IA ideas library
Statistics IA ideas: real questions, real data, the right test
Statistics explorations work best when you have a genuine question with a yes/no or how-much answer, and data you can defend. The mathematics comes from choosing the right tool — correlation, regression, a chi-squared test, a t-test, a confidence interval — checking its conditions, and interpreting the result in context.
Every idea here says where the data comes from and which test fits it. AI students have the widest statistical toolkit; AA students can use regression, the normal and binomial distributions and, at HL, continuous random variables and Bayes' theorem.
Statistics & hypothesis testing ideas (13)
- Do students who sleep less react more slowly?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- Is home advantage in football disappearing?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- Do left-handed tennis players have an advantage?AI SLAI HLAA HLSolid
- Is crime seasonal? Testing monthly crime countsAI SLAI HLAccessible
- How much is being near a station worth?AI SLAI HLAA SLSolid
- Does money buy a longer life? GDP and life expectancyAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- Does Benford's law hold for the populations of the world's towns?AI SLAI HLAA HLSolid
- Are elite footballers more likely to be born early in the selection year?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- Can statistics tell two authors apart?AI SLAI HLAA SLSolid
- 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
- Are NBA players getting taller?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- Do TV series really get worse over time?AI SLAI HLAccessible
Also relevant (48)
- Does my phone battery really drain in a straight line?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- Why do stopping distances grow so fast? Modelling the Highway Code tableAA SLAI SLAccessible
- Is Moore's law still true?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLAccessible
- Does a pendulum's period really depend on the square root of its length?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLAccessible
- Does light really follow an inverse-square law?AA SLAI SLAccessible
- Can you predict a tree's height from its trunk?AI SLAI HLAA SLSolid
- How fast would flu spread through my school? An SIR modelAI HLAA HLAmbitious
- Can mathematics predict a battle? Lanchester's laws and Iwo JimaAI HLAA HLAmbitious
- How fast does news spread through a year group?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- Is a penalty shoot-out fair to the team that shoots second?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- The birthday problem, extended: what about birthdays within a day?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Are arrivals at the school canteen random? A Poisson model of a queueAI HLAI SLSolid
- How many extra tickets should an airline sell?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Is the “hot hand” real? Streaks in my free throwsAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- What is the chance of hitting every green light on my route?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- 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
- Which method measures a building's height most accurately?AA SLAI SLAccessible
- Has my pocket money kept up with inflation?AI SLAA SLAI HLAccessible
- Measuring inequality: fitting Lorenz curves and computing the Gini coefficientAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Is the euro–dollar exchange rate a random walk?AI SLAI HLAA HLAmbitious
- What price maximises profit at our school bake sale?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLSolid
- How fast do cars lose value? Modelling depreciation from listingsAI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- Is there a limit to how fast humans can run 100 m?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Are cricket batting scores geometrically distributed?AI SLAI HLAA HLAA SLSolid
- Can a simple rating system predict football results?AI SLAI HLAA HLAmbitious
- Will women's Olympic times ever match men's?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA 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 deforestation in [a country] slowing down?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- Are Atlantic hurricanes becoming more frequent?AI SLAI HLAmbitious
- How much does a cold month cost my family?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- How much does rain reduce bike-share use?AI SLAI HLSolid
- How much vaccination is enough to stop measles?AI SLAI HLAA SLSolid
- Is BMI's “height squared” right? Evidence from OlympiansAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- Do more doctors mean fewer infant deaths?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- Can height predict lung capacity?AI SLAI HLAA SLAccessible
- How connected is my year group? Analysing a friendship networkAI HLAI SLSolid
- Which Underground station is the most central?AI HLAI SLSolid
- Will one phone brand take over? Brand loyalty as a Markov chainAI HLSolid
- The Collatz conjecture: what can we say about stopping times?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- How many primes are there below n? Testing the prime number theoremAA SLAA HLAI SLSolid
- Is the golden ratio really everywhere? Testing a popular claimAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- How big is White's advantage in chess, and does it depend on skill?AI SLAI HLAA HLSolid
- Can you beat people at rock–paper–scissors?AI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLAccessible
- How many shuffles does it take to mix a deck of cards?AI HLAA HLAI SLAmbitious
- Where should you build your first settlement in Catan?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLAccessible
Frequently asked questions
How much data do I need for a statistics IA?
Enough for your test to mean something: typically at least 30 paired values for correlation and regression, and enough in each category that expected frequencies are at least 5 for a chi-squared test. Say why your sample size is appropriate.
Is a survey of my classmates acceptable data?
It can be, but reflect on how representative it is and on bias in self-reported answers. Measured data (reaction times, heart rates, timings) is usually more convincing than opinions.
Tools for every stage of your IA
IA plannerAnswer the planning questions, save them and share with your teacher.
Desmos workspacePlot your data, fit models and keep your graphs with your plan.
AI feedback on a draftCriterion-by-criterion feedback with evidence from your own text. Coaching, not rewriting.
Examiner reviewPete, a practising IA examiner, reads your draft and talks it through with you (€100).
Other topics: Modelling · Calculus · Differential equations · Probability · Geometry & Voronoi · Finance · Sport · Environment · Health & biology · Networks & graphs · Pure maths · Art & music · Games & puzzles