SBI3U – Grade 11 Biology Online Course (Ontario)

SBI3U is the Grade 11 University-preparation biology course. Students deepen their understanding of biological processes across five strands: diversity of living things, evolution, genetic processes, animal anatomy (structure and function), and plant biology. It’s the prerequisite for Grade 12 Biology (SBI4U), the credit health-science programs commonly require. This course has been developed based on the following Ministry of Ontario Curriculum for Grade 11 Biology.

SBI3U is content-rich — it’s often called the most memorization-heavy Grade 11 science, with substantial terminology in genetics, classification, and anatomy. Students who review consistently rather than cramming do well. OES’s self-paced format is a genuine advantage here: you control the pace through dense units, with 24/7 tutoring included.

The prerequisite for SBI3U is Grade 10 Academic Science (SNC2D). If you completed SNC2P, speak with guidance about your options; the College-level SBI3C is the parallel course on that pathway.

Indirectly, yes. Most nursing and health-science programs require Grade 12 Biology (SBI4U), and SBI3U is the prerequisite for SBI4U. If health science, nursing, kinesiology, or life science is your goal, SBI3U is the Grade 11 course that opens that Grade 12 requirement.

SBI3U covers five units: diversity of living things (classification, bacteria, viruses), evolution and natural selection, genetic processes (meiosis, inheritance, genetic technologies), animals — structure and function (digestive, respiratory, circulatory systems), and plants (anatomy, growth, and their ecological importance).

SBI3U investigations use virtual labs, simulations, dissection alternatives, and guided at-home activities, meeting the same curriculum expectations as classroom labs without requiring a school laboratory. You’ll still design investigations, record observations, and analyze results — the core scientific skills universities expect.

Yes. OES offers a dedicated Upgrade: SBI3U course built specifically for retaking SBI3U to raise your mark — Ontario universities and colleges use your highest grade. It’s self-paced and open year-round, so you can upgrade alongside your day school, a job, or a gap year and finish in as little as 4 weeks. See the Upgrade: SBI3U page for details.

Yes. Ontario students who started Grade 9 in the 2020–21 school year or later must earn at least two online learning credits to graduate, and SBI3U at OES — a Ministry-inspected online school (BSID #667186) — counts toward that requirement. An opt-out process exists through school boards, and specific provisions apply to students affected by the 2021 school closures.

SBI3U meets the Ministry of Education’s attendance and participation expectations through activities blended directly into the course. OES requires students to log in at least once per week for attendance, and participation activities appear throughout the course and are reflected in the grade book — preserving self-paced flexibility while satisfying the requirements for online courses.

Yes — science is one of Ontario’s STEM-related course groups (business studies, computer studies, cooperative education, mathematics, science, and technological education), from which students entering Grade 9 in 2024 or later must complete one credit. For math and science, the credit counts when earned in addition to your compulsory math and science credits, so SBI3U can double as your STEM-group credit.

Ontario’s Growing Success policy pre-determines the evaluation structure for every credit. Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, SBI3U is graded on classroom work completed throughout the course (65%) plus a Ministry-mandated final evaluation worth 25% for Grades 11–12, with attendance and participation also reflected in the final grade. A credit is granted at 50% or higher — and as an inspected private school, OES may administer final evaluations online, while school-board online courses generally require in-person exam sittings.