If you're a IBDP Physics student, you know that the physics IA is an essential component of the subject as it accounts for 20% of your final grade and can help considerbably with any physics exam mishaps. With the deadline for the IA quickly approaching, you may feel extremely stressed. But don't worry, we're here to help. This blog will focus on last-minute tips and tricks to help you ace the IA and make the most of your hard work.
Important note:
If your deadline is creeping in, it's best to not make any drastic last-minute changes. Impulsive decisions such as changing the IA topic do tend to end well. Instead, it's better to focus on refining the IA rather than completely changing it. Using this blog as a checklist to ensure you have all these essential components.
1. Significant figures and decimal points
Decimal points are extremely important as they provide information regarding the level of precision of measuring equipment.
It is important to ensure that all your values have consistent decimal points. In particular, the number of decimal points in your uncertainty must match the decimal points of your data:
❌ 4.56±0.1 ✔️ 4.6±0.1
Significant figures are also vital when doing calculations. Here are 2 things to watch out for:
1. In a calculation, the product should have the same sig figs that smallest number.
For example, consider the equation:
1.23 X 4.567 = 5.61741
Here, 1.23 has 3 signifcant figures whereas the other, 4.567, has 4 significant figures. In turn, the product, 5.61741, must be written with 3 significant figures as it must be representative of the smallest number used in the calculation. Hence:
1.23 X 4.567 ≈ 5.62
2. Another important element to keep in mind is that all percentage errors must be rounded to 1 significant figure. For example:
0.289% -> 0.3%
2. Be specific with your research question
Your research question is the foundation of your investigation. Having an unspecific research question can cause you to deviate in your analysis, discussion and evaluation sections, which are all worth lots of marks.
Your research questions must include the:
Dependent variable (DV)
Independent variable (IV)
Units these values are measured in
For example: how does changing the resistance in a circuit (in Ohms) alter the current (in Amps) passing through the resistor?
3. Citation and captions
All images and diagrams must have citations to prevent plagiarism. The citation can be placed in the caption of the text, as shown in the image below. The caption should also be used to give a brief yet detailed description of the test to aid readers.
An important distinction that must be made is that diagrams have captions at the bottom, while tables have headings and captions at the top.
4. Have a labelled diagram of your experimental set-up
Keep in mind that your IA will be sent to an international marker around the world to get moderated. This marker may have never seen your experimental setup before. As such, it is essential that you include a labelled diagram to effectively communicated your experimental set-up. Make sure that the annotations that you show in your diagram matches the equipment you have listed in your apparatus.
Including this will not only improve your presentation but it will increase your marks in the communication criteria.
5. Evaluation and Improvements
When evaluating your experiment you need to keep in mind 2 magic words: Precision and Accuracy. You must make sure that these 2 words are being used properly.
Precision refers to how spread out your data set is, whereas accuracy refers to how close your data is to theoretical data.
Here are some of the indicators of precision and accuracy that needs to be included in your experiment.
Indicators | Indication |
High tool error | Low precision |
High experimental uncertainty/ percentage uncertainty | Low precision |
Large discrepancy in the y-axis | Low accuracy |
Large discrepancy between theoretical and experimental values | Low accuracy |
In addition, be sure to discuss random and systematic errors when talking about accuracy and precision.
Low accuracy is associated with systematic error.
Low precision is associated with random error.
In your evaluation, remember to explicitly outline whether the precision and accuracy of your data is a strength or weakness. From there, discuss researched improvements that can be implemented to improve the accuracy and precision of your experiment. This is similar to reducing the level of error in your experiment
Conclusion
Overall, we truly believe that you can succeed in your physics IA with ease as long as you ensure that you have all the basics covered! Also, check our Instagram post to browse some more tips on how to avoid common mistakes in your physics IA!
Comments