IB Biology
South Forsyth High School
Fall 20-Spring 2011
Teacher: Angela Piszczek
Phone: 770-781-2264 Ext 100486
email:apiszczek@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Room #: 486 West Hall
Campbell, N.A. and Reece, J.B. (2008). Biology 8th ed. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings.
To supplement the text: Pearson Baccalaureate. Biology standard level. ISBN 978-0-435994-39-6
Course Description and Objectives:
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a rigorous pre-university course of studies,
leading to examinations that meet the needs of highly motivated secondary school students.
Designed as a comprehensive two-year curriculum that allows its graduates to fulfill requirements
of various national education systems, the Diploma Programme model is based on the pattern of
no single country but incorporates the best elements of many. The goals of this class and the
Programme are to:
1. Provide opportunities for scientific study and creativity within a global
context, which will stimulate and challenge students.
2. Provide a body of knowledge, methods and techniques, which characterize
science and technology.
3. Develop an ability to analyze, evaluate and synthesize scientific information.
4. Enable students to apply and use a body of knowledge, methods and techniques which
characterize science and technology.
5. Engender an awareness of the need for, and the value of, effective collaboration and
communication during scientific activities.
6. Develop experimental and investigative scientific skills.
7. Develop and apply the students’ information technology skills in the study of science.
8. Raise awareness of the moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of using
science and technology.
9. Develop an appreciation of the possibilities and limitations associated with science and
scientists.
10. Encourage an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and the
overarching nature of the scientific method.
IB Biology is a science course for advanced students, and is designed to promote more high-level
thinking as well as more independent research and learning. IB Biology is a class designed by the
International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The following website has more detailed and
informative material concerning the program:
http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/documents/dp/gr4/biology/d4biologui03051e.pdf
In order to receive the IB Diploma, students have specific requirements including External
Assessments, Internal Assessments, and a Group project. External Assessments consists of three
(3) papers completed by the student in the form of a multiple-choice test, experiment design, and
an essay. Internal Assessments are lab reports and activities completed in class and graded by
the teacher as well as the IBO. The External Assessment is weighted 76% of the 1 to 7 IBO
grade, and the Internal Assessment is weighted 24%. The assessment procedure will be
discussed at length at the beginning of the semester. In order to get the IB Diploma, you must
complete the all Internal and External Assessments, which will comprise your IB Grade on a 1 to 7
scale. The score you receive in Biology, as well as the points you accrue on assessments in your
other IB classes, must total up to 24 points in order to be awarded the diploma. For more explicit
details, visit the website above.
Grading (Grade received within the school):
Daily Assignments and quizzes 40%
Chapter Tests
60%
100% = 85% of final course grade
Final Exam (EOCT)
15% of final course grade
The 85% of the course grade will be broken up equally (42.5%) between semesters. Therefore,
the student’s grade will look like it starts over at the beginning of second semester. The two
grades will be averaged together to form the 85% of the final grade and added to the score on the
final exam.
Homework and Make-up Work Policy:
Makeup work will only be allowed for excused absences as outlined in the school handbook. It is
the student’s responsibility to schedule make-up times for tests with the teacher. Long-term
projects must be turned in on the previously scheduled date. If a student is absent on that day,
they must turn in the project the day they return to receive full credit. For every day late thereafter,
their possible points will be decreased by a letter grade. A daily synopsis of class and any
handouts given out in class will be posted on Angel. Below are the following websites, where
these resources can be found:
https://forsyth.angellearning.com/
http://www.ibo.org/ (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme website)
http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/documents/dp/gr4/biology/d_4_biolo_gui_0903_1_e.pdf
Class Rules:
1. Respect the teacher and your peers.
2. Be prepared to learn with all necessary materials needed every day.
3. Follow all lab safety rules during lab activities.
4. Follow all rules in the school handbook.
5. Be responsible and accountable for your actions.
Items needed for class:
Students are expected to bring a class notebook, a journal/composition notebook, textbook, paper,
and a pen/pencil to class every day. Also, having a portable USB drive (jump drive, pen drive) is
needed for this course due to the amount of out-of-class work that is required I strongly
recommend each student have a 3-ring binder with tabs to keep all work throughout the semester.
This will provide an easy way to stay organized and keep notes, labs, etc. for reference when it’s
final exam time. ***There is a required EOCT (comprehensive exam) for this class if you have not
already taken a Biology course. ***
Course Topics to be covered: We will cover all six Core topics below as well as the Option topics
for extensional learning during the course of the entire year. More specific objectives for each
topic can be found on the website above. Topics shown below are aligned with IB standards as
well as correlated with Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) since at the conclusion of this
course; students will take the Biology End Of Course Test (EOCT). **More specific objectives
relating to the standards are located on the Georgia Department of Education website. **
IB Biology Curriculum Map
2010-2011
Concepts
Approximate
Length of
Instruction
Statistical Analysis and intro 2 weeks
to the IB lab report and IA
Chemistry, Cells and
4 weeks
Cycling of Energy
DNA/RNA/Cellular
Reproduction
5 weeks
Internal Assessment lab time 2.5 weeks
5 weeks
Genetics
End of Semester 1
Finish Genetics
6 weeks
Evolution
Kingdom Characteristics
Ecology and Cycles
2 weeks
weeks
Human health and
Physiology
Review for IB exam
2 weeks
2 weeks
Standards/Elements
to be Taught
IB objective
SCSh1-9
Topic 1
SB1
SB4
SB3
SB2
Topic 2 and part of 3
SB3
SB5
Topic 5 and Option D
SB2
SB5
The rest of topic 4
SB4
SB3
SB5
The rest of topic five and
option G
The rest of 3 and part of
4
Topic 6
Georgia Performance Standards
SB1. Students will analyze the nature of the relationships between structures and
functions in living cells.
a.
Explain the role of cell organelles for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells,
including the cell membrane, in maintaining homeostasis and cell reproduction.
b.
Explain how enzymes function as catalysts.
c.
Identify the function of the four major macromolecules (i.e., carbohydrates,
proteins, lipids, nucleic acids).
SB2. Students will analyze how biological traits are passed on to successive generations.
a. Distinguish between DNA and RNA.
b. Explain the role of DNA in storing and transmitting cellular information.
c. Using Mendel’s laws, explain the role of meiosis in reproductive variability.
d. Describe the relationships between changes in DNA and potential appearance of
new traits including

Alterations during replication.
 Insertions
 Deletions
 Substitutions

Mutagenic factors that can alter DNA.
 High energy radiation (x-rays and ultraviolet)
 Chemical
e. Compare the advantages of sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction in
different situations.
f. Examine the use of DNA technology in forensics, medicine, and agriculture.
SB3. Students will derive the relationship between single-celled and multi-celled
organisms and the increasing complexity of systems.
Relate the complexity and organization of organisms to their ability for obtaining,
transforming, transporting, releasing, and eliminating the matter and energy used to
sustain the organism.
Examine the evolutionary basis of modern classification systems. (six kingdoms)
a.
SB4. Students will assess the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of
energy and matter within their ecosystems.
a.
Investigate the relationships among organisms, populations,
communities, ecosystems, and biomes.
b.
Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems by
 Arranging components of a food chain according to energy flow.
 Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.
 Explaining the need for cycling of major nutrients (C, O, H, N, P).
c.
Relate environmental conditions to successional changes in
ecosystems.
d.
Assess and explain human activities that influence and modify the
environment such as global warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water
and power consumption.
e.
Relate plant adaptations, including tropisms, to the ability to survive
stressful environmental conditions.
f.
Relate animal adaptations, including behaviors, to the ability to survive
stressful
environmental conditions.
SB5. Students will evaluate the role of natural selection in the development of the theory of
evolution.
a. Trace the history of the theory.
b. Explain the history of life in terms of biodiversity, ancestry, and the rates of evolution.
c. Explain how fossil and biochemical evidence support the theory.
d. Relate natural selection to changes in organisms.
Recognize the role of evolution to biological resistance (pesticide and antibiotic resistance).