IA – Avoiding common errors

Guiding Question
What are the most common errors which students make in their IA?
Complete the activities below using this worksheet.

Activity 1 - Avoid writing a vague, unfocused research question

Spending ten minutes getting the research question right is time well spent at the beginning
of an IA.
The first question (below) is not fully focused, the student knows what they want to do but
they haven't expressed it precisely.
Students who are vague like this often don't include enough biological detail in the
background, or in their conclusion.

The second example is better, it describes the Independent variable and the Dependent
Variable more precisely. It also refers to a derived variable. This is really what interests the
student, but it is not directly measurable. We can try to estimate the speed of the nervous
system using the reaction time. So writing it into the research questions helps to guide the
student in their IA.

Explaining how to work out a derived variable should form part or the background section,
and this encourages a biological explanation of how the independent variable will cause
changes to the dependent variable.
The scientific names of species are also expected. Although for humans it seems a bit odd
to do, better safe than sorry.

It is also good to describe the range of the independent variable which will be tested in the
RQ. This can be explained and justified in the background part of the Exploration.

© David Faure, InThinking www.thinkib.net/biology 1

 IA – Avoiding common errors

Help these students to improve their research questions

Improve the RQs below by:

 completing the precise details of the IV and DV.
 giving a range of values for the IV
 adding a scientific name
 including a derived variable, which is not measured, but calculated from the data.
Student A: Jazmin is really interested in cooking and health. She has heared that it
is healthier to eat raw food because cooking food damages some of the nutrients in
the food. She is thinking of baking carrots at different temperatures in an oven.
RQ: How does heating carrots at different temperatures affect vitamin C
concentration?
Precise IV .......................................................................................................
Range of IV ....................................................................................................
Precise DV ......................................................................................................
Scientific name ...........................................................
Derived variable ..............................................................................................
Write a more focused RQ, using these details:
.................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................
Student B: Dara has just been on holiday and visited the Dead sea / Sea of Salt: He liked
being able to float easily in the water but was shocked to find out that there is no life in the
sea because it is too salty. He wants to find out what is the maximum salinity that can
support life. The Dead sea has a salinity of 342 g/kg, or 34.2%. He is thinking of growing
yeast in different salt concentrations and measuring the rate of growth of the yeast
.population using a colorimeter
RQ: What is the highest salt concentration which can support life, using yeast as a
model species?
Precise IV .......................................................................................................
Range of IV ....................................................................................................
Precise DV ......................................................................................................
Scientific name ...........................................................
Derived variable ..............................................................................................
Write a more focused RQ, using these details:
...............................................................................................................................................…
.................................................................................................................................................

© David Faure, InThinking www.thinkib.net/biology 2