Help with IB Extended Essay Physics Experiment Ideas

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around generating ideas for experiments suitable for an IB Extended Essay in classical physics. Participants seek recommendations for experiments that are rich in background theory and feasible for independent research.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty in formulating a research question and requests recommendations for classical physics experiments.
  • Another participant asks for details about the assignment to provide more tailored suggestions.
  • A participant outlines several potential experiment ideas, including building a sextant to compare position data with GPS, constructing a mechanical clock to assess its accuracy, creating an accelerometer to measure car acceleration, and testing springs made from different materials to compare theoretical calculations with actual results.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not appear to have reached a consensus on a specific experiment, as the discussion is still in the brainstorming phase with multiple suggestions being offered.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not address specific limitations or assumptions regarding the feasibility or scope of the proposed experiments.

Who May Find This Useful

Students preparing for the IB Extended Essay in physics, particularly those focusing on classical physics experiments.

utp9
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TL;DR
Need help with ideas for an experiment for my investigation for an essay and need some advice on any experiments that have abundant background theory & info available online

E.g. pendulums & harmonic motion, slippage down an inclined plane, etc.
I'm having trouble coming up with a experiment to investigate for my IB Extended Essay as well as formulating my research question. Does anyone have any recommendations on similar (in terms of classical physics & abundance of background theory) physics experiments that can be done?
 
Last edited:
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russ_watters said:
Can you provide the details of the assignment?
Sure!

"The IB Extended Essay, or EE, is a mini-thesis, you will choose a research question as a topic, conduct the research independently, then write an essay on your findings. The essay itself is (maximum) 4000 words."

I'm doing mine in classical physics and looking for some inspiration for an experiment to base mine around.
 
utp9 said:
I'm doing mine in classical physics and looking for some inspiration for an experiment to base mine around.
  • Build your own sextant and compare your position data gathered by using it versus your cellphone GPS location
  • Build your own mechanical clock, powered either by a spring or by weights (like a grandfather clock). Experimentally determine the accuracy of your clock and suggest improvements that could be made
  • Build your own accelerometer, and make measurements of the acceleration of several different cars (and convert those measurements into dynomometer-type plots of horsepower vs. RPM)
  • Wind your own springs with different materials, and conduct tests to correlate your initial calculations for their characteristics versus how they actually turned out. See this post by @jrmichler for example:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...-shape-and-heat-treat-diy.994837/post-6406851

1603201415417.png


1603201701042.png
 
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Likes   Reactions: anorlunda, jrmichler and vanhees71

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