IB Physics SL Extended Essay Example

The student clearly states a relevant investigation topic and maintains an understandable line of enquiry throughout the report.

The student's method includes repeated trials, controls, raw data, uncertainty estimates, and enough procedural detail to make the experiment broadly reproducible.

The student shows some informed selection of variables and experimental design choices rather than relying on a purely descriptive approach.

The investigation shifts between the vortex and the outlet pipe, which makes the focus less precise than it could be.

Some key variables are not measured or fully verified, especially temperature and vortex consistency.

There are inconsistencies in the apparatus and mixture descriptions that reduce methodological clarity and reproducibility.

The student uses much of the relevant physics vocabulary accurately, including viscosity, density, vorticity, flow rate, and uncertainty-related terms.

The student applies subject knowledge to the investigation rather than listing definitions in isolation.

The student's use of equations, units, and calculations shows a generally secure understanding of the topic.

Some core explanations are inaccurate, such as the treatment of divergence and the way continuity is linked to Navier-Stokes.

Several conceptual claims are oversimplified or overstated, especially where the student infers relationships directly from equations without sufficient support.

The theory would be stronger if the student connected the physics more carefully to the actual experimental geometry and measured variables.