Is IB Biology HL Difficult?

[FaisalH]

Im starting school on the 31st with the 1st year of the IBDP programme and I was wondering is Bio HL difficult? I love biology but i hate plant biology and I have mixed emotions for DNA will it be enjoyable, is it interesting and most importantly is it difficult? thanks in advance

[Guest B.E.P.]

I haven't taken IB Biology HL. However, from what I've heard, it's a lot of material. My friends in IB Biology HL hated plants - so that's a common feature between all IB Biology HL students. They did like DNA, though.

[IBKID4lyf]

Hi, I myself do not take biology but many of my friends do and they say that it is very interesting but a lot of work! And a lot of memorising. Here is the syllabus so that you can look through it: http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/documents/dp/gr4/biology/d_4_biolo_gui_0903_1_e.pdf

[ilovesprite]

I do take HL Biology, and as for difficulty, like the others have said, it's a lot of stuff to learn. Seriously. I have just finished my 1st year, and my Bio folder is my second fattest (HL Maths being 1st ), and some topics require revisiting, else you would forget it entirely.

I found DNA fantastic, but we have not covered all of it since that will be covered this coming year, and also we've done some work on plants, it wasn't terribly boring, but not entirely exciting either, just a topic that was neutral in my opinion.

As for whether it's interesting, yes, extremely. If you like Biology, you'll be fascinated by HL Bio, since they leave out all the interesting (and sometimes hard) bits out in SL.

Good luck!

[cricketcrazynerd]

I do HL biology as well It's not difficult if you have good memory. In general, I find the context easy, most syllabus points are straight forward and are just required to be learnt off by heart. Having said that, there will obviously be some things (e.g. the rigorous procedures of translation) that will required a bit more thought processing. Plants, well I've only done up to photosynthesis at the moment, and because I had never been in that much detail before, I found it quite interesting.

I do have to mention that I find the data response questions quite challenging (even though I do HL maths!), so that's probably something to look out for.

I'm not particularly fond of biology (IMO chemistry is the best ) but it can be fun and fascinating at times. You will survive...DNA isn't too bad.

[FaisalH]

Thannks everyone is a relieve

[Sandwich]

Not many people like DNA or plants... or ecology... you don't have to like it to learn it

[Erasmusrasmus]

Personally I find biology HL quite fun and not as hard as its assumed to be (provided you STUDY). Something that I (and every other bio HL person I know) can agree on is that getting a 7 in bio HL tests is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. The grading criteria is strict and if you don't mention something small you lose quite a bit of points, especially when dealing with questions which are worth 2-3 points! I find it easy as long as I study and remember to be as detailed as possible in my answers

[Sarah1]

Basically, it's as hard as you make it. If you refuse to try and learn the information, then it's a really hard class. But if you try to genuinely interest yourself in it, then it's pretty fun. That said, it's a TON of memorization, plus how to apply everything you've memorized. It's hardly a walk in the park, but you'll manage.

As a Bio HL student, it's hardly impossible. I don't study, and I get 100s/high As on every test, no problem. It's just a lot of stuff to cram into your brain.