IB MYP Sciences: Global contexts in MYP Sciences – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

This practice set tests the global contexts in IB MYP Sciences, aligned to the IB MYP Sciences guide (for use from September 2014/January 2015; published May 2014, updated May 2019). It suits MYP years 4 and 5 (no SL/HL split). MYP has no prescribed content list; schools design their own units, so each question below sets some standard science inside one of the six global contexts.

Each question is labelled with the criterion it trains and the global context it uses. Real MYP work is judged against criterion level descriptors (achievement levels 1–8), so the [1] points here are a revision aid, not IB marks. All people, places and data are fictional.

Study first with the study guide and revision notes. Also: course hub, checklist, criteria in practice questions.

Questions

1. (Criterion D – framework) A student’s criterion D answer begins: “The factor I will use is globalization and sustainability.” Explain the error and rewrite the sentence correctly. [3]

2. (Criterion D – framework) State the global context that best fits each unit and give a reason.

(a) How the model of the Earth’s interior was built from earthquake wave evidence. [1] (b) How caffeine affects reaction time and sleep in teenagers. [1] (c) The chemistry behind glazes used by potters in a craft tradition. [1] (d) How demand for palm oil in one region affects rainforest habitats in another. [1]

3. (Criterion A – identities and relationships) A fictional 40 g snack bar contains 24 g carbohydrate, 4 g protein and 8 g fat. Use 17 kJ/g for carbohydrate and protein and 37 kJ/g for fat.

(a) Calculate the energy in the bar. [3] (b) Calculate the percentage of this energy that comes from fat, to 3 significant figures. [1]

4. (Criterion B – scientific and technical innovation) A company is designing a cool box for carrying medicines. Plan an investigation into how the mass of ice packs placed inside the box affects how long the inside stays below 8 °C. Include a hypothesis with reasoning, the variables, and how you will collect enough data. [5]

5. (Criteria A and C – orientation in space and time) Radiometric dating changed scientists’ understanding of the age of rocks. A fictional isotope has a half-life of 5,000 years.

(a) A sample contains 25% of its original amount of the isotope. Calculate its age. [2] (b) A sample began with 80 g of the isotope. Calculate the mass left after 15,000 years. [2]

6. (Criteria C and D – globalization and sustainability) The fictional town of Westmere collects 240 tonnes of electronic waste in a year and sends 84 tonnes for full metal recovery. In the recycled material, 15% of the mass is copper.

(a) Calculate the percentage of collected e-waste that is fully recycled. [1] (b) Calculate the mass of copper in the recycled material. [1] (c) Discuss one environmental benefit and one limitation of increasing this recycling, and give a judgement. [3]

7. (Criterion D, extended – fairness and development) The fictional village of Kessa needs 18,000 litres of water each day lifted 25 m from a well. One litre of water has a mass of 1 kg. Take g = 9.8 N/kg.

(a) Calculate the gravitational potential energy gained by the water each day. [2] (b) The pump is 60% efficient. A solar panel supplies an average of 450 W for 6 hours a day. Show whether the panel supplies enough energy. [2] (c) The village now lifts its water by hand with a rope and bucket. Evaluate installing this solar pump, using an economic factor. Reach a judgement. [4]

8. (Criterion D – framing) A teacher is planning a unit on acids, bases and indigestion remedies, framed by identities and relationships. Write a statement of inquiry for the unit, name its key and related concepts, and write one debatable question. [4]

9. (Criterion C – personal and cultural expression) An art conservator tests a fictional paint sample by paper chromatography. The solvent front moves 8.0 cm. Two spots move 2.4 cm and 5.6 cm. A pigment used in the period the painting is said to come from, Pigment K, has an Rf value of 0.70.

(a) Calculate the Rf value of each spot. [2] (b) Interpret the result and state one limitation of this conclusion. [2]

10. (Criterion A – scientific and technical innovation) A 60 W filament lamp gives out 3 W of light. A 7.5 W LED gives out the same light. Calculate the efficiency of each lamp and the energy saved, in kWh, by using the LED for 1,000 hours. [3]

11. (Criterion D, extended – identities and relationships) A fictional school, Ardley Academy, plans to require all students to wear sunscreen for outdoor sport. Explain how sunscreen protects skin, discuss the implications of the policy using a social factor, and reach a judgement. [7]

Answers

1. Globalization and sustainability is a global context, which frames the whole unit. [1] Criterion D needs a factor: moral, ethical, social, economic, political, cultural or environmental. [1] Corrected: “The factor I will use is environmental.” (any listed factor that suits the issue) [1] Examiner insight: Strand ii descriptors require implications “interacting with a factor”; naming a context in its place leaves that requirement unmet, however good the rest of the paragraph is.

2. (a) Orientation in space and time – the unit is about how evidence changed a model over time. [1] (b) Identities and relationships – it concerns health and lifestyle choices. [1] (c) Personal and cultural expression – science within a craft and tradition. [1] (d) Globalization and sustainability – global trade affecting shared natural resources. [1] Examiner insight: Another context can earn credit if the reason links it to the issue (for example, (d) as fairness and development if you focus on who profits); a bare label earns nothing.

3. (a) Carbohydrate: 24 × 17 = 408 kJ; protein: 4 × 17 = 68 kJ. [1] Fat: 8 × 37 = 296 kJ. [1] Total = 408 + 68 + 296 = 772 kJ. [1] (b) 296 ÷ 772 × 100 = 38.3% [1] Examiner insight: Show each nutrient’s energy separately; a single wrong total with no working gives the marker nothing to credit.

4. Hypothesis: a greater mass of ice packs will keep the inside below 8 °C for longer, because more thermal energy must be transferred into the box to melt a larger mass of ice. [1] [1] Independent variable: mass of ice packs (for example 200, 400, 600, 800, 1,000 g); dependent variable: time until a thermometer inside the box reads above 8 °C. [1] Controlled variables: the same box and insulation; room temperature; starting temperature of the ice packs; thermometer position; lid kept closed. [1] Data: test at least five masses and repeat each three times, then calculate a mean. [1] Examiner insight: The hypothesis needs scientific reasoning for both marks; “more ice is better” alone is a prediction, not a hypothesis.

5. (a) 100% → 50% → 25% is 2 half-lives. [1] Age = 2 × 5,000 = 10,000 years. [1] (b) 15,000 ÷ 5,000 = 3 half-lives. [1] 80 → 40 → 20 → 10 g. [1] Examiner insight: Count half-lives first; dividing the mass by the number of half-lives (80 ÷ 3) is a common wrong method that earns no credit.

6. (a) 84 ÷ 240 × 100 = 35% [1] (b) 0.15 × 84 = 12.6 tonnes [1] (c) Benefit: recovering copper reduces the need to mine new ore, so less habitat loss and waste rock. [1] Limitation: recycling plants use energy, and only 35% is currently processed, so the rest may still end up in landfill. [1] Judgement: increasing recycling is worthwhile because recovered metal replaces mining, provided collection rates also rise. [1] Examiner insight: Top bands need “discuss and evaluate”; a benefit and a limitation without a final judgement stops short of that.

7. (a) Mass = 18,000 kg. Ep = mgh = 18,000 × 9.8 × 25 [1] = 4,410,000 J (4.41 MJ) [1] (b) Energy input needed = 4.41 ÷ 0.60 = 7.35 MJ; panel supplies 450 × 6 × 3,600 = 9.72 MJ. [1] 9.72 MJ > 7.35 MJ, so yes, the panel supplies enough, with 2.37 MJ spare on an average day. [1] (c) Economic benefit: hours spent hauling water are freed for paid work or school, and the sun is a free energy source. [1] Economic limitation: higher upfront cost of panels and pump; repairs need trained people and parts. [1] Science limit: output falls on cloudy days, so a storage tank is needed to cover average-day assumptions. [1] Judgement: worthwhile if the purchase can be funded and a tank stores a day’s water. [1] Examiner insight: Linking the evaluation back to your calculation (spare energy, cloudy days) shows science being applied, which is what strand i rewards.

8. Example statement: Changes in the balance of substances in the body can affect our health and the choices we make about it. [1] Key concept: change (or relationships). [1] Related concepts: balance, consequences. [1] Debatable question: “Should indigestion remedies be sold without advice from a pharmacist?” [1] Examiner insight: The statement must transfer beyond acids and bases; one that names the topic (“Antacids neutralise acid”) would not earn the framing mark.

9. (a) Rf = distance moved by spot ÷ distance moved by solvent. 2.4 ÷ 8.0 = 0.30 [1]; 5.6 ÷ 8.0 = 0.70 [1] (b) One spot matches Pigment K, so the paint is consistent with that period. [1] Limitation: matching Rf in one solvent does not prove identity; a different pigment could share it, so test in a second solvent. [1] Examiner insight: Rf has no units and is always less than 1; giving units or a value above 1 shows the formula was inverted.

10. Filament: 3 ÷ 60 × 100 = 5%; LED: 3 ÷ 7.5 × 100 = 40% [1] [1] Energy saved = (60 − 7.5) W × 1,000 h = 52,500 Wh = 52.5 kWh [1] Examiner insight: Convert Wh to kWh by dividing by 1,000; leaving the answer as 52,500 when kWh is asked for loses the final mark.

11. Science: ultraviolet radiation from the Sun can damage DNA in skin cells, causing sunburn and raising the risk of skin cancer. [1] Sunscreen contains substances that absorb or reflect UV, so less reaches living skin cells. [1] Social benefit: a whole-school rule protects every student, not only those whose families already use sunscreen, and builds a healthy habit. [1] Social limitation: some students may have skin reactions or personal reasons to object, so the rule needs exceptions. [1] Further point: sunscreen must be reapplied, so the policy only works with time built into sport sessions. [1] Use of scientific language (UV, DNA, absorb, radiation) throughout. [1] Judgement: the policy is justified on health grounds if it allows exceptions and provides sunscreen, so cost is not a barrier. [1] Examiner insight: Strand i at 7–8 needs an explanation of how the science works (absorbing UV), not just a statement that sunscreen “protects”.

Where marks are usually lost

• Naming a global context where criterion D needs a factor.
• Labelling a unit’s context with no reason linked to the issue.
• Statements of inquiry that name the topic and so do not transfer.
• Discussing implications without a final judgement.
• Hypotheses with a prediction but no scientific reasoning.

Next steps

• Global contexts revision notes
• Global contexts study guide
• MYP Sciences course hub
• Printable checklist
• All free 10-minute diagnostics
• Book a free trial class

Official syllabus

These questions follow the IB MYP Sciences guide (for use from September 2014/January 2015; published May 2014, updated May 2019), published by the International Baccalaureate Organization. Your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications for each assessed task.