Miley Posted April 30, 2018 Report Share Posted April 30, 2018 Hi! I am doing my math IA right now and I have no idea if it is going to work. I am planning on doing projectile motion about soccer. I am going to draw graphs using different angles of the kick and the defense's height in front of the player and see which scenario allows the fastest speed of the ball by using differentiation. Can this work and is it too easy? PLEASE HELP ME!! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw0573 Posted April 30, 2018 Report Share Posted April 30, 2018 What you have described is not projectile motion. Projectile specifically assumes negligible friction as an object moves under the influence of gravity, and friction is what causes most of the twists and turns in the ball. The other issue is that drawing of the trajectory does not directly leads to speed, as you need to know them as a function of time. I think it's an ok topic once you figure out the details of the physics (such as with a physics teacher at your school) so you can apply the math correctly and communicate it effectively. However you need to devise a way to find the trajectory components as functions of time and it require some creativity. Finally a reminder that the amount of number crunching does not necessarily correlate with the strength of the exploration and that if this topic were to be too challenging, a theoretical discussion might also be good. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miley Posted April 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2018 Thank you for your answer! Sadly, my school does not do physics so we can not do that and it is true that I need the function of time..... If it is possible, do you have any other ideas that have to do with football? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw0573 Posted April 30, 2018 Report Share Posted April 30, 2018 I don't recommend doing a math IA in a physics-related topic if you do not have access to a physics teacher. You could talk about geometry of the soccer ball but you might not get very far. It's best to start with your strengths in math, rather than your interests then somehow have math into it. Many people choose some type of data analysis but I just want to reiterate that too much data may make the IA convoluted and hurt the grade. A topic with just theoretical discussions about math may score just as well. If you like calculus you can go for some related rates (see HL) or other optimization problems. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miley Posted April 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2018 I want to do something that relates to intergration and differentiation. What is there to do?? I am so worried now since i have to turn in my idea soon! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw0573 Posted April 30, 2018 Report Share Posted April 30, 2018 I am not allowed to give more precise suggestions then what I have offered. I think start by seeing what's in the HL core calculus section and some are very accessible to SL students. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miley Posted May 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Okay!! Thank you so much!!! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.