Which is the most difficult IB subject?

Obviously it depends on the teachers and how much you enjoy a subject etc.

But I was just wondering what people thought/had heard.

Tok's a bitch tho, haven't got above a C all year - no matter how hard i try

Reply 21

monsieurmadeline2041

Original post by NancyRoseC

Tok's a bitch tho, haven't got above a C all year - no matter how hard i try

I guess it really depends on people.
I got an A without understanding my TOK essay -_-
it's such a subjective an ambigous subject anyway

Reply 22

username941859

18

Original post by monsieurmadeline2041

I guess it really depends on people.
I got an A without understanding my TOK essay -_-
it's such a subjective an ambigous subject anyway

I was getting As all through my TOK course and then got a C in the final thing, it's such a crapshoot, they need to revamp it majorly

Reply 23

monsieurmadeline2041

Original post by Calllu-m

I was getting As all through my TOK course and then got a C in the final thing, it's such a crapshoot, they need to revamp it majorly

could be tht, or maybe ur teacher's been overgrading u
my teacher have always said that mine was good, but she never give us grades and stuff. she only advices us on what needs to be repaired. so i researched and peer review-ed it often

Reply 24

username941859

18

Original post by monsieurmadeline2041

could be tht, or maybe ur teacher's been overgrading u
my teacher have always said that mine was good, but she never give us grades and stuff. she only advices us on what needs to be repaired. so i researched and peer review-ed it often

Seeing as everyone else met their predictions, and our TOK teachers got 23 years of IB experience, I doubt it.

Reply 25

monsieurmadeline2041

Original post by Calllu-m

Seeing as everyone else met their predictions, and our TOK teachers got 23 years of IB experience, I doubt it.

in that case, i think maybe u should consider a remark?

Reply 26

username941859

18

Original post by monsieurmadeline2041

in that case, i think maybe u should consider a remark?

I finished my exams in 2013. But late for that. Plus I exceeded what I needed so what's the point

Reply 27

abigail706

Original post by anniechan514

The hardest HL would have to be:
History, Chemistry, Physics and Maths.

I think most people find math HL hard as there are just SOOO much to cover + those extra options you just don't have time to cover all of it and then the questions aren't easy given the limited time you have to study everything.

I personally took Chemistry, Maths and Economics HL and got 7,6,7 respectively in these subjects - so you can ask me about Chemistry and Maths if you want. Just pm me :smile:

How difficult is it to get a 7 in maths? Because I consider myself very good at maths, but people tell me that its harder to get a 7 in IB than an A* in maths and further maths at A level. Would you say this is true?

Also would you say there is much a difference between SL and HL Economics?

Thanks

Reply 28

anniechan514

6

Original post by abigail706

How difficult is it to get a 7 in maths? Because I consider myself very good at maths, but people tell me that its harder to get a 7 in IB than an A* in maths and further maths at A level. Would you say this is true?

Also would you say there is much a difference between SL and HL Economics?

Thanks

I used to consider myself to be quite adept in maths but everything changed since I entered my last year of high school.

As I have said, it's not the materials that makes math HL hard - it's the quantity of new materials that you must learn within the 2 years that makes math HL hard and being good at maths means understanding and being able to master your skills for the new concepts and that requires time. Because you only have 2 years (remember you still have to go through 1 of the options if you're doing math HL) you really don't have time to master everything in time and hence that is why everyone thinks it's hard due to the fact there is just insufficient time for them to become skilled with these new concepts. But I'm sure if you take some time off from your free time to actually self-study/practice these new concepts everyday then I have confidence you'll be fine. (NOTE. this does not apply if you're that type of person who EASILY understands new concept and can remember it until your math exam)

As for Economics, the difference isn't that huge except for the fact for Economics HL you have to learn Theory of the Firms which, in my opinion, is like a whole new chapter for Microeconomics and the fact you have to do a math paper 3 for Econ HL but it's not that difficult so I think you should be fine!

I hope this helps!

:smile:

and Good luck!

Reply 29

ozymandias24

Interesting discussion! The only objective way to measure hard is to look at the statistics and see which subjects students struggle to get good marks in. With this in mind, looking at the November 2013 session, the hardest subjects (lowest percentage of Level 7s) were:

Group 1 - German
Group 2 - Portuguese SL
Group 3 - Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS), closely followed by History
Group 4 - Design Technology
Group 5 - Computer Science SL (not HL Maths!)
Group 6 - Film

There are all sorts of ways to reinterpret / massage these figures, and they change from exam session to exam session, but this makes for some interesting reading!

Reply 30

RayApparently

OP

21

Original post by ozymandias24

Interesting discussion! The only objective way to measure hard is to look at the statistics and see which subjects students struggle to get good marks in. With this in mind, looking at the November 2013 session, the hardest subjects (lowest percentage of Level 7s) were:

Group 1 - German
Group 2 - Portuguese SL
Group 3 - Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS), closely followed by History
Group 4 - Design Technology
Group 5 - Computer Science SL (not HL Maths!)
Group 6 - Film

There are all sorts of ways to reinterpret / massage these figures, and they change from exam session to exam session, but this makes for some interesting reading!

Those aren't really the most academic subjects though. All respect to them but I think those figures are more reflective of the students that pick them rather than the difficulty of the subjects.

Reply 31

Inglisred

8

HL Math, HL physics, HL chem. Only because exam questions will require pure application rather than factual recall.

Reply 32

ozymandias24

That's one interpretation. Another is that smaller sample groups (less popular subjects) are more likely to generate anomalous results, hence weird subjects like ITGS showing up. Another could be that it's easier to teach niche subjects poorly, as there is less training available for teachers, there are less materials out there and less other teachers to collaborate with in the IB world.

Comparing across the subject groups is pretty difficult, but within them is somewhat easier, especially if you have a teacher who covers more than one subject. Within my department (Group 3) there is general consensus that History is a lot harder than Economics, for example.

Reply 33

Anthropomorphist

Original post by abigail706

How difficult is it to get a 7 in maths? Because I consider myself very good at maths, but people tell me that its harder to get a 7 in IB than an A* in maths and further maths at A level. Would you say this is true?

Also would you say there is much a difference between SL and HL Economics?

Thanks

In Microeconomics you'll basically have double the material in HL than in SL, but mind you, the Theory of the Firm section is what makes micro interesting in my opinion. In the other three topics you have some extra chapters here and there, but nothing major. Finally, in Paper 3 you have to do basic math- if you know the theory you should be fine.

Good luck!

HL maths

HL Economics, HL physics and HL math.

Reply 36

Neverme

10

Maths HL is obviously very difficult, but I think Chem HL is underestimated.
English Lit HL may not be as hard in terms of content, but marking is notoriously unpredictable, so it's very hard to get a 7.
I also think history is disproportionally difficult for an SL subject.