For specification starting in September

2014. Updated 2015.

IB Diploma Biology – Internal Assessment

BEXLEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

IB Biology
Practical Handbook

A guide for your Internal Assessment.

Keep me safe
and bring to lessons!

See also:

 Also see p710-712 of your In here this is information on:

textbook.
 There is a specific IA book  How does the internal assessment fit in with the
‘A Students Guide to rest of your course?
Internal Assessment’  Criteria for assessment of your IA
which is very useful for  Structure of your IA and specific instructions for
writing up any what to include- essential to follow when
investigation but does completing practice tasks and the real thing!
refer to the old  How to decide what the uncertainty of apparatus
coursework. is. 1
 There are example pieces  Some examples of common limitations to
of work on the KS5 investigations.
Biology Fronter page
IB Diploma Biology – Internal Assessment

Internal Assessment

Your final IB grade for your group 4 science course is based on three examination papers and an independent research
project, called an ‘internal assessment’ or IA .Your Internal Assessment consists of one individual scientific study. It
should reflect how a real scientific study is carried out in form and content.

Your teacher marks the IA investigation but the IB moderates a selection of student IA work externally. The IA is worth
20% of your total grade.

Although only one piece of work is completed as a full IA and submitted you will be doing practice pieces of work (60
hours for higher and 40 for standard ) and it is essential that you complete each of these to the best of your ability so
that the feedback you get is meaningful. Pay attention to any practical skills or methods that you cover at any point in
the course as these will help you to complete your IA correctly.

Key points:

Research question – You are to define a unique research question.

Time allocation – Ten hours of class time but you may be able to do additional work outside of class.

Context – You are to set your investigation in an appropriate scientific context.

Research – You are expected to do research on your topic.

Content – You does not have to demonstrate knowledge or skills that go beyond the level of their
course, although you can do an investigation that is not syllabus-based.

Report length – 6 to 12 pages (excessive length will be penalised). The maximum length includes
footnotes or references as well as data tables, graphs and charts, pictures and, of course, text.

Personal involvement – You are expected to ‘own’ your investigation, to demonstrate some insight,
initiative or personal interest in your investigation.

Self-management – You are responsible for your work, including meeting deadlines.

Technology skills – You need ICT skills, including word-processing, spreadsheets, graphing software,
and internet searches. You must also know how to reference resources.

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Assessment criteria
You will be assessed on 5 criteria. They are not equally weighted. The criteria (to be awarded
the highest marks) are outlined below. To help you meet these criteria use the structure and
guidance information that follows on page 6

Personal engagement
This criterion addresses your involvement in the investigation. It is important that you are
interested in your topic such that you can demonstrate independent thinking, initiative or
creativity. You must also demonstrate a justification for your research question; perhaps there is
some personal significance, interest or curiosity here. Finally, you are to provide some personal
input and initiative in the designing, implementation or presentation of the investigation.
Although your teacher may guide the you into productive and safe areas of study, the student is
expected to define their own research question You are to ‘own’ your project, not just repeat
something found in a science book or journal. This does not mean you can’t keep things simple
though! Just try and think of different variable or reason for the investigation for example.
The expectations of personal engagement actually mean that you will enjoy doing the work.

Exploration (Question, background information and methodology)

You are expected to state a scientifically relevant and focused research question. You are to do
research and set your research question in a scientific context. You should use appropriate
terminology and appropriate scientific techniques to answer the research question. You must
also be aware of factors that might influence the relevance, reliability and the quality of your
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data. If environmental and safety issues are relevant then you must demonstrate a full
awareness of these issues.

Analysis (results, processing, displaying and interpreting)

You are expected to make an appropriate and justified analysis of their data in a way that
addresses the research question and can be used to support a valid conclusion. This analysis
includes the selection, processing and interpretation of data. Errors and uncertainties, where
relevant, are to be dealt with in a reasonable and consistent way.

Evaluation (conclusion, evaluation and further study)

This criterion addresses your methodology and your results as set within a genuine and relevant
scientific context. It focuses on how well your data supports the conclusion, including the
method and appreciating the strengths and weakness of your work (ie does your evaluation
reduce the confidence in your conclusion). You are expected to provide realistic and relevant
suggestions for the improvement and extension of your investigation.

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Communication
You are expected to produce a written report that is clear and easy to follow. The report is to
demonstrate effective communication and should be focused on the investigation’s process and
outcome. No superfluous material should be included. The report is to be 6 to 12 pages in
length; excessive length will be penalised under this criterion. Appropriate scientific
terminology and conventions must be followed, and graphs, tables, images, charts must all be
presented in a clear way.

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IB Diploma Biology – Internal Assessment

Use the following structure and guidance for your report

Tick them off as you go.

Candidate name and number

Research question e.g. Investigation to find out the effect of dropping height on the height a ball bounces. (It
should clearly include your independent and dependent variables and mention specific location/organism
involved where relevant.)

Introduction
 Why are you interested in this topic/what prompted you to want to investigate/what issue
does it address?
 Describe the context – location, species, organ system, biological concept if relevant. Use
diagrams, maps, photographs etc.
 Give a hypothesis.
 You must include good quality biological theory which helps to explain what you are
researching and your hypothesis. This should be IB standard and link the 2 variables together.
 You could include a reference to a secondary source – if possible, one which you can later
compare your results/conclusions with. Give the reference as a footnote if a secondary source
is used.

Variables (these could be in a table)

 Independent – state clearly what your independent variable is and the range of values you
will test.
 Dependent – state clearly what your dependent variable is. (Exactly what you will be
measuring)
 Controlled – state each of the variables that you can and will control; state how you will
control each one and why it needs to be controlled (ie – would would happen to the expected
result If this factor was higher/lower and why?).
 Uncontrolled – state any variables that are important but cannot be controlled. Think – can
they at least be monitored to see if they vary?

When writing about variables- the word ‘amount’ is banned! Refer to volumes
of, mass of, number of sample sites etc.

Apparatus

List each piece of apparatus and where possible state sizes. A labelled diagram showing how
apparatus is set up may be helpful

List all materials/chemicals with the total volume needed, units and concentrations.

Use SI units of measurement and be precise i.e. state uncertainties of measurements e.g. +/-
0.5 cm3

Risk Assessment

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 State any important risks/hazards and how you will minimise them. You may need to consult
the Hazcards in the lab for specific chemicals/concentrations.#

Ethical considerations

Are there any ethical implications to your investigation? How will you minimise harm/impacts on
the environment.

Method
 Write your method as a logical sequence of numbered steps/bullet points.
 Be specific about how to use apparatus and about quantities of substances. It must be
repeatable. How are you going to increase your chance of getting accurate and reliable
results?
 Don’t forget to explain how your controlled variables were controlled and how they were
monitored
 If appropriate, include a ‘control’ with which to compare experimental results – NB this may
not always be necessary.
 Avoid writing things like “I will measure out 5cm3 water into a test tube” – instead, say
“Measure out 5cm3 water into a test tube”
 State the different values of the IV that you will test and how many times you will repeat the
experiment so that it is clear that your method allows for the collection of sufficient relevant
data. The minimum should usually be 5 values of IV and 5 repeats, but the quantity of data
will depend on the complexity of the experiment. Statistical tests often require a particular
amount of data to be valid (eg standard deviation should have 25 values!).
 Mention how you plan to analyse your results – it’s no good planning to collect a tiny quantity
of data if your chosen method of analysis requires a lot more! If possible, say what data
processing you are going to do and why.
 Was there any preliminary results, or research that helped you to formulate your method. (IE
is certain apparatus recommended over an alternative elsewhere? Did a preliminary study
help you to select the range of your independent variable?). For ecology practicals ensure that
you describe your sampling technique very specifically and justify it.

Results
 Record any qualitative observations made during the investigation. (eg a colour change,
change in appearance of vegetation across an area, how vigorously a reaction is bubbling.)
 Record all raw data in a table, as you collect it. The table must have a title/heading.
 The independent variable should be in the left-hand column, with the dependent results to
the right.
 Each column must have a descriptive heading with SI units and uncertainties (This depends on
the apparatus being used. See the ‘uncertainties sheet). Units must only go in the heading
 Your data must be recorded to an appropriate number of decimal places based on the
measuring apparatus used, and within each column the use of decimal places must be
consistent. They must also be consistent with the uncertainty (so you may have to add .0 to
your results)
 Never split a table across 2 pages.
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 Identify anomalous results e.g. by highlighting them and including a key.

Table 1: A table to show how water temperature affects the time taken for a sugar cube to
dissolve.

Temperature of Time taken for a sugar cube to dissolve. (s ± 1s)

water (oC)
Repeat 1 Repeat 2 Repeat 3
±0.5 oC
20.0 300 310 305
30.0 290 300 275

 If appropriate, calculate the mean and standard deviation. Would a rate be useful – check
your calculations as errors will drop marks.
 Processed data to should do the same number of decimal places as the raw data.
 NB for a standard deviation to be valid it should really be based on a large number of repeats
(at least 20if this is not possible calculate the SD but include a comment that it is not valid if
your data does not show a normal distribution or you have too few repeats – it is still worth
doing it as it gives you an idea of the reliability of your results.
 Do you need to do any other calculations e.g. t-test and does your data processing need a null
hypothesis? Give the formula used for any calculation that is not on a standard calculator
menu. Lay out any processing clearly.
 Do you reject or accept your null hypothesis based on your results/analysis? If using a
statistical test give the full summary statement about critical values etc.

 Plot graphs of processed data. Is your graph the correct sort? Line graph v bar chart.
 Add a title to your graph.
 Ensure the scale of the graph is correct and allows the data points to be plotted accurately.
 Always include error/uncertainty bars either to show the range or +/- standard deviation.
Include a key to say what type of error bars they are
 Adjacent data points should be joined by a straight line and the line should start with the first
data point and end with the last one, as there should be no extrapolation beyond these points
 Add a line of best fit where relevant and label it as such. Make it different to the previous line.
 The IV should be on the X axis and the DV on the Y axis.
 Add descriptive labels to access and include units and uncertainties. If you’re plotting a mean
– say so on the axis (otherwise it won’t be clear it’s processed).

Conclusion
 Make a clear, precise statement based on your data. Describe any trends and quote data.
 Justify your conclusion using your data.
 Explain your conclusion with detailed science. Does this match the known theory (refer back
to your background information) – reference to a secondary source is essential here. Refer to
cited published data if available. You can reference using footnotes. If your results don’t match

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your expectations or published data refer back to what you would have expected and why. Do
not worry about repeating what you have written earlier in the report.

Remember:
Accuracy- closeness to the ‘true’ value
Reliability- the consistency of repeats
Evaluation Precision- The ability to be exact (degree of precision). Eg
using a balance that measures to 2 decimal places is more
Consider your data: precise than using one that only measures to whole numbers.

 Evaluate your results.

 Where your results accurate? This can be judged by considering if they matched what your
research said should happen. Also- how close were your points to the line of best fit. Closer=
more accurate.
 Where your results reliable? Reliable results mean that your repeats were similar and so your
range bars were small. Don’t just be general- refer to specific range bars. Point out the
most/least precise. Remember- more reliability means less uncertainty in your data and more
confidence in your results.
 What is the impact of these uncertainties in your data. Does it reduce the confidence in your
conclusion?

Consider your method (you could use a table like the one below to set this bit out):

 Identify at least 5 weaknesses/limitations/sources of error in your method and indicate the

magnitude of impact on data (small, medium, large or rank order the limitations – which is the
most important?). See the ‘common limitations’ sheet for some ideas. Eg Was your method
repeatable? What did you control well? What made it difficult to do the method in exactly the
same way each time? What were the things you couldn’t control?
 Evaluate the impact of the limitations. Does it cause you to overestimate a value? Or does it
reduce accuracy or reliability? Why?
 Suggest realistic improvements which would address each of the limitations you have
identified. These must be achievable in a school environment.

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IB Diploma Biology – Internal Assessment

Limitation How/why it affects data Ranking Suggested improvement

Difficult to maintain a stable
temperature in a water bath
made using a beaker of
water and a Bunsen burner
Only three repeats were
collected due to time
constraints
The temperature fluctuated by +/- 8 C. 1 Use a thermostatically
If it got higher than it should be, the controlled water bath,
rate of the reaction would increase. and monitor it
constantly with a
thermometer
The raw data collected was unreliable 2 Collect at least 5 repeat
as it had a large range. Therefore I readings at each
cannot be confident that my mean is temperature.
accurate. More repeats would have
helped me to identify anomalies and
omit them if necessary.

 Now that you have evaluated do your results really allow you to answer your research
question. How confidant are you.

Your evidence is strong if you answer yes to these Your evidence is weak if you answer yes to these
questions: questions:
Are your results consistent enough to give you reliable Are your results variable or are there many
evidence to use to answer the research question? anomalous results that can’t easily be
explained?
Was the design of your experiment successful so that it Were there faults in the experimental design
gave precise and accurate results? which limited the precision or the accuracy?
Were all the variables controlled satisfactorily so that Were there uncontrolled variables, which
only the independent variable was varied? Introduced uncertainties into your interpretation
of the results?
Is there only one explanation that fits all the evidence Are there alternative explanations that would
and answers the research question? also fit the evidence and which you cannot
refute?
Can you support each part of your answer to your Are there parts of your answer to the research
research question with experimental evidence or by question which are unsubstantiated or uncertain
reference to other published data? and which need further investigation?

 How could your investigation be extended? Have your results raised any other questions that
could be investigated?
 Does the answer to your question have any relevance to the real world?

Reference list
There are different ways of referencing secondary sources in the text of your work. The IB does
not have a particular preference but it must be consistent in your work. Whichever way you
choose to reference in the text it must be accompanied by a full reference list at the end of your
work. In the reference list. These must be written alphabetically in the format below.
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If it’s a book:
Barber, J. Tribes of Kenya. Frankin Watts. 1998
Douglas, A. Symbiotic Interactions. Oxford University Press. 1994

If it’s a journal:
Knight J. Gene therapy. Biological Sciences Review. Vol 6, No.1, pp22-24.

If it’s a website:
Emma Brenard. Tardigrades: Water bears in space. Viewed online on 20/08/14 at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/12855775 (There’s not always an author- if not replace it with the
name of the general website. You must still include the full URL.)

Throughout the text, the easiest option is to use numbered footnotes. So if the first reference was
the Tardigrade one, next to the relevant info in your paragraph do a superscript 1. Then put the 1
and the full reference at the bottom of the page. It will then be repeated again in this reference
list. Your numbers should continue throughout the whole piece of work- not stop and start again for
different sections.

Help sheet- Uncertainties

When you take measurements you cannot be sure that the data is completely accurate. The
measurement apparatus you use will have uncertainties. You need to refer to these when writing up
investigations

(Consider this- I could measure out 10 mls of liquid but ‘the real value’ could actually be 10.05 mls but I
wouldn’t notice this if my measuring cylinder only had whole mls on the scale. The uncertainty tells you
how much your measurement could be ‘out’ by.)

Quote these uncertainties:

 On your apparatus list (This allows people to copy your method using apparatus of the same
precision)
 In the headings of results tables
 On the axis of graphs.

They can also be discussed in your evaluation. If the uncertainties are large your conclusions could be in
doubt.

The uncertainties depend on what you are using to collect the data….

Rulers that measure mm :

Rulers are a special case. The uncertainty is always ±1mm

The bar is 1.4cm or 14mm

The uncertainty in the table heading would be

±0.1cm or ±1mm

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Measuring apparatus (eg measuring cylinders, thermometers) but not rulers.

The uncertainty is ± half of the place value (ie half of that decimal place) of the last measured value.

Eg if a syringe has markings that go up in 0.1mls its uncertainty would be ±0.05mls

Eg. A measuring cylinder has markings that go up in 10mls. Its uncertainty would be ± 5mls.

NB – It would be sensible for you to measure the amount

40 of liquid here as 25mls. This doesn’t affect your
30 uncertainty value as they only relate to measured values
(as opposed to estimated ones).
20 Only estimate halves of measurements.
10

Electronic instruments (eg a balance)

The minimum uncertainty is ± 1 unit of the last decimal place. (Note that this is different to the non-
electronic things above.)

Eg. A balance gives measurements in grams to 2 decimal places. Its uncertainty would be ± 0.01g

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NB. You uncertainty is also linked to how you use the apparatus. If a timer measures to
0.01 of a second but you ignore the decimal places and just record whole seconds the
uncertainty is ±1s and not ±0.01s.

Estimated uncertainties

When you are counting something (particularly observations on living things) you will have an
uncertainty. You need to make a sensible estimate of uncertainty.

Eg abdominal breathing movements of a locust. ±1 or 2

Eg. Heart beats of Daphnia ±10 (The uncertainty is higher because the movement is faster so you’re likely
to be out by more)

Eg % cover of moss in a quadrat. ± 4%

Uncertainties and your raw data.

Uncertainty and raw data should have the same number of decimal places. This may mean adding a zero
onto your raw data.

Here are some examples showing just 1 column from data tables. Refer back to the previous information
to justify to yourself why these uncertainty values have been given ( ie what type of apparatus is being
used). Note how many decimal places the raw data has been recorded to.

A) A gas syringe has a scale which goes up in 10ml increments

Volume of gas (ml ±5ml)

30

20 This gas syringe was half way between 20

and 30. This was an estimate (but it
25 doesn’t affect the uncertainty).
10

B) A thermometer has a scale which goes up in 1 oC increments.

Temperature of water. (oC ±0.5oC)

4.0

54.0

78.0

11.0

C) A student was measuring his own pulse rate.

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IB Diploma Biology – Internal Assessment

Pulse rate (beats min-1 ±2)

55

56

61

55

D) A balance measures to a precision of 0.1g

Mass of glucose (g ± 0.1g)

10.0

15.5

20.2

21.0

Help Sheet- Common limitations to investigations.

Limitations
A limitation is any factor that has not been controlled or taken into account in the design of an
experiment can be referred to as a limitation. A limitation can be described as a design fault.
Limitations will reduce the confidence you can have in the conclusions you draw from your
investigation.

(Errors are different- if you make a mistake this doesn’t count as a limitation.)

The limitations will obviously depend on the investigation you carried out but here are some
common ones. Ensure that you discuss them in the context of your investigation.

 Were a limited number of values for the independent variable investigated?

Imagine you wanted to investigate the effect of pH on something. You investigate pH
4,5,6,7 and 8. This is a limited range and so you could not conclude what the impact of
lower or higher pHs would be. Also intermediate values should be investigated to more
accurately determine where the optimum pH is. Intermediate values are good for confirming
any trend, giving a more complete picture of how one thing affects another, and if a
change occurs (eg an increase, decrease, plateau) you can more accurately say when this
occurs.

 In investigations that involve gas collection – could gas be escaping from the apparatus at
any point? This would cause the volume data to be lower than it should be.

 In investigations that involve gas collection – could there be more than one gas being
collected which would cause you to overestimate the volume?

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IB Diploma Biology – Internal Assessment

 Were any important factors not controlled? Consider all the factors that affect enzyme
action/ diffusion/ respiration / photosynthesis/ transpiration etc from theory lessons. They
should all be controlled unless used as the independent variable.

 Were investigations carried out at optimal conditions? You may control temperature but if it
is too low you may get very little activity in a particular reaction. This will make it harder for
you to make judgements about whether the independent variable is having an effect.

 Does any part of the investigation involve making judgments about colour, clarity, % cover?
These are subjective judgements (based on opinion) and so could vary each time you make
an observation. Could a comparison chart or electronic devise be used instead? This would
increase the accuracy of measurements.

 Did the precision of your apparatus lead to uncertainties you consider to be unacceptable? If
uncertainties are large it is more likely that data for each of the independent variable values
could overlap. If they do then you can’t confidently say that there was a real difference
between them. An improvement could be to use more precise apparatus.

 A small number of repeats (or none at all) is problematic as it reduces your ability to
judge reliability. More repeats help you identify anomalies and omit them if necessary.
More reliable data means that you can have more confidence that mean data is
accurate.

 If sampling- was your sample size large enough to be representative of the population or
area? A small sample could mean that you are not getting a true impression of a
characteristic or area.

 If sampling- were there temporal, special, or safety constraints that stopped you from
sampling in the ideal place or time?

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