IB Chemistry IA Ideas: 20 Topics That Score Well

IB Chemistry IA Ideas: 20 Topics That Score Well

Choosing a topic is often the hardest part of the Chemistry IA — not because good ideas don’t exist, but because most students default to the same five overused experiments (rates of reaction with marble chips, titration of vinegar). Below are 20 topic areas that consistently score well because they allow for a genuinely testable, quantitative research question and a clear route to a statistical analysis.

Physical Chemistry Topics

1. Effect of ionic strength on reaction rate — investigating how the concentration of a spectator ion affects the rate of an iodine clock reaction.
2. Determining the activation energy of a reaction using the Arrhenius equation and a rate-vs-temperature dataset.
3. Enthalpy of combustion of alcohols — comparing experimental vs theoretical values and analyzing the pattern across a homologous series.
4. Effect of concentration on electrical conductivity of a series of electrolyte solutions.
5. Rate of a reaction as a function of surface area using a designed particle-size variable (not just «big vs small» — use sieved size fractions).

Analytical Chemistry Topics

6. Determining the concentration of Vitamin C in different fruit juices using iodine titration.
7. Using UV-Vis spectrophotometry to determine the concentration of food dye in a soft drink.
8. Determining the purity of aspirin synthesized in the lab, using melting point depression.
9. Comparing caffeine content in different beverages using paper chromatography with Rf value analysis.
10. Testing water hardness across different local water sources using EDTA titration.

Organic Chemistry Topics

11. Rate of esterification as a function of the length of the carbon chain in the alcohol used.
12. Effect of catalysts on the rate of hydrolysis of a specific ester.
13. Comparing the antioxidant capacity of different plant extracts using a DPPH assay.
14. Investigating the effect of pH on enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of a substrate (bridges Chemistry and Biology — check with your coordinator if this counts for Chemistry).

Equilibrium & Acid-Base Topics

15. Determining the Ka of a weak acid using pH titration curves.
16. Investigating buffer capacity as a function of concentration.
17. Effect of temperature on the position of equilibrium in a reversible reaction with a visible color change (e.g., cobalt chloride complex).

Electrochemistry Topics

18. Investigating the effect of electrolyte concentration on the EMF of a galvanic cell.
19. Determining the efficiency of a simple electrolysis cell at different current levels.
20. Comparing the corrosion rate of different metals under controlled electrolyte conditions.

What Makes These Topics Score Well

Each of the topics above allows you to:

• Define a clearly measurable independent and dependent variable
• Collect at least 5 levels of data with multiple repeats
• Apply a relevant statistical test (linear regression, t-test, or error propagation analysis)
• Discuss real chemical theory in your evaluation, not just procedural errors

How to Choose the Right One for You

Pick a topic based on equipment access, not ambition. A simple titration done with rigorous repeats and a strong statistical analysis will consistently outscore an ambitious spectrophotometry experiment done with sloppy technique. Talk to your chemistry teacher about what equipment your school actually has before finalizing your research question.