Export to IFC, one dwg file equals one ifc file?

I'm kinda new to this IFC business. I've gotten an IFC file from the Architect and imported this into Acad MEP. This produced several dwg files that looked great. So far so good. I made my own drawings using these files as x-refs. Now comes the time for me to export my stuff back the other way. I can export my drawings as IFC files but how is this different from just sending out my dwg files? Also, from the Architect I got one IFC containing several dwgs. Can I also export all my files into one IFC file?

I'm kinda new to this IFC business. I've gotten an IFC file from the Architect and imported this into Acad MEP. This produced several dwg files that looked great. So far so good. I made my own drawings using these files as x-refs. Now comes the time for me to export my stuff back the other way. I can export my drawings as IFC files but how is this different from just sending out my dwg files? Also, from the Architect I got one IFC containing several dwgs. Can I also export all my files into one IFC file?

The Architect might be using Revit, since it's a 3D file in an IFC format. When you import/link DWG files into Revit, the performance hit is very vast, causing the file to almost be worthless when designing. Import an IFC into Revit, however, allows the file to maintain tip-top performance making it very easy to still use Revit in an efficient manner, coordinating with your files as well. That's my guess anyways.

An IFC file is simply the most common interchange of 3D files between 3D CAD applications that use intelligent objects, to the best of my knowledge.

Thanks for answering

I'm a little unsure of the typical workflow using IFC. When importing the IFC into Acad MEP the project navigator gives me a list of files along with their levels. What should I do with these files and this info that differs from simply creating my own drawings, using the dwgs as xrefs, and then sending it to the Architect as an IFC?