IB Diploma Programme Biology

Component-based qualification

Source: official International Baccalaureate specification, verified 2026-09-04. Higher Level only. The freely public official specimen-paper PDF (for first examinations 2025) was read on 2026-09-04, confirming real printed mark totals for the Higher Level papers – Paper 1 (Section 1A multiple-choice, 40 marks, and Section 1B data-based questions, 35 marks, sat together in one 2-hour session, 75 marks combined, 36% of the final grade, calculator and data booklet permitted) and Paper 2 (data-based, short-answer and extended-response questions, 2 hours 30 minutes, 80 marks, 44%, calculator and data booklet permitted) – but the same document could not be read in full past the Higher Level Paper 2 markscheme, before reaching the Standard Level papers. Standard Level is therefore not included here rather than estimated from the Higher Level figures. The Internal Assessment (an individual scientific investigation reported as a written report, maximum 3,000 words) is marked against four criteria – Research Design, Data Analysis, Conclusion, Evaluation – worth 6 marks each, 24 marks total, 20% of the final grade, internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB; this mark total was independently corroborated against a current, actively maintained third-party IB revision resource rather than read directly from the partially inaccessible primary specimen document. Weighting and duration figures throughout are read directly from the official public subject brief.