10 ready-made review sets for this theme, by subtopic and marked SL or HL. Free to host, and students join with a code.
Intermolecular attraction between the partial positive H and partial negative O of neighbor molecules?
Theme A is about what all living things share and how they came to be so varied. At the level of molecules it covers water and nucleic acids; at the level of cells, cell structure, with the origins of cells and viruses at higher level; at the level of organisms, the diversity of organisms, with classification and cladistics at higher level; and at the level of ecosystems, evolution and speciation, and the conservation of biodiversity.
Play this set opens the set in splycr, where you can read every question and host it for your class straight away. Hosting needs no account, and students join with the code on the board. A free account lets you copy a set and edit it.
The questions come from the Biology by Bradford flashcard bank, written by an IB and AP Biology teacher. Each one plays as multiple choice, and the wrong options are other answers from the same set.
Sets marked SL suit every IB Biology student, because higher level students study the standard level content too. Sets marked HL cover the additional higher level material, and six subtopics are for higher level only: A2.1, A2.3, A3.2, B3.3, C2.1 and D2.2. Some sets are marked SL and HL, and cover both.
A1 · Molecules
Intermolecular attraction between the partial positive H and partial negative O of neighbor molecules?
Answer: Hydrogen bond
Water molecules "sticking" to each other due to H-bonding?
Answer: Cohesion
Energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 g of water by 1 °C (helps keep temperatures stable)?
Answer: Specific heat capacity
Nitrogenous bases with a double-ring structure (A, G)?
Answer: Purines
What discovery stated that in any DNA sample, the amount of A = T and G = C?
Answer: Chargaff's Rules
Term describing the opposite orientation of the two DNA strands?
Answer: Antiparallel
A2 · Cells
The natural formation of life from non-living matter?
Answer: Abiogenesis
Hypothesis that RNA was the first self-replicating molecule before DNA?
Answer: RNA World Hypothesis
The most recent organism from which all life on Earth descended?
Answer: LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor)
The region in a prokaryote where the circular DNA is concentrated?
Answer: Nucleoid
The smaller ribosome type found in prokaryotes and organelles (mitochondria/chloroplasts)?
Answer: 70S ribosome
What is the main component of the fungal cell wall?
Answer: Chitin
The protein shell that encloses the viral genome?
Answer: Capsid
Life cycle where viral DNA integrates into the host genome and replicates silently?
Answer: Lysogenic Cycle
Enzyme used by retroviruses (like HIV) to turn RNA into DNA?
Answer: Reverse Transcriptase
A3 · Organisms
Why is the biological species concept difficult to apply to bacteria?
Answer: Horizontal Gene Transfer (and asexual reproduction)
A photograph or diagram of an individual’s chromosomes arranged in pairs?
Answer: Karyogram
Identifying species by comparing a short, standard DNA sequence, e.g., from eDNA in a water sample?
Answer: DNA Barcoding
Point on a cladogram where a lineage splits (representing an ancestor)?
Answer: Node
Technique using mutation rates in DNA to estimate time of species divergence?
Answer: Molecular Clock
Classification based on evolutionary history and shared ancestry?
Answer: Cladistics
A4 · Ecosystems
Structures with similar bone templates but different functions (e.g., pentadactyl limb)?
Answer: Homologous Structures
Diversification of a species into different forms to adapt to different niches?
Answer: Adaptive Radiation
Changes in the DNA sequence that serve as the original source of new alleles?
Answer: Mutation
Isolation due to different mating rituals or courtship songs?
Answer: Behavioral Isolation
Isolation due to populations breeding at different times/seasons?
Answer: Temporal Isolation
Having more than two sets of chromosomes; can cause abrupt speciation in plants?
Answer: Polyploidy
Conserving a species within its natural habitat (e.g., nature reserves)?
Answer: In situ conservation
Protecting a species outside its natural habitat (e.g., seed banks or zoos)?
Answer: Ex situ conservation
Strips of habitat that connect isolated patches to allow for gene flow?
Answer: Biological Corridors
Every set plays in all eight modes. These two fit this theme best.
Theme A is heavy on terms that sit close together: purines and pyrimidines, lytic and lysogenic, in situ and ex situ. A wrong answer heals the boss, so the class gains nothing by guessing.
Several theme A sets are short, 10 to 12 questions, and in solo Racer the track is as long as the set, up to 12 cards. One wrong answer sends a student back to the start, so finishing takes a full run of right answers.