Comment: The student justifies the choice of topic with their personal curiosity about the properties of various alcohols, which started during an IB chemistry class

Comment: The student justifies the choice of topic with their personal curiosity about the properties of various alcohols, which started during an IB chemistry class

Comment: The student shows evidence of conducting and understanding the research on the topic: a correct and factually justified hypothesis is present. The student includes a diagram of their experimental setup, showing initiative in clearly showcasing their involvement in conducting the study

Comment: The student shows evidence of conducting and understanding the research on the topic: a correct and factually justified hypothesis is present. The student includes a diagram of their experimental setup, showing initiative in clearly showcasing their involvement in conducting the study

Comment: The student clearly states that the aim of the experiment is to explore the impact of increasing the length of the carbon chain and the position of the functional group on the enthalpy of combustion

Comment: The highlighted section should be extended by including a discussion of the current knowledge of the impact of the length of the carbon chain and classification of alcohols on the enthalpy change of combustion. This could be done by discussing the theoretical knowledge (i.e., according to the chemical principles, which could be found in a textbook) and by discussing experimental studies on the subject (e.g., presenting and comparing their findings and their implications for the potential results of this work)

Comment: The equation of the reaction under study is provided and its properties, as well as the methodology of calculating the enthalpy of the reaction

Comment: The student correctly identifies the independent (length of the carbon chain, type of alcohol) and dependent (enthalpy change of combustion) variables to pursue the research question

Comment: The student correctly identifies the independent (length of the carbon chain, type of alcohol) and dependent (enthalpy change of combustion) variables to pursue the research question

Comment: The student correctly lists the variables that have to be controlled or maintained constant for the results to be valid, explains the effect they could have on the results and the method of controlling them

Comment: Although this section mentions ethical considerations in the title, there are none actually presented. The student should have stated "This study poses no ethical issues as there were no living organisms involved"

Comment: Although the title of the section mentions environmental considerations, there are none actually listed. The student should have described the possible environmental hazards associated with the reagents used, for example, that the reaction of combustion produces carbon dioxide, which is emitted to the atmosphere, as well as their correct disposal (i.e. whether the student poured the reagents down the sink or disposed of them in a special container)