About Course

MYP Biology 4–5 takes a student through the last two years of the Middle Years Programme in Biology and into the on-screen eAssessment — taught the way a good biology teacher teaches: a puzzle first, an experiment you run yourself, the explanation with worked examples, the story of how scientists worked it out, where it is used today and where it is heading, and questions whose answers you reveal only after you have tried.

What is in every lesson

You met this before — the Year 1–3 ideas the lesson needs, recapped, with a link to the full earlier lesson.
A virtual experiment in StadiraLab, run as a full investigation: research question, hypothesis, variables, three trials, a graph, a conclusion and an evaluation.
Study smart — what to learn by heart, what to practise, the mistakes examiners report every session, and a real past-paper question on the same content.
Check yourself questions inside the notes, eight exam-style questions with marks and model answers, including two stretch questions harder than the real exam.

Assessment

Each lesson has a short quiz, and every unit ends with a 2-hour exam in the eAssessment format: Criterion A (25 marks), an investigation for Criteria B and C (50 marks) and a real-world Criterion D task (25 marks), with a full mark scheme, level grids and notes on what examiners look for.

Units

Cells and microscopy
DNA and heredity
Enzymes
Homeostasis
Ecology
Biodiversity
Biochemistry and nutrition
Reproduction
Genetics
Evolution
Biotechnology
eAssessment bridge: papers, markschemes and timing

All 12 units now live — each with 3D animated diagrams, virtual experiments and a 2-hour exam.

Course Content

Unit 1 · Cells and microscopy
Cell theory and microscopes; cell ultrastructure; specialised cells and stem cells; diffusion and osmosis; active transport and exchange surfaces. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Start here: your plan, diagnostic and Daily 10
1.1 Cell theory and the microscope: seeing what no eye can see
1.1 Check yourself — Cell theory and the microscope
1.2 Inside the cell: prokaryotes, eukaryotes and the organelles that run them
1.2 Check yourself — Inside the cell
1.3 Cells with jobs: specialised cells, differentiation and stem cells
1.3 Check yourself — Specialised cells and stem cells
1.4 Moving across membranes: diffusion, osmosis and the concentration gradient
1.4 Check yourself — Diffusion and osmosis
1.5 Active transport, surface area to volume and the surfaces built for exchange
1.5 Check yourself — Active transport and exchange surfaces
Unit 1 Exam — 2 hours (eAssessment style)

Unit 2 · DNA and heredity
The structure of DNA and how it was discovered; from gene to protein; DNA profiling; changing the code. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 3 · Enzymes
Biological catalysts; Temperature and enzymes; pH and enzymes; Concentration and rate; Enzymes at work. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 4 · Homeostasis
Keeping conditions steady; The nervous system; Hormones; Temperature control; Water balance and the kidney, and the technology that now helps homeostasis. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 5 · Ecology
Who eats whom and who needs whom; Energy through the ecosystem; Decomposers and the cycles of matter; Counting the uncountable; Populations, limits and change. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 6 · Biodiversity
What biodiversity is; Measuring biodiversity; Threats to biodiversity; Extinction risk and conservation; Human impact and sustainability. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 7 · Biochemistry and nutrition
Monomers and polymers; A balanced diet; Energy in, energy out; Digestion and absorption; Malnutrition. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 8 · Reproduction
One parent or two; The flower as a reproductive system; After fertilisation; Human reproductive systems and the menstrual cycle; From fertilisation to birth. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 9 · Genetics
Chromosomes, genes and alleles; mitosis and meiosis; monohybrid inheritance; sex determination, codominance and pedigrees; mutation, genetic disease and gene editing. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 10 · Evolution
Reading the evidence; Natural selection in depth; New species and lost species; Selection by human hands; The African record. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 11 · Biotechnology
Microbes at work; Choosing the genes; Copying DNA; Copying organisms; Editing and instructing. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Unit 12 · eAssessment bridge
Inside the on-screen exam; Criterion A across the course; Criteria B and C; Criterion D; The final weeks. Ends with a full 2-hour mock eAssessment.

12.1 Inside the on-screen exam: tasks, tools, timing and command terms
12.1 Check yourself — Inside the on-screen exam
12.2 Criterion A across the course: every topic, one retrieval question each
12.2 Check yourself — Criterion A across the course
12.3 Criteria B and C: designing investigations and processing data to full marks
12.3 Check yourself — Criteria B and C
12.4 Criterion D: discuss and evaluate, built step by step
12.4 Check yourself — Criterion D
12.5 The final weeks: revision plan, past papers, exam day and finding the gap
12.5 Check yourself — The final weeks
Unit 12 Full mock eAssessment — 2 hours
Unit 12 Full mock 2 — eAssessment style, 2 hours
Unit 12 Full mock 3 — eAssessment style, 2 hours
Unit 12 Full mock 4 — eAssessment style, 2 hours
Unit 12 Full mock 5 — eAssessment style, 2 hours
Unit 12 Full mock 6 — eAssessment style, 2 hours
Criterion D practice 1 — on screen, 40 minutes
Criterion D practice 2 — on screen, 40 minutes
Criterion D practice 3 — on screen, 40 minutes
IB past paper May 2021 — on screen, 2 hours
IB past paper May 2023 — on screen, 2 hours
IB past paper May 2024 — on screen, 2 hours
IB past paper May 2025 — on screen, 2 hours
IB past paper November 2021 — on screen, 2 hours
IB past paper November 2022 — on screen, 2 hours
IB past paper November 2023 — on screen, 2 hours
IB past paper November 2024 — on screen, 2 hours
IB Integrated Sciences past paper May 2021 — on screen, 2 hours
IB Integrated Sciences past paper May 2022 — on screen, 2 hours
IB Integrated Sciences past paper May 2023 — on screen, 2 hours
IB Integrated Sciences past paper May 2024 — on screen, 2 hours
IB Integrated Sciences past paper May 2025 — on screen, 2 hours
IB Integrated Sciences past paper November 2021 — on screen, 2 hours
IB Integrated Sciences past paper November 2022 — on screen, 2 hours
IB Integrated Sciences past paper November 2024 — on screen, 2 hours

Student Ratings & Reviews

No Review Yet

MYP Biology 4–5

About Course

What is in every lesson

Assessment

Units

Course Content

Unit 1 · Cells and microscopy Cell theory and microscopes; cell ultrastructure; specialised cells and stem cells; diffusion and osmosis; active transport and exchange surfaces. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

Start here: your plan, diagnostic and Daily 10

1.1 Cell theory and the microscope: seeing what no eye can see

1.1 Check yourself — Cell theory and the microscope

1.2 Inside the cell: prokaryotes, eukaryotes and the organelles that run them

1.2 Check yourself — Inside the cell

1.3 Cells with jobs: specialised cells, differentiation and stem cells

1.3 Check yourself — Specialised cells and stem cells

1.4 Moving across membranes: diffusion, osmosis and the concentration gradient

1.4 Check yourself — Diffusion and osmosis

1.5 Active transport, surface area to volume and the surfaces built for exchange

1.5 Check yourself — Active transport and exchange surfaces

Unit 1 Exam — 2 hours (eAssessment style)

Unit 2 · DNA and heredity The structure of DNA and how it was discovered; from gene to protein; DNA profiling; changing the code. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

2.1 The molecule of heredity: nucleotides, base pairs and the double helix

2.1 Check yourself — The molecule of heredity

2.2 The race for the structure: Photo 51, Chargaff and the model that explained everything

2.2 Check yourself — The race for the structure

2.3 From gene to protein: the triplet code, the ribosome and why shape is everything

2.3 Check yourself — From gene to protein

2.4 DNA profiling: extraction, cutting, gel electrophoresis and the pattern that names one person

2.4 Check yourself — DNA profiling

2.5 Changing the code: mutation, genetic modification and the tools of 2026

2.5 Check yourself — Changing the code

Unit 2 Exam — 2 hours (eAssessment style)

Unit 3 · Enzymes Biological catalysts; Temperature and enzymes; pH and enzymes; Concentration and rate; Enzymes at work. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

3.1 Biological catalysts: proteins, the active site and the lock and key

3.1 Check yourself — Biological catalysts and the lock and key

3.2 Temperature and enzymes: faster collisions, the optimum and denaturation

3.2 Check yourself — Temperature, the optimum and denaturation

3.3 pH and enzymes: charges, the active site and the optimum pH

3.3 Check yourself — pH and the optimum pH

3.4 Concentration and rate: substrate, enzyme and calculating rates from graphs

3.4 Check yourself — Concentration, limiting factors and rates from graphs

3.5 Enzymes at work: digestion, washing powders, lactose-free milk and designer enzymes

3.5 Check yourself — Enzymes at work

Unit 3 Exam — 2 hours (eAssessment style)

Unit 4 · Homeostasis Keeping conditions steady; The nervous system; Hormones; Temperature control; Water balance and the kidney, and the technology that now helps homeostasis. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

4.1 Keeping conditions steady: the internal environment and negative feedback

4.1 Check yourself — Homeostasis and negative feedback

4.2 The nervous system: neurones, reflex arcs, synapses and reaction time

4.2 Check yourself — The nervous system

4.3 Hormones: the endocrine system, insulin, glucagon and diabetes

4.3 Check yourself — Hormones and blood glucose

4.4 Temperature control: sweating, blood vessels, shivering and the limits of the body

4.4 Check yourself — Temperature control

4.5 Water balance and the kidney, and the technology that now helps homeostasis

4.5 Check yourself — Water balance, the kidney and new technology

Unit 4 Exam — 2 hours (eAssessment style)

Unit 5 · Ecology Who eats whom and who needs whom; Energy through the ecosystem; Decomposers and the cycles of matter; Counting the uncountable; Populations, limits and change. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

5.1 Who eats whom and who needs whom: food webs and the interactions between populations

5.1 Check yourself — Food webs and interactions

5.2 Energy through the ecosystem: the ten per cent rule, where the rest goes, and pyramids

5.2 Check yourself — Energy flow and pyramids

5.3 Decomposers and the cycles of matter: the rotting leaf, carbon and nitrogen

5.3 Check yourself — Decomposers and nutrient cycles

5.4 Counting the uncountable: quadrats, transects and mark–release–recapture

5.4 Check yourself — Sampling populations

5.5 Populations, limits and change: growth curves, succession and human impact

5.5 Check yourself — Populations, succession and human impact

Unit 5 Exam — 2 hours (eAssessment style)

Unit 6 · Biodiversity What biodiversity is; Measuring biodiversity; Threats to biodiversity; Extinction risk and conservation; Human impact and sustainability. Ends with a 2-hour eAssessment-style exam.

6.1 What biodiversity is: genes, species, ecosystems and the niches that hold them

6.1 Check yourself — What biodiversity is

6.2 Measuring biodiversity: sampling, species richness and the Simpson index

6.2 Check yourself — Measuring biodiversity

6.3 Threats to biodiversity: habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, climate change and overexploitation

6.3 Check yourself — Threats to biodiversity

6.4 Extinction risk and conservation: why some species vanish first, and how we keep them

6.4 Check yourself — Extinction and conservation

6.5 Human impact and sustainability: using biodiversity without using it up

6.5 Check yourself — Human impact and sustainability

Unit 6 Exam — 2 hours (eAssessment style)

Year 4 exam — on screen, 2 hours