Chemistry IA Topic Ideas + Examples

Have you got your chemistry IA deadline approaching soon and are unsure what to choose as your topic? Do not worry, this post is here to help you through that process! In this text, we will provide you with numerous chemistry IA ideas with examples to help you start the writing process. Our goal is to guide you in meeting the IB criteria and ensure you stay on track during the entire IA writing process. Whether you are interested in redox reactions, acids and bases, or any other aspect of chemistry, the suggestions below are sure to have something that fits everyone's tastes! 

Chemistry IA Ideas

1. Vitamin C content of superfoods: In this topic, you can explore how the time taken to cook superfoods such as kale and broccoli affects the amount of vitamin C that leaches into the water. The amount of vitamin C can be determined through an iodometric titration where the endpoint is indicated by the formation of a blue-black complex. 

    

2. Vitamin C content of orange juice: Looking into this, you can explore how the vitamin C content of orange juice changes with temperature since vitamin C can become unstable and degrade at temperatures that are too high. 

    

3. Enthalpy of combustion of alcohols: In this topic, you could investigate how the enthalpy of combustion of an alcohol changes as the chain length increases, or the differences in the enthalpy of combustion between primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols. 

    

4. Relationship between buffering capacity and temperature: Exploring this topic, you could look at how the buffering capacity of a bicarbonate-carbonate buffer changes as the temperature changes. This is important, especially in pH-sensitive systems like blood. 

    

5. Calcium content of vegetables: Looking at this topic, you could explore how the calcium content of different vegetables varies as the temperature they are cooked at changes, using a complexometric titration with Eriochroe Black T indicator. 

    

6. Effectiveness of antacids: In this topic, you could research the effectiveness of different brands of antacids by measuring how well they can neutralize a certain acid, for example, 0.5M hydrochloric acid. This gives an idea of how well they can neutralize excess stomach acids. 

    

7. Oxygen-carrying capacity of water: Exploring this, you could use Winkler's method to investigate how the percent salinity of water affects its oxygen-carrying capacity, which could be useful when studying aquatic life. 

    

8. Hardness of tap water: By looking at this topic, you could analyze the temporary hardness of water at different temperatures using a complexometric titration with an Eriochrome Black T indicator to quantify the concentration of dissolved ions in water. 

    

9. Catalysts and activation energy: Exploring this, you could look at how different inorganic or transition metals catalyze reactions at different rates. This can be measured by determining which catalyst brings about the greatest decrease in the activation energy of the reaction.

    

10. Movement of aspirin through a membrane: In this topic, you could explore how the rate at which aspirin moves through a membrane changes with time, which could simulate how aspirin moves through membranes in the body.

     

Check out our free Chemistry IA exemplars

View all exemplars on Clastify

Grade received: 7

What is the relationship between the temperature of the solution (K) and rate of decomposition (cm3 s -1 ) of carbonic acid (H2CO3) to carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), and, hence, what is the activation energy (kJ mol-1 ) of this reaction?

Grade received: 7

Investigating the caffeine content (mg) in different brands of black tea (Tetley Black Tea, American Breakfast Black Tea, Filiz Black Tea, & Red Label Tea) using dichloromethane in a separating funnel

Grade received: 7

What is the effect of changing temperatures (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 °C) on the amount of iodine remaining in iodized salt (in grams) after exposure to heat during cooking, as measured by an iodometric titration?

View hundreds of other Chemistry IA exemplars on Clastify

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Grade received: 7

Does the time of cooking superfoods affect the vitamin C content that leaches into the water?

Grade received: 7

What is the effect of boiling in 100°C and filtering using the carbon filter on the hardness of tap water (mol/dm3) as measured using EDTA complexometric titration?

Grade received: 7

What is the effect of the temperature (30, 40, 50, 60, 70 °C) on the buffering capacity (mol/dm3) of phosphate buffer, as measured using titration with 0.1 mol/dm3 HCl?

Grade received: 6

How does increasing the temperature of orange juice affect its Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) concentration?

View hundreds of other Chemistry IA exemplars on Clastify

Click to view exemplars

Grade received: 7

Does the structure of an alcohol affect its standard enthalpy of combustion?

Grade received: 7

What is the difference in activation energy (kJmol!") between the uncatalyzed and Iron (II) Sulfate (FeSO#) catalyzed oxidation of iodide ions by potassium iodate (KIO$) in the iodate variation of the iodine clock reaction, determined by analyzing the rate of reaction at different temperatures (10.0°C, 20.0°C, 30.0°C, 40.0°C, 50.0°C)?n

Grade received: 6

Does the structure of an alcohol affect its standard enthalpy of combustion?

Grade received: 7

What is the relationship between the temperature of the solution (K) and rate of decomposition (cm3 s -1 ) of carbonic acid (H2CO3) to carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), and, hence, what is the activation energy (kJ mol-1 ) of this reaction?

Grade received: 7

Investigating the caffeine content (mg) in different brands of black tea (Tetley Black Tea, American Breakfast Black Tea, Filiz Black Tea, & Red Label Tea) using dichloromethane in a separating funnel

Grade received: 7

What is the effect of changing temperatures (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 °C) on the amount of iodine remaining in iodized salt (in grams) after exposure to heat during cooking, as measured by an iodometric titration?

View hundreds of other Chemistry IA exemplars on Clastify

Click to view exemplars

Grade received: 7

Does the time of cooking superfoods affect the vitamin C content that leaches into the water?

Grade received: 7

What is the effect of boiling in 100°C and filtering using the carbon filter on the hardness of tap water (mol/dm3) as measured using EDTA complexometric titration?

Grade received: 7

What is the effect of the temperature (30, 40, 50, 60, 70 °C) on the buffering capacity (mol/dm3) of phosphate buffer, as measured using titration with 0.1 mol/dm3 HCl?

Grade received: 6

How does increasing the temperature of orange juice affect its Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) concentration?

View hundreds of other Chemistry IA exemplars on Clastify

Click to view exemplars

Grade received: 7

Does the structure of an alcohol affect its standard enthalpy of combustion?

Grade received: 7

What is the difference in activation energy (kJmol!") between the uncatalyzed and Iron (II) Sulfate (FeSO#) catalyzed oxidation of iodide ions by potassium iodate (KIO$) in the iodate variation of the iodine clock reaction, determined by analyzing the rate of reaction at different temperatures (10.0°C, 20.0°C, 30.0°C, 40.0°C, 50.0°C)?n

Grade received: 6

Does the structure of an alcohol affect its standard enthalpy of combustion?

Grade received: 7

What is the relationship between the temperature of the solution (K) and rate of decomposition (cm3 s -1 ) of carbonic acid (H2CO3) to carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), and, hence, what is the activation energy (kJ mol-1 ) of this reaction?

Grade received: 7

Investigating the caffeine content (mg) in different brands of black tea (Tetley Black Tea, American Breakfast Black Tea, Filiz Black Tea, & Red Label Tea) using dichloromethane in a separating funnel

Grade received: 7

What is the effect of changing temperatures (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 °C) on the amount of iodine remaining in iodized salt (in grams) after exposure to heat during cooking, as measured by an iodometric titration?

11. Caffeine content of tea: Through this topic, you can quantify the caffeine content of different brands of tea by extracting a tea solution with dichloromethane. 

     

12. Oxidation and conductivity: Through this experiment, you could look at how the conductivity of a solution changes the longer it is left to oxidize, which can be measured through the changes in current passing through the solution over time.

     

13. Melting ice cubes with salt: In this topic, you could investigate which form of salt such as calcium chloride, sodium chloride, etc. could be the most effective at melting an ice cube. This could have applications such as choosing the best compound for salting roads during winter. 

     

14. Heat of combustion of plant-based oils: By looking at this, you can explore how plant-based oils such as olive, sunflower, and coconut oil differ in their heat of combustion, which is directly related to the number of saturated and unsaturated bonds they contain.

     

15. Light from glow sticks: Through this topic, you can explore how temperature can affect the duration of which a glowstick produces light.

     

16. Effectiveness of sports drinks: Exploring this topic, you could investigate which brand of sports drink is the most beneficial to athletes by conducting electrolysis to determine the electrical conductivity of each brand of drink. 

     

17. Concentration of chlorine in swimming pools: In this topic, you could look into how the concentration of free chlorine in swimming pools changes when different concentrations of cyanuric acid are added, and also look into how this affects samples with and without urea. 

     

18. Caffeine as an enzyme inhibitor: In this topic, you could explore how different concentrations of caffeine inhibit lipase enzymes in the hydrolysis of triglycerides.

     

19. Electroplating: Looking at this topic, you could explore how the mass of the anode and cathode changes during electroplating as the voltage applied changes.

     

20. Calcium in milk: In this topic, you could investigate how heating milk to different temperatures affects the amount of calcium present in the milk, determined using a complexometric titration with EDTA. 

     

21. Calcium in toothpaste analysis: Through this topic, you could explore the calcium carbonate contents of different brands of toothpaste to see which one has more calcium. You could also conduct trials at different temperatures to simulate how different people brush their teeth in different temperatures of water, which could affect the solubility of calcium.

     

22. Hydrolysis of aspirin: In this topic, you could look into how changing the pH could affect the amount of salicylic acid synthesised from the hydrolysis of aspirin.

     

23. Iodine content of oil: Looking into this topic, you could use Wijs' method to determine how the iodine content of plant oils varies between the type of plant used to make the oil, such as olive, canola, flaxseed etc.

     

24. Antioxidant effects of rosemary: Through this topic, you could investigate whether adding rosemary oil before frying other oils affects the rancidity of the oils fried, as determined by the peroxide value of the oils.

     

25. Ethanol-gasoline fuel mixtures: In this topic, you could explore how increasing the ratio of ethanol to gasoline affects the enthalpy of combustion of the fuel mixture, which can be measured through a water calorimeter experiment.

     

26. Iron content of tablets: Exploring this topic, you can measure the amount of iron in different brands of iron tablets to see which one gives consumers the most benefits.

     

27. Detergent power of soap: Through this topic, you could look into how well a soap or detergent can remove oil or grease as the pH of the soap is changed. 

     

28. Acid in soft drinks: Exploring this topic, you could investigate different brands of soft drinks to quantify the amount of phosphoric acid that they contain, which could be useful to determine their health impacts on the body after consumption.

     

29. Iodized salt analysis: In this topic, you could investigate how changing the temperature of a salt solution of iodized NaCl affects the amount of iodine released, which can be measured using an iodometric titration.

     

30. Rate of reaction studies: Through this topic, you could explore how changing the temperature of hydrochloric acid affects its rate of reaction with different metals such as zinc, for example. This can be measured by looking at the volume of hydrogen released over a period of time. 

     

For more IA ideas and a deeper insight into how to structure your IAs, head to the Clastify website where you will be able to find numerous chemistry IA topics as well as exemplar IAs that you can refer to during your writing process!