Chemistry IA HELP!

[DatM0nster]

Hi Fellow!!!!!

 

 

I am doing Chem HL and we are asked to produced an outline of our proposed Chem IA by early Feb and I'm really lost + my chem teacher is out of reach due to the holidays. I have had some ideas going through my mind, but I'm not sure if they would work for HL cuz they seem to be rather straight forward and simple. I really hope you guys can give me some advice and idea on this

 

These are what I've though of so far:

 

1. What are the impacts of temperature on the preservation of Vitamin C in selected vegetable/fruit (TBC).

 

My concern with this is that, will i have enough things to write about it? I've done some researches on this, the experiment itself is complicated enough but would i have enough content to write for my conclusion?

 

2. An investigation of commercial Vitamin C pills, Does the amount of Vitamin C in each tablet match up with what the producer has proclaimed?

 

I don't even know if this can be an IA.

 

3.  Investigation of water hardness and its impacts on cardiovascular diseases.

 

I couldnt find enough data on the disease part. Maybe someone can help me play around this one?

 

 

Many Thanks in Advance!!!1

[Thrashmaster]

My tips for Chem IAs:

 

1. Choose something relatively simple. Being creative does you no good here. 

2. Test something obvious: We all know that surface area and temperature affect the rate of reaction. But, why not test how changing one of those affects magnesium strips dissolving in sulfuric acid? It should have a clear trend for you to analyze and you'll be able to justify it (and be able to explain the science in the intro. Note: Do what's commensurate with your progress in HL Chem. This one might be too simple, but you get the idea. I think all of your Vitamin C ones are too hard/unrelated.).

3. It's okay to fail. If you make a calorimeter and it loses a ton of heat (your numbers have a huge total error), that's okay, perhaps even preferable. For your Chem EE, you want good results. For an IA, that isn't necessarily true. Failed results give you a great conclusion. You talk about what went wrong, why, and how you'd fix it next time. And you still have all the graphs and numbers (including error) in the data section.

[DatM0nster]

My tips for Chem IAs:

 

1. Choose something relatively simple. Being creative does you no good here. 

2. Test something obvious: We all know that surface area and temperature affect the rate of reaction. But, why not test how changing one of those affects magnesium strips dissolving in sulfuric acid? It should have a clear trend for you to analyze and you'll be able to justify it (and be able to explain the science in the intro. Note: Do what's commensurate with your progress in HL Chem. This one might be too simple, but you get the idea. I think all of your Vitamin C ones are too hard/unrelated.).

3. It's okay to fail. If you make a calorimeter and it loses a ton of heat (your numbers have a huge total error), that's okay, perhaps even preferable. For your Chem EE, you want good results. For an IA, that isn't necessarily true. Failed results give you a great conclusion. You talk about what went wrong, why, and how you'd fix it next time. And you still have all the graphs and numbers (including error) in the data section.

Thank You Thrashmaster for the advice.

 

Going about keeping the experiment simple and finding something that has a room for error, I am now thinking about something in the direction of the heat of combustion of a homologous group of organic substance (fuels). 

 

Would the complexity of the idea suffice the requirement of IBO and get me a good mark if i've done it in the right way?

[Thrashmaster]

 

My tips for Chem IAs:

 

1. Choose something relatively simple. Being creative does you no good here. 

2. Test something obvious: We all know that surface area and temperature affect the rate of reaction. But, why not test how changing one of those affects magnesium strips dissolving in sulfuric acid? It should have a clear trend for you to analyze and you'll be able to justify it (and be able to explain the science in the intro. Note: Do what's commensurate with your progress in HL Chem. This one might be too simple, but you get the idea. I think all of your Vitamin C ones are too hard/unrelated.).

3. It's okay to fail. If you make a calorimeter and it loses a ton of heat (your numbers have a huge total error), that's okay, perhaps even preferable. For your Chem EE, you want good results. For an IA, that isn't necessarily true. Failed results give you a great conclusion. You talk about what went wrong, why, and how you'd fix it next time. And you still have all the graphs and numbers (including error) in the data section.

Thank You Thrashmaster for the advice.

 

Going about keeping the experiment simple and finding something that has a room for error, I am now thinking about something in the direction of the heat of combustion of a homologous group of organic substance (fuels). 

 

Would the complexity of the idea suffice the requirement of IBO and get me a good mark if i've done it in the right way?

 

It's an internal assessment, so ask your teacher. He/She will be the one grading it, after all.