IA ideas · for IB SEHS students
Maths IA ideas for sports, exercise and health science students
Sports, exercise and health science gives you questions about the body in motion: how heart rate recovers, how lung capacity scales with height, why a jump or a throw has a best angle, how fast a sprinter accelerates. Each one has a model you can derive or fit and data you can collect safely yourself.
The ideas below mix physiology (exponential recovery, power laws), biomechanics (projectiles, kinematics) and the statistics and game theory of sport. Keep the focus on the mathematics, and keep any testing on people safe, consented and anonymous.
Accessible (5)
- How fast does my heart rate recover after exercise?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLAccessible
- Can height predict lung capacity?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- Do students who sleep less react more slowly?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- Are elite footballers more likely to be born early in the selection year?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- Estimating g from a video of a falling ballAA SLAI SLAccessible
Solid (11)
- Is BMI's “height squared” right? Evidence from OlympiansAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- How fast is a sprinter at each moment? Differentiating 100 m splitsAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Why don't long jumpers take off at 45°?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- What is the best angle to shoot a free throw?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Is there a limit to how fast humans can run 100 m?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Will women's Olympic times ever match men's?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- Left, right or centre? Game theory for penalty kicksAA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLSolid
- Does the best team win? Knockout cups versus leaguesAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- How fast does a sledge go? Acceleration, friction and slopeAA SLAI SLAA HLSolid
- How do doctors estimate your skin area? Comparing body-surface-area formulasAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Is the “hot hand” real? Streaks in my free throwsAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
More in this area: all sport IA ideas · voting, fairness & game theory · simulation & monte carlo methods · kinematics & physics-style modelling. Thinking of using the same topic or data as another IA? Check your school's policy and ask both teachers first.
Frequently asked questions
Can my Maths IA use data from my SEHS investigation?
Check your school's policy and ask both teachers first. The two IAs are marked on different things and must be different work; the Maths IA needs its own question and mathematical analysis.
Is it safe and allowed to collect fitness data from classmates?
Only with consent, your teacher's approval and nothing that puts anyone at risk. Keep data anonymous and avoid sensitive health information; measuring yourself is often simplest.
Which ideas suit HL?
Kinematics with calculus and vectors, models with air resistance (differential equations) and game-theory or Markov models of scoring give HL mathematics real work to do.
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