Compulsory Practicals

Practical work is a vital and integral part of group 4 science courses, providing students with experience of investigative and experimental activities within and outside the classroom. It enables them to develop a wide range of skills such as investigation, design, manipulative skills, data processing and analysis, evaluation, teamwork and communication. The opportunity to undertake investigations and hands-on experimentation allows them to engage in many of the processes encountered by scientists, and to appreciate the nature of scientific thought and investigation.

Teachers will develop a practical scheme of work (PSOW) for each class that will be recorded on Form 4: PSOW. For an SL only class or an HL only class, only one 4/PSOW is required, but for a mixed SL/HL class, separate 4/PSOW forms are required for SL and HL. This will provide a record of all practical work completed, including prescribed practicals, the group 4 project, internal assessment work and all other activities that cover the breadth of the programme, including the options. Teachers will be required to indicate on the form where the ICT skills have been used in the PSOW and also record the time allocated to the practical work done.

Prescribed practicals

Included in the “Applications and skills” sections of the guide are a series of practicals that students must cover either in a laboratory environment or as a simulation. The skills and general techniques associated with these common practicals may be assessed as part of the external assessment. The list of required practicals for biology is shown in the table below:

Topic 1.1

Use of a light microscope to investigate the structure of cells and tissues, with drawing of cells. Calculation of the magnification of drawings and the actual size of structures and ultrastructures shown in drawings or micrographs. (Practical 1)

Topic 1.4

Estimation of osmolarity in tissues by bathing samples in hypotonic and hypertonic solutions. (Practical 2)

Topic 2.5

Experimental investigation of a factor affecting enzyme activity. (Practical 3)

Topic 2.9

Separation of photosynthetic pigments by chromatograph. (Practical 4)

Topic 4.1

Setting up sealed mesocosms to try to establish sustainability. (Practical 5)

Topic 6.4

Monitoring of ventilation in humans at rest and after mild and vigorous exercise. (Practical 6)

Topic 9.1

Measurement of transpiration rates using potometers. (Practical 7)

Additional practical work

The entire practical program of work will take a minimum of 40 hours for SL courses, and 60 hours for HL. Included in this time allocation are 10 hours for the group 4 project and 10 hours for the completion of the internal assessment task, as well as the prescribed practicals and other practical activities.

As part of an inquiry-based learning program, teachers will be able to incorporate other practical tasks that enhance learning into their teaching. These might include simulations, computer-based modelling and investigations, as well as more traditional types of activities such as demonstrations.