Over the past several weeks, we highlighted students from Hauppauge High School’s IB program who completed their Internal Assessments (IA). These projects gave students the opportunity to explore their passions and design their own learning experiences—showcasing creativity, critical thinking, and real-world connections.
Next up is junior Madelyn Mileo and her IB Physics SL project, “To what extent does the frontal surface area of a porous fiber sphere (pom-pom) affect its terminal velocity in a fluid (air)?”
Madelyn Mileo conducted an experiment to investigate how the size (surface area) of a cheerleading pom-pom affects the speed at which it falls to the ground. To carry out this investigation, she applied knowledge from multiple topics studied in class while also developing her understanding of how to design and conduct an experiment in accordance with IB standards.
Why Madelyn chose this topic:
I chose this topic because I am a cheerleader. To be able to take a large, daunting assignment and make it related to something that interests me was extremely appealing and made the overall process easier. Not only did this topic let me connect my out of class interests, but it also helped me dive deeper into a topic that is very large and broad in class.
What Madelyn found interesting about the project:
Something interesting I learned about my topic was how important it is to be thorough in experiments. I learned that even the small details that are easy to overlook need to be accounted for, or the entire experiment could get impacted. My topic choice also helped me see how the information that I am learning in my classes is relevant to everyday life in more ways than it seems.
What Madelyn learned from the IA experience:
As a first year diploma candidate, this was only the second IA that I had to complete. Despite that, I already felt like I knew what to do, and was more prepared because of the fact that I had written one before. In reality, the two had major differences because this one was for a science class, but the process of learning to be concise and meaningful with my limited word count carried through. On top of that, I learned time management because of the strict deadlines for my IA. Overall, this process was difficult, but I can already tell it will be worth it.