Physics IA
IB Physics IA ideas: 30 guided topics
pick one, then make it yours ↓Thirty experiments that work for the Physics IA. Open one to see the big idea, how to make it yours, the set-up, how the report could be laid out, what your graph could look like and a step-by-step plan.
How the IB Physics IA is marked
- 20% of your grade
- About 10 hours
- 3,000 words max
- 24 marks
- Research design 6 marks A focused question and a method that can answer it.
- Data analysis 6 marks Correct processing, with uncertainties carried through.
- Conclusion 6 marks An answer your analysis supports, compared with accepted science.
- Evaluation 6 marks Real weaknesses and realistic improvements.
You may work in a group of up to three, but each student changes a different variable and writes an individual report.
Physics IA ideas to start with
- Projectile: is the best launch angle really 45°?Everyone knows 45° gives the longest throw. That is only true on level ground. You're going to find out where it stops being true.
- Friction: is the coefficient really a constant?Friction is meant to be F = μN, with μ a fixed number for two surfaces. You're going to test that model and see how far it holds.
- Paper cones: what sets the terminal speed?Drop a paper cone and it stops speeding up almost at once. Your job is to explain why, and to find what the final speed depends on.
- Trolley on a ramp: how much energy does friction take?Textbooks say a trolley at the bottom of a ramp has the speed of a free fall from the same height. Your job is to show how far from ideal your ramp really is.
- Specific heat capacity: can you beat the heat loss?The textbook value for a metal is easy to look up. Getting your own measurement close to it is a fight with the room.
- Salt and ice: how fast does a block melt in brine?Every winter, councils throw salt on icy roads. You're going to find out what the salt does to the clock, and why.
All 30 Physics IA topics
- Projectile: is the best launch angle really 45°?●●○
- Friction: is the coefficient really a constant?●●○
- Paper cones: what sets the terminal speed?●●○
- Trolley on a ramp: how much energy does friction take?●●○
- Specific heat capacity: can you beat the heat loss?●●○
- Salt and ice: how fast does a block melt in brine?●○○
- Cooling water: how well does Newton's law fit?●●○
- Insulation: does double the layer halve the loss?●●○
- Trapped air: does pressure times volume stay constant?●●○
- Wire resistance: does R really scale with length?●○○
- Solar cell: does output follow the cosine of the angle?●●○
- Capacitor discharge: what sets the time constant?●●○
- Pendulum: when does the small-angle rule break?●●○
- Mass on a spring: does the spring's own mass matter?●○○
- Sound level and distance: does 1/r² hold?●○○
- Ripple tank: how does depth change the wave speed?●●●
- Refraction: how closely does light obey Snell's law?●○○
- Light through a dye: how does absorption change?●●○
- Single slit: how does the pattern width change with a?●●○
- Vibrating string: is f really proportional to 1/L?●○○
- Resonance tube: how long is the air column really?●●○
- Two magnets: how does the force fall with distance?●●○
- Coil: how does the central field depend on current?●●○
- Solenoid: does doubling the turns double the field?●●○
- Magnet in a copper tube: how slow is its fall?●●○
- LED colours: can you measure Planck's constant?●●○
- Photoelectric effect: stopping voltage vs frequency●●○
- Dice decay: does chance follow the exponential law?●○○
- Counting radiation: does it follow an inverse square?●●●
- Shielding radiation: the absorption coefficient●●●
No topic matches. Try fewer words.
IB Physics IA guides
Official course page: the IB Physics pages on ibo.org. Check your teacher's guidance for the criteria that apply to you.
Make sure it's yours
This guide shows how a topic like this is usually approached. It is not an IA. Your question, choices, data, analysis and words must be your own: change something, tell your teacher where the idea came from, and follow your school's rules on outside help.