IA ideas · Geography and travel
Maths IA ideas for geography and travel
Maps are mathematical objects. Who is closest to a hospital, why flight paths curve, how long a coastline really is, how often big earthquakes happen, how the length of the day changes with latitude: each is a geography question with a precise mathematical answer.
Many of these ideas use Voronoi diagrams (AI SL and HL) or spherical geometry, and most use open data from trustworthy sources such as the USGS, NOAA and OpenStreetMap — all linked from the idea pages.
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 (11)
- Do school catchment areas match the Voronoi diagram of the schools?AI SLAI HLSolid
- Who lives furthest from a supermarket? Food access with Voronoi diagramsAI SLAI HLSolid
- Would a Voronoi diagram have pointed John Snow to the Broad Street pump?AI SLAI HLSolid
- Where should my town put its next defibrillator? A Voronoi analysisAI SLAI HLSolid
- How long is a coastline? Measuring fractal dimensionAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- How often do big earthquakes happen? The Gutenberg–Richter lawAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- Can a sum of sine waves predict the tides?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Which Underground station is the most central?AI HLAI SLSolid
- How much is being near a station worth?AI SLAI HLAA SLSolid
- Exponential or logistic? Modelling my country's populationAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- How much does rain reduce bike-share use?AI SLAI HLSolid
Ambitious (2)
Frequently asked questions
What maths IA topics link to geography?
Voronoi diagrams for service areas, spherical geometry for flight paths, fractals for coastlines, logarithmic laws for earthquakes, sinusoidal models for tides and daylight, and population models.
Is a Voronoi IA only for AI students?
Voronoi diagrams are in the AI course, but the geometry (perpendicular bisectors, distances) is accessible to AA students too, who may use it if they explain it.
Where can I get geographical data for an IA?
Each idea page lists checked sources, such as OpenStreetMap for coordinates, the USGS earthquake catalogue and NOAA tide gauges.
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