How these pages are made

Every topic page says at the top where it came from and whether it has been reviewed. This page is the long version, once.

The syllabus

The structure of the site — subjects, themes, topics, and the numbered statements inside each topic — is the IB's own, taken from the current subject guides (Biology: first assessment 2025, updated May 2026 for first assessment 2028). We use the IB's codes and topic names so that what you see here matches your teacher's scheme of work and the guide itself. We paraphrase what each statement requires; the guide's own wording is the IB's copyright and is not reproduced.

The questions

Questions are compiled from a question bank built for this site. Each item is tied to one syllabus statement. Every wrong option is a documented misconception — a wrong idea that students actually hold — and each option carries a written reason, shown the moment you answer.

The bank was drafted with AI tools working from the syllabus, then passed through automated checks (every statement covered; one correct option per item; no answer-position or answer-length patterns; every distractor linked to a misconception) and an AI review for correctness and syllabus depth. Items that failed were rewritten or removed. That process is why the bank exists at the size it does, and it is also why human review matters: AI review is not the same as a subject specialist reading each item, and we do not present it as such.

The Learn sections

Learn text is compiled from the same bank's concept definitions and misconceptions, then edited by hand into the short form you see. Where a section has not yet been edited, the page says so and shows the underlying material instead.

What "Reviewed" means

A topic marked Reviewed by James R. Martin with a date has been read in full by a person against the guide, and any item or line found wanting has been fixed or removed. The date changes only when that happens again. Until then a topic says Specialist review in progress, and you should treat it accordingly.

Who

James R. Martin — MSci Physics (Bristol), PGCE (Oxford), and a one-to-one tutor of IB and GCSE sciences for over a decade. This site is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization.

Mistakes

If you find one, tell us via the About page and quote the statement code. Corrections are made in the source and the page rebuilt; nothing is patched silently.