The Ultimate Guide to the IB Math AI Internal Assessment

Alright, let's talk about the Math AI IA. It's that big project that counts for 20% of your final IB grade, and honestly, it's one of your best opportunities to show off your skills. Forget about scary exam halls; this is your chance to explore a topic you genuinely find interesting and apply the math you've learned to the real world. Think of it less as a test and more as your own personal mathematical investigation.

This guide will walk you through everything, from picking a topic you won't get bored of, to understanding exactly what your examiner wants to see. Let's get that 7.

Part 1: The Blueprint - Structuring a Killer IA

While there isn't a super rigid formula, a well-structured IA guides the reader logically through your investigation. Most high-scoring IAs are between 12-20 pages and follow a flow like this:

Part 2: Decoding the Marking Criteria - What Examiners Really Want

Your IA is marked against five criteria, totaling 20 marks. Understanding these is the key to knowing where to focus your energy. Think of this as the "rules of the game".

Part 3: Finding Your Perfect Topic - The Brainstorming Process

Choosing a topic is the most important step, and it's where you should spend some serious time. A good topic is one you're genuinely curious about. Your passion (or lack of it) will show in your writing.

1. Start with Your Passions: What do you actually like? Think about your hobbies (gaming, sports, music, cooking, travelling), your other IB subjects (Economics, Psychology, Biology), or real-world issues you care about (climate change, finance).
2. Connect to Math AI Concepts: How can you link your passion to a math concept? Sports are full of statistics. Financial markets can be modelled. Population changes can be described with functions. Pick a part of the syllabus you enjoyed.
3. Hunt for Data: A great idea is nothing without data. Can you find reliable data online (government statistics, sports databases, financial reports)? Or can you generate your own data through a survey or experiment?
4. Formulate a Focused Research Question: A broad topic is a recipe for a shallow IA. Narrow it down to something specific, measurable, and answerable.
   • Vague: "Math in Football"
   • Focused: "What is the correlation between a Premier League team's total wage bill and their final league position?"

Your IA Idea Validation Checklist

Before you dive in, run your idea past this quick checklist:

• Feasibility: Can you realistically gather the data and complete the math within the timeframe and page limit?
• Appropriateness: Does the topic allow you to use math that's at your course level (SL or HL)?
• Personal Interest: Are you genuinely curious about this? Will you stay motivated for weeks?
• Data Availability: Can you find reliable, relevant data? A sample size of at least 30-60 data points is a good target.
• Teacher Feedback: Have you discussed your idea with your teacher? Their guidance is gold. Do this early!

Part 4: 50+ IA Ideas To Get You Started

Stuck for ideas? No problem. Use this list as a starting point. The best IAs often come from taking one of these general ideas and finding a unique, personal angle on it.

Statistics & Data Analysis

• Investigating the correlation between a country's GDP per capita and its level of female representation in parliament.
• Analyzing the relationship between hours of sleep and student reaction times or focus levels.
• Does a playlist's tempo (BPM) have a statistically significant effect on running pace?
• Modeling the relationship between temperature and a city's electricity consumption.
• Is there a correlation between a country's Human Development Index (HDI) and its citizens' financial literacy?
• Using statistical tests to see if M&M's colour distribution matches the company's claims.
• Predicting a movie's box office success based on critic ratings, audience scores, and budget.
• Analyzing the link between online shopping frequency and monthly income/allowance.

Modeling & Optimization

• Modeling the population growth of wolves in Yellowstone National Park using logistic functions.
• Using volumes of revolution to calculate the volume of an irregularly shaped object, like a vase or decanter.
• Modeling the cooling curve of a cup of tea or coffee to find the "perfect" drinking time.
• Optimizing the shape of a soda can to minimize aluminum usage while holding a specific volume.
• Modeling the spread of a pandemic or a viral social media trend.
• Using trigonometric functions to model the variation of daylight hours or temperature over a year in your city.
• Modeling a company's revenue over time to forecast future earnings.
• Modeling the motion of a swimmer using parametric equations to analyze their technique.

Sports Analytics

• Investigating the correlation between spending on player salaries and team success in football/basketball.
• Modeling the perfect trajectory of a basketball free throw or a penalty kick.
• Using geometry to determine which volleyball serve-receive formation provides the best court coverage.
• Analyzing the relationship between a Formula 1 car's starting grid position and its probability of finishing on the podium.
• Is there a link between a pitcher's ERA (Earned Run Average) in baseball and their salary?
• Modeling the trajectory of a horse's jump in equestrian events.

Technology, Finance & Urban Planning

• Using Graph Theory to find the most efficient delivery route for a local business (the "Traveling Salesman Problem").
• Using Voronoi diagrams to determine the optimal placement of new hospitals, schools, or fire stations in a city.
• Modeling cryptocurrency trends (e.g., Bitcoin value) using time series analysis.
• Investigating the mathematics behind GPS navigation and triangulation.
• Calculating and comparing Gini coefficients to understand income inequality between two countries.
• Modeling personal investment strategies to see how different interest rates or contributions affect long-term growth.