Introduction

Welcome to your essential companion for the IB DP Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (AI) course. This guide is designed to help both educators and students harness the power of Generative AI to enrich the teaching and learning experience. The IB Math AI course emphasizes the practical application of mathematics in the real world, heavily integrating technology to solve complex problems. It’s a course about being a mathematical thinker in a modern context, where understanding how and why to apply a concept is just as important as the calculation itself. This guide reflects that philosophy by providing prompts that go beyond simple questions to encourage critical thinking, modeling, and interpretation.

How to Use These Prompts:

The effectiveness of any AI tool depends on the quality of the prompt. Think of it as giving a precise instruction to a highly knowledgeable assistant.

Copy and Paste: Select a prompt that fits your needs.
Customize with Detail: Replace bracketed text [like this] with your specific topic, data, or requirements. The more context you provide, the better the output. Add details like SL or HL to tailor the difficulty. For example, instead of just [Statistics and Probability], specify [The binomial distribution within the Statistics and Probability unit].
Specify the Persona: For best results, begin your prompt by telling the AI what role to adopt. This frames the AI’s response, tone, and focus. Good examples include: “Act as an experienced IB examiner,” “Act as a friendly tutor who uses simple analogies,” or “Act as a curriculum designer focusing on interdisciplinary links.”
Iterate and Refine: The first response is a starting point. Don’t hesitate to ask follow-up questions to refine, simplify, or expand upon the AI’s output. Use prompts like: “Explain that last point more simply,” “Provide another example,” “Reformat that as a table,” or “Challenge me with a harder question based on that concept.”

Section 1 – Educator Prompts (50)

These prompts are designed to streamline lesson planning, resource creation, assessment, and student enrichment, saving you valuable time while enhancing the quality of your teaching materials.

Stage 1: Planning & Preparation (15 Prompts)

Syllabus Breakdown: “Act as an IB curriculum developer. Create a markdown table that breaks down the IB Math AI [HL/SL] topic [e.g., Statistics and Probability] into its core subtopics, learning objectives, suggested teaching hours, and explicit links to prior learning.”
Unit Plan Outline: “Generate a detailed 4-week unit plan for the IB Math AI SL topic of [e.g., Voronoi Diagrams]. Include weekly learning objectives, key concepts, suggested in-class activities, homework assignments, GDC integration points, and formative assessment ideas.”
Lesson Objectives: “For an upcoming lesson on [e.g., Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient] for an IB Math AI HL class, generate three differentiated learning objectives following the ‘All students will…, Most students will…, Some students will…’ structure. Ensure the ‘Some’ objective involves critical evaluation or synthesis.”
Real-World Connections: “Provide five engaging, recent, and diverse real-world examples to introduce the concept of [e.g., Logarithmic Scales] to an IB Math AI class. For each example, explain its relevance and provide a link to a news article or video about it.”
Tech Integration Plan: “I’m teaching [e.g., Binomial Distribution]. Suggest specific ways to integrate a graphing calculator (GDC) like the TI-84 or TI-Nspire into the lesson. Provide scripts for both demonstrating the concept visually and for efficient calculation. Include a common student error when using the GDC for this topic.”
IA Brainstorming List: “Generate a list of 10 potential Internal Assessment (IA) topics related to the theme of [e.g., Environmental Science or Sports Analytics]. For each topic, provide a potential research question and list the key mathematical processes from the AI syllabus that could be applied.”
Concept Prerequisite Check: “Before starting the unit on [e.g., Differential Calculus], create a short diagnostic quiz of 5 questions to check for students’ prerequisite knowledge from the ‘Number and Algebra’ and ‘Functions’ topics. Include one question that requires conceptual understanding, not just calculation.”
Interdisciplinary Links: “Identify three strong, explicit links between the IB Math AI topic of [e.g., Graph Theory] and other IB subjects like [e.g., Economics, Computer Science, or Global Politics]. For each link, propose a specific mini-project or discussion topic.”
TOK Prompts: “Create three Theory of Knowledge (TOK) discussion prompts related to the IB Math AI topic of [e.g., Statistical Sampling]. The prompts should explore issues of certainty, bias, perspective, and the ethical responsibility of the mathematician.”
Resource Curation: “Find and summarize three high-quality online resources (simulations, articles, or videos) that can be used to teach the concept of [e.g., Normal Distribution and Z-scores]. For each, explain its pedagogical value and suggest a specific activity for students to complete while using it.”
Formula Sheet Creation: “Generate a one-page reference sheet containing the key formulas and GDC syntax for the topic of [e.g., Financial Mathematics] for IB Math AI SL. Organize it visually with headings and include a ‘When to use’ description for each formula.”
Project-Based Learning Idea: “Design a mini-project for the topic [e.g., Trigonometry and 3D Geometry] where students must design a [e.g., new playground or a solution to a local infrastructure problem]. The project must require the use of sine/cosine rules and angles of elevation. Specify the project deliverables, such as a scaled diagram and a written justification of their design choices.”
HL Extension Planning: “Outline a lesson plan that introduces the [e.g., Coupled Differential Equations] topic for HL students, clearly building upon the SL concepts of [e.g., basic differentiation and integration]. Include a ‘bridge’ activity that explicitly shows the need for the more advanced concept.”
Common Misconceptions: “List the top 5 common student misconceptions when learning about [e.g., the Chi-Squared Test for Independence]. For each, explain the faulty logic behind the misconception and suggest a teaching strategy or a specific counter-example to address it.”
Vocabulary List: “Create a vocabulary list with clear definitions for the key terms in the [e.g., Logic and Sets] chapter of the IB Math AI course. For each term, provide a simple example and a non-example.”

Stage 2: Lesson Delivery & Activities (15 Prompts)

Worksheet Generation: “Create a worksheet with 10 practice questions on [e.g., finding the equation of a regression line]. Include a mix of data sets, some requiring manual calculation and some requiring GDC use. Ensure two questions require students to first identify and remove an outlier and justify their decision. Provide a full answer key with steps.”
Differentiated Tasks: “Generate three tiered practice tasks for [e.g., applying sine and cosine rules]. The first tier should be foundational (direct application), the second should be application-based (word problems), and the third should be a complex, multi-step problem that requires working backwards or combining with another topic like area.”
Concept Analogy: “Explain the concept of [e.g., a p-value in hypothesis testing] using a simple, non-mathematical analogy that a 17-year-old would understand. Then, re-explain it with a different analogy to provide another perspective.”
GDC Tutorial Script: “Write a clear, step-by-step script for students on how to use their GDC to perform a [e.g., one-variable statistical analysis, including finding mean, median, and standard deviation, and creating a boxplot]. Include screenshots or ASCII art representations of the calculator screen at each step.”
Group Activity Design: “Design a collaborative group activity for IB Math AI HL students on [e.g., properties of matrices]. The activity should require students to work together to solve a coded message or a logistical problem. Structure the task so that each group member is responsible for a different matrix operation, forcing collaboration.”
Starter/Exit Ticket: “Create a 3-question ‘starter’ quiz and a 2-question ‘exit ticket’ for a lesson on [e.g., amortization and annuities]. The exit ticket should include one calculation question and one conceptual question like ‘When would a lump-sum investment be better than an annuity?'”
Real-World Problem: “Write a detailed, context-rich problem about [e.g., optimizing a delivery route using graph theory] that requires students to model the situation and justify their solution. Provide a map and a table of constraints. Specify that the final answer should be presented in a short report format to a fictional manager.”
Modeling Task: “Create a mathematical modeling task based on the provided dataset: [paste a small dataset, e.g., world population over time]. Ask students to determine the best function to model the data (linear, exponential, or quadratic), justify their choice using the coefficient of determination, and use their model to make a prediction, discussing its reliability.”
Debate Topic: “Frame a debate topic for students: ‘Is it more reliable to use the mean or the median to represent the ‘average’ of a dataset?’ Provide starter arguments for both sides, including a sample dataset that is heavily skewed, to illustrate the core of the issue.”
Interactive Simulation Idea: “Suggest how to use a free online tool like GeoGebra to create an interactive simulation that demonstrates [e.g., the effect of changing ‘a’ and ‘c’ on the quadratic function y = ax^2 + bx + c]. Write a short, guided worksheet for students to complete as they use the simulation.”
Guided Inquiry Questions: “Generate a series of guided inquiry questions to help students discover the formula for [e.g., the sum of a geometric series] on their own. Start with a concrete example, ask them to find a pattern, and then guide them toward generalizing it into a formula.”
Video Explanation Script: “Write a script for a 3-minute educational video explaining the difference between [e.g., correlation and causation], using clear examples relevant to IB Math AI students. Include a memorable catchphrase or visual to help them remember the distinction.”
HL Problem-Solving Task: “Design a problem-solving task for HL students similar to a Paper 3 question. The task should be based on [e.g., Markov Chains] and present an unfamiliar scenario that requires them to apply their knowledge creatively. The task should be scaffolded, starting with defining the transition matrix and ending with finding the steady state.”
Error Analysis Task: “Provide a worked solution to a problem on [e.g., finding the volume of a solid of revolution] that contains a common conceptual error (e.g., incorrect limits of integration). Ask students to act as the examiner, identify the error, explain why it’s wrong, provide the correct solution, and estimate the marks that would be lost.”
Case Study Creation: “Write a short case study about a business that needs to make a decision based on financial mathematics. The case should require students to compare two investment options using concepts like [e.g., compound interest and net present value]. Conclude the case study with a question that asks for a written recommendation, forcing a qualitative justification.”

Stage 3: Assessment & Feedback (15 Prompts)

Paper 1 Style Questions: “Generate 5 short-answer questions in the style of IB Math AI Paper 1 (no GDC allowed) on the topic of [e.g., Exact values of trigonometric functions and basic probability]. Ensure one question is a ‘show that’ question.”
Paper 2 Style Questions: “Create one extended-response, multi-part question in the style of IB Math AI Paper 2 (GDC required) that combines [e.g., normal distribution with financial mathematics (e.g., calculating the probability an investment will reach a certain value)].”
Quiz Creation: “Create a 10-question multiple-choice quiz on the topic of [e.g., Laws of Logarithms]. Include plausible distractors for each question that are based on common student errors. Provide an answer key with explanations for why the correct answer is right and the distractors are wrong.”
IA Rubric Generator: “Act as an IB examiner. Based on the official criteria (Presentation, Communication, Personal Engagement, Reflection, Use of Mathematics), create a student-friendly checklist rubric for the Math AI Internal Assessment. For each point, rephrase the official IB language into a clear ‘To get a top mark, I need to…’ statement.”
IA Feedback Comments: “A student has submitted a draft IA on [e.g., modeling local population growth]. Here is a paragraph from their reflection: [paste student text]. Act as their teacher and provide two ‘stars’ (things they did well) and one ‘wish’ (a specific, actionable suggestion for improvement) focusing on the ‘Reflection’ criterion.”
Mark Scheme Development: “For the following Paper 2 style question [paste question], create a detailed IB-style mark scheme. Allocate M (method), A (answer), and R (reasoning) marks, and include notes for examiners and examples of acceptable alternative methods.”
Exam Review Sheet: “Create a comprehensive, one-page exam review ‘cheat sheet’ for the entire [e.g., Calculus] topic for IB Math AI SL. It should include key concepts, formulas, common GDC functions, and a ‘red flag’ section for common mistakes.”
Self-Assessment Questions: “Develop a set of self-assessment questions for students to use after completing the [e.g., Functions] unit. The questions should prompt them to reflect on their confidence level with each key skill using a ‘Red/Amber/Green’ traffic light system.”
HL Paper 3 Practice: “Design a practice Paper 3 investigation for HL students. The topic is [e.g., Logistic Growth Models]. Provide an initial scenario and a series of scaffolded questions that guide them from a simple model to a more complex one, requiring them to comment on the changing assumptions.”
Command Term Analysis: “Explain the difference between the IB command terms ‘Calculate,’ ‘Determine,’ and ‘Find’ in the context of a Math AI exam question. Provide an example for each, showing how the expected level of working differs.”
Grading Justification: “Here is a student’s answer to a question: [paste student’s worked solution]. The maximum mark is 6. Act as an examiner and provide a mark out of 6, justifying the score criterion-by-criterion based on a typical IB mark scheme (e.g., ‘M1 awarded for…, A0 as the answer was incorrect…’).”
Test Correction Task: “Create a ‘test correction’ template for students. It should require them to identify their error, classify the error type (e.g., calculation, conceptual, misread question), explain why they made it, and re-do the problem correctly.”
Peer Assessment Form: “Design a peer assessment form for students to use when reviewing each other’s IA drafts, with specific prompts for each of the five assessment criteria. Include sentence starters to promote constructive and kind feedback.”
Predictive Questions: “Based on past IB Math AI exam trends, what are three likely ‘tricky’ concepts or combinations of topics that might appear on the upcoming exam for [e.g., Geometry and Trigonometry]? For each, design one practice question.”
IA Personal Engagement Feedback: “A student’s IA topic is ‘Analyzing the correlation between hours of sleep and test scores in my school.’ Suggest three specific ways they could demonstrate strong personal engagement, moving beyond just using their own school’s data.”

Stage 4: Enrichment & Extension (5 Prompts)

Math Fair Project Idea: “Generate an idea for a ‘Math Fair’ project that connects [e.g., Voronoi diagrams] to a real-world application like [e.g., urban planning or epidemiology]. Outline the key mathematical steps involved, the data needed, and how the results could be presented visually to a non-mathematical audience.”
Advanced Problem Design: “Design an exceptionally challenging ‘stretch’ problem for top-tier HL students that combines concepts from [e.g., calculus, probability distributions, and matrices] in a single, coherent scenario, such as modeling the changing probabilities of a system over time.”
Connecting to University Courses: “Explain how the skills learned in the IB Math AI course, particularly in [e.g., statistics and modeling], are directly applicable to university-level studies in [e.g., Psychology, Business, or Data Science]. Provide a sample problem from a first-year university textbook for one of these subjects.”
Historical Context: “Provide a brief historical context for the development of [e.g., graph theory and the Königsberg bridge problem]. Explain how the problem was solved and who the key mathematician was. Then, explain how that initial idea has evolved into modern applications like social networks.”
Ethical Dilemma: “Create a short scenario that presents an ethical dilemma related to the use of mathematics, such as the misuse of statistics in advertising or the bias in algorithmic modeling. Use this to spark a class discussion by asking students to take on different stakeholder roles.”

Section 2 – Student Prompts (50)

These prompts are designed to be your personal AI tutor, helping you understand concepts, practice skills, revise effectively, and prepare for assessments with confidence.

Stage 1: Understanding Concepts (15 Prompts)

Simple Explanation: “Explain [e.g., the concept of a derivative] to me like I’m 15. Use an analogy involving a car or a rollercoaster. Then, explain it again using a financial analogy involving profit.”
Compare and Contrast: “Create a table that compares and contrasts [e.g., Binomial distribution and Normal distribution]. Include columns for type of data (discrete/continuous), key parameters, shape of the graph, when to use each, and the GDC function name for each.”
Step-by-Step Guide: “Give me a step-by-step guide on how to perform a [e.g., Chi-squared goodness of fit test] from start to finish. Include how to state the hypotheses, calculate the expected values, find the test statistic, determine the p-value, and write the final conclusion in context.”
Why Does This Work?: “Explain the logic behind the [e.g., formula for compound interest]. Don’t just show me the formula, explain how each part of it (the principal, the rate, the number of compounding periods) contributes to the final amount.”
Summarize a Topic: “Summarize the entire IB Math AI SL topic of [e.g., Basic Probability] into 5 key bullet points. Then, for each bullet point, give me one practice question that tests that specific idea.”
Real-World Example: “Show me a real-world example of [e.g., a Voronoi diagram] in action. Explain what the sites, edges, and vertices represent in that context. Then, ask me a question about that example that I would need to use the diagram to answer.”
GDC Function Explained: “Explain what the [e.g., invNorm()] function on my GDC does and what inputs it needs. Give me an example problem where I would use it, and also an example of a common error message I might get and what it means.”
Formula Breakdown: “Break down the formula for [e.g., the standard deviation]. Explain what each symbol means and what the formula is actually calculating. Explain why we square the differences.”
Visualizing a Concept: “Describe how I could visualize the concept of [e.g., the area under a curve representing the definite integral]. What does it look like on a graph? What happens if the function is below the x-axis?”
Connecting Topics: “How does the topic of [e.g., Functions] connect to the topic of [e.g., Calculus]? Why do I need to understand transformations of functions before I can learn about integration?”
HL vs SL: “What is the main difference between the SL and HL treatment of the [e.g., Calculus] topic? Provide a side-by-side comparison of the sub-topics, and give one example of a problem only an HL student would be expected to solve.”
Common Mistakes: “What are the most common mistakes students make when solving problems involving [e.g., trigonometric identities]? For each mistake, show an example of the wrong working and then the correct working.”
Key Term Definitions: “In simple terms, define the following key vocabulary: [e.g., ‘sample’, ‘population’, ‘parameter’, ‘statistic’]. Then, give me a single scenario and ask me to identify which is which.”
Unfamiliar Scenario: “I’m looking at a problem that seems unfamiliar, but I think it might relate to [e.g., geometric sequences]. What are the key features or keywords in a word problem that suggest a geometric sequence is the right tool to use?”
Concept Mind Map: “Generate a mind map structure for the topic [e.g., Bivariate Statistics]. The central idea should be the main topic, with branches for key concepts like correlation, regression, and chi-squared tests. Under each branch, list key formulas and GDC functions.”

Stage 2: Practicing & Applying (15 Prompts)

Practice Problems: “Generate 5 practice problems on [e.g., calculating amortization]. Make them similar in style to an IB Paper 2 question. Provide only the final answers so I can check my work. After I’ve tried them, I’ll ask you for the full worked solutions.”
Worked Example: “Show me a fully worked example of how to solve [e.g., a related rates problem in calculus]. Explain each step of the solution clearly, including annotations explaining the ‘why’ behind each mathematical step.”
GDC Practice: “Give me a problem that requires me to use my GDC to [e.g., solve a system of linear equations using matrices]. Tell me the exact keystrokes for a TI-Nspire. Then, give me a second problem to try on my own.”
Create a Quiz: “Create a 5-question quiz for me on [e.g., graph theory terminology (vertex, edge, degree, cycle)]. Make it interactive: ask me one question at a time, and after I answer, tell me if I was right and explain the correct answer before moving to the next question.”
Flashcard Content: “Generate content for 10 flashcards for the topic [e.g., Logic and Sets]. On one side, put the term or symbol (e.g., ‘p ⇒ q’, ‘Intersection’, ‘Tautology’). On the other side, put the definition, an example, and a related term.”
Problem from Scratch: “Create a word problem from scratch that requires me to use the [e.g., cosine rule] to find a missing side, and then the [e.g., sine rule] to find a missing angle. Make the context interesting, like space exploration or archeology.”
Check My Work: “I solved a problem for [e.g., finding the future value of an investment] and got [your answer]. The correct answer is [correct answer]. Can you look at my steps and help me find my mistake? My steps: [paste your steps]. Please tell me exactly which line has the error.”
Apply to a New Context: “I know how to calculate [e.g., Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r)]. Give me a new dataset from the field of [e.g., economics or biology] and ask me to calculate and interpret the ‘r’ value in the context of that specific field.”
Harder Problems: “I’m comfortable with basic [e.g., integration]. Give me a more challenging problem that involves [e.g., finding the area between two curves], where I first have to find the points of intersection myself.”
Paper 1 Practice: “Give me 3 practice problems on [e.g., vectors (addition, subtraction, scalar product)] that I should be able to solve without a GDC, like on Paper 1. Make one of them a geometry problem in disguise.”
Justify a Method: “Why would I choose to use the [e.g., Trapezoidal Rule] to estimate an integral instead of just calculating it directly? In what kind of situation is it the only option available?”
Interpret the Answer: “I calculated that the p-value for my hypothesis test is 0.03. The significance level is 5%. What does this actually mean? Do I reject the null hypothesis? Explain it to me in the context of a real experiment about [e.g., testing a new drug].”
Data Set Generation: “Generate a small, realistic dataset (about 15 data points) that shows a [e.g., strong positive correlation] between two variables, x and y. Also, include one clear outlier. Ask me to identify the outlier.”
Reverse Problem: “The answer is x = 5. Write a word problem involving [e.g., exponential equations] for which this is the solution. Make me set up the equation myself from the context you provide.”
Model with a Function: “Here is a table of values: [paste table]. Which type of function (linear, quadratic, or exponential) would best model this data? Explain your reasoning and guide me on how to use my GDC to confirm my choice.”

Stage 3: Revising & Consolidating (10 Prompts)

Study Guide Creation: “Create a study guide for my upcoming test on [e.g., Bivariate Statistics]. It should include key definitions, formulas, GDC skills, a checklist of concepts I need to know, and three sample exam questions ranging from easy to hard.”
Cheat Sheet: “Generate a ‘cheat sheet’ for the topic of [e.g., Financial Mathematics]. It should be very concise and only include the essential formulas and what their variables stand for. Use color or bolding to highlight the differences between similar-looking formulas.”
Topic Summary: “Explain the entire [e.g., Geometry and Trigonometry] unit for SL in under 300 words. Focus on the most important, ‘must-know’ concepts and end with a summary of the key skills I should be able to do.”
Acronym Creator: “Help me create a memorable acronym or mnemonic to remember the steps for [e.g., conducting a hypothesis test] or the conditions for using a [e.g., binomial distribution].”
Connections Map: “Show me how the concepts within the [e.g., Calculus] unit are connected. For example, how does differentiation relate to finding maxima and minima, and how does that relate to optimization? Present this as a concept map or a flowchart.”
Top 5 Formulas: “What are the top 5 most important formulas I absolutely must memorize from the [e.g., Number and Algebra] topic for the non-GDC Paper 1 exam? For each one, give me a quick example of when I’d use it.”
Review Quiz: “Give me a 10-question mixed review quiz covering all the main topics from the IB Math AI SL syllabus. Make sure the questions are jumbled up so I can practice identifying the topic from the question.”
Explain it Back: “I’m going to try and explain [e.g., the chain rule in differentiation] to you. Please correct me if I’m wrong and ask me one question to test if I really understand it. [Student writes their explanation].”
Past Paper Analysis: “Analyze the types of questions that have come up for [e.g., Probability Distributions] in past IB exams. What are the recurring themes or skills tested? What command terms are most frequently used for this topic?”
One-Sentence Summaries: “Summarize each of the following concepts in a single sentence: [e.g., regression, interpolation, extrapolation, correlation]. Then, create a single question that requires me to use all four concepts.”

Stage 4: Preparing for Assessment (10 Prompts)

IA Topic Test: “I’m thinking of doing my IA on [e.g., ‘Modeling the depreciation of a car’s value’]. Is this a good topic for the IB Math AI SL course? What math could I use? Suggest one way to make it more original and suggest a specific, manageable dataset I could collect or find for this topic.”
IA Structure Outline: “Provide a structure for my Math IA. Give me headings for each section (Introduction, Method, Analysis, Conclusion, Reflection) and 2-3 bullet points for what I should include under each heading. For the ‘Use of Mathematics’ criterion, suggest three different mathematical techniques that would be appropriate for my topic.”
Refining an IA Question: “My initial IA research question is ‘Is there a correlation between height and foot size?’. Help me refine this into a stronger, more focused research question suitable for a high-scoring IA. Suggest three alternative versions of the question.”
Command Term Practice: “Give me three problems, one for each of the command terms ‘Write down’, ‘Calculate’, and ‘Justify’, all related to the topic of [e.g., Functions]. Explain the difference in the expected amount of work for each.”
Exam Time Management: “I have a 90-minute IB Math AI Paper 2 exam with 90 marks. Suggest a time management strategy. How much time should I spend per mark? What should I do if I get stuck on a question for more than 5 minutes? What should I do during the 5 minutes of reading time?”
Mock Exam Question: “Act as an IB examiner and give me a brand new, unseen Paper 2 style question on [e.g., applying calculus to kinematics]. After I try it, provide the full mark scheme, including annotations explaining where marks are typically lost.”
IA Reflection Prompts: “Give me 5 questions to ask myself to help me write the ‘Reflection’ section of my IA. The questions should help me think about the strengths, weaknesses, and extensions of my project, as well as the significance of my findings.”
Checklist Before Exam: “Create a final ‘day before the exam’ checklist for the IB Math AI Paper 1. It should include what to review (concepts, not just problems), what to pack (pencils, ruler, etc.), a mental preparation tip, and a breakfast suggestion.”
Interpreting Feedback: “My teacher left this comment on my practice test: ‘Lacks justification for the chosen model.’ What does this mean? Give me three different ways I could justify my choice of a mathematical model in an exam answer.”
Self-Evaluation: “Create a simple rubric for me to grade my own practice exam paper. It should be based on the official IB criteria of understanding concepts, applying procedures, and communicating mathematics. For each criterion, give me examples of what a ‘strong’ vs. ‘weak’ answer looks like.”

Section 3 – Bonus Universal Prompt (1)

This prompt is designed to foster interdisciplinary thinking, creativity, and a deeper appreciation for the role of mathematics, suitable for both educators and students.

The Interdisciplinary Modeling Challenge: “Act as a consultant for a team at a global NGO tackling a major global issue like [e.g., ‘Reducing Plastic Waste in Oceans’ or ‘Improving Food Distribution Logistics’]. Your task is to propose a mathematical model using concepts from the IB Math AI syllabus to analyze and suggest a solution to one aspect of this problem. Your proposal must:
* Identify the specific, measurable problem you are modeling (e.g., not just ‘plastic waste,’ but ‘predicting the concentration of microplastics in a specific ocean gyre’).
* Select at least three distinct mathematical concepts from the AI course (e.g., Graph Theory for collection routes, Statistical Analysis of waste data, and Differential Equations for modeling concentration over time).
* Explain how you would gather the necessary data, addressing potential challenges like cost and accuracy.
* Outline the steps of your mathematical model in a clear flowchart or numbered list.
* Discuss the potential limitations, assumptions, and ethical implications of your model (a link to TOK). For instance, who benefits from your model, and are there any potential negative consequences?
* Present the final output as a concise, one-page project proposal, complete with a title, executive summary, and recommendations.”