!! Biology 2015 - predictions, guesses, discussion, petri dishes ...

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sorry guys im badly stuck on this experiment.

2006 section B 7 (b)
1) an investigation in which you used it,
2) the precise purpose for its use in the investigation that you have indicated

i) IAA
1. I said the effect of IAA on plant growth
2. stuck for this one..

appreciate all help!

Dianabluex

LuckyDude12 wrote: »

sorry guys im badly stuck on this experiment.

2006 section B 7 (b)
1) an investigation in which you used it,
2) the precise purpose for its use in the investigation that you have indicated

i) IAA
1. I said the effect of IAA on plant growth
2. stuck for this one..

appreciate all help!

to find the average lengths of the shoots and roots for each IAA concentration and compare these with the average lengths of the control shoots and roots

KA97

If I were to study two units in depth, which two units should I do ?

Magnate

KA97 wrote: »

If I were to study two units in depth, which two units should I do ?

1 and 2 without a doubt! It'll make up 70-80% of your exam on the day.

Just to clarify for anyone wondering:

From section A you'll get 4/6 long questions from unit 1 & 2. From B nothing's guaranteed but I'd say at least 1/3, and from C you'll get 3/6.

Considering you only have to answer 5 short questions, 2 experiment questions and 4 long questions that works out as:

4/5 = 80m
1/3 = 30m
3/4 = 180m

290/400 marks, that totals 72.5%, if you get two experiment questions from unit 1 & 2 it's up to 80%.

If you haven't done much study, now is NOT the time to be looking at unit 3, unless you want to take a whole topic like plants and pray it appears!

KA97

Magnate wrote: »

Just to clarify for anyone wondering:

From section A you'll get 4/6 long questions from unit 1 & 2. From B nothing's guaranteed but I'd say at least 1/3, and from C you'll get 3/6.

Considering you only have to answer 5 short questions, 2 experiment questions and 4 long questions that works out as:

4/5 = 80m
1/3 = 30m
3/4 = 180m

290/400 marks, that totals 72.5%, if you get two experiment questions from unit 1 & 2 it's up to 80%.

If you haven't done much study, now is NOT the time to be looking at unit 3, unless you want to take a whole topic like plants and pray it appears!

Thanks Magnate!

Shanmcg97

KA97 wrote: »

If I were to study two units in depth, which two units should I do ?

I would agree with unit 1 and 2 I'm at that stage now too where I don't have time and a lot of the basics come from those two units. And unit 3 is harder and it would take longer to go through.

Jessica treacy 2015

Heres whats likely to come up:
viruses
respiration
short question on plants as it was a long question in 2013
senses
excretion
experiments:
i think isolate dna maybe and probably a medley of questions on all expeneriments.

Tables

Fungus' are very likely this year, and sorry to say it; so is Excretion.
I expect a full question on micro-organisms this year with Ebola and that unexpected cold flu that came to Europe from Alaska and seemed to be a very bad thing to get. Likewise, I expect Human Reproduction, Genetics, Psyn, Respiration, Ecology, Plant Sexual Rep, Human Nutrition, Enzymes, DNA and RNA and Blood.

Stooped

I'm thinking of dropping to ordinary level on the day. Does anyone know the major differences in terms of content between the papers?

Tables

Stooped wrote: »

I'm thinking of dropping to ordinary level on the day. Does anyone know the major differences in terms of content between the papers?

There is very little difference, honestly. If you have the biology book written by Michael O' Callaghan each section that is purely for honours is indicated as such with a stripe beside it. The questions are also as difficult as the honours ones, just with marginally less content to ask on. I would advise against it unless you are seriously at risk of failing.

ladderlad

What do ye think will feature this year? Id say Photosynthesis/respiration and Human reproduction/Plant reproduction surely in long questions.

fin709

ladderlad wrote: »

What do ye think will feature this year? Id say Photosynthesis/respiration and Human reproduction/Plant reproduction surely in long questions.

They're all likely but im leaving out plant reproduction as i think excretion/digestive system/fungi are more likely in the long questions

BlueWolf16

Guys, you know in the long questions - do we have to answer in essay format? Like, for example, "describe the sequence of events that allows an impulse to be transmitted across a synapse from one neuron to the next", do we have to write it out normally, as in essay format, or can you still get full marks if you just name the 'buzzwords' aka. arrival of impulse, passage of neurotransmitter, neurotransmitter broken down by enzymes, etc. ? That's all the marking schemes say atleast, and i'm kinda used to it by now .

Magnate

BlueWolf16 wrote: »

Guys, you know in the long questions - do we have to answer in essay format? Like, for example, "describe the sequence of events that allows an impulse to be transmitted across a synapse from one neuron to the next", do we have to write it out normally, as in essay format, or can you still get full marks if you just name the 'buzzwords' aka. arrival of impulse, passage of neurotransmitter, neurotransmitter broken down by enzymes, etc. ? That's all the marking schemes say atleast, and i'm kinda used to it by now .

Yep, just go with them keywords, bullet points at most, that's all they're looking for.

podisyc

BlueWolf16 wrote: »

Guys, you know in the long questions - do we have to answer in essay format? Like, for example, "describe the sequence of events that allows an impulse to be transmitted across a synapse from one neuron to the next", do we have to write it out normally, as in essay format, or can you still get full marks if you just name the 'buzzwords' aka. arrival of impulse, passage of neurotransmitter, neurotransmitter broken down by enzymes, etc. ? That's all the marking schemes say atleast, and i'm kinda used to it by now .

Bullet points or short sentences describing each of the steps. Writing out just words is risky when the marking scheme can be specific. By writing a short bit, if you haven't used the word but you have described it, you usually pick up the marks.

BlueWolf16

Also, how is the marking scheme towards extra material?

Like I know that if you are asked to explain something, you explain and give an example, you won't be faulted for giving the example. But let's say it asks for 2 examples of biotic factors, you name three and one of them is wrong, will you lose marks? Eg. first one named is wrong, but the next two are right.. Same with other questions - will 4 out of 5 most relevant be ranked and then marked, or just the first 4 and the fifth ignored? (eg. name the role of kidneys - asks for 2, you name 3 and one of them is completely irrelevant, but others are right - full marks or not?). This kind of repeating was nice in maths, but it seems it would be too easy for a Biology exam.

Kermin

Exam papers or making out notes which will be better at this stage?

BlueWolf16

Kermin wrote: »

Exam papers or making out notes which will be better at this stage?

Notes are too time-consuming at this point. Exam papers and try to do them - Have the marking scheme open next to you, attempt to do it on your own then if you're stuck, have a quick glance, write it down, move to the next question. Try to move at a quick pace, chances are if you don't know the answer within 30sec. you won't know it. You could get about 2-3 full papers done like that in like 2 hours.

fin709

Kermin wrote: »

Exam papers or making out notes which will be better at this stage?

Papers

Magnate

BlueWolf16 wrote: »

Also, how is the marking scheme towards extra material?

Like I know that if you are asked to explain something, you explain and give an example, you won't be faulted for giving the example. But let's say it asks for 2 examples of biotic factors, you name three and one of them is wrong, will you lose marks? Eg. first one named is wrong, but the next two are right.. Same with other questions - will 4 out of 5 most relevant be ranked and then marked, or just the first 4 and the fifth ignored? (eg. name the role of kidneys - asks for 2, you name 3 and one of them is completely irrelevant, but others are right - full marks or not?). This kind of repeating was nice in maths, but it seems it would be too easy for a Biology exam.

No that's fine in long questions and experiment questions, but don't do it in section A. Surplus incorrect answers cancel out correct answers in the short question section.

However in section B & C where they're not looking for one specific answer, you can write as much as you want and they'll pick out the right parts. Biology is one of the few subjects like this.

Say you get a question asking you to draw a diagram of a transverse section of a stem, well you can draw the roots, stem and even a leaf if you want, but once the right diagram is in there somewhere, you get full marks. It's really handy for long questions where they ask you to describe a process or something, if you're not entirely sure something is right, just write down everything.

gryfothegreat

I was at a grinds school for a revision course and the Biology teacher said not to rely on the marking schemes, that you need more information and that just mentioning key words won't get you full marks...
She also predicted the kidney for excretion, do with that as you will!

Magnate

gryfothegreat wrote: »

I was at a grinds school for a revision course and the Biology teacher said not to rely on the marking schemes, that you need more information and that just mentioning key words won't get you full marks...
She also predicted the kidney for excretion, do with that as you will!

The danger with keywords is that you can't be certain that they'll be on the marking scheme, not that they're insufficient. However at the same time they don't expect essay answers. Give bullet points to be safe.

If what you've said contains the keywords that are also on the marking scheme, you get the marks. Familiarity with exam papers goes a long way, you're able to tell what phrases tend to be accepted every year and which ones aren't as safe.

Anyway with biology you have more than enough time so there's no harm in fleshing out answers. Also, a good rule of thumb with surplus answers in long questions is that if they use the verb name or identify then don't give more than one.

hannahdfghjkl

Does anyone attend a grind school or know somebody that does because they sometimes have inside info and their predictions tend to be good?

JimLarkin101

Okay, this is all very interesting regarding the surplus answers! Our teacher always drille dinto us not to put down an extra one unless we were sure.
SO in a long question, if they ask you to state three functions of the liver.. can i name five if i am not sure of some of them? Then the examiner picks the correct ones?

hannahdfghjkl wrote: »

Does anyone attend a grind school or know somebody that does because they sometimes have inside info and their predictions tend to be good?

I can't post the link but if you go to youtube, type in biology predictions leaving cert 2015 , there's a man called eoin jackson who puts them up each year. His predictions are exceptional. Handy to know what to focus on when you are close to the exam!

Magnate

JimLarkin101 wrote: »

Okay, this is all very interesting regarding the surplus answers! Our teacher always drille dinto us not to put down an extra one unless we were sure.
SO in a long question, if they ask you to state three functions of the liver.. can i name five if i am not sure of some of them? Then the examiner picks the correct ones?

Yep but just be careful too, if it seems like they're looking for a very exact answer then they probably are. Just don't give any contradictory answers. If you have a look at the marking scheme long questions, any answer that doesn't have an asterisk beside it means that you can give surplus answers and they don't cancel out wrong ones.

If you want to play it safe, I'd advise writing out the 3 answers that you think are most likely, and then putting your additional answers in brackets. If incorrect answers cancel out wrong ones then you won't lose any marks, but if they don't and your answers in brackets are correct then the examiner will give you the marks.

Keepout007

I have no clue of the plant chapters would there be any way to dodge them?

Magnate

Keepout007 wrote: »

I have no clue of the plant chapters would there be any way to dodge them?

Yep you're safe enough leaving them out, you might have less choice but it's doable.

is mise spartacus

hannahdfghjkl wrote: »

Does anyone attend a grind school or know somebody that does because they sometimes have inside info and their predictions tend to be good?

"that inside info malarkey is a load of poop"
source- friend that attended a grind school

IrishLoriii

How do you all study section A? Ive done all the exam questions out repeatedly etc I cant really
think of another way to study them...how do you study them??

IrishLoriii

hannahdfghjkl wrote: »

Does anyone attend a grind school or know somebody that does because they sometimes have inside info and their predictions tend to be good?

The belief that grinds schools can predict is the whole reason why we are getting spontaneous exams do not reply on them