IA ideas library
Environment and climate IA ideas with real, trustworthy data
Climate and environment questions come with some of the best public data in the world: NOAA's Mauna Loa CO₂ record, NASA's temperature series, NSIDC sea ice, Ember electricity data. That makes it possible to build and test serious models.
Be careful to ask a mathematical question rather than an opinion question. “When will Arctic September sea ice fall below 1 million km² if the current trend continues, and how sensitive is that to the model?” is an IA; “climate change is bad” is not.
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.
How environment explorations reach the top bands
Personal engagement (C)
Choose a place or dataset that matters to you and make real choices about the time period and what to include. Say why this question matters now.
Reflection (D)
Be careful with extrapolation and causation: say what the model can and can't predict, and how uncertainty in the data affects your conclusion.
Use of mathematics (E)
SL: Trend and seasonal models (linear, exponential, sinusoidal) fitted and compared with residuals, or regression with an honest discussion of correlation vs causation.
HL: A differential equation model, a sum of sinusoids fitted rigorously, logarithmic transformation of a model, or inference on the trend.
An HL version
Fit a combined trend-plus-seasonal model and justify each term, or build a differential equation for the process and compare it with the data.
Environment & climate ideas (11)
- Modelling the Keeling curve: trend plus seasonsAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- When might the Arctic be nearly ice-free in September?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- How strongly is global temperature linked to ln(CO₂)?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAmbitious
- Is solar power growing logistically?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Is deforestation in [a country] slowing down?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- What is the best tilt for a solar panel at my home?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLSolid
- Are Atlantic hurricanes becoming more frequent?AI SLAI HLAmbitious
- Can a sum of sine waves predict the tides?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- How does the shape of the daylight curve change with latitude?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLAccessible
- How much does a cold month cost my family?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- How much does rain reduce bike-share use?AI SLAI HLSolid
Also relevant (14)
- Exponential or logistic? Modelling my country's populationAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Can you predict a tree's height from its trunk?AI SLAI HLAA SLSolid
- How big is my local lake? Estimating area with the trapezoidal ruleAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- How long would a lake take to flush out a pollutant?AA HLAI HLSolid
- Can the Lotka–Volterra model explain the lynx and hare cycles?AI HLAA HLAmbitious
- Is crime seasonal? Testing monthly crime countsAI SLAI HLAccessible
- Are our summers getting wetter or drier?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- How often do big earthquakes happen? The Gutenberg–Richter lawAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- Designing a working sundial for my latitudeAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Modelling the sun's height from a stick's shadowAA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLAccessible
- Does rain today predict rain tomorrow? A Markov chain for the weatherAI HLAA HLSolid
- Projecting a country's age structure with a Leslie matrixAI HLAmbitious
- Measuring the Earth with a stick and a partner schoolAA SLAI SLAA HLSolid
- Walk, cycle, bus or car? Travel to school and distanceAI SLAA SLAccessible
Frequently asked questions
Is the Keeling curve too well known for an IA?
The data is well known, but your model does not have to be. Separating the trend from the seasonal cycle (a polynomial or exponential plus a sine term) and testing it on recent years is a genuinely good IA.
Can I use Our World in Data charts directly?
Download the CSV behind the chart and cite both Our World in Data and the original source it names. Do your own analysis — do not copy their graphs.
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Answer the planning questions: your question, the maths, the data and milestones back from your deadline. Then take it to your first teacher meeting.
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Taking ESS? Maths IA ideas for environmental systems and societies students
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