RevisionPrep FAQ
MYP Physics Criterion D: Reflecting on the Impacts of Science
Answered by RevisionPrep's IB Educators
Criterion D catches more students out than any other MYP Physics criterion, mostly because they treat it as an essay rather than a scored task. Here's what the strands actually ask for, how the levels 0-8 break down, and how to write an evaluation that reaches band 7-8 instead of stalling at 4.
Understanding Criterion D
What is Criterion D in MYP Physics?
Criterion D — Reflecting on the impacts of science — assesses whether you can explain how a physics concept is applied to a real problem, then evaluate its social, economic, ethical or environmental consequences. It's one of four MYP Sciences criteria (A-D), each marked out of a maximum of 8.
It sits alongside Criterion A (Knowing and understanding), B (Inquiring and designing) and C (Processing and evaluating). Where C wants you to evaluate your own experimental method, D wants you to evaluate what science does in the world — which is why students who ace C sometimes still struggle here.
What are the strands of Criterion D?
At MYP 4-5, Criterion D has four strands: explaining how science addresses a specific problem, discussing and evaluating the implications of that application, applying scientific terminology accurately, and documenting sources using a recognised referencing convention. All four need to be present to hit the higher bands.
A common trap: students nail strand i (explain the application) and completely skip strand ii (evaluate implications), which caps the mark around 3-4 no matter how detailed the explanation is.
How many marks is Criterion D worth and how are levels decided?
Criterion D is graded on a scale of 0-8, using the same four achievement bands as every MYP criterion: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8. Your teacher matches your best-fit response against the criterion-specific clarifications in the IB's MYP Sciences guide, not against a simple mark-per-question system.
| Level | What the response shows |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | States one impact with little detail |
| 3-4 | Explains the application, limited or one-sided discussion |
| 5-6 | Discusses and evaluates implications with mostly accurate terminology |
| 7-8 | Balanced, well-evidenced evaluation; consistently accurate language and referencing |
How to Score Well on Criterion D
How do you score well on Criterion D in MYP Physics?
Score well by doing three things every response: name a specific, real impact rather than a vague one, weigh it against a counter-impact so it reads as genuine evaluation, and reference your source properly. In my marking, students who keep 'explain' and 'evaluate' as separate paragraphs land in the 7-8 band far more consistently.
Worked example — Task: 'Discuss the impacts of using nuclear fission for electricity generation.'
- Explain (strand i): describe how controlled fission heats water to drive turbines, referencing an actual plant or statistic.
- Evaluate (strand ii): weigh low carbon emissions against long-term radioactive waste storage costs — don't just list, actually compare which matters more and why.
- Language (strand iii): use terms like critical mass, containment, half-life correctly, not loosely.
- Document (strand iv): cite the source of your statistic in a recognised format (e.g. Harvard).
A response hitting all four lands 7-8; missing strand iv alone can drop it to 5-6 even if the discussion is strong.
What command terms come up in Criterion D tasks?
The command terms you'll see most are explain, discuss and evaluate — and IB examiners treat them as genuinely different instructions, not synonyms. 'Explain' wants reasons and mechanisms; 'discuss' wants a balanced range of viewpoints; 'evaluate' wants you to weigh strengths and limitations and reach a judgement.
Quick tip: if a task says 'evaluate the impact of solar panel manufacturing on the environment', a paragraph that only lists impacts — without saying which outweighs which — will read as 'discuss', not 'evaluate', and gets capped below the top band.
What's the difference between Criterion C and Criterion D in MYP Physics?
Criterion C — Processing and evaluating — judges your own experimental data and method: trends, errors, improvements. Criterion D judges science's real-world impact, completely separate from any lab you ran. Mixing them up is the single most common reason students lose marks on both in the same unit.
| Criterion C | Criterion D | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Your experiment | Science's real-world use |
| Typical task | Analyse your own data | Discuss a societal issue |
| Key skill | Identify errors/improvements | Evaluate implications |
What mistakes cost students marks on Criterion D?
The three recurring mistakes: describing an impact instead of evaluating it, discussing only one side (all positive or all negative), and forgetting to reference sources at all. Any one of these usually caps the response at 5-6 even when the physics content itself is accurate and well explained.
Common mistake checklist before submitting:
- Have I named a specific impact, not a generic one?
- Have I weighed it against an opposing consideration?
- Have I used at least three correct technical terms?
- Have I cited every source I used for data or claims?
How Criterion D Is Assessed
Is Criterion D assessed through exams or coursework?
Criterion D is almost always assessed through coursework-style tasks — extended writing, a case study, a presentation or a structured essay — rather than timed exam questions, because evaluating impact genuinely needs research time. Your school sets the task, but it must let you demonstrate all four strands.
Some schools combine it with a Criterion C lab write-up so one assignment covers both criteria; others set it as a standalone research task once or twice a year.
What does a real Criterion D task look like in MYP Physics?
A typical task gives you a physics-linked issue — electric vehicles, nuclear power, wireless radiation, renewable energy grids — and asks you to explain the underlying physics, then discuss and evaluate its wider implications. Expect a word-count target, a marking rubric attached, and a requirement to cite sources.
Example task titles I've set: 'Evaluate the physics and environmental trade-offs of lithium-ion battery production for electric cars' or 'Discuss the implications of 5G frequency use on public health concerns, citing evidence.'
How does Criterion D affect my final MYP Physics grade?
Your final MYP Physics grade (1-7) is calculated from the total of all four criteria (A, B, C, D), each out of 8, giving a maximum of 32. The IB's grade boundary conversion table (published in the MYP: From Principles into Practice guide) maps that total onto the 1-7 scale, so a weak Criterion D genuinely pulls the overall grade down.
Because each criterion is weighted equally at 8 marks, a student who's strong in A and B but weak in D can still miss a grade 6 or 7 overall — Criterion D isn't a minor add-on.
Comparisons & Support for Parents
How does MYP Criterion D compare to the DP Physics internal assessment?
They're related in spirit but different in scale. Criterion D is a shorter, criterion-referenced task judging evaluation skills; the DP Physics internal assessment is a full independent investigation marked against five criteria and worth 20% of the final DP grade. Criterion D is genuinely good practice for the analysis-and-evaluation habits the DP IA later demands.
If your child handles Criterion D well now — separating explanation from evaluation, referencing properly — that habit transfers directly into the DP IA's 'analysis' and 'evaluation' criteria a few years later.
Why does MYP Physics grade the impacts of science instead of just content knowledge?
Because the MYP's stated aim, per the IB's Sciences guide, is to develop scientifically literate citizens who understand science's relationship with society — not just students who can recite formulae. Criterion D exists specifically to check your child can think critically about how physics is actually used, not only what it says.
This is also why universities and DP Theory of Knowledge later reward the same skill: weighing evidence and consequences, not just stating facts.
How can parents help their child prepare for Criterion D tasks?
The most useful thing you can do isn't reteaching the physics — it's asking 'but what's the downside of that?' every time your child explains an application. That single question forces the shift from description to genuine evaluation, which is exactly what separates a level 4 response from a level 7.
Practical support that actually helps:
- Ask your child to argue the opposite side of their conclusion out loud.
- Check they've named a real source, not 'the internet', for any statistic used.
- On RevisionPrep, MYP Physics Revision Notes and Topical Worksheets give past-style Criterion D prompts with worked mark schemes your child can self-check against.
MYP Physics Criterion D Achievement Bands
| Level | What the response shows |
| 1-2 | States one impact, little detail or evaluation |
| 3-4 | Explains the application; limited, one-sided discussion |
| 5-6 | Discusses and evaluates implications; mostly accurate terminology |
| 7-8 | Balanced, evidenced evaluation; consistently accurate language and referencing |
For past-style Criterion D tasks with worked mark schemes, plus full Revision Notes and Topical Worksheets covering every MYP Physics unit, explore the MYP Physics resources on revisionprep.com.