IB Biology Command Terms

Define

Give the precise meaning of the word, phrase or physical quality.

Draw

Represent by means of pencil lines (always label unless told NOT to do so).

Label

Add labels to a diagram.

List

Give a sequence of names or other brief answers with NO explanation.

Measure

Find a value for a quantity.

State

Give a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or calculation.

Annotate

Add brief notes to the diagram or graph.

Apply

Use an idea, equation, principle, theory or law in a new situation.

Calculate

Find a numerical answer showing the relevant stages in the working (unless instructed not to do so).

Describe

Give a detailed account.

Distinguish

Give the differences between two or more different items.

Estimate

Find an approximate value for an unknown quantity.

Identify

Find an answer from a given number of possibilities.

Outline

Give a brief account or summary.

Analyse

Interpret data to reach conclusions.

Comment

Give a judgement based on a given statement or result of a calculation.

Compare

Give an account of similarities and differences between two (or more) items, referring to both (all) of them throughout.

Construct

Represent or develop in graphical form.

Deduce

Reach a conclusion from the information given.

Derive

Manipulate a mathematical relationship(s) to give a new equation or relationship.

Design

Produce a plan, simulation or model.

Determine

Find the only possible answer.

Discuss

Give an account including, where possible, a range of arguments for and against the relative importance of various factors, or comparisons of alternative hypotheses.

Evaluate

Assess the implications and limitations.

Explain

Give a detailed account of causes, reasons or mechanisms.

Predict

Give an expected result.

Show

Give the steps in a calculation or derivation.

Sketch

Represent by means of a graph showing a line and labelled but unscaled axes, but with important features (for example, intercept) clearly indicated.

Solve

Obtain an answer using algebraic and/or numerical methods.

Suggest

Propose a hypothesis or other possible answer.

what type uncertainty is taken from manual instrument measurements?

half the smallest increment

what uncertainity do u take for electronic devices?

take one of the smallest increment (# of decimal places in answer and uncertainity are the same)

what is the smallest division on the instrument for digital displays and plus or minus the half the smallest division on a manual display?

degree of precision

what must u do with an outlier with a known reason for it?

elimnate

what is the spread around the mean, how far the observations are from the mean?

standard deviation

if there is a small standard deviation what does that mean?

data is close to the mean

if there is a high standard deviation, what does that mean?

data is further from the mean

what do tall and narrow curves tell us in graphs

very close to mean, no extremes

what does flat on a graph indicate

may have extreme values

what shows the variability in data.

error bars

what is an error bar with +1 standard deviation doing

extending above the mean

what is an error bar representing -1 SD

below the mean

if error bars overlap between data sets what does that mean

less likely a significant difference

whats the percent where all values lie within +- 1 SD of mean

68%

what type of test tells us the difference between two sets of data is significant

t-test

what does it mean if ‘t’ is below p =0.05

the difference is signifanct

what does it mean p < 0.05

we reject the null hypothesis because something is happening

term for when you know one set is higher/lower

one tailed

term for either set can be higher/lower

two-tailed

term for same individuals

paired

term for different individuals used for all data

unpaired

when do you use anova

when you have more than 2 groups

what is degree of freedom

degree of freedom refers to…

total number samples minus 2