What is the difference between International and Extended Maths, and how difficult is International Maths

Extended Mathematics (0580) and International Mathematics (0607) have some aspects which are similar and some which are entirely different from each other. Following is the summary of the major points:

1. International mathematics has almost all of the topics that are covered in extended mathematics

2. International mathematics makes use of a GDC (Graphic and Design Calculator) which is used to answer the following questions:

3. Two graph based question in Paper 4

4. One/two statistics based question in Paper 4

5. One Modelling question in Paper 6

6. International mathematics has some additional topics such as logarithms which need to be studied in addition to the extended mathematics topics

7. International Mathematics has 3 papers (Paper 2: NO CALCULATOR, Paper 4: Quite similar to Extended Mathematics paper 4, Paper 6: 2 questions on investigation and modelling (1 each) ). For other specifics relating to the papers itself, please visit:

8. International mathematics guide: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/414440-2020-2022-syllabus.pdf

9. Extended mathematics guide: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/414416-2020-2022-syllabus.pdf

Both syllabi are quite similar in their content and usefulness after IGCSE however, international mathematics is slightly more challenging than its counterpart extended mathematics. International mathematics is also useful for those pushing IB MAA course in the future since it follows a similar pattern, having one paper without calculator and the others using GDC, which is required in IB. Therefore, having done both curricula myself, I would recommend international mathematics over extended mathematics if you would like to prepare in advance for IB as well.

However, an important thing to note is that YOU CANNOT take both courses in the same series. For example, I took extended mathematics in 2019 May/June and international mathematics in May/June 2020 since Cambridge considers both courses at an equal level and therefore it is mandatory to choose only one of them in a series. In my case, I took extended mathematics 1 year earlier than all my other board examinations (which is how our school usually does for students who are also taking additional mathematics) and therefore I took international mathematics and additional mathematics along with all my other IGCSE subjects.

One can consider the courses in this order as per their increasing difficulty:

1. Extended mathematics (0580)

2. International mathematics (0607)

3. Additional mathematics (0606)

Hope this helps you in considering which course to take.