Switching IA topics last minute

[tashakappler]

Heya,

 

So in the beginning of IB11, my teacher advised us all to do an IA on a topic we actually like and are interested in. I had two main ideas in mind, one was doing an experiment on something related to hurling - a Gaelic sport which I've recently picked up through the wonders of CAS, and the other idea was doing something related to solar power - because I'm big on renewables and my dad used to be a lobbyist for solar power companies.

 

My teacher said no to the hurling idea because he thought it would be too hard to find enough controlled variables, so I went with the solar power topic. I did that. It failed miserably. I'm not gonna lie, Physics is probably my weakest subject, but I did my experiment about a dozen times and still got very bad data, which we later found out was due to the equipment we used. I also found it hard to talk about the physics behind solar power since it's not a topic we covered in great detail in class (I should have known better than to do something I wasn't 100% familiar with).

 

About a week ago, my teacher asked me if I wanted to try out the hurling idea just in case I get better data and overall, a better IA. He said I didn't have to switch topics, but that it was worth considering. Switching topics now would leave me with very little time to get my IA done, but it might be worth it. I'm wondering, has anyone done their IA on anything mechanics related like doing an experiment using balls, and did they have trouble finding enough controlled variables? Any tips on that? If I know for sure that I can do a decent lab report within the next month, then I'll definitely go for it. Just want to weigh out the pros and cons of doing this now, so late into the IB.

[eross]

Heya,

 

So in the beginning of IB11, my teacher advised us all to do an IA on a topic we actually like and are interested in. I had two main ideas in mind, one was doing an experiment on something related to hurling - a Gaelic sport which I've recently picked up through the wonders of CAS, and the other idea was doing something related to solar power - because I'm big on renewables and my dad used to be a lobbyist for solar power companies.

 

My teacher said no to the hurling idea because he thought it would be too hard to find enough controlled variables, so I went with the solar power topic. I did that. It failed miserably. I'm not gonna lie, Physics is probably my weakest subject, but I did my experiment about a dozen times and still got very bad data, which we later found out was due to the equipment we used. I also found it hard to talk about the physics behind solar power since it's not a topic we covered in great detail in class (I should have known better than to do something I wasn't 100% familiar with).

 

About a week ago, my teacher asked me if I wanted to try out the hurling idea just in case I get better data and overall, a better IA. He said I didn't have to switch topics, but that it was worth considering. Switching topics now would leave me with very little time to get my IA done, but it might be worth it. I'm wondering, has anyone done their IA on anything mechanics related like doing an experiment using balls, and did they have trouble finding enough controlled variables? Any tips on that? If I know for sure that I can do a decent lab report within the next month, then I'll definitely go for it. Just want to weigh out the pros and cons of doing this now, so late into the IB.

 

honestly? I think it depends. My IA data didn't entirely suck, but I couldn't for the life of me get a "straight line whose gradient has some physical meaning etc. etc." . The one equation that was supposed to work didn't, so, I understand what it feels like. (oh and I changed my chem IA and re-took data for what must be the fifth time last week too ) 

 

so, I don't know what grade you're aiming for in physics; if you are going for a 7, then you definitely need a decent IA (it doesn't have to be great, but it can't be so bad that it hurts your grade), so you should probably try to change it and make it better (you don't have to change the entire experiment, however. Could you try to get the points in all the other criteria and lose a few marks on data?) 

 

if you are going for something that is not a 7 and

a) you are a good test-taker: this means that if you study enough, you are pretty sure you will get the grade you want; then you might want to consider calling it done, be happy with the points you have (hey, 12 to 15 out of 24 isn't too bad. A strong 4 (or is it a low 5?), right?), and focus on studying for the actual test so you get the marks there. 

 

but 

b) if you are not such a good test taker (get nervous, forget lots of stuff, etc.) and don't want to rely as much on the entire test, you might want to consider changing the experiment. 

 

Personally, I feel like IAs are mostly a waste of time, and I didn't really learn much with them, so I would say unless you really need the IA points (or your IA is below 12 points), call it a day and stop worrying about it. After all, it's only 15% of your grade. However, I understand that you might need the physics grade to apply to unis, so think about what you want/need and see what's best. Good luck!

[kw0573]

Climate change is talked about in both SL and HL Physics, but many schools wait till the end to cover it. It includes topics such as finding power of various generators such as hydroelectric and wind. You do some calculations about what percentage (and what wavelength) of light is reflected or reemitted at surface of Earth and by the clouds. Some calculations on how a non-shiny object (such as the Earth) varies in power and intensity because of its surface temperature and peak wavelength of emission. 

So I guess since you are stuck, it doesn't hurt to read ahead in climate change (I know my school covered the SL portion in like 5-6 classes * 1 hour class). You would just follow the syllabus and learn what you think could be relevant to your IA. Climate change is the most self-learnable topic in Physics. 

As for hurling, it's been dubbed the fastest game on grass. Perhaps you can discuss why that is using physics? Other grass sports (involving a ball) include association football, which seems to me to be most resembling to hurling so you can look at different aspects of the games. Dynamics and kinematics should give you a lot to work with. Then again it's winter in Germany right now so you must find some way to collect data without have you slip a million times on ice. Right now you probably know enough mechanics concepts to do this.

TL;DR
1) Spend 6-10 hours and learn all the climate change equations and concepts to see if they are any useful to your lab
2) Devise a redo for either solar panels or hurling, whichever is easier.
 

~~~ EDIT ~~~~

Personally, I feel like IAs are mostly a waste of time, and I didn't really learn much with them, so I would say unless you really need the IA points (or your IA is below 12 points), call it a day and stop worrying about it. After all, it's only 15% of your grade. However, I understand that you might need the physics grade to apply to unis, so think about what you want/need and see what's best. Good luck!

I partially disagree with eross. Not to discredit eross, but for both SL and HL of 2016 onward sessions, the IA is 20%.
While its not worth it if getting a 7 on the IA takes you 50 hours, getting a really low score really adds pressure and you probably have enough of that already.
I would recommend instead of evaluating your study skills, look over relevant topics in climate change and mechanics, consider your deadline, and decide for yourself how much time you want to spend on this. Going all out on the finals should be a back up plan.
 

Edited December 13, 2015 by kw0573

[kevG]

A month is more than enough time to do your IA. Hell I did mine over the weekend it was due and managed a 23/24

And yes I did mine on Mechanics, it was really fun to do tbh

[Sandy]

A month is more than enough time to do your IA. Hell I did mine over the weekend it was due and managed a 23/24

And yes I did mine on Mechanics, it was really fun to do tbh

 

Wow, that's great! If you don't mind me asking, what was your topic?

[happymelons]

I'd say go for mechanical, or any topic you've spent a lot of time on. I did mine on sound and pipe lengths, though I didn't spend much time on it in class, I really wanted to do it—and the equations seemed straightforward enough to analyse data with. If you want to make your IA a little more challenging, try messing around with momentum, velocities, deceleration, and friction (I'm thinking of throwing a mass between to other masses on a little to no friction surface). Or you could try and play around with the projectile motion of different balls of different densities and/or diameters—see where and how air resistance takes effect. Lastly, you could try using one of the invesitigations in our textbook and just expand upon it by using their controlled variables as independent variables then see where that takes you.

 

As for doing in a month? That's more than enough time, especially depending on your determination, your availability to collect data, and how insightful you are with raw data for analysis. I was assigned mine about 4 months before the deadline, but had to switch topics a couple times and ended up with a pretty good first draft in under a month—and yes, in the second year of IB .

[subho]

On 12/14/2015 at 7:13 PM, kevG said:

A month is more than enough time to do your IA. Hell I did mine over the weekend it was due and managed a 23/24

And yes I did mine on Mechanics, it was really fun to do tbh

what was your research question?