HL & SL Options

Teachers need to prepare students for just one option which will be assessed in section B of the Paper 3 exam. The content of these new options broadly corresponds to options from the old guide. There are one or two new details, e.g. bioinformatics but most of the content is recognisable from the old guide.

SL students study three or four core topics and HL students study two or three extra topics.

The option topics are as follows:

Option A: Neurobiology & behaviour (15 / 25 hrs)

The core topics are neural development, the human brain and perception of stimuli.
The additional HL topics are innate and learned behaviour, neuropharmacology, and ethology.

Option B: Biotechnology & bioinformatics (15 / 25 hrs)

Option C: Ecology & conservation (15 / 25 hrs)

The core topics are species, communities and ecosystems, impacts of humans and conservation of biodiversity.
The additional HL topics are population ecology and nutrient cycles (N & P)

Option D: Human physiology (15 / 25 hrs)

The core topics are human nutrition, digestion, the liver and the heart.
The additional HL topics are hormones and metabolism and transport of respiratory gases including control of breathing.

What will there be in this section?

During Spring of 2015 these options topics will be completed and they will contain the following:

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