IB Biology SL & HL

The following topics will be covered in IB Biology SL & HL Class.

Biology SL study guide: 

Mathematical Requirements and Statistics 

• Size units in Biology
• Relative sizes
• Scale bars
• Calculating magnification
• Averages
• Variables
• Standard deviation
• Graphs
• Error bars
• Hypotheses and significance testing
• Statistics – chi-squared test
• Nomograms

Molecular Biology Part 1 

• Molecules
• Carbon
• Water
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Condensation and hydrolysis
• Body mass index (BMI)
• Molecular visualisation software

Molecular Biology Part 2 

• Amino acids
• Proteins
• Nucleic acids
• Transcription
• mRNA codon table
• Translation
• The polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
• DNA profiling

Cell Biology 

• Cell theory
• Surface area to volume ratio
• Functions of life
• Cell differentiation
• Emergent properties
• Stem cells
• Electron microscopes
• Prokaryotic cells
• Eukaryotic cells
• Plant cells
• Comparing prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
• Comparing plant and animal cells
• Membranes
• Transmembrane transport
• The origin of cells
• Cell division
• Mitosis
• Cell division and cancer
• The correlation between smoking and the incidence of cancer
• Meiosis
• Genetic variety
• Non-disjunction
• Age and non-disjunction
• Karyotyping

Cell Metabolism 

• Metabolism
• Enzymes
• Photosynthesis
• Factors affecting the rate of photosynthesis and Limiting factors
• Respiration

Human Physiology 

• The human gut
• Gas exchange
• The blood system
• Defence against infectious disease
• The nervous system
• The endocrine system
• Reproduction

Ecology 

• Species, communities and ecosystems
• Energy flow
• Ecosystems
• Carbon cycling
• Climate change
• Carbon fluxes

Genetics 

• Chromosomes
• Human genome project
• Sickle cell anaemia – a base substitution mutation
• Comparing chromosome and gene numbers of different species
• Cairn’s technique for measuring DNA molecules
• Radiation and gene mutation
• Gene modification and Biotechnology
• Theoretical Genetics
• Genetics problems

Evolution and Biodiversity 

• Evolution
• Classification of biodiversity
• Clades, cladistics and cladograms

Biology HL study guide:

Mathematical Requirements  

• • Size units in Biology
  • Relative sizes
  • Scale bars

• Calculating magnification
• Averages
• Variables
• Standard deviation
• Graphs
• Error bars
• Hypotheses and significance testing
• Statistics – chi-squared test
• Nomograms

Molecular Biology Part 1 

• Molecules
• Carbon
• Water
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Condensation and hydrolysis
• Body mass index (BMI)
• Molecular visulisation software

Molecular Biology Part 2 

• Amino acids
• Proteins
• Nucleic acids
• Transcription
• Translation and prokaryotes
• The polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
• DNA profiling
• Molecular visualisation of a nucleosome

Cell Biology 

• Cell theory
• Surface area to volume ratio
• Functions of life
• Cell differentiation
• Emergent properties
• Stem cells
• Electron microscopes
• Prokaryotic cells
• Eukaryotic cells
• Plant cells
• Comparing prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
• Comparing plant and animal cells
• Membranes
• Transmembrane transport
• The origin of cells
• Cell division
• Mitosis
• Cell division and cancer
• The correlation between smoking and the incidence of cancer
• Meiosis
• Genetic variety
• Non-disjunction
• Age and non-disjunction
• Karyotyping

Cell Metabolism 

• Metabolism
• Enzymes
• Oxidation and reduction
• Photosynthesis
• Respiration
• Comparing chemiosmosis in photosynthesis and respiration
• Summary and energy balance

Animal Physiology 

• The human gut
• Gas exchange
• The blood system
• Defence against infectious disease
• The nervous system
• The endocrine system
• Osmoregulation and excretion
• Movement
• Reproduction

Plant Biology 

• Transport in plants
• Water conservation
• Phloem transport – translocation
• Micropropagation
• Flowering plants