DP+Biology+External+Assessment

DP Biology External Assessment
Internal Assessment gains candidates a maximum of 24% of the marks for Biology. The remaining 76% comes from externally assessed exam papers. SL and HL are dealt with separately as the % split and the duration of the papers is different.

SL

 * Component || Overall weighting (%) || Duration (hours) || Total Marks || Format and syllabus coverage ||
 * Paper 1 || 20 || 3⁄4 || 30 || 30 multiple-choice questions on the core ||
 * Paper 2 || 32 || 11⁄4 || 50 || Section A: one data-based question and several short-answer questions on the core (all compulsory) ||
 * ||  ||   ||   || Section B: one extended-response question on the core (from a choice of three) ||
 * Paper 3 || 24 || 1 || 36 || Several short-answer questions in each of the two options studied (all compulsory) ||


 * SL Breakdown of marks for Paper 2**
 * Paper 2 ||
 * Section || Detail || Marks ||
 * Section A: || one data-based question (compulsory) || Approx. 12 marks ||
 * || several short-answer questions on the core (all compulsory) || Approx. 18 marks ||
 * Section B: || one extended-response questions on the core (from a choice of three) || 18 marks + 2 for quality of the answer ||

HL

 * Component || Overall weighting (%) || Duration (hours) || Total Marks || Format and syllabus coverage ||
 * Paper 1 || 20 || 1 || 40 || 40 multiple-choice questions (±15 common to SL plus about five more on the core and about 20 more on the AHL) ||
 * Paper 2 || 36 || 21⁄4 || 72 || Section A: one data-based question and several short-answer questions on the core and the AHL (all compulsory) ||
 * ||  ||   ||   || Section B: two extended-response questions on the core and the AHL (from a choice of four) ||
 * Paper 3 || 20 || 11⁄4 || 40 || Several short-answer questions and one extended-response question in each of the two options studied (all compulsory) ||


 * HL Breakdown of marks for Paper 2**
 * Paper 2 ||
 * Section || Detail || Marks ||
 * Section A: ||  || Total 32 ||
 * || one data-based question (compulsory) || Approx. 16 marks ||
 * || several short-answer questions on the core and the AHL (all compulsory) || Approx. 16 marks ||
 * Section B: ||  || Total 40 (20 for each question) ||
 * || two extended-response questions on the core and the AHL (from a choice of four) || Detail: 18 marks for answers + 2 for the quality of the answers ||