** 2013 Biology HL Before/After **

weirdspider

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

this is getting at weather/climate so should be ok.

If you did it in your investigation and its on the syllabus, its acceptable and will be in the marking scheme.

However, I have to say, I've NEVER taken this measurement on an ecology field trip myself.

Awesome, hope I get the marks. I only knew about this from chemistry, shows how obscure a question it was and how off putting it was to take temp/pH away from our choices

weirdspider

Deleted User wrote: »

I wasn't sure of what they wanted either so I wrote both down with a note saying I didn't understand what the question was looking for (they probably won't like that)
As for the selective permeable membrane, I thought of the answer everyone is saying but thought "sure we get sick all the time, it doesn't keep harmful stuff out" and wrote "so not too much osmosis occurs which would burst the cell"
Talk about blonde moment!

Haha I can understand that type of frustration, I'm sure other students left them worse notes! Luckily biology is a factual right or wrong subject so they can't subjectively take marks off you haha

Inspector Coptoor

weirdspider wrote: »

Awesome, hope I get the marks. I only knew about this from chemistry, shows how obscure a question it was and how off putting it was to take temp/pH away from our choices

I disagree with your point here as any terrestrial based habitat depends on light, therefore light intensity is the main measurable abiotic factor after those two.

Also, for anyone who studied an aquatic environment, salinity levels could have been a factor to include

I was thinking you were sounding like a Chem student with the pressure/baromoter, the auld pinhole volatile liquid experiment.

weirdspider

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

I disagree with your point here as any terrestrial based habitat depends on light, therefore light intensity is the main measurable abiotic factor after those two.

Also, for anyone who studied an aquatic environment, salinity levels could have been a factor to include

I was thinking you were sounding like a Chem student with the pressure/baromoter, the auld pinhole volatile liquid experiment.

Yes but how do you even measure light intensity? Unless I am blind I have never seen it even mentioned in any textbook or revision book. Light intensity popped into my head immediately after the question but I wasn't going to risk losing half of the marks for not knowing the instrument's name

SecondMan

weirdspider wrote: »

Yes but how do you even measure light intensity? Unless I am blind I have never seen it even mentioned in any textbook or revision book. Light intensity popped into my head immediately after the question but I wasn't going to risk losing half of the marks for not knowing the instrument's name

I called it a light intensity meter.

weirdspider

weirdspider wrote: »

Yes but how do you even measure light intensity? Unless I am blind I have never seen it even mentioned in any textbook or revision book. Light intensity popped into my head immediately after the question but I wasn't going to risk losing half of the marks for not knowing the instrument's name

A Lux Meter is what I believe it's called.

waiting4

For the cell membrane would retains cell contense yet allows waste out of cell be ok?

Slow Show

amicus wrote: »

I think I mite have gotten full marks in section c..i did all the questions. I did well in experiments..the denaturation graph is off putting..my guess is they'll give the marks for a sensible attempt.as for the short question this was my downfall . could of lost 10 marks or so who knows

I actually think I did pretty well in Section C, best case scenario I lost 6 marks, worst case I lost 20/25ish but I'd say I probably got somewhere between the two. Did all the q's too, fairly certain reproduction was perfect and hoping the immune system/bacteria was too, but I would've lost a few here and there in the other questions. My short questions were my downfall too, hoping they mark them as nicely as last years.

weirdspider

SecondMan wrote: »

I called it a light intensity meter.

Wow could not have been any simpler! Well now I know I guess

Inspector Coptoor

weirdspider wrote: »

Yes but how do you even measure light intensity? Unless I am blind I have never seen it even mentioned in any textbook or revision book. Light intensity popped into my head immediately after the question but I wasn't going to risk losing half of the marks for not knowing the instrument's name

I've been beaten to it but yeah, light meter or light intensity meter.

the units are LUX.
You'd measure it along a line transect trying to get readings in the shade and out in the open

aimzLc2

Slow Show wrote: »

I actually think I did pretty well in Section C, best case scenario I lost 6 marks, worst case I lost 20/25ish but I'd say I probably got somewhere between the two. Did all the q's too, fairly certain reproduction was perfect and hoping the immune system/bacteria was too, but I would've lost a few here and there in the other questions. My short questions were my downfall too, hoping they mark them as nicely as last years.

what did you say for why someone is more likely to get an infection at hospital than at home?

waiting4

Lads I just remembered that I wrote AN EQUATION OF A LINE for that question of suggesting a value to dog of their relationship between body heat nd environment... I guess in my sleep deprived haze I misread the question nd temporarily forgot it was a biology exam :P

Slow Show

aimzLc2 wrote: »

what did you say for why someone is more likely to get an infection at hospital than at home?

I wrote loads for what I'm assuming will be a meagre enough six marks. Well like first I just used the fairly obvious point that there's gonna be more airborne pathogens in a place full of sick people than your home what with there being so many sick people but then realised they asked you to use knowledge of antibiotics and the immune system so I moved on into antibiotic-resistant diseases, how they'd be more likely to manifest in hospitals where a lot of people would be very used to taking antibiotics and this would promote the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, they'd spread blah blah, used MRSA as an example. I know other people I know said that you'd have immunity to antigens that'd be in your house from living there whereas a hospital is full of new diseases you haven't been exposed to which is a fair point too, though I didn't think of it at the time.

I'd say the marking scheme will let most people off with a 'Any reasonable explanation', once you say anything relevant really I'd say it's fine.

aimzLc2

Slow Show wrote: »

I wrote loads for what I'm assuming will be a meagre enough six marks. Well like first I just used the fairly obvious point that there's gonna be more airborne pathogens in a place full of sick people than your home what with there being so many sick people but then realised they asked you to use knowledge of antibiotics and the immune system so I moved on into antibiotic-resistant diseases, how they'd be more likely to manifest in hospitals where a lot of people would be very used to taking antibiotics and this would promote the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, they'd spread blah blah, used MRSA as an example. I know other people I know said that you'd have immunity to antigens that'd be in your house from living there whereas a hospital is full of new diseases you haven't been exposed to which is a fair point too, though I didn't think of it at the time.

I'd say the marking scheme will let most people off with a 'Any reasonable explanation', once you say anything relevant really I'd say it's fine.

I said pretty much the same as you! brill thanks

amicus

Slow Show wrote: »

I actually think I did pretty well in Section C, best case scenario I lost 6 marks, worst case I lost 20/25ish but I'd say I probably got somewhere between the two. Did all the q's too, fairly certain reproduction was perfect and hoping the immune system/bacteria was too, but I would've lost a few here and there in the other questions. My short questions were my downfall too, hoping they mark them as nicely as last years.

They must considering last years questions in no way match this years.i would of been ecstatic with last years s questions. what is each part of short qs worth usually 2 or 3? If they made some hard ones 2 or 1 itd b grand

Slow Show

amicus wrote: »

They must considering last years questions in no way match this years.i would of been ecstatic with last years s questions. what is each part of short qs worth usually 2 or 3? If they made some hard ones 2 or 1 itd b grand

Well I was curious so went back and checked, most years it seems to be 6(3) + 2, then I think one year it was like 5(1) + 2(5) but tbh that was back when the questions were all really easy and straightforward and people were doing too well, it's only recently they've been demanding more. Anyway last year the short questions must've been tough (I personally thought this year's were harder but I'm biased) as most of them went like 8 + 7 + 5(1) which would really be ideal, I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

EDIT: Those are all for individual questions btw, not the shorts as a whole, like usually there's seven parts to each question.

amicus

Slow Show wrote: »

Well I was curious so went back and checked, most years it seems to be 6(3) + 2, then I think one year it was like 5(1) + 2(5) but tbh that was back when the questions were all really easy and straightforward and people were doing too well, it's only recently they've been demanding more. Anyway last year the short questions must've been tough (I personally thought this year's were harder but I'm biased) as most of them went like 8 + 7 + 5(1) which would really be ideal, I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

EDIT: Those are all for individual questions btw, not the shorts as a whole, like usually there's seven parts to each question.

Ye definitely harder this year. They'll enjoy marking these short questions.thats for sure :P

HugsiePie

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

no, that wont be acceptable I'm afraid.
amoeba has a cell membrane and has vacuoles

I'm falling into a state of depression at this stage.
Exactly what I didn't need to hear :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

Hamza Malik

Is a dandelion a grassland plant? I said that :pac:

And for abiotic factor I said rainfall.. but to measure it I said check how wet the soil is. Lool im so stupid :rolleyes:

Inspector Coptoor

Hamza Malik wrote: »

Is a dandelion a grassland plant? I said that :pac:

And for abiotic factor I said rainfall.. but to measure it I said check how wet the soil is. Lool im so stupid :rolleyes:

Dandelion is a grassland plant.

Rainfall is an abiotic factor

Your method of measuring won't receive any marks

Bionicle

Okay, I have noticed alot of people are complaing about this year's paper saying it was harder than other years, it wasn't. To say last year's paper is a joke. Of course it is easy to say last year's paper, or any paper for that matter is easy when you have seen it several times and have used them as practise for your Leaving Cert. You already know the answer. You guys know that doing an exam paper in an exam setting with stakes it totally different to doing it at home with a nice cup of tea and no pressure on your shoulders. Having sat last year's paper and achieving an A1 in the subject at HL, I can say that this paper was very similar to the paper we had in terms of the depth of knowledge required to be able to get a high grade in it. I could easily identify the questions I would have answered because if you actually looked at the syllabus, which is available to all students, it clearly outlines what must be learned and if you look at this paper with the syllabus, you will see there was no trick questions. If you learned 70% of the syllabus, why would you deserve 90%+ just because you knew that 70% well? Okay, that graph question you had in the experiments was odd, but you could have done the other experiment question if you were stuck. We had an awkward graph question too, and did the other experiment question aswell as a result. If you had learned all the matieral in the syllabus, you would have been able toselect the minimum amount of questions required from each section in order match your expecttions. If points/high grades are so vital for your future, you wouldn't have left it to chance then that particular questions come up. I know I didn't, and I was rewarded for my hard work as a result. An exam is like this is meant to reward those who took the time to learn it all, not bits of it.

SecondMan

Bionicle wrote: »

Okay, I have noticed alot of people are complaing about this year's paper saying it was harder than other years, it wasn't. To say last year's paper is a joke. Of course it is easy to say last year's paper, or any paper for that matter is easy when you have seen it several times and have used them as practise for your Leaving Cert. You already know the answer. You guys know that doing an exam paper in an exam setting with stakes it totally different to doing it at home with a nice cup of tea and no pressure on your shoulders. Having sat last year's paper and achieving an A1 in the subject at HL, I can say that this paper was very similar to the paper we had in terms of the depth of knowledge required to be able to get a high grade in it. I could easily identify the questions I would have answered because if you actually looked at the syllabus, which is available to all students, it clearly outlines what must be learned and if you look at this paper with the syllabus, you will see there was no trick questions. If you learned 70% of the syllabus, why would you deserve 90%+ just because you knew that 70% well? Okay, that graph question you had in the experiments was odd, but you could have done the other experiment question if you were stuck. We had an awkward graph question too, and did the other experiment question aswell as a result. If you had learned all the matieral in the syllabus, you would have been able toselect the minimum amount of questions required from each section in order match your expecttions. If points/high grades are so vital for your future, you wouldn't have left it to chance then that particular questions come up. I know I didn't, and I was rewarded for my hard work as a result. An exam is like this is meant to reward those who took the time to learn it all, not bits of it.

Sorry Mr Smartypants

amicus

SecondMan wrote: »

Sorry Mr Smartypants

Im only saying short questions were harder.You cant deny that

Vito Corleone

Bionicle wrote: »

Okay, I have noticed alot of people are complaing about this year's paper saying it was harder than other years, it wasn't. To say last year's paper is a joke. Of course it is easy to say last year's paper, or any paper for that matter is easy when you have seen it several times and have used them as practise for your Leaving Cert. You already know the answer. You guys know that doing an exam paper in an exam setting with stakes it totally different to doing it at home with a nice cup of tea and no pressure on your shoulders. Having sat last year's paper and achieving an A1 in the subject at HL, I can say that this paper was very similar to the paper we had in terms of the depth of knowledge required to be able to get a high grade in it. I could easily identify the questions I would have answered because if you actually looked at the syllabus, which is available to all students, it clearly outlines what must be learned and if you look at this paper with the syllabus, you will see there was no trick questions. If you learned 70% of the syllabus, why would you deserve 90%+ just because you knew that 70% well? Okay, that graph question you had in the experiments was odd, but you could have done the other experiment question if you were stuck. We had an awkward graph question too, and did the other experiment question aswell as a result. If you had learned all the matieral in the syllabus, you would have been able toselect the minimum amount of questions required from each section in order match your expecttions. If points/high grades are so vital for your future, you wouldn't have left it to chance then that particular questions come up. I know I didn't, and I was rewarded for my hard work as a result. An exam is like this is meant to reward those who took the time to learn it all, not bits of it.

Last year's paper was quite a bit easier in fairness. Honestly, it was one of the easiest Biology papers I have ever seen. I can understand that maybe you feel like people are trying to undermine your achievement, but they're not.

I have no issues really with this year's paper, just a bit put out by the graph in the experiment question.

FaoiSin

I did the LC last year but I just had a quick look at the paper and it was a tough one no doubt but honestly if you knew your stuff an A1 was achievable.

SecondMan

Could ya say a fox would be grassland?

Bionicle

Vito Corleone wrote: »

Last year's paper was quite a bit easier in fairness. Honestly, it was one of the easiest Biology papers I have ever seen. I can understand that maybe you feel like people are trying to undermine your achievement, but they're not.

I have no issues really with this year's paper, just a bit put out by the graph in the experiment question.

My post is not directed at you, just people in geneal that thought it would be guaranteed A1s. Lol, this has nothing to do with what I achieved. :P I merely cited it because I do not want people going and how did you get on and stuff. Perhaps the questions on my paper were more clear and straightforward in some parts, although I cannot say that this paper needed a broader knowledge than last years. I can't say this paper was easy and that one was easier because I did it in totally different circumstances to you guys as did you guys. If people did so bad in this years paper, they will mark generously because they want to maintain the same levels of A/B/C grades each year. I know I may have come across a bit harsh but I don't think the blame can be pinned on a few odd questions between this grade and that grade.

weirdspider

Bionicle wrote: »

Okay, I have noticed alot of people are complaing about this year's paper saying it was harder than other years, it wasn't. To say last year's paper is a joke. Of course it is easy to say last year's paper, or any paper for that matter is easy when you have seen it several times and have used them as practise for your Leaving Cert. You already know the answer. You guys know that doing an exam paper in an exam setting with stakes it totally different to doing it at home with a nice cup of tea and no pressure on your shoulders. Having sat last year's paper and achieving an A1 in the subject at HL, I can say that this paper was very similar to the paper we had in terms of the depth of knowledge required to be able to get a high grade in it. I could easily identify the questions I would have answered because if you actually looked at the syllabus, which is available to all students, it clearly outlines what must be learned and if you look at this paper with the syllabus, you will see there was no trick questions. If you learned 70% of the syllabus, why would you deserve 90%+ just because you knew that 70% well? Okay, that graph question you had in the experiments was odd, but you could have done the other experiment question if you were stuck. We had an awkward graph question too, and did the other experiment question aswell as a result. If you had learned all the matieral in the syllabus, you would have been able toselect the minimum amount of questions required from each section in order match your expecttions. If points/high grades are so vital for your future, you wouldn't have left it to chance then that particular questions come up. I know I didn't, and I was rewarded for my hard work as a result. An exam is like this is meant to reward those who took the time to learn it all, not bits of it.

Naw I'm repeating this year, got an A1 in biology last year. I studied just as much for it this year and it certainly was much more difficult


still think I got the A1 tho

amicus

SecondMan wrote: »

Could ya say a fox would be grassland?

yes

SecondMan

amicus wrote: »

yes

I said a fox ate a rabbit and all my year laughed. SHAME ON THEM, BLOODY SCROTES