DoK.Grace Posted May 10, 2017 Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 Hi! I have been struggling on settling on one chemistry EE topic and I have already discarded two topics that I initially had. So the experiment day scheduled for the EE by my school is in 12 hours and as I was going to buy an energy drink yesterday so that I can sit all night long working on my EE, I had to ask myself whether or not coffee will be a better option to keep me awake. And that question I asked myself struck me and that is how I came up with my topic. But now that I have read about it, I am afraid that the idea might not sound so original. Do you think I should change it? And if I was to carry on with it, I found this really nicely put procedure online on how to determine the content of caffeine in both coffee and energy drink, so my question is, will I encounter any sort of problems if I use the online procedure exactly as it is (of course- I know that I am going to have to reference it) I would appreciate if I received an answer as soon as possible! Thank you in advance! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABKor752 Posted May 10, 2017 Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 (edited) I feel like caffeine content in drinks sounds not too original as you said, but that does not mean that you have to ditch the idea. This is a perfect starting place, and the idea for an Extended Essay is to take something that exists and find an extension. I have a friend who is doing a Chem EE and he found a procedure online, but for his topic he adjusted it slightly and carried it out. In that sense, he took something that already existed and made an original change to it. It seems as though many scientists agree that more caffeine = more energy (well, obviously). Maybe you could find certain conditions for which this energy can be maximised (i.e. temperature of storage, atmospheric pressure, additives of the specific drink) and create experiments off of that. This is taking the original idea of caffeine = energy and turning it into an extension. Of course, this may have already been done before, so I suggest doing a little bit of research just to make sure this idea is more or less original. And this is just an example of what you could do; there are probably many options of how you can extend your current topic. My main point in writing this is not to completely ditch this topic. It is a great starting place, and with changes and extensions, it can be made into an original idea. I wish you luck as you continue on your extended essay! Edited May 10, 2017 by ABKor752 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martijn.S Posted May 15, 2017 Report Share Posted May 15, 2017 I have to agree with the originality, but in the end IB is going to see it anyways so it won't change much for them. If you want to maximise your points, try adding a personal twist to it. Perhaps you could also do a bit of bio (effect on body or reaction time for example), but check with your coordinator if you can do an interdisciplinary EE. "Students complete an extended essay in a specific discipline or in one of the interdisciplinary options available." (IB 2018 EE guide) Doing this would be a challenge, but that would make it more attractive for the IB. Once again, if you want to get the most points out of it, you have to add a personal twist, something that sets your work apart of the others'. Concerning the online procedure, you can use it, as long as you reference it. Just keep in mind that the EE is supposed to be an academic challenge. Good luck Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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