Spock
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Project ideas
So I'm in a rather interesting position at my school, there is a research course offered where you are allowed to choose a topic and spend the year
working with it. Having just finished AP chemistry and enjoying it I have decided that I probably will be doing something chemistry related. While I
am not asking for an idea itself, if anyone had anything to perhaps point me in a good direction as to fining one would be much appreciated .
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confused
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well, it really depends on what area of chemistry you're interested in, abit more info on that would help
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Texium
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Quote: Originally posted by Spock  | So I'm in a rather interesting position at my school, there is a research course offered where you are allowed to choose a topic and spend the year
working with it. Having just finished AP chemistry and enjoying it I have decided that I probably will be doing something chemistry related. While I
am not asking for an idea itself, if anyone had anything to perhaps point me in a good direction as to fining one would be much appreciated .
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That's exactly what I'm going to do next year too. I've talked to my teacher about it, and she said that I
could possibly do some independent lab projects as long as they're safe and don't require her to pay much attention to me. Other than that, I'd be
helping with setting up labs for the other classes, getting some extra time to read up on stuff on my own, and if nothing else, it would be a time to
get all of my homework done so that I'd have more time to do chemistry at home. 
So I don't have a specific thing that I have to be researching, I'll just have a class that is chemistry related and gives me a certain degree of
freedom to study what I'd like to.
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Spock
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So I really haven't narrowed it down much, but I had been looking primarily towards something in inorganic chemistry (LIke that helps) but beyond that
I really do not know.
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MrHomeScientist
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This board certainly has a wealth of information on projects. Search and ye shall find. My neodymium magnet project that's been ongoing for several
years would be a good candidate (as long as you don't finish it before me!). The ionic liquids thread had some neat ideas and has good potential for
some sort of project too.
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j_sum1
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I am going to recommend taking a browse of http://www.compoundchem.com/
(For some reason the layout of this website is not as good as it was a while back but the same information is still there. And tons of it.)
Lots of interesting chemicals in everyday products and plants. For a project, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, extraction, purification,
determination of yield, determination of purity, artificial synthesis -- take your pick.
Or look up the graphics on "the week in chemistry" Every one presents half a dozen interesting discoveries with links to both technical details and
public press releases. Something you read is bound to appeal -- something will spark an idea of something tangential to the main thing that you could
replicate or explore.
If it was me, I would perhaps study a transition element and explore its chemistry as much as I could. Say, Mn, Cr or Mo. Prepare a range of
different salts, study its different oxidation states and prepare compounds in each state, put together a range of demonstration experiments that
showcase its unique properties, do some experiments to confirm published data (reduction potentials for example). Again, there really is no limit.
Or take your cue from some of the competitions that have been run. The nitric acid comp has resurfaced recently. No one has actually achieved its
main goal. I intend to get back to it and I know that one other SMer is quietly working away on some apparatus he has designed. If you have time you
can dedicate to it, you could probably take things a lot further than anyone else has.
This is an awesome opportunity. There is tons to choose from. Let your imagination go wild and pick something that really motivates and inspires
you. After all you will need both imagination and motivation to accomplish something worthwhile in a year-long project. And if you finish the year
with something presentable then that will more than give you the edge in selling your skills in the future.
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blargish
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I was in this same position a year ago with writing my Extended Essay for the IB program. I knew immediately that I wanted to do it on chemistry and
asked this very same question in a thread back then. I also spent a bunch of time just surfing the forum (there is an insane amount of information to
find) and happened upon a thread describing the formation of calcium peroxide. I ended up writing my essay on the conversion of hydrogen peroxide to
calcium peroxide and its reconversion back to hydrogen peroxide. It was kinda weird since the IB criteria was somewhat strange and not your standard
research paper, but it turned out well. You will probably be in a better position where you can undertake a topic purely academically, and investigate
various phenomenon without having to bend your findings into set criteria.
I guess my advice is just to browse the forum. You're bound to find something that piques your interest . I'm going to have to pick something too as well, since I'm actually going to be taking a PG year and undertaking a
"research project" on chemistry during it. I've also been leaning towards inorganic stuff, and the chemistry of various transition metals, especially
chromium: there are some really interesting complexes that you can form from it. In addition, some of the elements towards the metalloids such as
antimony, bismuth and even tin have some really interesting properties and compounds to investigate.
Oh, and also find out what your school's limitations are as soon as you can in terms of chemical availability and safety. See what the deal is with
toxic, carcinogenic, and more hazardous compounds in general. (I know for the IB I wasn't allowed to use anything that was even remotely associated
with being carcinogenic  )
[Edited on 15-6-2015 by blargish]
BLaRgISH
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