Is my Math IA topic too difficult? (Apollo 11)

[SohailB]

My math teacher requested the class to give him our topics for the IA before the summer break and I said that I would do a mathematical investigation of Apollo 11's flight path and other things using calculus.

 

I chose the topic hastily as everyone else seemed to have a topic but I was so lost. I thought about using the golden ratio in beauty and cosmetics (but that's so overused). Plus, my math teacher really wanted me to go for something great and interesting as my grades were good and he didn't want the IA to bring it down.

 

He's asked the class for a first draft by the beginning of twelfth grade (2 weeks), and said that If we don't deliver, he won't help us with the IA and will be really disappointed. The thing is.. I've only started being serious about it now because of travels, internships, and most of all, procrastination.

 

I'm kinda freaking out as well because I just saw NASA's flight plan for Apollo 11

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11fltpln_final_reformat.pdf. Even just by reading other things about space travel I realized It's really complicated and don't think I will be able to write about it without it a) Being oversimplified to a point where my investigation is useless or similar to those you find in the physics HL book or b) Using too many topics outside of IB Math HL and not making sense or understanding any of it myself. 

 

The main reason I haven't changed it thus far is because I don't want my teacher to know that I procrastinated and left the IA till the last minute, as he is pretty strict. I'm also a really indecisive person and procrastinated a lot and am under stress. And to top it all off I kinda lied to him in the beginning of summer emailing him saying that the IA was going great...

 

So, I wanted to ask if you think it will be wise to carry on with this topic or at least where I could go from here. Thank you all so much and I would really appreciate any advice you could provide.

 

[kw0573]

It sounds like a doable topic. Using math to model something always seems to work. You might have to learn some math on your own if you have to encounter vector calculus (not covered in IB). Like this is one of those subjects you have to know how the math would work out before you start writing. Which could be a problem if you are to have something by beginning of class. 

I don't think over simplification is a problem. Air resistance can be neglected in space. The Moon's orbit and Earth's orbit can be approximated with ellipses. The Sun can be assumed to be stationary in the few days of the Apollo 11's travel. Gravity can be in Newtonian physics. Using too many topics outside of IB Math is ok as long as you can truly explain every step. Don't simply copy others' equations.