**Higher level Biology 2012 Before/After**

Miss Lockhart

Paper is up online now.

My opinion is that it has definitely continued the trend of looking for students to apply their knowledge of biology - this requires a very good broad knowledge of the course.

I think the paper was fine for those looking for their As or Bs - nothing too awful there.

However, I think there will be a wide gulf between those at A/B level and those struggling to pass. A lot of questions were very much you know it or you don't - little room for demonstrating the information you have even if it's not perfect.

IMO papers should have enough material for those without a real aptitude for the subject, but who work hard, to pass and then enough for those with some aptitude and a good work ethic to get their C and then with enough "tricky" analysis type questions to separate the A students.

I think the C-type students will have struggled with that paper.

FWIW I thought the OL Paper was nice enough.

NoHarm1994

Definitely one of the toughest exams they have given in a while!

Cosmic.Postman

Namlub wrote: »

Whatever that double bonds thing is, it's definitely not in my book

That's because it's chemistry...

Namlub

Oh, excellent work SEC.

Hayezer

finality wrote: »

I know exactly what she did but it's wrong, I tried to do it first for ages but then I realised GAMETES! HAPLOID! Sy and sY is right.

She added wrong at any rate, what she did have one outcome with 10 and 2 with 3 each, but that was possible progeny genotypes instead of gametes.

For my gametes I had a chromosome with S and y and another with s and Y. Think thats ok? Thought you were meant to do little chromosomes when it's linked :pac:

finality

YeaaahFaoiSin wrote: »

Thank god you only need 5 of the 6 in Food! Hadn't a clue for the last one. Confident about the other 5. The Nervous system question was pretty weird.

You only need 5?? Yay, I only got one wrong there I think

hollingr

Hayezer wrote: »

For my gametes I had a chromosome with S and y and another with s and Y. Think thats ok? Thought you were meant to do little chromosomes when it's linked :pac:

I had to read that question about 5-6 times just to be happy I was actually answering the question they were asking.

all they wanted was the gammy gametes!

QueenOfLeon

Cosmic.Postman wrote: »

That's because it's chemistry...

If its not on the syllabus, then they won't have been aiming for that to be the answer. More likely that is saturated/unsaturated?

Naomi00

Zomg Okay wrote: »

I'm in shock. I was not expecting it to be that simple. Answered all 6 short questions and all 3 experiment questions in under an hour, with only only 3 or 4 blank spaces where I was completely clueless between the lot.

The Genetics and Ecology questions in Section C were fantastic but I stumbled a good bit on my other two longs (14 a, b; 15 b, c). Very happy overall.

Lol that's how long it's supposed to take, says it on the front of the exam paper.

leaveiton

Yeah that gamete question tricked me too! I had my punnet square and all done out when I realised all they wanted was Sy and sY!

Cosmic.Postman

Hayezer wrote: »

For my gametes I had a chromosome with S and y and another with s and Y. Think thats ok? Thought you were meant to do little chromosomes when it's linked :pac:

Sure, you were asked to write down the genotypes, not the gametes?

David1994

Well..I am gutted Would be happy with a C2 now! I knew everything and it just left my mind Wanted a B1..

FaoiSin

finality wrote: »

You only need 5?? Yay, I only got one wrong there I think

Yup 5.

Was the linked genes question as simple as drawing the gametes? It seemed really simple? Did not like the genetic engineering part to be honest. I t was a bit iffy.

partyatmygaff

Looking at the paper... the exam wasn't harder than any other year but the way they took bits and pieces from every single part of the course might have caused issues for anyone who relied on predictions. All I could say is that the short questions seem a tiny bit easier than past years.

Hayezer

Cosmic.Postman wrote: »

Sure, you were asked to write down the genotypes, not the gametes?

Genotypes of the gametes they asked, and I put that down, just not in Sy sY form, I put down the two chromosomes. Hope I get the marks

Spattersonox

I'm gutted and disappointed
I thought that paper was ridiculously vague at times. The topics tested on were nice and broad but ..

Geographyhater

Am i the only one who found the short questions alot harder ! Everything else went great!

iluvgreenday246

Q10 (b) (iv) If the allele for smooth were linked to the allele for green and the allele for wrinkled werelinked to the allele for yellow, give the genotypes of the two gametes that parent SsYy would produce in the greatest numbers

this baffled me................ i just got the two linked gametes that were like Sy and sY ?? thats all you needed to say??

BellaVerita

Did anyone else say muscular tissue for an animal tissue? What did ye say was its its role? Is "insulates and protects muscles" correct by any chance?

cocopopsxx

finality wrote: »

Grey matter is composed of dendrites and cell bodies, white matter is composed of axons only.

I wrote exactly that....will that get me full marks probably?

Also, is there negative marking in section C?

JadeLC2012

Geographyhater wrote: »

Am i the only one who found the short questions alot harder ! Everything else went great!

I thought the short questions were tricky yeah! caught me off guard a couple of times, but the experiments were lovely i thought! a few more diagrams would have been nice though! the only one that came up was the motor neuron!

leaveiton

You know when it asked for a function of two things that are only found in neurons or whatever the question was? Dendrites are only found in neurons right?

Tankosaur

During the exam I though it was doable but tricky.

But when I got out of the exam looked up some answers/ discussed the questions I felt a great deal more happy with it.

I thought it was a very fair if not easy paper.

Sunny!!

would the animal tissue be nervous? then carries impulses to and from brain? and has dendrons

Mista

Geographyhater wrote: »

Am i the only one who found the short questions alot harder ! Everything else went great!

Yea I found them hard enough hope I got most of them right..

iluvgreenday246 wrote: »

Q10 (b) (iv) If the allele for smooth were linked to the allele for green and the allele for wrinkled werelinked to the allele for yellow, give the genotypes of the two gametes that parent SsYy would produce in the greatest numbers

this baffled me................ i just got the two linked gametes that were like Sy and sY ?? thats all you needed to say??

Yea, thats all I said

BellaVerita wrote: »

Did anyone else say muscular tissue for an animal tissue? What did ye say was its its role? Is "insulates and protects muscles" correct by any chance?

I went with cardiac.. only one I could confidently remember

partyatmygaff

leaveiton wrote: »

You know when it asked for a function of two things that are only found in neurons or whatever the question was? Dendrites are only found in neurons right?

Although I don't think it's mentioned in the LC Biology course... Dendrites are also found on the dendritic cells of the immune system. They look similar in shape but have a completely different structure.

I would have said Schwann cells and axons.

Cosmic.Postman

Hayezer wrote: »

Genotypes of the gametes they asked, and I put that down, just not in Sy sY form, I put down the two chromosomes. Hope I get the marks

But the genotypes are the combinations of Gametes? I think I said the most common genotypes were SSyy and ssYY. I could be wrong! Perhaps you'll get the marks?

Hayezer

Animal tissue I said nervous, adaptation was myelin sheat that insulates impulse making it go faster. That a valid adaptation?

Saracarroll

Did anyone get purine and pyrimidine for the two types of bases?

smithy77

BellaVerita wrote: »

Did anyone else say muscular tissue for an animal tissue? What did ye say was its its role? Is "insulates and protects muscles" correct by any chance?

I said connective tissue and that it joins and supports other body structures.. How it does it I said its long, tough tissue which is hard to break but I think that parts wrong:o