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The IB Biology SL Internal Assessment (IA) is a project that requires students to complete an independent research project on a chosen theme. The IA is worth 20% of the final assessment and is an opportunity for students to showcase their understanding of the subject. Here are some carefully curated IB Biology SL IA topic ideas to help students get started. These ideas have been tried and tested and are popular with examiners. The list includes the basic reasons for investigating each topic, possible independent and dependent variables, and the experimental setup. It’s important to consider if the topics can be applied to one’s own life, as this shows personal engagement.
Soak the bougainvillaea seeds in sodium chloride of varying concentrations for a specific time period. Place them in Petri dishes and count the number of seeds that germinate. Conduct at least 5 trials, excluding control.Â
Sodium chloride concentrations
Seed germination percentage
Seeds and the leaves of the moringa plant
Antifungal activity
Mix different concentrations of zinc chloride in different agar plates and bacteria, and check for plaque formation over time.Â
Concentration of zinc chloride
Growth of plaque
Chose a synthetic and natural antibacterial product and mix them with a little water to create diluted solutions of them. Then use agar plates and bacteria to test their effectiveness by seeing how many bacteria grow in the different plates.
Types of antibacterial products (Natural vs synthetic)
Growth of Cut bacterium acne
Place Viganata radiata seeds into various Petri dishes of the same number. Water them regularly using a diluted solution of different types of teas. Count the number of seeds that germinate over time and take note. Repeat the same procedure 5 times, including control.Â
The different types of teas (green tea, chamomile, etc)
The rate of germination of Vignata radiata
Use different concentrations of salinity levels in petri dishes with the two different grass species and compare the rate of gemination over a period of time. Repeat for five trials.
Salinity levels
Germination rate
Potassium concentration
Rate of growth
In various pots (atleast 5) containing Solanum lycopersicum, add varied levels of fertiliser concentration and assess rate of growth over a period of time.
Fertilizer concentration
Rate of growth
Take the required number of pots, and add humic and fluvic acid to Solanum Lycopersicum in soil of varying concentrations and asses the rate of growth over and fruit development over a fixed period of time. Compare the different pots containing varied concentrations to conclude on the optimum combination.
Mixture of humic and fulvic acid
Rate of change of the height of the plant
Exposing samples of kiwi concentrate to different light intensities for certain periods of time and measuring their sucrose concentrations before and after.
Light Intensity
Sucrose Concentration
Potassium Ion Concentration
Length of shoot and root of Raphanus sativus
Extracting different citrus fruit concentrates such as grapefruits, oranges and lemons and heating these samples at different temperatures for a certain duration and measuring their Vitamin C concentration before and after.
Vitamin C Concentration
Exposing samples of Spinacia oleracea(spinach) leaves to different light intensities for certain periods of time and measuring the rate of photosynthesis.
Rate of Photosynthesis of Spinacia Oleracea
Temperature
Rate of Respiration (By measuring the amount of carbon dioxide and water released)
Observing the germination rate and rate of growth of Triticum Aestivum under sound treatment with different frequencies and wavelengths of sound.
Analysing and measuring the germination rate of Raphanus Sativus seeds(radish seeds) with provision of various concentrations of salt dissolved in water.
Concentrations of salt in water
Rate of germination of Raphanus Sativus
Placing various samples of milk underneath different light intensities(low, medium, high) and wavelengths(normal, no light, red, blue, etc.) for a duration of 2 hours and observing the rate of curdling by measuring the change concentration of lactic acid. The milk is curdled by first heating the milk until it comes to a boil and then placing a fixed amount of curd into the samples.
Change in concentration of Lactic acid in cow milk
Measuring the effect of various concentrations of carbon dioxide on the photosynthesis of samples of Elodea for a certain duration of time.
Carbon dioxide concentration
Rate of photosynthesis(Amount of oxygen and glucose produced)
Various types of pollutants and different aquatic environmental water samples
Change in quantity of dissolved oxygen
Cut identical pieces of potato and place them in solutions of different concentrations of sucrose. Measure the change in mass of the potato pieces over time.
Concentration of sucrose solution
Change in mass of potato pieces
Concentration of caffeine
Heart rate of daphnia
Play different genres of music to pea plants and measure the rate of growth.
Genre of music
Rate of growth of pea plants
Add amylase enzyme to saliva at different concentrations of salt and measure the rate of starch breakdown.
Concentration of salt in saliva
Rate of starch breakdown
Measure the rate of carbon dioxide production by yeast cells at different temperatures.
Temperature
Rate of carbon dioxide production
Exposing samples of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) to different temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations and measuring the rate of enzyme activity and fermentation.
Germinating samples of Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) in solutions of different concentrations of salt and magnesium and measuring the germination and growth rate.
Extracting and exposing samples of Prunus avium(cherries) to solutions of different pH values and light intensities and measuring the activity of catalase and its rate of denaturation.
Exposing samples of Elodea canadensis (Canadian waterweed) to different temperatures and measuring the rate of photosynthesis using a dissolved oxygen probe.
Rate of photosynthesis in Elodea canadensis measured by the amount of oxygen produced.
Create a study that monitors the levels of ethylene or CO2 in fruits over a period of time, while subjecting different fruits to varying independent variables.
Growing samples of Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) in different types of soil and measuring the growth and folate content of samples.
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The IB Biology HL Internal Assessment (IA) is a 20% project that requires students to complete an independent research project on a chosen theme. Here are some carefully curated IB Biology HL IA topic ideas to help students get started. These ideas have been tried and tested and are popular with examiners. The list includes the basic reasons for investigating each topic, possible independent and dependent variables, and the experimental setup. It’s important to consider if the topics can be applied to one’s own life, as this shows personal engagement.
Expose selected plants with different levels of temperature and light intensity to find the optimum combination for maximum growth rate. Conduct at least 5 trials, excluding control.Â
Temperature and light intensity
Time taken for photosynthesis
Select a seed that requires scarification and treat it with different methods of scarification like heat, acid and freeze-thaw. Conduct at least 5 trials, excluding control. Compare results to conclude which scarification is most effective.Â
Types of scarification
Germination percentage and shoot growth
Measure every 5 minutes, the amount of time it takes for the pH of hydrochloric acid to reach a neutral state (pH of 7) when adding cumin and turmeric powder to one sample and indigestion tablets to another sample. Conduct at least 5 trials, excluding control.Â
Cumin and turmeric powder
Rate of neutralization of hydrochloric acid
Soak the Dolly Parton rose seeds in Gibberellic acid of varying concentrations for a specific time period. Place them in Petri dishes and count the number of seeds that germinate. Conduct at least 5 trials, excluding control.Â
Different concentrations of Gibberellic acid
Germination of a Dolly Parton rose
Add yeast to various Petri dishes containing water with different concentrations of green tea extract. Over time, calculate the pH to determine the level of carbon dioxide produced by the yeast.Â
Different concentrations of green tea extract
Change in carbon dioxide concentration produced by yeast
Use atleast 5 different light intensities in an enclosed glass container with the wood louse Armadillidium Vulgare and capture the movement of the creature to asses speed.
Light Intensity
Speed
Fruit samples must be blended with metaphosphoric acid. The homogenous mixture must be measured around and diluted into a volumetric flask with metaphosphoric acid (HPO3). The diluted sample must then be filtered to remove away suspension using a vacuum pump before 10 ml aliquote of the filtrate is pipetted into a small Erlenmeyer flask. The filtrate must be immediately titrated with a dye solution to a faint pink endpoint.
Type of packed and fresh juices
Amount of iodine, types of fruits
Take the required number of petri dishes, and add varying concentrations of amino acid glycine to Phaseolus vulgaris Seeds. Asses the rate of germination over a fixed period of time and compare results to optimum concentration.
Varying concentrations of Glycine
Seed germination
Providing different people categorized on age, weight and height, different concentrations of caffeine and recording their blinking rate for a duration of 5 minutes with a reliable camera
Caffeine Concentration
Blinking rate of the human eye
Placing different groups of tomato seeds in various combinations of pH and temperature conditions and determining the ideal pH and temperature conditions based upon number of seeds germinated and time consumed to do so.
Germination of Tomato seeds
Measuring the rate of photosynthesis of various samples of Brassica Rapa which have been planted utilising the same type of soil or fertiliser but with various concentrations of magnesium.
Magnesium concentration of soil
Rate of photosynthesis of Brassicar Rapa
Under different environmental conditions of pH and salt concentration, measure the heart rate of daphnia under a microscope and count the number of heart beats within a certain time period.
pH and Salt concentration of water
Heart rate of water flea
Research upon different types of ecosystems that seem to be similar but have different abiotic factors and observe the different species within the ecosystem and understand the possible reasons as to the amount of biodiversity in the ecosystem.
Abiotic factors
Biodiversity of ecosystem
Soaking samples of Solanum Tuberosum within various types of oils for a certain duration of time and analysing the cellular structure of plant cells, primarily the shape of their cell wall.
Type of Oil
Cell wall structure and other cellular components of Solanum Tuberosum
Measure the vitamin A concentration of Daucus Carota samples before they undergo cooking in various ways such as boiling, pan-frying, grilling and more and then measuring the vitamin A concentration after the cooking process and comparing the vitamin A concentration.
Method of Cooking
Vitamin A concentration
Placing seedlings of Zingiber officinale that are approximately the same age and measuring the rate of growth with shoot and root length over a fixed period of time within samples of soil with different potassium:magnesium ratios
Ratio of potassium:magnesium in fertiliser
Heat samples of Rubus Idaeus concentrate and measure the concentration of phenolic acids before and after the process.
Temperature
Concentration of phenolic acid of Rubus Idaeus sample
Provide various types of treatments to samples of Carica papaya seeds and measure the germination and growth rate of these seeds.
Types of treatment(physic
Place spinach leaves in different light intensities and measure the rate of oxygen production.
Light intensity
Rate of oxygen production
Plant bean seeds in soil with varying concentrations of salt and measure the rate of germination.
Concentration of salt in soil
Rate of germination
Add lactase enzyme to milk at different pH levels and measure the rate of lactose breakdown.
pH level of milk
Rate of lactose breakdown
Culture E.coli bacteria in the presence of different types of antibiotics and measure the rate of growth.
Type of antibiotic
Rate of growth of E.coli bacteria
Illuminate elodea plants with different wavelengths of light and measure the rate of oxygen production.
Wavelength of light
Rate of oxygen production
Place brine shrimp in water of different salinity levels and measure the survival rate.
Salinity of water
Survival rate of brine shrimp
Growing samples of Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) under different wavelengths of light and evaluating their growth rates and starch content.
Treating fertilized eggs of Xenopus laevis (African clawed frog) with different hormones and light wavelengths and measuring the development of the embryos.
Having human participants engage in different levels and intensities of exercise and measuring the concentration of lactate and potassium in their blood.
Growing samples of Bifidobacterium in the presence of different antibiotics and pH environments and measuring their growth.
29.) Investigation of the effect of different concentrations of carbon dioxide on the rate of photosynthesis and respiration in Chlorella vulgaris
Exposing samples of Chlorella vulgaris (green algae) to different concentrations of carbon dioxide and measuring the rate of photosynthesis and respiration.
30.) Investigation of the effect of different environmental conditions on the behavior and lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster
Observing the behavior and lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster under different environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and light exposure.
IBDP Maths AIhl
ap statistics
IBDP Biology
ap Biology
IBDP Business Management
ap microeconomics
IBDP ESS
Ap Environmental Science
IBDP Physics
ap physics c mechanics
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