IB Biology Examination Tips Paper 1

1. 2. 3. Read all options Choose BEST option. All questions must relate to some topic you have done on the course, so i the material in any question loo!s un amiliar, as! yoursel "hich area #or areas$ o the course it relates to. %. & you are not sure o the ans"er to a question, start 'y eliminatin( those you !no" are not correct, then (o "ith your (ut response and put an asteris! 'eside the num'er o the question to remind you to (o 'ac! to it i you have time at the end. ). *o not spend more than 1 minute on any individual question. A ter that you are losin( mar!s.

Paper 2
Section A Interpretation of graphs 1. Analyse (raph care ully 'e ore you attempt question. Ta!e note o the title, a+is la'els and any e+planation #,i(hli(ht !ey items-"ords$. 2. Be"are o (raphs that have more than one data set plotted on the same pair o a+es. 3. Be particularly "ary o (raphs in "hich there are t"o di erent sets o measurements plotted on the vertical a+es #and more than one data set plotted$. %. Read questions very care ully and ma!e sure you understand e+actly "hat the e+aminers are loo!in( or. The questions are o ten deli'erately desi(ned to tric! you 'y as!in( you or somethin( that you mi(ht not have noticed i you "ere not payin( close attention. ). Read measurements rom (raphs very care ully. .se a ruler to chec! readin(s o a+es. /. Sho" your "or!in( out or calculations #even i the question is only "orth one mar!$ 0. 1ive units "ith your measurements. 2. 3hen descri'in( trends in (raphs, ocus on ma4or eatures e.(. 'i((est, smallest, ran(e o values, irst appearance o somethin(, timin( o disappearance. &n requency distri'utions loo! or values "ith hi(hest requency, "here most o the values occur, ran(e o values etc. 5. & you are as!ed to ma!e a comparison 'et"een (raphs "ith di erent units on the vertical a+is #or even di erent scales in the same units$, then you

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can say that they 'oth increase over a particular ran(e o the values on the hori6ontal a+is, that they 'oth decrease, that one increases "hile the other decreases, or that no readin(s are recorded. 7ou cannot compare relative rates o increase or decrease, i.e. you cannot say one is increasin(-decreasin( aster or slo"er than the other 'ecause it is meanin(less in these circumstances. E.(. i as!ed to compare intensity o thirst and plasma A*, concentration in t"o (raphs "here one (raph has 8&ntensity o thirst #ar'itrary units$9 plotted a(ainst 8:lasma solute concentration #m;smol !( <1$, and the other has 8:lasma A*, concentration #pmol dm <3$9 plotted a(ainst 8:lasma solute concentration #m;smol !(<1$. Short answer 1. =oo! at mar! allocation. The num'er o mar!s tells you ho" many separate points you have to ma!e. ,o"ever, al"ays try to ma!e more points than the mar! allocation in case the ones you have made are not in the mar!in( scheme, or are not clear to the e+aminer. #&(nore line allocation to an individual question. & you have to, (o outside the lines > use the mar(in or separate piece o paper. 2. Read questions care ully. 3. Ans"er questions directly. Be as precise and accurate as you can. %. &n questions that require you to dra" on your common sense, as! yoursel "hat you !no" a'out the su'4ect matter. 3hat lo(ically is li!ely to 'e the ans"er to the question. E.(. i you are (iven a dia(ram sho"in( that sho"s that there are no tree species in central Australia, as! yoursel "hat you !no" a'out central Australia that could possi'ly account or the a'sence o trees. =i!ely e+planations, or e+ample, mi(ht 'e that there is not enou(h "ater, or perhaps even not enou(h nutrients in the soil. A?* BE S:EC&@&C e.(. in the a'ove e+ample, it "ould not 'e enou(h to say that the climate is not suita'le, or that the soil is not suita'le. 7ou must say speci ically "hat it is a'out the climate or the soil that is unsuita'le. Essay 1. & as!ed to do dia(ram, mar!s "ill only 'e (iven i you have dra"n A?* la'elled items correctly includin( eatures that are not speci ic structures. All aspects o dia(ram should 'e sho"n "ith si6es, thic!nesses etc in correct proportion to one another E.(. in a dia(ram o a cell mem'rane, you should la'el the hydrophilic and hydropho'ic re(ions o the phospholipid 'ilayer E.(. in a dia(ram o the heart, you should have la'els that descri'e ho" the "alls o the t"o ventricles are thic!er than the "alls o the t"o atria, and ho" the "all o the le t ventricle is thic!er than the "all o the ri(ht ventricle #dra"in( alone is not enou(h even i it sho"s di erences in the thic!ness o di erent re(ions$.

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Paper 3
1. ?ote that or this paper, it is particularly important to 'e a'le to thin! 'eyond the letter o the te+t. E.(. Standard =evel-,i(her =evel ;ption * AE+plain ho" resistance to anti<TB dru(s may have developed in M. tuberculosisB This actually relates to *ot :oint ).%.2 in the Core Sylla'usC E+plain t"o e+amples o evolution in response to environmental chan(eD one must 'e multiple anti'iotic resistance in 'acteria. They are as!in( or you to e+press real understandin( o the causes-reasons-mechanisms responsi'le or the development o resistance to the anti<TB dru(s. This is achieved 'y applyin( "hat you learned romn *ot :oint ).%.2. The ans"er they are loo!in( or includes this such asC patients do not complete their prescri'ed course o anti<TB dru(s, no medicinal dru( is ever 1EEF e ective in !illin( the in ection or(anism, trans er o plasmids "ith resistance a(ainst these dru(s 'et"een di erent species o 'acteria, spontaneous mutations in G. tu'erculosis, selective pressure on G. tu'erculosis avourin( the survival o dru( resistant individuals, natural variation in G. tu'erculosis avours those 'acteria "ith dru( resistance. E.(. ,i(her =evel ;ption , ,uman physiolo(y questions on homeostasis "ill o ten as! you or the actors that mi(ht cause a chan(e in the levels o a particular actor such asC AState t"o reasons "hy a persons plasma solute concentration mi(ht riseB This question relates to *ot :oint ,.1.) E+plain the control o A*, secretion 'y ne(ative eed'ac!. Ga!e sure that in preparin( or the e+am, you have also considered "hat actors "ill cause an increase or decrease in solute concentration in the irst place i.e. vomitin(, diahrrhoea, 'lood loss, increased salt inta!e, drin!in( alcohol and co ee #diuretics$, e+cessive s"eatin(, not drin!in( enou(h "ater, dia'etes #as it causes increase in 'lood su(ar$ 3. Standard =evel ;ption C #,i(her =evel Topic 0$ Ga!e sure that in any question, particularly (raph interpretation, involvin( 'oth photosynthesis and cellular respiration that you ta!e into account the act that cellular respiration happens continuously, and that photosynthesis normally happens only in the presence o li(ht. Cellular respiration uses ; 2 and produces C;2 "hile photosynthesis uses C;2 and produces ;2. This means that the amount o o+y(en or car'on dio+ide 'ein( used 'y plants "ill depend on 'oth ho" much cellular respiration and ho" much photosynthesis is occurrin(. 7ou need to thin! these questions throu(h care ully.

2. Be a"are o points or Huality < 2 mar!s availa'le or each essay question Clarity of expressionC

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The candidate has made a serious and full attempt to answer all parts of the question and the answers are expressed clearly enough to be understood with little or no re-reading. Str ct re of answer! The candidate has linked relevant ideas to form a logical sequence within at least two parts of the same question (e.g. within part a and within part b, or within part a and within part c etc. but not between part a and part b or between part a and part c etc .

"eneral
1. Read each "ord in questions care ully 2. Thin! care ully a'out "hat each question is as!in( or 3. Be a"are o the num'er o mar!s allocated or each question. Ga!e sure you include a separate point or each mar!. &nclude e+tra points in case the points you have included are not in the mar! scheme > even i they are ri(ht. %. The amount o space allocated or "ritin( the ans"er to a question is not a (uide to the len(th o your ans"er. There is o ten not enou(h space. ). *on9t use e+cess "ords. Ans"ers should 'e clear and simple /. .se correct terminolo(y 0. Be precise. Say "hat you mean e.(. say the rate o respiration increased o decreased....#it is not enou(h to say the rate o respiration chan(ed$ 2. &nclude calculations and units or all numerical ans"ers 5. All dia(rams must 'e accurately dra"n and ully la'elled 1E. &nclude ully la'elled dia(rams and (raphs "herever you can to assist e+aminers in the interpretation o your "ritten ans"ers. Sometimes mar!s "ill 'e allocated or a dia(ram or (raph even i this is not speci ied in the question 11. Care ully read throu(h your paper at the end to chec! or the mista!es. Assume that there are mista!es. There "ill 'e.

Comman# Terms
#See the list on pp 11<12 o the Biolo(y Sylla'us$ Be particularly a"are o "hat the &B e+pects or the ollo"in(C Calc late > al"ays sho" your calculations as "ell as ans"er, even i the question is only "orth 1 mar!. Sometimes, the mar!in( scheme speci ies that you must sho" 'oth to (et the mar!. Compare > this means sho" similarities an# di erences. &n statin( similarities you must re er to 'oth o the thin(s you are comparin(. e.(. i as!ed to compare mitosis and meiosis, you mi(ht 'e(in "ith a

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headin( and then a list o eatures li!e the ollo"in(C SimilaritiesC 1$ They are 'oth methods o cell division. 2. They 'oth involve the same % sta(esC :rophase, Getaphase, Anaphase, Telophase etc . &n statin( di erences, you must sho" ho" the t"o thin(s are di erent 'y e+plainin( 'oth sides. e.(. i continuin( "ith a comparison o mitosis and meiosis, your mi(ht 'e(in "ith a headin( a(ain, and the irst couple o entries in your list o di erences mi(ht loo! li!e thisC *i erencesC 1$ Gitosis involves one division, Geiosis involves t"o successive divisions 2$ Gitosis results in the production o t"o (enetically identical cells, Geiosis results in the production o our (enetically di erent cells. etc. %escri&e ' A(ive a #etaile# account, incl #ing all relevant information #compare Ae+plainB$ ( tline ' A(ive a &rief account or summaryB < in practice there seems to 'e little di erence 'et"een A*escri'eB and A;utlineB . & unsure, chec! the num'er o mar!s allocated to the question as a (uide to ho" much detail is required. %isting ish ' as or di erences in a comparison Eval ate < assess the implications and limitations Explain ' (ive a #etaile# account of ca ses) reasons or mechanisms #compare Adescri'eB$

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Group 4
Objectives

Objectives
The objectives for all group 4 subjects reflect those parts of the aims that will be assessed. Wherever appropriate, the assessment will draw upon environmental and technological contexts and identify the social, moral and economic effects of science. It is the intention of all the iploma !rogramme experimental science courses that students achieve the following objectives. ". emonstrate an understanding of# a. scientific facts and concepts b. scientific methods and techni$ues c. scientific terminology d. methods of presenting scientific information. %. &pply and use# a. scientific facts and concepts b. scientific methods and techni$ues c. scientific terminology to communicate effectively d. appropriate methods to present scientific information. '. (onstruct, analyse and evaluate# a. hypotheses, research $uestions and predictions b. scientific methods and techni$ues c. scientific explanations. 4. emonstrate the personal s)ills of cooperation, perseverance and responsibility appropriate for *. effective scientific investigation and problem solving. +. emonstrate the manipulative s)ills necessary to carry out scientific investigations with precision

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Command Terms
These command terms indicate the depth of treatment re$uired for a given assessment statement. These command terms will be used in examination $uestions, so it is important that students are familiar with the following definitions.

Objective "
Define ,ive the precise meaning of a word, phrase or physical $uantity. Draw -epresent by means of pencil lines. Label &dd labels to a diagram. List ,ive a se$uence of names or other brief answers with no explanation. Measure .ind a value for a $uantity. State ,ive a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or calculation.

Objective %
Annotate &dd brief notes to a diagram or graph. Apply /se an idea, e$uation, principle, theory or law in a new situation. Calculate .ind a numerical answer showing the relevant stages in the wor)ing 0unless instructed not to do so1. Describe ,ive a detailed account. Distin uis! ,ive the differences between two or more different items. "stimate .ind an approximate value for an un)nown $uantity. #dentify .ind an answer from a given number of possibilities. Outline ,ive a brief account or summary.

Objective '
Analyse Interpret data to reach conclusions. Comment ,ive a judgment based on a given statement or result of a calculation. Compare ,ive an account of similarities and differences between two 0or more1 items, referring to both 0all1 of them throughout. Construct -epresent or develop in graphical form. Deduce -each a conclusion from the information given. Derive 2anipulate a mathematical relationship0s1 to give a new e$uation or relationship. Desi n !roduce a plan, simulation or model. Determine .ind the only possible answer.

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Discuss ,ive an account including, where possible, a range of arguments for and against the relative importance of various factors, or comparisons of alternative hypotheses. "valuate &ssess the implications and limitations. "$plain ,ive a detailed account of causes, reasons or mechanisms. %redict ,ive an expected result. S!ow ,ive the steps in a calculation or derivation. S&etc! -epresent by means of a graph showing a line and labelled but unscaled axes but with important features 0for example, intercept1 clearly indicated. Solve Obtain an answer using algebraic and3or numerical methods. Su est !ropose a hypothesis or other possible answer.

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