Biology IA/IRP Ideas

Websites that describe various Biology experiments. Note that some are too simple and would have
to be adjusted to a level that allows for lots of quantitative data as well as qualitative data.

http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-biology/topics

https://www.vernier.com/ib-correlations/ib-biology/

https://www.mrgscience.com/ib-biology-internal-assessment.html

http://www.1000sciencefairprojects.com/Biology/Biology-Lab-Experiment-Ideas.php

Buffers:

How do the buffering actions of (milk, yogurt, juices, shampoo, detergents, antacids, sodium carbonate,
sodium bicarbonate, etc) compare?

How is the ability of soil to buffer acid precipitation affected by soil type/repeated exposure to acid
precipitation/duration of exposure to acid precipitation/pH of acid precipitation/depth of soil/change
with addition of lime/change with the addition of fertilizer?

Diffusion/Osmosis/Membranes:

How does temperature/concentration difference, type of carbohydrate, length or width of dialysis

tubing, effect diffusion/osmosis? Effect of vegetable type on diffusion?

Studying biological membranes using a spectrovis to measure color changes due to the release of
betacyanin caused by the damage to beet cell membranes. Look at the effect of detergents, pH, alcohol
solutions, temperature, heat shock, household chemicals, etc.

Biochemistry:

What is the optimal temperature for catalase catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide? How
effectively does various alcohols inhibit the catalase reaction? What is the effect of catalase source on
the rate of enzyme activity? What is the effect of organism type on the rate of enzyme activity?

How does tyrosinase source affect reaction rate? How do DOPA and catechol compare as substrates for
tyrosinase? What substances inhibit tyrosinase catalyzed reactions?

How do the cellobiase activities of various store-bought mushrooms/dried mushrooms compare?

Enzymes and Cheese production/laundry aids/digestion/fruit juice/jelly

Photosynthesis:

How does the age of chloroplast suspension affect photosynthetic activity? How does distance from
light source affect photosynthetic activity? What is the effect of chloroplast suspension concentration
on photosynthetic activity? How do different plant types affect photosynthesis? (C3, C4, CAM)? How do
herbicides affect photosynthetic activity? How does color of leaf affect photosynthetic activity?

Ecology:

How does changing algae type affect DO & pH over 3 days? How does increasing the number of snails
affect DO & pH over 3 days? How does DO in a non-eutrophic body of water vary with depth? How does
DO vary in a stream from source to mouth?

How does primary productivity of algae sample change with temperature, algae concentration, other
aquatic plants, turbidity, salinity, nutrients, etc?

Determine the WQI (water quality index) (modified to these 5 tests: temperature, pH, turbidity, total
dissolved solids, & DO) How does the convergence of a stream with a smaller stream affects its WQI?
How does water from a sewage treatment plant, factory, power plant, feedlot, chemical plant, dam, etc
affect WQI?

Testing global warming: How does carbon dioxide gas/water vapor/nitrogen gas/oxygen gas/presence of
soil affect temperature inside a cutoff bottle exposed to simulated sunlight?

Evolution IA Qs:

Comparative study between 5 different species of ANIMAL (ie. Trout, etc.) using BLAST analysis to
determine evolutionary history

Which type of natural selection (disruptive, direction, or stabilizing) is employed in the variation of
BLANK (example: nutrient medium, different color background, etc.) with BLANK (ie. Fruit flies,
bacteria)?

To what extent has random gene mutation been a significant factor in the evolution of BLANK species?

(look at BLASTS)

What is the respective change of allele frequency when initial frequencies are manipulated?

Analyze the genetic similarities between different species, kingdoms, phylas, classes, genuses, orders,
families, and domains.

Retrospective study of rate of change of sickle cell alleles in African populations over time in reference
to malarial resistance.
Plant Science:

Phytoremediation: using various plants to remove toxins from water or soil.

Effect of X on germination (hormones, chemicals, lighting, scarification, temperature, seed type – annual
vs perennial etc)

Effect of plant/leaf type on number of stomata? How does time of day, developmental stage of plant,
saltwater, etc affect transpiration rate? How is transpiration rate related to stomatal size or density?

How do the visible light absorbance spectra of green, yellow, orange, and red bell pepper extracts or
various flower petal extracts etc compare? How do the visible light absorbance spectra of red cabbage
extract at various pH values compare? How does the concentration of chlorophyll in yellowing grass
compare?

What factors (stem type, rooting hormone, soil type/moisture/nutrient level) affect stem cutting root
formation/various studies in micropropagation?

Role of fungus in root growth.

Molecular Genetics:

Effect of electroshock in transformation. What is the difference in LDH isoenzymes in different tissues of
a cow? What is the difference in peroxidase standards of GMO and GMO free corn? What is the effect of
salt on EcoRI digested pUC18 recombinant plasmids?

Cell Respiration

How do the respiration rates of various seed types compare? How does length of germination period
affect respiration rate? How does seed size affect respiration rate? What is the optimal temperature for
respiration? How does the presence of gibberellin in the germination medium affect cellular respiration
in seeds?

How do the respiration rates of baker’s yeast and lager, and wine yeast in various sugar solutions
compare? (evolution twist)

How does yeast respiration rate vary with different sugars? How does ethanol affect the respiration rate
of glucose by yeast? What is the optimal temperature for yeast fermentation? Can yeast metabolize
various artificial sweeteners?

Making kombucha (various IV/DV)

Physiology: (EKG, accelerometers, hand grip dynamometer, spirometer, lung bags, peak flow monitor,
surface temperature, Oxygen gas sensor, heart rate and Blood pressure monitors, body fat monitor,
respiration belt are all available to use)
How does change in body position/holding breath/cold stimulus/coughing/time of day affect heart
rate/breathing rate/blood pressure? How does physical fitness/age/BMI/etc affect heart-rate recovery
time? How do any of the above affect respiration rate/lung volume/tidal volume.

How does sudden change in body position (sudden squatting, laying to standing, sitting to standing,
standing upside down affect heart rate and baroreceptor feedback?

How does X affect various reflexes? Measuring electrical activity of muscles involved the various reflexes
– does it change if you are observing/concentrating on the reflex vs looking away or trying to consciously
inhibit it?

EMG and muscle fatigue/grip strength & muscle fatigue. Dominant vs non-dominant hand, right hand vs
left hand, height, arm length, arm diameter do any of these vary muscle strength or play a role in muscle
fatigue?

Measuring electrical activity within various muscles or muscle fatigue: chewing gum/jaw clenching
associated with headaches/TMD. Muscle activity involved in running on different surfaces, toe vs heel
running, type of shoe, etc.

Effect of BMI/fitess/age, etc on skin surface temperature in various body areas (w/ more or less
subcutaneous fat) on rate of recovery once exposed to cold/heat.

Monitoring heart with EKG in varied situations.

Effect of variations in visual stimuli/flashing lights/movement on visual reflexes/balance. Effect of

wearing glasses they change the focus on your eye on ability of brain to rewire itself to new disruption.
(uses glasses that change your vision and then throwing at a target- throws are off, who is quicker to
rewire? Athlete? Right arm/left? Right eye/left? Etc.

Animal Behavior:

Animal (invertebrates) taxis/kinesis affected by? Temperature, moisture, food, noise, lighting, etc

Microbiology:

Testing for best way to clean mats/toys/cutting boards to prevent microbial growth. Testing how bath
toys can build up microbial growth, which kinds, how to prevent.

Using mycoremediation (fungus) to filter toxins from the environment.

Effect of X on transformation of bacteria.

What happens after the sell date of dairy products?