MYP Chemistry Criterion B: Inquiring & Designing — Complete FAQ

You score well by nailing all three strands: a clear, testable research question with a scientific hypothesis you actually explain (not just state), and a method detailed enough that another student could repeat it and get similar results. According to the IB's MYP Sciences guide, Criterion B is assessed out of 8, across strands i-iii, each scored 0-2.

The three strands are: (i) explaining a problem and stating a testable research question, (ii) formulating and explaining a testable hypothesis using scientific reasoning, and (iii) explaining how to control the variables and design a method that produces sufficient, reliable, relevant data.

Criterion B is the planning stage — your question, hypothesis, and method design before you touch any equipment. Criterion C, Processing and Evaluating, comes after: it marks how you record, process, and interpret the data you actually collected, plus your evaluation of the method's validity.

A level 7-8 research question names the independent and dependent variables explicitly and is phrased so it can only be answered by an experiment, not a yes/no answer or a Google search. It usually includes a range or specific values for the variable you're changing.

A good hypothesis predicts the outcome AND explains why, using a named chemistry concept — collision theory, Le Chatelier's principle, bond energy, whatever's relevant. I tell every student I teach: if your hypothesis doesn't mention a concept from class, it's a guess, not a hypothesis, and it'll cap you at level 3-4.

There's no fixed IB number, but a level 7-8 response typically names 3-4 controlled variables with a clear reason for each and how you'll keep them constant — not just a list. Naming volume, concentration, and temperature without saying HOW you'll control them is a common reason students lose marks here.

Criterion B doesn't mark whether your experiment worked — it marks whether your plan, on paper, was scientifically sound and detailed enough to reproduce. A working experiment with a vague research question, thin variable control, or an unjustified hypothesis will still sit around level 4-5, because those gaps are in the strands themselves.

For a level 7-8 method, aim for at least 3 repeats per data point, stated explicitly with a reason (usually reliability/averaging out anomalies). Two repeats or a vague "repeat the experiment" line without a number is one of the most common reasons students lose a mark in strand iii.

It depends on your school's assessment policy — most MYP teachers allow feedback on a draft before the final submission, but not a resubmission after final grading within the same unit. Ask your teacher directly whether the task is formative (with feedback) or the actual summative assessment.

Yes — the same four criteria (A, B, C, D) and 0-8 scale apply across MYP 1-5, but the complexity expected in your responses increases in the MYP 4-5 band. A level 7-8 response in MYP 5 needs more independent scientific reasoning than the same level in MYP 1-3.

Criterion B is one of four criteria (A: Knowing and understanding, B: Inquiring and designing, C: Processing and evaluating, D: Reflecting on the impacts of science), each out of 8. Schools convert the total (out of 32) into a MYP grade 1-7 using a grade-boundary table set at the school or IB level.

Criterion B is assessed through classroom-based investigations set by your teacher, not through the optional MYP eAssessment on-screen exam. If your school runs the eAssessment for Chemistry, it tests different skills; Criterion B marks come entirely from your school's internal tasks.

The strand descriptors (research question, hypothesis, method design) are identical across MYP sciences, since Chemistry, Biology and Physics all fall under the same MYP: Sciences guide. What differs is the content — a Chemistry hypothesis leans on concepts like bonding or reaction rates rather than genetics or forces.

Practise by rewriting weak research questions from past investigations into testable, variable-specific ones, then checking your hypothesis against a rubric strand-by-strand before submitting. On RevisionPrep, the MYP Chemistry Revision Notes and Topical Worksheets include guided practice for structuring research questions and method design.

Realistically, spend more time drafting your research question and hypothesis than writing the method — a strong question practically writes the method for you. In fifteen years of marking these, the students who rush straight to "apparatus and steps" without nailing the question first almost always lose marks in strand i.