How can we know current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge?
TOK Exhibition Prompt 13 — Object Examples & Rationale
A complete, examiner-written breakdown of IB TOK Exhibition IA Prompt 13 — five worked object examples, linked optional themes, knowledge questions and top-band commentary to help you nail the TOK exhibition for IB DP May 2026.
The Prompt
“How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge?” — Prompt 13 of the 35 prescribed IA prompts.
Assessment Weight
TOK exhibition = one-third of your final TOK grade.
Word Count
950 words max across all 3 objects combined (plus references).
Session
Updated & mapped for TOK assessment.
Decoding Prompt 13 – “How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge?”
IB TOK Exhibition Prompt 13 sits at the heart of the philosophy of progress because it forces a confrontation with one of the most assumed claims in modern thought: that what we know now is better than what we knew before. The prompt pushes you beyond simple definitions of advancement and invites you to examine the criteria, evidence and frameworks through which we judge knowledge as having improved. For a strong exhibition, each of your three objects must reveal a different way that ‘improvement’ is measured — whether through accuracy, accessibility, predictive power, ethical refinement or technological capability.
A top-scoring IB TOK exhibition on Prompt 13 does three things well: it links each object to a clear contrast between current and historical knowledge, it justifies the criteria by which ‘improvement’ is being measured, and it connects back to an optional theme or area of knowledge.
TOK Exhibition Objects for Prompt 13
Each example below includes the object, linked optional theme, examiner-written rationale, and a knowledge question to extend your analysis.
The Human Genome Project’s Final Report
The completion of the Human Genome Project marked a monumental advancement in genetic research, providing a comprehensive map of all human genes. This report serves as a tangible benchmark for how current knowledge in genetics has built upon and vastly improved our understanding compared to past knowledge, which was more fragmented, descriptive and speculative. It exemplifies how technological advancements, large-scale collaborative research, and open data sharing have contributed to more accurate, detailed and accessible genetic knowledge, enabling breakthroughs in medicine, anthropology, evolutionary biology and forensic science. The report can be analysed alongside earlier genetic theories — from Mendel’s pea-plant ratios to the pre-1953 confusion over the structure of DNA — to demonstrate concretely how iterative, technology-enabled collaboration produces knowledge that is verifiably more complete and predictively powerful than what came before.
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Interactive Online Learning Platform (Khan Academy)
Platforms like Khan Academy represent a significant evolution in educational methodologies, leveraging technology to provide accessible, personalised learning experiences across a wide range of subjects. This object illustrates how current knowledge about pedagogy and technology has improved upon past educational practices, which were often constrained by physical classroom settings and one-size-fits-all approaches. It highlights the role of technological advancements in enhancing the dissemination and customisation of learning, making education more accessible and effective for a global audience. The platform serves as a concrete demonstration of how new tools and refined understanding in educational psychology and cognitive science can lead to measurable improvements in how knowledge is communicated, retained and absorbed.
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A Vintage Computer (Apple II)
The Apple II, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputers, symbolises the early stages of personal computing technology. By examining its capabilities in contrast to modern computing devices, students can reflect on the rapid advancement in computing power, user interface design and accessibility. This comparison highlights how iterative improvements, driven by technological innovation and user feedback, have enhanced our ability to process, store and disseminate knowledge. The Apple II is particularly powerful as an exhibition object because it can be physically displayed alongside a modern smartphone or tablet, making the dramatic difference in capability — and the corresponding leap in what knowledge can be created, stored and shared — viscerally obvious to the viewer.
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2 More Objects for Prompt 13
Two additional examiner-written object examples to help you finalise your TOK exhibition selection.
A 19th-Century World Atlas
An antique world atlas showcases the state of geographical knowledge in the 19th century, reflecting the exploratory knowledge and cartographic techniques of the time, including the blank spaces of ‘unknown territory’ and the colonial framings of borders and place names. Comparing this atlas with current digital mapping technologies such as Google Earth illustrates the evolution of cartography, driven by satellite imaging, GPS, and a deeper understanding of the Earth’s geography. This object prompts discussion on how new tools and discoveries have corrected past inaccuracies, expanded our spatial knowledge, and offered more precise, interactive ways to explore the world — while also raising the question of whether digital maps have introduced new biases of their own.
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An LED Light Bulb
The development of the LED light bulb represents a significant improvement over past lighting technologies — incandescent and fluorescent bulbs — in terms of energy efficiency, longevity, durability and environmental impact. This object allows students to consider how advancements in materials science and our deeper understanding of electroluminescence and semiconductor physics have led to lighting solutions that are vastly superior to their predecessors, reflecting broader themes of progress, sustainability and applied physics in technological development. The LED also serves as a useful counter-example to naive progress narratives: although it is more efficient, the rare-earth elements it requires raise new ecological and ethical questions that earlier technologies did not.
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Knowledge Questions for Prompt 13
Use these knowledge questions to strengthen the analytical depth of your exhibition commentary.
By what criteria do we judge one body of knowledge as an ‘improvement’ upon another?
Is scientific progress always cumulative, or does it sometimes overturn previous certainties entirely?
Can knowledge be said to improve if its ethical or environmental costs also rise?
Who decides which past knowledge has been ‘superseded’ — the experts, the public, or history itself?
Does newer technology always produce better knowledge, or sometimes simply different knowledge?
Can knowledge from indigenous or pre-modern societies be ‘better’ than modern knowledge in some domains?
How to Score High on Prompt 13
Three strategies our IB examiners use when coaching students through the TOK exhibition.
Define your criteria of improvement upfront
Don’t assume ‘improvement’ is self-evident. State whether you mean accuracy, predictive power, accessibility, or ethical refinement — and stay consistent across all three objects.
Use direct historical contrasts
The strongest objects allow side-by-side comparison with their historical counterpart (e.g., 19th-century atlas vs. Google Earth). Concrete contrast scores higher than abstract claims of progress.
Justify — don’t just describe
The top markband (9–10) is reached only when the commentary explains why the object illustrates the prompt, not just that it does.
TOK Exhibition Prompt 13 — FAQs
What is TOK Exhibition Prompt 13?
How many objects do I need to present for Prompt 13?
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What is the word limit for the TOK exhibition commentary?
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