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Assessment
How IB Biology is assessed
SL and HL take the same kinds of papers, worth the same percentages. HL papers are longer and HL covers more content: 240 teaching hours against 150 at SL.
The course first assessed in 2025.
Standard Level (SL)
Paper 1 (1A and 1B)
Paper 1A multiple choice and Paper 1B data-based questions
- Time
- 1 h 30 min
- Weight
- 36%
Paper 2
Short-answer and extended-response questions
- Time
- 1 h 30 min
- Weight
- 44%
Internal assessment: scientific investigation
A written report of up to 3,000 words on your own research question
- Time
- 10 h in class
- Weight
- 20%
Higher Level (HL)
Paper 1 (1A and 1B)
Paper 1A multiple choice and Paper 1B data-based questions
- Time
- 2 h
- Weight
- 36%
Paper 2
Short-answer and extended-response questions
- Time
- 2 h 30 min
- Weight
- 44%
Internal assessment: scientific investigation
A written report of up to 3,000 words on your own research question
- Time
- 10 h in class
- Weight
- 20%
The scientific investigation is 20% of your grade at SL and HL: an open-ended task where you gather and analyse data to answer your own research question.
From the official International Baccalaureate syllabus, checked October 2026. Read the syllabus
Syllabus content
What’s on the IB Diploma Biology syllabus
- Unity and diversity
- Form and function
- Interaction and interdependence
- Continuity and change
Where marks are lost
Common IB Diploma Biology mistakes
Describing when the question says explain.
“Describe” wants a detailed account. “Explain” wants reasons or causes. Check the command term before you start writing.
Writing that organisms adapt on purpose.
Natural selection works on variation that already exists: better-suited individuals survive and reproduce more, passing on their alleles.
Data answers without values.
When you analyse data, quote figures with their units, and compare them, rather than describing the shape in words alone.
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FAQ
IB Diploma Biology questions, answered.
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