How to Write Your Biology IA Procedure — Examiner Guide Part 6 (IB Biology), by Nail IB on YouTube. 5 min 37 s.
- Video length
- 5 min 37 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Open with one sentence stating what you are testing, then list your independent, dependent and controlled variables with the exact values or range you will use.
List apparatus and materials with sizes and precision, such as a 25 cm3 measuring cylinder, a 0.1 g balance or a 10 cm3 syringe, plus the quantity of each.
Give the exact concentration, volume, mass, temperature, pH or light intensity for every solution and setup, and say how you will measure each one.
Number the method in the order you will carry it out. Start with how you set up and label the control and treatment groups.
Describe how you will change the independent variable, for example five concentrations of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 percent.
State the number of repeats for each condition, usually five, and how you will keep timing the same, for example a 10 minute incubation in a water bath at 25 degrees Celsius.
Explain how and when you will record the dependent variable, including the instrument, the unit and the number of readings per repeat.
Add a short safety, ethics and environmental paragraph covering hazards, correct disposal and any rules for handling living organisms.
Read the section back and check that another student could repeat it without asking you a single question.
Tips and common mistakes
Write the procedure in the past tense once you have run the experiment, and keep the same tense throughout.
Do not write "as before" or "the usual setup". Repeat the detail so the method stands alone.
Explain how each controlled variable was kept constant, not just that it was controlled.
Keep safety and ethics in their own short paragraph so the examiner can find them quickly.
Questions
How many repeats should the procedure state?
Plan for at least five repeats at each value of the independent variable, and say so in the method so the examiner can see your data will be reliable.
Should the procedure be in past or future tense?
Write it in the past tense once you have collected your data. If your school asks for a plan first, use the future tense and change it before final submission.
Do I need to include safety in the procedure?
Yes. Add one short paragraph on hazards, correct disposal and any ethical or environmental rules, even for a simple school lab.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
