What laboratory and investigation skills does the Biology Regents assess, and how do the science and engineering practices appear in cluster questions?
Describe the laboratory requirement for the Life Science: Biology Regents and the science and engineering practices it assesses, including identifying variables and controls, analyzing data, and evaluating experimental design (NYSSLS SEPs; planning and carrying out investigations).
A NYSSLS-level answer on the laboratory requirement and science practices for the New York Life Science: Biology Regents: the 1200-minute lab rule, the eight science and engineering practices, identifying variables and controls, and how investigation skills are tested in clusters.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this topic is asking
The Life Science: Biology Regents is three-dimensional, and one of the three dimensions is the science and engineering practices (SEPs), what scientists actually do. You will not face a separate practical exam, but investigation skills are woven through the question clusters, and you must complete a laboratory requirement to be allowed to sit the exam at all. This page covers both the rule and the skills.
The laboratory requirement
This requirement is unchanged from the Living Environment exam. Note that 1200 minutes is the laboratory time during the year, not the exam: the written exam is about three hours. The point of the requirement is that genuine investigation skills can only be built by doing real laboratory work.
The eight science and engineering practices
The clusters are written to assess the eight SEPs of the New York State Science Learning Standards:
- Asking questions and defining problems
- Developing and using models
- Planning and carrying out investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Using mathematics and computational thinking
- Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
In practice, the most common tasks are interpreting a graph, designing or fixing an experiment, and writing a claim supported by evidence and reasoning.
Variables and controls
A good investigation changes one independent variable at a time, keeps the others constant, and compares against a control. Cluster questions frequently give an experiment and ask you to name the variables, identify the control, or explain why a control is needed (so any difference can be attributed to the treatment rather than to something else).
Reliability and valid conclusions
Two ideas the exam rewards:
- Repetition and large samples reduce the effect of random error and let you calculate an average, making results more reliable.
- A conclusion must be supported by the data. The exam often asks whether a claim is justified, and a good answer points to the specific evidence (a trend on the graph, a difference between groups) and the reasoning that links it to the claim.
Learning from the classic investigations
The four laboratory activities that defined the old Living Environment Part D remain ideal practice, because the new clusters draw on the same skills:
- Diffusion Through a Membrane (selective permeability, osmosis): see the cell membrane and transport.
- The Beaks of Finches (natural selection, competition): see natural selection and adaptation.
- Making Connections (the effect of exercise on muscle fatigue and pulse, experimental design): see transport, gas exchange and nutrition.
- Relationships and Biodiversity (using molecular and structural evidence to infer relatedness): see evidence for evolution.
Try this
Q1. In an experiment, the amount of fertilizer given to plants is changed and their height is measured. Identify the independent and dependent variables. [2]
- Cue. Independent: amount of fertilizer. Dependent: plant height.
Q2. Explain why repeating measurements and averaging them improves an experiment. [2]
- Cue. Repetition reduces the impact of random error and anomalies, and an average is more representative, making the results more reliable.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of NYSED exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Regents (Life Science sample, 2024)3 marksA student investigates how light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis in a water plant by counting bubbles of gas released per minute at five distances from a lamp. (a) Identify the independent and dependent variables. (b) State one variable that should be kept constant. (c) Explain why the student should repeat the count at each distance.Show worked answer →
A 3-point constructed-response item assessing planning and carrying out investigations and analyzing data.
(a) 1 point: independent variable = light intensity (distance from the lamp); dependent variable = rate of photosynthesis (bubbles per minute). Both required for the point.
(b) 1 point: any sensible controlled variable, for example temperature of the water, the same plant or species, carbon dioxide availability, or time counted.
(c) 1 point: repeating reduces the effect of random error and lets the student calculate an average, giving more reliable, trustworthy results.
Markers reward correct variable identification and the reliability reason for repetition.
Regents (Life Science CR, 2025)2 marksAn experiment tests whether a fertilizer increases plant growth. One group of plants receives fertilizer; another group is grown in the same conditions without fertilizer. (a) Identify which group is the control. (b) Explain why a control group is necessary in this experiment.Show worked answer →
A 2-point item on experimental design.
(a) 1 point: the group grown without fertilizer is the control group.
(b) 1 point: the control provides a comparison (a baseline) so any difference in growth can be attributed to the fertilizer rather than to other factors; without it you could not tell whether the fertilizer caused the change.
Markers reward the comparison/baseline purpose of a control.
Related dot points
- Explain how the cell membrane controls the movement of materials by diffusion, osmosis and active transport, and relate membrane structure to selective permeability (NYSSLS LS1, structure and function; stability and change).
A NYSSLS-level answer on the cell membrane for the New York Life Science: Biology Regents: the structure of the membrane, selective permeability, diffusion and osmosis, active transport, and how cells maintain a stable internal environment.
- Explain how variation, overproduction, competition and differential survival lead to natural selection, and how this changes the proportion of traits in a population over time (NYSSLS LS4, cause and effect; patterns).
A NYSSLS-level answer on natural selection for the New York Life Science: Biology Regents: how variation, overproduction, competition and differential survival drive evolution, with the Beaks of Finches investigation and worked examples.
- Explain how the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems work together to transport materials, exchange gases and provide nutrients to cells, maintaining the internal environment (NYSSLS LS1, systems and system models; energy and matter).
A NYSSLS-level answer on the supply systems for the New York Life Science: Biology Regents: how the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems transport materials, exchange gases and provide nutrients, and how they cooperate to maintain the internal environment.
- Explain how photosynthesis converts light energy, carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, identify where it occurs, and analyze how limiting factors affect its rate (NYSSLS LS1, energy and matter; analyzing data).
A NYSSLS-level answer on photosynthesis for the New York Life Science: Biology Regents: the inputs and outputs, the role of chloroplasts and chlorophyll, the word and balanced equations, and how light, carbon dioxide and temperature limit the rate.
- Explain how energy flows one way through food chains and webs and is lost at each trophic level, and how matter (carbon and nitrogen) cycles through an ecosystem (NYSSLS LS2, energy and matter; using mathematics).
A NYSSLS-level answer on energy flow for the New York Life Science: Biology Regents: food chains and webs, trophic levels and the energy pyramid, why energy is lost at each level, and how carbon and nitrogen cycle through an ecosystem.
Sources & how we know this
- Educator Guide to the Regents Examination in Life Science: Biology — New York State Education Department (2025)
- Life Science: Biology — New York State Education Department (2025)