I am stressing right now because I am not sure in which direction to go, especially because many of the topics in chemistry have not yet been covered which makes it harder to have a specific topic. I have found a lot of interesting ideas but none seem to appear as a good idea on which an extended essay could be written on.

After further research and comparing with exemplar extended essays, I have started to question my topic and considered other options I have. My initial idea of investigating perfume’s components still is an option but I have tried to make it more general to look at specific reactions that occur in a number of places, to look at a trend. This is because coming up with a process or a practical experiment about perfume’s components was hard as I could not think of an interesting property to investigate. Starting from the idea of perfumes, I have looked at esters and how they have distinct smells depending on the alcohol and organic acid they are made from. Esters are also used in many every day things such as perfumes, solvents, and flavoring. This makes it possible to explore the specific reaction between alcohols and organic acids and the safety of using esters.

My plan for the moment is to go and talk to my supervisor and ask for advice as well as further direction on how to organize my essay.