The internal assessment task will be one scientific investigation taking about 10 hours and the write-up should be about 6 to 12 pages long. Investigations exceeding this length will be penalized in the communication criterion as lacking in conciseness.
IB Biology IA
👉 Exploration [±3 pages]
* Introduction (background information with citations)
* RQ
* Variables
* Materials
* Explanation of uncertainties (for all variables)
* Method
* Diagram (great option here)
* Safety, Ethica,l and Environmental Considerations
👉 Analysis [±4 pages]
* Raw quantitative data table
* Qualitative data
* Impact of uncertainty
* Data processing
* Sample calculations
* Data presentation (graph)
* Data interpretation
👉 Conclusion (of the RESULTS) [±2 pages]
* Conclusion
* Explanation (using accepted context)
👉 Evaluation (of the METHOD) [±3 pages]
* Strengths
* Limitations
* Extension of the investigation
* Applications
👉 Bibliography [2-3 pages]
* At least 15 full citations (from reliable sources)
* Most citations also included "in-text"
Every scientific experimental report, including the IA that you will complete as part of the requirements of IB Biology (and the EE if you're doing it in a science subject) has four main parts:
1) Introduction (Background information). This section includes background information on the topic and presentation of the experiment.
2) Design (D). This section includes the research question, hypothesis, variables as well as the procedure, the equipment and the materials and methods.
3) Results (Data collection and processing, DCP). This section includes the raw and processed data tables, the observed qualitative data and the graphs and statistical analysis of the results.
4) Conclusion and evaluation (CE). This section includes the analysis of the results, with an attempt to reach a conclusion based on the experimental results. The initial hypothesis is discussed and alternative explanations may be evaluated based on the quantitative and qualitative results observed. It is also essential to suggest improvements to the method and analyze the limitations of the experiment carried out.