the question and check which quantity the bounds refer to. |
| 4 | perpendicular bisector of a segment | Mixed | found the normal gradient but never found the midpoint; gave a coordinate pair when only y was askedTip: A perpendicular bisector needs both the negative reciprocal gradient and the midpoint. |
| 5 | three equations in three unknowns from ticket sales | Mixed | wrote 2x = y the wrong way round for twice as many adults; solved the system by hand over pages instead of using the GDCTip: Test a ratio statement with simple numbers, then solve linear systems with the GDC. |
| 6 | trapezium rule and exact integral | Mixed | used a wrong strip width h; rounded an exact answer to three significant figuresTip: When an exact value is requested, do not round it. |
| 7 | chi-squared goodness of fit test | Mixed | wrote hypotheses for a test of independence; computed expected value as a fraction instead of a count; gave the chi-squared statistic or a p-value above 1Tip: Goodness of fit compares data with a distribution; state hypotheses about that distribution and compare the p-value with the level. |
| 8 | normal distribution symmetry and inverse normal | Most struggled | did not use the symmetry of the normal curve; answers out by a factor of ten; diagram without enough labelled detailTip: Sketch the bell curve with the mean and shaded area labelled, then use inverse normal on the GDC. |
| 9 | derivative and equation of the normal | Most struggled | could not differentiate a term of the form k/x; left fractions in ax + by + d = 0Tip: Rewrite k/x as kx^-1 before differentiating, and clear fractions when an integer form is asked. |
| 10 | tree diagram and conditional probability | Mixed | found both relevant branches but did not add themTip: For an either-or event, add the probabilities of every branch that leads to it. |
| 11 | logarithmic function | Most struggled | many did not attempt it; later parts answered only by the strongestTip: Practise converting between logarithmic and exponential forms so log questions feel routine. |
| 12 | rate of change and integration of a profit function | Most struggled | did not see that integration was needed; substituted 4000 instead of 4 when finding the constantTip: Use the given point carefully when finding the constant of integration: check which value is t and which is P. |
| 13 | geometric sequence of a bouncing ball | Mixed | miscounted the bounces after the first one; did not count both up and down distancesTip: Draw the bounce path and count each up and down movement before applying a series formula. |
What to practise
- Show working so method marks can be given even when the answer is wrong.
- Use the GDC to solve systems of equations rather than solving by hand.
- Keep full accuracy in intermediate steps and round only at the end.
- Write answers in the booklet and label any extra pages clearly.
- Practise from specimen and past papers, not one textbook.
SL Paper 2
Statistics and arithmetic sequence parts went well, but sinusoidal modelling, area of overlapping shapes and the open-ended final part defeated most. Explaining reasoning in words was a common weakness.
Found difficult
- sinusoidal models
- choice of model
- outliers
- interpreting correlation coefficients
- unit conversion
- communicating reasoning
- gdc use
- trigonometry in context
- open-ended problem solving
- command terms
Well prepared
- percentage error
- arithmetic sequences
- quartiles and interquartile range
- validity of regression predictions
- spearman's rank correlation
- right-angled trigonometry
- area of a circle
- expected value
| Q | Topic | How it went | Where marks were lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | sinusoidal model of daylight hours | Most struggled | could not explain why a quadratic model fails for cyclic data; missed the negative cosine and the b value from the period; substituted 10.5 instead of solving the equation; rounded early in the percentage errorTip: Read amplitude, period and principal axis from the graph, then get b as 360 divided by the period. |
| 2 | arithmetic sequences, standard form and tiling costs | Mixed | worked backwards from the given value in a show that; multiplied the wrong pair of numbers for the area; did not convert square centimetres to square metresTip: In show that parts, start from the data and arrive at the given value, never start from it. |
| 3 | IQR, outliers, regression validity and Spearman's rank | Mixed | forgot how to get the IQR from the quartiles; described outliers in words instead of using the 1.5 IQR rule; gave r squared instead of r; misinterpreted what Spearman's coefficient measuresTip: Test outliers with Q1 - 1.5 IQR and Q3 + 1.5 IQR, and interpret Spearman as association of ranks. |
| 4 | segment area and goat grazing region | Most struggled | rounded an intermediate angle and lost accuracy; found only the sector or only the triangle; did not link the grazing area to the earlier segment; did not graph the function to find a maximumTip: Segment area is sector minus triangle; look for how earlier parts feed into later ones. |
| 5 | binomial distribution for overbooked flights | Mixed | confused binomial pdf and cdf; misread more than 72 on the GDC lower bound; ignored probabilities when comparing expected incomeTip: Translate inequalities into exact integer values before entering bounds in the binomial cdf. |
What to practise
- Practise questions that mix topics in unfamiliar ways rather than drilling classic questions.
- Build sinusoidal equations from graphs and check them by plotting on technology.
- Teach unit conversions for length, area and volume explicitly.
- Review circle and triangle geometry, including areas of overlapping shapes.
- Have students write reasons in words and plan multi-step problems before calculating.
Internal assessment
What moderators raised about the exploration this session, criterion by criterion.
- A. aims vague or multi-layered, with title, aim and research question not matching
- A. long historical introductions and raw data tables reduce concision
- B. graphs too small, untitled or with unlabelled axes, and calculator notation such as ^ or *
- B. formulae for statistics shown even though values came from the GDC
- C. personal interest in the topic confused with engagement with the mathematics
- D. reflection left to a final paragraph with generic limitations like collecting more data
- E. statistics computed by hand and tests applied without checking their conditions
- E. models chosen by guess and check without justifying the function type
About this summary
After every session the IB sends schools a subject report: how candidates did on each paper and question, and what teachers should work on. This page is my reading of the Maths AI SL report for May 2022 TZ1, in my own words. No text from the report or from the exam questions is reproduced, and it is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate.
Session codes: TZ is the time zone variant of the papers. Other variants of the same session:
Frequently asked questions
Which questions were hardest in Maths AI SL May 2022 TZ1?
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The questions most candidates struggled with were on surface area of a sloping roof, 3D trigonometry in a cuboid, normal distribution symmetry and inverse normal and derivative and equation of the normal. The tables above list every question discussed in the report, paper by paper.
What did candidates find difficult in May 2022 TZ1?
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Across the papers the examiners listed volume and surface area of 3d shapes, systems of linear equations, equation of a normal line, trapezium rule, hypothesis testing, normal distribution, conditional probability and logarithms, among others.
What were the grade boundaries for Maths AI SL May 2022 TZ1?
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Maths AI SL: a 7 from 67 out of 100 overall in May 2022 TZ1. The component boundaries are in the table on this page.
Is this the official IB subject report?
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No. It is my summary of the report the IB issues to schools after each session, rewritten in my own words with a teacher's reading of it. No text from the report or from exam questions is reproduced. Your school's IB coordinator can access the original.