IB Physics HL Internal Assessment Example

The student places the investigation in a clear and specific physical setting, which makes the research question focused and workable.

The student explains why the chosen location and temperature range are relevant to the phenomenon they are testing.

The student includes several methodological details that help the procedure make sense, such as repeats, fixed distance, and the measurement approach.

Some background reasoning is scientifically imprecise, especially where the explanation of sound speed is oversimplified.

A few important environmental variables that could affect the investigation are not clearly controlled or discussed.

The sampling and simulation setup could be described more precisely so another person could fully reproduce it.

The student communicates the main processing steps in a generally clear sequence, including temperature conversion, averaging, speed calculation, and graphing.

The student makes a genuine effort to address uncertainty by using repeats, half-range ideas, uncertainty bounds, and propagated uncertainty in the final result.

The student's analysis connects the processed data to the underlying theory, which shows that they are not just calculating values but trying to interpret them physically.

There is a serious temperature conversion error in the spreadsheet, which affects the reliability of the processed values.

Some worked calculations are not presented with enough precision or consistency, making parts of the analysis harder to verify.

The removal of readings after seeing their effect on uncertainty weakens the objectivity of the processing.