European Baccalaureate Biology case studies
European Baccalaureate Biology · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The European Baccalaureate is the school-leaving qualification of the European Schools and of schools accredited by their Board of Governors. Its name belongs solely to the European Schools, which have held a monopoly on its use in all official languages of the European Union since their establishment. The European Baccalaureate Biology case studies are 5 cases and about 3,288 words.
1Epigenetic Diet Article: Critical Analysis Under L1 Time Pressure
During the European Baccalaureate L1 written examination, you are given a 450-word article from a popular science website titled 'The Epigenetic Diet: Eat Your Way to a Younger You.' The article reports a study in which 12 elderly mice were fed a supplement containing resveratrol and curcumin for eight weeks. The authors claim that 'telomere length increased by 30%' and that 'participants reported feeling more energetic.' The article includes a testimonial from a 72-year-old reader who says she has 'never felt better' after taking the supplement.
606 words, about 3 min2L2 Formal Letter: School Board Budget Versus Student Health
You are taking the L2 written examination. The prompt is a formal letter to the school board of your European School.
727 words, about 4 min3Tomato Fertilizer Trial: Confounded t-Test and Confidence Interval
In a Biology practical, a student investigates whether a new organic fertilizer increases tomato plant height. Ten seeds are planted in each of two identical trays.
687 words, about 3 min4Oral Exam Follow-Up: Farmer's 'Negligible' Off-Target Risk
In the compulsory oral examination, you have 20 minutes to prepare a 5-minute presentation on 'CRISPR-Cas9 in agriculture: promise and precaution.' You present a balanced overview, citing a 2023 field trial in rice where CRISPR-edited lines showed a 15% yield increase but also an off-target mutation rate reported as 1 in 10,000. After your presentation, the examiner asks: 'A farmer in the audience says, "One in ten thousand is negligible-we should plant these seeds everywhere." How do you respond?' You have no additional notes, but you recall that rice has a genome of about 400 million base pairs and that off-target mutations can be inherited.
503 words, about 3 min5GM Mosquito Release: Ecological Monitoring and Ethical Trade-Off
A town council in southern Europe proposes releasing 50,000 genetically modified (GM) male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to suppress the local population that transmits dengue. The GM males carry a dominant lethal gene: their offspring die before adulthood.
765 words, about 4 min