Due to logistics (and what lends itself to good IA’s) the following topics are recommended as a starting point.

• • Enthalpy

• • Kinetics

• • Stoichiometry

● Narrow this down by thinking of a particular area of interest eg which topic(s) did you enjoy in class

● Or your choice might be a based around a particular experimental technique that you enjoyed and could adapt (see Neuss p 179 for a full list and some ideas):

Acid-base titrations; Calorimetry; Extension or refinement of a standard practical;

● You may have read something that interested you and you could adapt – eg in a scientific magazine / web-site / video/ searching ‘science fair’ or ‘individual investigation’ ideas

● The complexity of your research questions should be commensurate with the level of study. You should demonstrate the knowledge and skills that you have acquired. (eg at SL a study of factors affecting rate would be acceptable; at HL calculation of order or activation energy would be expected)

● The equipment required should be readily available in the lab.

● The chemicals required should be readily available common lab reagents and required in reasonable quantities and not too expensive (eg you would not be able to investigate chemiluminescence as the luminol is very expensive)

● The IA is not an EE – the IA should take 10 hours including introduction, planning, implementing & feedback (EE takes 40 hours). If you want to investigate something more complex that takes longer or needs more sophisticated chemicals or equipment then you should have chosen an EE in Chemistry!

● Think green – could you scale down the quantities you are planning to use and still achieve results?