IB Diploma Programme mathematics
For IB Diploma students in Qatar, Edunest matches a tutor in Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches at SL or HL, taught live online with one tutor and one learner. Lessons build reliable algebra without a calculator, proofs written line by line and calculus fluency, and they support the Internal Assessment exploration within the IB's rules.
The course spans both Diploma years and ends in written papers plus a 20-mark exploration. Lessons follow your school's teaching order, with a short note to you after each.
What we cover
The IB guide groups the course into five topics and a toolkit for inquiry, recommending 240 teaching hours for HL and 150 for SL. HL covers every SL topic plus additional higher level (AHL) content.
Topic names follow the IB guide first examined in 2021. The revised course that begins teaching in August 2027 appears in the exam section.
Sequences and series, exponents and logarithms, the binomial theorem and first proofs. Log laws and exact arithmetic are where Paper 1 marks slip when class practice leans on the calculator.
Counting principles, partial fractions, complex numbers in Cartesian, polar and Euler form, De Moivre's theorem, and proof by induction and contradiction. Learners often know the result and lose marks on structure.
Domain and range, composite and inverse functions, quadratic, rational, exponential and logarithmic functions, and graph transformations. HL adds polynomials, modulus functions and inequalities. Transformation order is a classic trap.
Volumes and surface areas of solids, sine and cosine rules, radians, the unit circle, identities and trigonometric equations. Solutions go missing when an equation has several answers in the interval.
Vector equations of lines and planes, scalar and vector products, angles and intersections. The algebra is steady; the real work is picturing the geometry before any calculation starts.
Sampling, data summaries, linear regression, conditional probability, and the binomial and normal distributions. HL adds Bayes' theorem and continuous random variables. Phrases such as "at least" and "given that" decide the method.
Limits, derivatives with the chain, product and quotient rules, maxima and minima, kinematics, and definite integrals for areas. Choosing the right rule in a long question is harder than applying it.
Continuity and differentiability, L'Hôpital's rule, implicit differentiation, related rates, integration by substitution and by parts, volumes of revolution, first-order differential equations with Euler's method, and Maclaurin series.
Inquiry, modelling and technology skills that lead into the Internal Assessment: an individual written exploration of an area of mathematics, about 12 to 20 double-spaced pages long.
How lessons run
Each plan starts from recent school tests, the level taken and the dates of mocks and exploration drafts, then keeps pace with the school's own order of topics.
Step 1
Lesson one pairs a short no-calculator set with a short GDC set. Comparing them shows whether marks leak through algebra, reasoning or calculator use, and the family hears the findings.
Step 2
Topics line up with DP1 and DP2 teaching, school tests and your school's exploration deadlines. HL learners get extra time for AHL content such as series and differential equations.
Step 3
Every method is derived before it is drilled. The learner explains steps back and writes working in full, because IB mark schemes reward the line of reasoning shown on the page.
Step 4
Timed Paper 1 sets without a calculator, Paper 2 sets with the GDC and, for HL, the long Paper 3 questions. Mistakes go into an error log that sets the next lesson's focus.
Step 5
DP timetables are full, so lessons go where they help most: an evening before a school test, any day from Sunday through Thursday, or a longer weekend slot. Scheduling uses Qatar time (UTC+3) and follows Ramadan's officially announced hours.
Video lessons run on whichever of Zoom, Teams or Google Meet the family prefers, and WhatsApp handles messages in between.
The exam
SL learners sit two written papers, HL learners three, and both levels submit the exploration. The IB writes and marks the papers. The school's teacher marks the exploration, and IB moderation checks that marking.
Exam board
International Baccalaureate (IB)
Awarding body for the Diploma Programme; the current guide was first assessed in May 2021.
| Paper | Tier | Duration | Marks | Weighting | Calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | SL | 1 hour 30 minutes | 80 | 40% | No calculator |
Short-response Section A, then extended-response Section B, across the whole syllabus. How a tutor helps The tutor builds exact arithmetic, surds, logarithms and trigonometric values until they are automatic, then sets timed Section A runs so speed grows from fluency. | |||||
| Paper 2 | SL | 1 hour 30 minutes | 80 | 40% | GDC required |
The same two sections, this time with the GDC in use from start to finish. How a tutor helps Lessons train the GDC routines the syllabus leans on (intersections, numerical solutions, probability distributions) and show when written working is still needed for method marks. | |||||
| Paper 1 | HL | 2 hours | 110 | 30% | No calculator |
Short and extended responses drawn from both SL and AHL content. How a tutor helps HL Paper 1 mixes proof, complex numbers and calculus with no calculator in reach. Mixed practice sets teach the learner to recognise which technique each question asks for. | |||||
| Paper 2 | HL | 2 hours | 110 | 30% | GDC required |
Calculator paper covering the full HL syllabus in two sections. How a tutor helps The tutor works on reading long contexts, setting up the equation or distribution by hand, and saving the calculator for the step that needs it. | |||||
| Paper 3 | HL | 1 hour 15 minutes | 55 | 20% | GDC required |
Two compulsory extended-response problem-solving questions. How a tutor helps Each question climbs from simple cases to a general result. Practice means reading the whole question first, using earlier parts, and turning a spotted pattern into a proof. | |||||
| Internal Assessment: the exploration | SL and HL | Coursework | 20 | 20% | Technology encouraged |
A written exploration of roughly 12 to 20 pages; the school marks it and IB moderation follows. How a tutor helps The tutor helps narrow the aim, plan the mathematics and review drafts against the five criteria, pointing out that an error exists without correcting it, as the IB asks of teachers. | |||||
Short-response Section A, then extended-response Section B, across the whole syllabus.
How a tutor helps
The tutor builds exact arithmetic, surds, logarithms and trigonometric values until they are automatic, then sets timed Section A runs so speed grows from fluency.
The same two sections, this time with the GDC in use from start to finish.
How a tutor helps
Lessons train the GDC routines the syllabus leans on (intersections, numerical solutions, probability distributions) and show when written working is still needed for method marks.
Short and extended responses drawn from both SL and AHL content.
How a tutor helps
HL Paper 1 mixes proof, complex numbers and calculus with no calculator in reach. Mixed practice sets teach the learner to recognise which technique each question asks for.
Calculator paper covering the full HL syllabus in two sections.
How a tutor helps
The tutor works on reading long contexts, setting up the equation or distribution by hand, and saving the calculator for the step that needs it.
Two compulsory extended-response problem-solving questions.
How a tutor helps
Each question climbs from simple cases to a general result. Practice means reading the whole question first, using earlier parts, and turning a spotted pattern into a proof.
A written exploration of roughly 12 to 20 pages; the school marks it and IB moderation follows.
How a tutor helps
The tutor helps narrow the aim, plan the mathematics and review drafts against the five criteria, pointing out that an error exists without correcting it, as the IB asks of teachers.
The IB holds May and November sessions every year, and your school registers its candidates for one. The dates below come from the IB's published schedules.
IB grades run from 7 to 1, with 7 the top grade. An SL grade and an HL grade are worth identical diploma points, and the diploma itself needs 24 points or more plus the core requirements.
What we look for in a tutor
Fluent in proof, complex numbers, series and differential equations, so every HL question is taught from a working grasp of the mathematics behind it.
Works from the current guide, its command terms and notation list, and knows what the 2027 revision removes and what it keeps.
Understands the five criteria and the limits on coursework help, so guidance keeps the exploration authentic and the learner's own.
Explains why each step works, keeps the English terms used on the papers, and checks understanding by asking the learner to explain it back.
Applies safeguarding standards suited to teenagers, keeps every contact on channels the family has approved, and lets a parent observe any lesson.
Sends short progress notes, flags a slipping topic early, and ties each note to the next school test or exploration deadline.
Common difficulties
Class work often runs on the GDC, so exact values, surds and log laws never become automatic.
How a tutor helps
Short no-calculator drills open each lesson: exact trigonometric values, logarithm laws, factorising and fractions. A timed Section A set then shows the gain in speed and accuracy.
Induction and "show that" questions reward each logical step, so a skipped step costs marks even with the right idea.
How a tutor helps
The tutor models one proof, the learner writes the next, and every line is checked for a stated reason, a correct base case and a clear concluding sentence.
They build from small cases towards a general result the learner has never seen stated before.
How a tutor helps
Practice starts with reading the whole question, then working the early parts carefully, since they usually carry the method for the final result.
Criterion E asks for mathematics that matches the course level, and a vague aim makes that hard to show.
How a tutor helps
Through questions, the tutor helps the learner narrow the aim, check the mathematics against the course level and plan where reflection will appear in the write-up.
HL adds substitution, integration by parts, implicit differentiation and related rates, and questions rarely name the method.
How a tutor helps
Questions are sorted by structure before any are solved, so the learner names the technique first. Mixed sets then train that choice against the clock.
Questions learners and parents ask
Tell us the level, the school and the next deadline, and a person will reply with a tutor match for Analysis and Approaches.