IB MYP Mathematics: Global contexts: the six contexts and statements of inquiry (MYP Mathematics)

This study guide covers the global contexts and statements of inquiry in IB MYP Mathematics. It follows the IB Mathematics guide (for use from September 2020/January 2021, first assessment 2022), in the section on teaching and learning through inquiry, including the guide’s Table 3 of example statements. MYP mathematics has no SL or HL. The guide has a standard and an extended mathematics course, and this page applies to both.

There is no list of facts to memorise. The skill is to say which context frames a unit, which concepts sit inside it, and how one sentence holds them together. Use this page with the revision notes and the practice questions. For the wider course see the MYP mathematics hub and the printable checklist. To find your weak areas first, try the free diagnostics.

What this unit covers

Idea	What you should be able to do
The six global contexts	Name them and say what kind of inquiry each points towards
The teacher’s duty	Explain that a context must be identified, and that extra contexts may be developed
Key concepts	Recall that form, logic and relationships are the key concepts mathematics contributes
Related concepts	Choose suitable ones from the guide’s list of twelve
Statements of inquiry	Build one that joins a key concept, related concepts and a context
Table 3	Read each row as a unit idea, concepts and a context
Worked examples	Carry out the mathematics inside a context and say what it shows

Where a worked example uses content from the guide’s framework, it is labelled MYP 1-3, MYP 4-5 (standard) or MYP 4-5 (extended). MYP has no tiers.

Why contexts exist

The guide says MYP mathematics builds conceptual understanding inside a global context. A concept is a big idea that matters beyond one topic. A context answers the question “why does this matter?”. The glossary defines context simply as the setting of a problem.

Two rules from the guide are worth remembering exactly:

• Teachers have to pick a global context for their teaching. They may also create extra contexts if those help students see why an inquiry matters.
• Many mathematical inquiries fit scientific and technical innovation naturally, but teachers are encouraged to offer the other contexts too.

The six global contexts

Context	The inquiry points towards	A mathematics idea that could sit here
Identities and relationships	Who we are, how people connect, how groups behave	Comparing plans for a shared event, modelling a friendship network
Orientation in space and time	Where and when things happen, journeys, scale	Maps, bearings, time zones, measurement
Personal and cultural expression	How people create and share ideas and beauty	Symmetry, tessellation, pattern in art and design
Scientific and technical innovation	How people use knowledge to build and improve	Modelling decay, growth and motion, working with data
Globalization and sustainability	Links across the world and the use of resources	Rates, large numbers, standard form, environmental models
Fairness and development	Rights, sharing and access to opportunity	Proportion, rates per person, fair division

The last two columns are Marlbridge suggestions, not the guide’s list. The guide names the contexts and leaves the units to the school.

Key concepts and related concepts

The guide’s Table 1 lists sixteen key concepts across the MYP. Mathematics contributes three: form, logic and relationships. Other key concepts can also be used. In the guide’s wording:

• Form is about underlying structure and shape, distinguished by properties.
• Logic is reasoning that leads to conclusions you can explain and defend.
• Relationships are connections between quantities, properties or ideas, expressed as models, rules or statements.

Related concepts are narrower. Table 2 lists twelve for mathematics. Four are about number and shape (approximation, quantity, space, equivalence). Four are about reasoning and process (validity, generalization, simplification, representation). Four are about structure and behaviour (models, patterns, change, systems). Teachers may choose others, including from other subject groups.

Statements of inquiry

A statement of inquiry (SOI) is one sentence that sets conceptual understanding in a global context. It frames what the class explores. It is not a question and not a task.

How to build one

1. Start with the unit mathematics, such as ratio or Pythagoras.
2. Choose one key concept that the mathematics really shows.
3. Choose one to three related concepts that name the mathematical ideas at work.
4. Choose the global context that explains why it matters.
5. Write one sentence that links the concepts and the context with a verb of relationship, such as “shapes”, “improves” or “depends on”.
6. Check that it is a general idea. It should be true beyond one lesson.

A good SOI

• is a full sentence stating a general idea;
• contains the concepts, in plain words, rather than the topic name;
• shows the context in what it says;
• can be explored throughout the unit.

Reading Table 3

The guide gives seven example statements. Here is what each row pairs together, in my own summary rather than the guide’s wording.

Unit idea	Key concept	Related concepts	Context
Volume	Form	Space, quantity	Fairness and development
Parallel lines and transversals	Logic	Validity	Orientation in space and time
Quadratic functions	Relationships	Models, representation	Identities and relationships
Transformations	Form	Patterns, space	Personal and cultural expression
Projectile motion	Logic	Patterns, simplification, models	Scientific and technical innovation
Exponentials and logarithms	Relationships	Systems, change	Globalization and sustainability
Line of best fit	Relationships	Patterns	Scientific and technical innovation

No context is tied to one branch. Volume appears under fairness and quadratics under identities, so the same mathematics can sit in several contexts.

Inquiry questions

The guide uses an SOI to generate factual, conceptual and debatable questions (its Table 4). Factual questions recall facts. Conceptual questions analyse big ideas. Debatable questions weigh perspectives. One SOI should produce all three.

Worked examples

Each example names the context, does the mathematics, then says what it means.

Example 1: identities and relationships (MYP 1-3)

Unit idea: forming and solving equations. A family reunion can use hall A, which costs 150 plus 8 per guest, or hall B, which costs 14 per guest with no fixed charge.

1. Let n be the number of guests. Cost A = 150 + 8n. Cost B = 14n.
2. The costs are equal when 150 + 8n = 14n, so 150 = 6n and n = 25.
3. At 25 guests both cost 350.
4. At 20 guests A costs 310 and B costs 280, so B is cheaper. At 40 guests A costs 470 and B costs 560, so A is cheaper.

Conclusion: hall B suits a small gathering and hall A suits a large one. Possible SOI: modelling a relationship lets a group choose between options. Key concept relationships; related concepts models and representation.

Example 2: orientation in space and time (MYP 1-3 and MYP 4-5 standard)

A map has scale 1 : 50 000. A trail runs 3 cm east then 4 cm north on the map.

1. Ratio: 1 cm on the map is 50 000 cm, which is 0.5 km.
2. Trail length is 3 + 4 = 7 cm, which is 3.5 km.
3. A direct line is the hypotenuse (Pythagoras, MYP 4-5 standard): the square root of 3² + 4² = 5 cm, which is 2.5 km.
4. At 5 km/h the trail takes 3.5 ÷ 5 = 0.7 h = 42 minutes. The direct line takes 30 minutes.

Conclusion: the direct line saves 12 minutes, but it ignores terrain, so the answer is only valid if the ground allows a straight walk. Possible SOI: logic lets us trust distances we cannot walk or measure directly. Key concept logic; related concepts validity and space.

Example 3: personal and cultural expression (MYP 4-5)

Tessellations are in the standard column of the framework. A designer tiles a floor with regular octagons and small squares.

1. Interior angle of a regular octagon = (8 - 2) × 180° ÷ 8 = 135°.
2. Two octagons and one square meet at each corner: 135° + 135° + 90° = 360°, so there are no gaps.
3. The designer enlarges the square tile from side 40 cm to side 60 cm, a scale factor of 1.5 (enlargement by a rational factor is in the extended column).
4. Area changes from 1600 cm² to 3600 cm². The ratio is 3600 ÷ 1600 = 2.25, which is 1.5².

Conclusion: lengths scale by 1.5 but area scales by 2.25, so ordering tiles by edge length underestimates the material needed. Possible SOI: understanding how shapes fit together and scale gives designers freedom. Key concept form; related concepts patterns and space.

Example 4: scientific and technical innovation (MYP 4-5)

A battery keeps 97% of its capacity each year. Capacity after n years is 100 × 0.97ⁿ percent. Representing exponential functions is in the standard column.

Year n	0	3	5	7	8
Capacity (%)	100	91.3	85.9	80.8	78.4

The capacity first falls below 80% by the end of year 8. (Extended: logarithms give n = ln 0.8 ÷ ln 0.97, about 7.33, so the answer during year 8 is consistent.)

Conclusion: the model assumes a constant yearly percentage loss. Real batteries may not behave this way, so state that the model is a simplification. Possible SOI: simplifying a pattern into a model helps us test an innovation. Key concept relationships; related concepts models and simplification.

Example 5: globalization and sustainability (MYP 4-5 standard)

Data supplied: sea freight produces 0.011 kg of carbon dioxide per tonne-kilometre and road freight 0.1 kg per tonne-kilometre. A shop imports 12 tonnes of fruit 9000 km by sea, then 150 km by road. A local farm is 40 km away by road.

1. Sea: 12 × 9000 × 0.011 = 1188 kg.
2. Road: 12 × 150 × 0.1 = 180 kg.
3. Imported total: 1368 kg = 1.368 × 10³ kg, or 114 kg per tonne.
4. Local: 12 × 40 × 0.1 = 48 kg, or 4 kg per tonne.
5. The imported fruit is 28.5 times higher.

Conclusion: transport emissions favour the local farm, but this compares transport only. It does not include growing methods, so the comparison is valid for transport alone. Possible SOI: relationships between distance and impact help us weigh our choices as global citizens. Key concept relationships; related concepts systems and change.

Example 6: fairness and development (MYP 1-3 and MYP 4-5)

School A has 300 pupils and 18 computers. School B has 150 pupils and 12 computers.

1. Per 100 pupils: A has 18 ÷ 300 × 100 = 6. B has 12 ÷ 150 × 100 = 8.
2. The totals favour A (18 against 12), but per pupil B is better provided.
3. For a fair share of all 30 computers by pupil numbers: A should have 30 × 300 ÷ 450 = 20 and B should have 10.
4. So 2 computers should move from B to A.

Conclusion: totals can hide an unfair share. Possible SOI: choosing a fair basis for comparison changes the decision we make. Key concept relationships; related concepts quantity and equivalence.

Link to criterion D

Criterion D is applying mathematics in real-life contexts. It asks you to identify relevant elements of a real situation, choose and use strategies, and judge accuracy and whether the solution makes sense. In the year descriptors the verbs move from describing and explaining towards justifying. Each example above ends with a sense-check for that reason. For more on the criteria see criteria in practice and reasoning with data. The subject guide and syllabus guide give the wider picture.

Common errors

• Writing a topic title (“Ratio and proportion”) as a statement of inquiry.
• Writing a question or an instruction, not a statement.
• Choosing a context after the mathematics, with no link between them.
• Treating scientific and technical innovation as the only context available.
• Listing related concepts that the unit does not use.
• Presenting a model result as certain, without saying what it ignores.

Official syllabus

IB Mathematics guide (MYP), for use from September 2020/January 2021, first assessment 2022, published by the International Baccalaureate Organization. This page covers the global contexts and statements of inquiry material in the section on teaching and learning through inquiry.