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Extended Essay in Biology??


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Hey guys, so I'm actually  in a dilemma right now. I'm an IB Junior doing HL Bio, HL English, and HL Math. I wanted to do my extended essay in biology, but I've been reading several reviews discouraging me to do so. I'm stuck between biology and english and I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of both subjects. Plus, I need to submit my proposal in a week so I really need to figure this out asap. For bio -- I need to do an experiment, but I've been realising the severity of the situation because doing an experiment and keeping multiple variables controlled can be hard. But for eng -- I have 0 idea on what book I should choose. I mean yeah I have a little bit of an idea, I was thinking of something from Toni Morrison but I'm really unsure. I need help, just suggestions or past experiences by anyone.. PLEASE HELP!

 

thank you!!

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Hi! I think it really depends on what you like more and what you'd truly enjoy doing. I debated on english and bio too and chose bio in the end, doing secondary research so that I wouldn't have to spend time in the lab then regretting afterwards because I couldn't get as much help as I wanted with my EE both from my supervisor and the internet. I chose bio bcz they recommended choosing a subject related to your future path which is biomedical engr for me, so I wanted to look good for future university interviews. 

If you are considering bio, i recommend doing one on a simulation to make it more flexible for your schedule (assuming you don't have time to plan the experiment out). But if you have the time, just plan it out and check in on your lab technician and inform them of what you need beforehand always and researching as much as you can to get a solid idea on your method and if the idea works.

I've changed my research question like 30 times since my first IB year and if your school is as flexible just throw a general idea of what you want first, some of my classmates switched subjects a whole 2 weeks before the official deadline because they regretted choosing a subject they weren't interested in thinking that it was easier (from history to chemistry). So it all depends on your interests, if youre more into humanities or sciences and your school's support. 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/10/2019 at 11:05 PM, professionalprocrastinator said:

Hey guys, so I'm actually  in a dilemma right now. I'm an IB Junior doing HL Bio, HL English, and HL Math. I wanted to do my extended essay in biology, but I've been reading several reviews discouraging me to do so. I'm stuck between biology and english and I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of both subjects. Plus, I need to submit my proposal in a week so I really need to figure this out asap. For bio -- I need to do an experiment, but I've been realising the severity of the situation because doing an experiment and keeping multiple variables controlled can be hard. But for eng -- I have 0 idea on what book I should choose. I mean yeah I have a little bit of an idea, I was thinking of something from Toni Morrison but I'm really unsure. I need help, just suggestions or past experiences by anyone.. PLEASE HELP!

thank you!!

I found myself in the same situation and I was really stressed bc no one from my school had successfully done a bio EE, but I am really into science...

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6 hours ago, sarahfromdelaware said:

I found myself in the same situation and I was really stressed bc no one from my school had successfully done a bio EE, but I am really into science...

If no one in your school has successfully done a bio EE I don't think your school has enough lab and teacher support for it. Then you better avoid it and not getting yourself into trouble later on. If you are really into science, is there other science subjects you are taking? You can consider doing EE on other science subjects? 

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On 1/4/2020 at 7:51 PM, sunsally said:

If no one in your school has successfully done a bio EE I don't think your school has enough lab and teacher support for it. Then you better avoid it and not getting yourself into trouble later on. If you are really into science, is there other science subjects you are taking? You can consider doing EE on other science subjects? 

 The only IB science I am taking is IB Biology (and IB Design but it is only the first year of my school having Design and I don't really consider it as science) 

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12 hours ago, sarahfromdelaware said:

 The only IB science I am taking is IB Biology (and IB Design but it is only the first year of my school having Design and I don't really consider it as science) 

Then you better talk to your teacher about the feasibility of doing a bio EE with sufficient support. Otherwise I will suggest doing EE on other subject like humanity or language. Also check which subject you are taking has the best support in your school because I think teachers and resources are very important in doing a great EE. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/6/2020 at 4:49 PM, sarahfromdelaware said:

 The only IB science I am taking is IB Biology (and IB Design but it is only the first year of my school having Design and I don't really consider it as science) 

Hi, I'm sure this reply is probably very late but hopefully still helps. If you are extremely passionate in science, you can possibly conduct your experiment within a university laboratory. You can reach out and ask universities near you as my classmate and other IB candidates have done. Goodluck!

 

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8 hours ago, preengles said:

Hi, I'm sure this reply is probably very late but hopefully still helps. If you are extremely passionate in science, you can possibly conduct your experiment within a university laboratory. You can reach out and ask universities near you as my classmate and other IB candidates have done. Goodluck!

Thanks @preengles !! You are not late at all. I have not started my EE, but I am thinking of my plan. I do not think I will need to conduct research outside of my school, but Im not sure. I plan on buying materials at a pet store. I want to have 5 identical aquatic plants and adjust the pH which chemicals from the pet/fish store to raise or lower the pH of the water. I think I will have one plant with 6.8, one with 7.0, and one with 7.2, 7.4, and one with 7.6. I will conduct this experiment for two weeks while observing the plants on a daily basis. What do you think of my idea? Does anyone have suggestions? I really want to do this right, and I need feedback. Thanks 

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2 hours ago, ChocolateAndVanilla said:

Hey!

I'm not really sure if it's not too simple for an EE. I mean, the idea seems nice and interesting, but maybe you should think about improving it/adding more aspects to it? Have you talked to your teacher about it already?

Yeah, but my teacher does not have a lot of experience with doing EEs. How could I improve it or add more aspects? Like should I also test chlorine or water hardness in addition to pH? Thanks again

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