IA Maths studies project!

[Rita Njoku]

So, we just begun our maths studies project (internal assessment) and we are asked to gather our ideas by this thursday.

i have an idea but am not too sure of what mathematical process would go with it and so if you have an idea.. please help me out

so the idea i had was about Sleep and student performance... like i would be looking at sleeping patterns, to their average grades but am not sure if its a good idea in general. i also thought of something to do with games and gender,.... reaction time and gender but i don't know how to formulate them into a PROPER idea yet!!!

So if any one has a better idea or any other way for my to structure the idea, please let me know ASAP!!!!!!

your help is very much appreciated!!

[kevaundraywedderburn]

This is a complicated problem, as the maths is not "obviously" visible. For example.. "The history of Pi" - In this investigation i would look at how they got the first, 5 numbers of Pi, its a mathematical process lol. Another would be "The golden ratio in our lives" - In this investigation i would look at what is the golden ratio, how i find the golden ratio, this is the mathematical process, then just show it in everyday life.

So to elaborate again, your idea doesnt scream maths, its more of a psychology, mixed with biology idea.

If i was you, I would look at the marking criteria. It may spark some ideas.

Kev

[alefal]

Hey there!

I actually disagree with what the other member has written. The kind of topic you've chosen is not atypical for math studies IAs - in fact, IAs studying the statistics of something are the most frequently used approaches to the internal assignments.

I cannot formulate the idea itself for you, as that's an integral part of your own work. What I can say, is that you need to study the relationship between the two elements. That's often what the statistical IAs focus on, and it makes perfect sense for your IA. This way you can make a connection between sleep and performance with a mathematical approach, which is exactly what the IA is about.

I think you'd benefit if you group the different answers in the two different elements. For instance, let's say that grades 1 are 2 and 3 is below average, 4 and 5 is average and 6 and 7 is above average compared to world statistics for the IB diploma. Then, instead of checking the correlation between each and every grade, you'd group the different grades into three categories, which will make the process much easier for you. It'll be easier for you to also do the mathematical processes related to the relationship between two elements. If you're making a survey, make sure to ask for the exact grade, though, and not whether or not the grades are above or below average!

Good luck!

[Qusuel]

Hey guys , Sorry for changing a little...

but

I would like to ask , do you think is it good topic for Math Studies Internal ?

: The age influence on achieving successes between male swimming World Champions medalists on short and long distances in freestyle in years 1994 – 2013.

I would like to do something original . Hope to see your posts!

[maroctam]

Hello, I think that your ideas are pretty good actually since you do have to show personal engagement (which you can easily do by making people complete surveys that are related to your question) and then the actual math within it is feasible with these topics as you need a couple of extensive statistical tests (chi-squared and pearson's correlation for example). This can be done with your first idea as both variables are numbers: time and grades. However, I don't know how you would be able to do statistical tests with your second idea.

You're on the right track! Good luck!

Hey guys , Sorry for changing a little...

but

I would like to ask , do you think is it good topic for Math Studies Internal ?

: The age influence on achieving successes between male swimming World Champions medalists on short and long distances in freestyle in years 1994 – 2013.

I would like to do something original . Hope to see your posts!

This question is out of context... how about you start a new topic (go to http://www.ibsurvival.com/forum/50-maths-studies/ and press the blue "START NEW TOPIC" button) so that the people here can continue their discussion on this specific IA while you have your questions answered on a separate thread. Thank you. Edited September 9, 2013 by maroctam

[Rita Njoku]

This is a complicated problem, as the maths is not "obviously" visible. For example.. "The history of Pi" - In this investigation i would look at how they got the first, 5 numbers of Pi, its a mathematical process lol. Another would be "The golden ratio in our lives" - In this investigation i would look at what is the golden ratio, how i find the golden ratio, this is the mathematical process, then just show it in everyday life.

So to elaborate again, your idea doesnt scream maths, its more of a psychology, mixed with biology idea.

If i was you, I would look at the marking criteria. It may spark some ideas.

Kev

the idea seems good if your doing it but i don't need anything that would make my life hard....

i just need a simple but good idea that will allow me to gather loads of data.. and that will enable me to do some mathematical processes like chi squared, Pccm, etc

thanks for the suggestion tho

Hey there!

I actually disagree with what the other member has written. The kind of topic you've chosen is not atypical for math studies IAs - in fact, IAs studying the statistics of something are the most frequently used approaches to the internal assignments.

I cannot formulate the idea itself for you, as that's an integral part of your own work. What I can say, is that you need to study the relationship between the two elements. That's often what the statistical IAs focus on, and it makes perfect sense for your IA. This way you can make a connection between sleep and performance with a mathematical approach, which is exactly what the IA is about.

I think you'd benefit if you group the different answers in the two different elements. For instance, let's say that grades 1 are 2 and 3 is below average, 4 and 5 is average and 6 and 7 is above average compared to world statistics for the IB diploma. Then, instead of checking the correlation between each and every grade, you'd group the different grades into three categories, which will make the process much easier for you. It'll be easier for you to also do the mathematical processes related to the relationship between two elements. If you're making a survey, make sure to ask for the exact grade, though, and not whether or not the grades are above or below average!

Good luck!

Thanks very much!!! and i totally understood what you said about the relationship of the two elements...i think i would continue to go forward with this idea and hope my teacher think is a good one....

ohh yeah , one thing i wanted to know more about is the survey bit?

[alefal]

I'm sorry, I didn't see your question before now.

As I was writing, I suggest you ask for exact grades if you're making a survey. Although asking whether or not a person's grades may fit within a given category which would make life easier for you, asking for exact grades instead (preferably on only one scale - don't mix letter grades and IB grades for instance) will allow you to do some own calculations which you can use to enhance your IA. For instance, you could calculate the average of your case study and actually make the categories yourself, instead of relying on the statistics provided by IBO. You could also discuss the distribution in your case study, compare your data with the statistics provided by IBO, and comment on that.

I hope this made this a bit clearer - but if it didn't, please ask again!

[Lari Souza]

Hi,

The first draft of the IA is due next week and I haven't really started. I'm kinda lost, our teacher didn't really explain us how it should be done and its format, is there any good samples or documents explaining the format?

Also, my teacher says my topic is fine but I'm not sure. My topic is modelling and gymnastics.

i will collect the data for the past five olympics on gymnastics - individual all around, based on that I will use modelling to find out which country is likely to win the next olympics. I was thinking I should also add probability to make it more reliable.

And, can the title be framed as a question?

thanks!