European Baccalaureate Biology flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Thesis statement

A single sentence in the introduction that states the position the essay will defend; examiners use it to judge whether the argument is focused and coherent.

Cohesion versus coherence

Cohesion is surface linking through connectors and reference words; coherence is the logical order of ideas. Both are scored separately on language examination grids.

Text-type conventions

Expected structural features of a genre, such as a headline and standfirst for an article, or an opening address and closing formula for a formal letter.

Stylistic device analysis

Naming a device such as metaphor, anaphora, or irony, quoting it from the text, and stating its effect on the reader rather than merely labelling it.

Register consistency

Maintaining one level of formality throughout a text, including consistent forms of address and avoidance of mixing colloquial and literary vocabulary.

Proofreading checklist

A fixed final pass checking subject–verb agreement, tense sequence, pronoun reference, punctuation of subordinate clauses, and spelling of frequently confused homophones.

Paraphrase requirement

Comprehension answers must restate source meaning in the candidate's own words; copied sentences do not demonstrate understanding and are usually not credited.

CEFR assessment criteria

Separate rating scales for task achievement, coherence, lexical range, grammatical range, and accuracy, each contributing to the final L2 written mark.

Reported speech backshift

When the reporting verb is past, present tenses shift to past and past to past perfect, while time and place markers also shift accordingly.

Collocation

A habitual word partnership such as 'draw a conclusion' or 'heavy rain'; using correct collocations signals lexical range better than isolated rare words.

Summary proportion rule

A summary preserves the relative weight of the source's main ideas, omits illustrative examples, and compresses to roughly one third of the original length.

Subjunctive after necessity

Constructions expressing necessity, demand, or suggestion take the subjunctive in several European languages, e.g. 'il faut qu'il vienne' rather than the indicative.

Discriminant

For ax² + bx + c = 0, Δ = b² − 4ac. Positive gives two real roots, zero gives one repeated root, negative gives no real roots.

Chain rule

For a composite function, differentiate the outer function evaluated at the inner function and multiply by the derivative of the inner function.

Definite integral as area

The integral from a to b of f(x) gives signed area between the curve and the x-axis; regions below the axis count as negative.

Dot product test

a·b = |a||b|cos θ. The product is zero exactly when the vectors are perpendicular, which gives a fast perpendicularity test in coordinate geometry.

Conditional probability

P(A|B) equals P(A∩B) divided by P(B), provided P(B) is not zero; it restricts the sample space to outcomes where B occurs.

Binomial distribution parameters

For n independent trials with constant success probability p, the mean is np and the variance is np(1−p); the model requires fixed n and independence.

Modulus-argument multiplication

Multiplying complex numbers in polar form multiplies their moduli and adds their arguments, which makes powers and roots easy via de Moivre's theorem.

Log linearisation

Taking logarithms of an exponential relation turns it into a straight line, so log y against x has gradient log b and intercept log a.

Source criticism: origin

Establishing who produced a document, when, where, and for what purpose before treating its content as reliable historical evidence.

Scale in geography

The level at which a phenomenon is analysed - local, regional, national, or global - which determines which processes and data are relevant.

Describe before explaining

In document-based oral work, first state location, distribution, and pattern visible in the document, then introduce processes that could account for it.

Counter-argument requirement

A developed oral answer acknowledges the strongest opposing interpretation and rebuts it with evidence before reaching a justified conclusion.

Dated evidence

Specific years, treaties, statistics, and place names that anchor an argument; examiners reward precision and penalise vague generalisation.

Handling an unknown question

State clearly what you do know, reason from related evidence, and identify the limit of your knowledge rather than guessing silently or stopping.

Michaelis constant Km

The substrate concentration at which reaction rate is half of Vmax; a low Km indicates high enzyme affinity for the substrate.

Competitive inhibition

An inhibitor resembling the substrate binds the active site, raising the apparent Km; high substrate concentration can outcompete it and restore Vmax.

Semi-conservative replication

Each new DNA molecule retains one original strand and one newly synthesised strand, as demonstrated by density-gradient experiments with labelled nitrogen.

Negative feedback loop

A deviation from a set point is detected by a receptor and corrected by an effector, restoring the original value; most homeostatic mechanisms work this way.

Test cross

Crossing an individual showing the dominant phenotype with a homozygous recessive individual reveals whether the former was homozygous or heterozygous.

STS risk-benefit framing

Separating scientific evidence, technological application, and social consequence, then naming beneficiaries, exposed groups, and possible regulatory responses.