Alex1307 Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Hello, I need some help with my Chemistry Extended Essay. So yeah, my research question (which actually is a statement)is something like:Comparison of the amount of heat energy released during the combustion of biodiesel fuels made from different type of vegetable oils. My experiment consists in making biodiesel fuel from different type of oils and then measure the amount of heat energy release during the combustion of each one of them. Unfortunately, I cannot use a bomb calorimeter because my school can't provide it, so I had to conduct a very simple experiment that we already did in Chemistry class. Is that okay? Or am I going to get a low grade? I also want to know, is my 'research question' fine? And what is the most important part of a Chemistry EE? Evaluation? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daedalus Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 There is no "most important" part... take a look at the criteria here. Apart from that your research question looks fine to me; and if you are limited by the school equipment I think it's okay too. Generally for Chemistry it's your method of dealing with experimental issues, not the issues themselves, which determine your score. You should make your write-up professional, your analysis and graphs top-notch, and your conclusion should also deal with the significance of your results in the real world today. For example, do you think the energy released by burning is the most important factor for choosing the biofuels of tomorrow? Could be that the pollution released or the ease of production is more relevant to make it cost-effective... this is just an example but this sort of thinking evaluation is very important. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime Sunshine Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 I think a bit part of a chemistry extended essay is showing that you can be innovative in the designing of your experiment. In the examiners report which I can no longer find , it says that the people who had a question in a real life context that they wanted to answer and came up with a way of answering it through an experiment. It is important that the experiment is not just a straight forward lab report that can be done in class, you need to show that you thought about some different methods of answering that original question. It is ok to do a simple experiment, but you need to show that you haven't just taken the "easy" path and done a simple investigation. Designing the experiment to answer the question is a very important part of a chemistry EE. Also so that you cover the "context" bit of the criterion, you would have to talk about the relevance of bio diesel combustion energies to WHY you are doing this experiment.The evaluation is also an important part of a chemistry EE, like it is in any science lab report. To score well in it all you have to do is follow the criteria that Daedalus linked to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micaelapedrazas Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 I think your chem question is a little too vague. you should try to think on an specific aspect of it.WHat do you think about my research question? how can i improve it?RESEARCH QUESTION: Preliminary analysis of the feasibility of producing biodiesel, from different biomasses in Bolivia as a substitute of imported diesel in the region. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Survival Robot Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Automatic generated message This topic has been closed by a moderator. Reason: The question was asked by may 2011 candidate who already finished IB and extended essay. If you disagree to this action, please report this post, and a moderator or administrator will reconsider it. Kind regards, IB Survival Staff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts