IB command term
Determine in IB exams: what the command term means
By Michael Thompson - Head of Teaching Excellence; 15 years as an IB Coordinator
In IB exams, determine means working your way to the single answer that the information allows. You are not guessing or recalling. You find the one result the data fixes, and you show how you found it.
Paraphrased from the command-term definitions in the IB Diploma Programme subject guides (International Baccalaureate Organization).
At a glance
Data, working and diagrams
Answer shape: Visible working, read data or a labelled diagram
What determine asks of you
Determine signals that the information in the question pins down exactly one answer. Your task is to find that answer and to show how it is pinned down. The question gives you what you need, and the work is in using it properly.
Show the method, not only the result
Determine questions usually carry method marks, so a bare answer puts those marks at risk. Write out the steps that lead from the given information to your result, in an order a reader can follow. If your final value is wrong, clear working can still earn credit for the method.
Precision and units
Give the answer to the precision the data supports, and add units wherever they apply. A result that claims more precision than the data allows is as weak as one that drops a unit. Decide on the precision before you write the final line, not after.
Choose a clean route and check it
If several routes lead to the answer, pick the most direct one that you can carry out cleanly, rather than the cleverest. Before you move on, check the result against sense. Ask whether the magnitude is reasonable, whether the sign is right and whether the units fit the quantity.
Where it appears
Mathematics AA
In Mathematics AA, treat a determine question as a prompt to show the full line of reasoning to one result. Write each step, give the answer to the precision the data supports, and check that it makes sense.
Mathematics AA tutoringChemistry
In Chemistry, a determine question points to one answer that the given information fixes. Show how you get there, include units where they apply, and check that the magnitude is sensible.
Chemistry tutoringPhysics
In Physics, determine means finding the single result the data allows. Set out your method so the marks for it are secure, give units, and test the size and sign of the answer against what you would expect.
Physics tutoringMathematics AI
In Mathematics AI, read determine as a request for one answer that the information fixes, plus the working behind it. Keep the precision in line with the data, state units where relevant, and check the result for sense.
Mathematics AI tutoringCommon mistakes
- Writing only a final answer and leaving out the method, which puts method marks at risk.
- Giving a result with more or less precision than the data supports.
- Leaving out units where they apply.
- Choosing a clever but fragile route when a direct one would have worked cleanly.
- Skipping the check on magnitude, sign and units before moving to the next question.
- Treating determine as if it were a different command term, such as state, and giving an answer without showing how it follows from the information.
Frequently asked questions
- What does determine mean in IB exams?
- It means working your way to the single answer that the information in the question allows. You find that answer and show how the information leads to it.
- Do I need to show my working for a determine question?
- Yes. Determine questions usually carry method marks, and a bare answer puts them at risk. Show the steps that connect the given information to your result.
- How precise should my answer be?
- Give the answer to the precision the data supports, and include units where they apply. Do not add extra precision that the information cannot justify.
- How is determine different from calculate, deduce and state?
- These are separate command terms, and each has its own page on this site. For determine, the key idea is one answer fixed by the information, reached by a method you show. Read the pages for the other terms to compare them.
Related command terms
Keep going
Want someone to check your answers against these command terms? We match you with an expert IB tutor within 24 hours.
Get matched with a tutor