IA ideas · Chemistry
Maths IA ideas for chemistry students
Chemistry is full of rates: how fast something decays, dissolves, cools or is cleared from the body. Those rates lead to exponential and logistic models and, at HL, to differential equations you can solve and test against data.
The ideas below keep the focus on the mathematics of change. Several can be run with safe experiments at home or in school; others use published data.
Next step: shortlist ideas with the free IA topic explorer, which filters starting points by course, interest and how easy the data is to get. For feedback on your own draft, the IA package (€39 once) gives you 5 AI feedback credits and every annotated exemplar in full.
Accessible (3)
Solid (5)
- Does caffeine build up if you drink coffee every few hours?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- How long would a lake take to flush out a pollutant?AA HLAI HLSolid
- Modelling bacterial growth in the biology labAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Modelling the Keeling curve: trend plus seasonsAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- How long does a bottle take to drain? Testing Torricelli's lawAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
Ambitious (1)
Frequently asked questions
Can I base my Maths IA on a chemistry experiment?
Yes, if the IA is about the mathematics of the results: deriving and testing a model. Check with your school whether you may use the same data as another IA.
Which chemistry IA suits SL?
Radioactive decay with dice, cooling curves and caffeine build-up need exponential functions and sequences, which are in both SL courses.
Which suits HL?
Pollutant flushing and caffeine doses lead to differential equations: AA HL can solve them analytically, AI HL can use slope fields and Euler's method.
Start your IA plan, free
Answer the planning questions: your question, the maths, the data and milestones back from your deadline. Then take it to your first teacher meeting.
Your plan is kept in this browser. A free account keeps it with your drafts on any device: Join free · Sign in
- Free IA self-check: guided questions give a rough band for each criterion. No upload.
- The A–E checklist as a PDF, free by email.
- Have a draft? AI feedback against A–E (Criterion A free), or a one-to-one review with Pete (€100).
By course: AA SL · AA HL · AI SL · AI HL · By interest: Computer science · Physics and engineering · Psychology and social sciences · Geography and travel · Chemistry · Biology · Economics · Business management · Sports, exercise and health science · Environmental systems and societies · Music · Visual arts · Design technology · All 239 ideas