ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE Science => VCE Mathematics/Science/Technology => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Biology => Topic started by: Yacoubb on December 23, 2013, 02:59:44 pm
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Hey guys :) I've received a lot of emails asking for advice for VCE Biology, what I did over the summer as a head start and other areas that I'll attach to this. Please feel free to read this instead of PMing me.
Introduction:
I completed Biology units 3 and 4 in 2013, the first year that the exam for Biology was held with no mid-year exam. I scored A+ for Unit 3 SACs, A+ for Unit 4 SACs and an A+ for the Biology exam, and scored a 47. In many ways I felt like VCAA's guinea pig. I had no idea what to expect for the exams, and it was a bit daunting. But nevertheless, I kept telling myself that I needed to do everything I could in my power to do as well as I could. This guide will provide you with my personal tips for VCE Biology.
Biology 3/4:
Biology is by far one of the most fascinating subjects. I personally found that it was so interesting because it was so easy to relate to, and I find it so fascinating how all our millions of cells can work in unison for us to be able to function. There is a lot of content that you must go over throughout your journey of 3/4 Biology, in addition to the 10 SACs that you will be studying for. To make things helpful, I strongly recommend you find a way to link all of the concepts together.
Biomacromolecules --> proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and carbohydrates.
When studying enzymes, you extend your knowledge of proteins.
When studying the cell membrane constituents, you extend your knowledge of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates.
When studying photosynthesis, you extend your knowledge of carbohydrates.
When studying DNA manipulation, you extend your knowledge of nucleic acids.
It is very important to find that link. This especially helps to continuously replenish your understanding of the concepts and not forget it. I found that studying transcription and translation during Unit 4 was the perfect way for me to be able to review my understanding of the protein secretory pathway (nucleus, ribosome, rough endoplasmic reticulum, golgi complex, secretory vesicle). By finding this link, you'll make your learning experience much more efficient.
Holidays:
Everyone is different. I am a type of person who does not feel comfortable doing minimal work over the holidays. As long as you don't force yourself, study as much as you can. Over the summer of 2012 to 2013, I studied the whole unit 3 course. 8 chapters of the Nature of Biology textbook were completed. This included me reading the chapter, collating notes and completing the Quick Check questions. By doing so, you'll be able to have a solid understanding of unit 3 before you enter the classroom. If this is too much for you, finish chapters 1 to 3 very thoroughly. This should cover term 1, and then start with the second area of study around mid term 1.
In the holidays, I found that going over unit 3 gave me a general idea of what to expect, and I was well equipped going into my classes.
TSFX Lectures and Resources:
Without these notes, I don't think I would have scored a 47. There were about 5 questions on that exam I knew how to answer properly because of these notes. They are invaluable. The actual lectures are long and tiring, but if you get hold of the notes, this is the most important thing.
I attended the Summer Headstart, Unit 3 Revision, Winter Headstart and End of year exam revision lectures for Biology. You get the same notes for unit 3 and unit 4 at all the lectures, and the advice they give is also great. Ian Macdonell and Veronica Parsons are both great. They told us great ways of learning concepts, and Veronica had great acronyms and ways of learning various concepts (e.g. RUDD for fossils).
Resources I recommend:
- TSFX lecture notes
- A+ Unit 3 BIOL notes
- A+ Unit 4 BIOL notes
- Nature of Biology 2 textbook
Watch BozemannBiology YouTube clips. He is a great teacher, and I used to watch his videos to strenghten my knowledge of various concepts explored in the course.
SACs:
The one thing I hated about Biology was SACs. We had 10 SACs and it became never-ending. I yelped in joy this year when my Physics teacher said we only had 5 SACs, while everyone else thought it was a lot. It'll feel useless after a while, but this is your chance to increase the gap between you and your cohort. Everyone slacks off SACs studying for the exam, so you should make sure you recover from a bad position or further strengthen your good ranking.
I was ranked 1st in my cohort and received A+ for both exams with the following SAC scores:
#1 - 14/16
#2 - 16/18
#3 - 16/16
#4 - 23/25
#5 - 24/25
#6 - 14/16
#7 - 17/18
#8 - 15/16
#9 - 23.5/25
#10 - 24/25
For SACs, the best way to do well is to:
* Learn the theory behind the SAC properly (e.g. if your SAC is on photosynthesis, you should study the theory behind photosynthesis and clarify your understanding).
* Learn experimental design, if application (i.e. if your SAC is a prac on photosynthesis, know your basic experimental design, as well as experimental analysis including controls, variables to control, how to strengthen the credibility of your experimental findings/results, etc)/
* Tailor the theory you learn to your specific SAC (e.g. our osmosis SAC was about beetroot; my teacher asked us to place beetroot slices in sucrose solution and watch plasmolysis occur. The first question was what was happening to the beetroot under the light microscope. You needed to know about plasmolysis and apply it to beetroot in saying that plasmolysis, or the pinching of the cell membrane from the cell wall of the beetroot cells could be seen, and this was made possible because of the pinkish pigment of the beetroot).
* Aim rank 1. Rank 1, you're in a safe position. Aim top 5 if you can!
Theory:
My biggest mistake was trying to learn concepts outside the scope of the VCE Biology study design. I wasted so much time with this, especially for concepts like photosynthesis. You are not going to be guaranteed a 50 if you know every enzyme in the Calvin-Benson cycle, and you are not guaranteed a 50 if you know about every class of immunoglobulins. You will get a 50 for learning the concepts within the scope of VCE Biology well. So, I highly recommend you learn the concepts within the scope well, and by doing so, will allow yourself more time for application in practice-exam like question.
Saying that - you must read the study design thoroughly. The study design tells you what you need to know, and accordingly, learn the theory in the required depth. No more, no less.
Practice Exams:
I did 45 unit 3 and 45 unit 4 practice exams. I started the 19th of September at 7PM. Yep, I still remember. I finished practice exams on Sunday 27th of October at 11PM.
I started off with practice exam scores of 75%. Do not worry if you are not scoring very high to begin with. You must ensure you give yourself adequate time to get through practice exams. For practice exams, make sure you:
- Complete them in the time frame.
- Use pen for Short Answer and pencil for multiple choice.
- Mark yourself harshly
I cannot stress this enough; if you mark yourself harshly, you will put yourself in the best position. If your expression is wonky, 0. Yep, thats the only way I learnt. When you finish, you need to write yourself a mini report, where your write what you got wrong, tips on how to avoid doing this again, etc. The night before the exam, I was able to read over this mini report that I made, and in doing so, was able to ensure I did what I could to avoid making those mistakes. By the time I came to finish, I was scoring 95%+ for practice exams.
ASSESSMENT REPORTS: VCAA has blessed us with these. The assessment reports were my best friends. If VCAA's definition for genetic drift is the unpredictable change in allele frequencies within a population, you write that. If the function of the cell membrane is to regulate the inputs/outputs of the cell, you write that. Study those assessment reports and tailor your written responses accordingly. I found this benefitted me in several ways. Set out your answers the way VCAA wants you to. Dot points for long extended answers, and covering main areas as specified. If you do what VCAA wants, you'll get the full marks.
Final:
Aim high! Even though I didn't get the 50 I wanted, I was so happy with my 47. Doing Biology through TAFE with very little help, working my butt off on my own and having it as my first 3/4 paid off well. I am so glad I did Biology and so should you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me.
Good luck! :)
Yacoubb
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wow amazing advice! ;D
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This is the best. Thank you! :)
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Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us; and congratulations on an awesome/much deserved SS.
Did you have any particular study routine when studying Biology? Thanks in advance :)
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Useful advice, I'm sure. I think your point on focusing specifically on the study design really applies to me. Need to keep that in mind, I guess.
Yacoub when did you begin tackling Checkpoints/BioZone questions? Were you up to doing that during the summer holidays having yet to start Biology for the year, or did you leave them until later?
Did you write and consolidate your own notes or did you find 'A+ notes' to be sufficient?
Once again, kudos for sharing your advice.
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Great guide. I'd also like to stress the point of doing timed exams; proper 2.5 exams under the new format. Poor time management is ultimately what screwed me over on the day.
A few more things:
- listen to Douchy's Biology Podcasts throughout the year
- doing tonnes of trial exams =/= success. I know people stress that doing exams helps you understand how to answer questions properly, but you don't need to feel pressured to do tonnes of exams (esp if you're doing bio in yr12). I hardly did any company papers because I didn't see the point (though ultimately this is up to you, definitely try a few first)
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Great post man :) This really helps me .
Good luck to all people doing biology in the future .
What would you recommend doing to study for for bio in year 10 ?
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Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us; and congratulations on an awesome/much deserved SS.
Did you have any particular study routine when studying Biology? Thanks in advance :)
My technique was to study smart as opposed to studying hard. For instance, I'd complete practice questions whilst studying a particular concept. See the section on SACs above for what I did for SACs.
Useful advice, I'm sure. I think your point on focusing specifically on the study design really applies to me. Need to keep that in mind, I guess.
Yacoub when did you begin tackling Checkpoints/BioZone questions? Were you up to doing that during the summer holidays having yet to start Biology for the year, or did you leave them until later?
Did you write and consolidate your own notes or did you find 'A+ notes' to be sufficient?
Once again, kudos for sharing your advice.
Day 1 - start practicing your application of knowledge early & you will reap what you have sown come exam time. Once you finish a topic, do Biozone & checkpoints! For notes, I would do a bit of both. I would read through my textbook, TSFX notes, A+ notes and then write my own notes to make sure I had consolidated it. Another thing I did was purchase a big whiteboard & pretend I was teaching a class! Yep, I taught my bed Biology! :) it helped immensely.
Great guide. I'd also like to stress the point of doing timed exams; proper 2.5 exams under the new format. Poor time management is ultimately what screwed me over on the day.
A few more things:
- listen to Douchy's Biology Podcasts throughout the year
- doing tonnes of trial exams =/= success. I know people stress that doing exams helps you understand how to answer questions properly, but you don't need to feel pressured to do tonnes of exams (esp if you're doing bio in yr12). I hardly did any company papers because I didn't see the point (though ultimately this is up to you, definitely try a few first)
Perfect! There is a very very weak correlation between number of practice exams & your score. I know friends who did 70+ practice exams and scored 30 for Further Maths :)
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This was just the motivational speech I needed :D Thank you :)
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Thank you for this post; it has given me some useful advice as well as motivated me to spend more time on biology. Also, a belated congratulations on your well-deserved score! :)
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Thank you for this post; it has given me some useful advice as well as motivated me to spend more time on biology. Also, a belated congratulations on your well-deserved score! :)
No worries :)
Good luck with Biology!
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Really appreciated, will bookmark this to give it a read every so often. Unfortunately I got a 'low' on the first part of my SAC involving osmosis/diffusion with the eggs in hypotonic/hypertonic solution, due to my discussion being too lengthy and drifting from the main point of the actual practical analysis.
But after reading this I feel a lot more comfortable about enzymes and the optimum pH effect SAC tomorrow. Greatly appreciated once again!
-Brock,
Cranbourne Secondary College.
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Really appreciated, will bookmark this to give it a read every so often. Unfortunately I got a 'low' on the first part of my SAC involving osmosis/diffusion with the eggs in hypotonic/hypertonic solution, due to my discussion being too lengthy and drifting from the main point of the actual practical analysis.
But after reading this I feel a lot more comfortable about enzymes and the optimum pH effect SAC tomorrow. Greatly appreciated once again!
-Brock,
Cranbourne Secondary College.
No worries. I'm sorry about the SAC! Just remember you have plenty of time to redeem yourself. Hopefully it all goes according to plan.
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Such great advice :) good luck with your other subjects this year!
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Such great advice :) good luck with your other subjects this year!
I'm glad you've found it helpful. Thank you :)
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Where is a good place to find practice exams? engage education is the only site with free exams i could find.
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Where is a good place to find practice exams? engage education is the only site with free exams i could find.
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/studies/biology/exams.aspx
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Yacoubb my man.
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WOW This is a really well structured and informative post! :) Cheers man.
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WOW This is a really well structured and informative post! :) Cheers man.
No worries :-) best of luck with Biology!!
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Haven't posted here for a while!
Okay guys :) a few days and you'll all be sitting the Biology exam. A few things to take care of before D-day.
(1.) Try and polish that expression. Work on punchy, concise and to-the-point responses. Consult any VCAA assessment reports if need be.
(2.) Go over any concepts (read over your notes) for anything that seems a bit fishy. This is the time to squash any areas of concern and make sure you've got it down pat.
(3.) Handwriting - don't put yourself in a position where illegible writing makes you lose marks. You never know - you may just miss out on a 50 because you've lost one more mark for a word you wrote properly that the assessor couldn't see. Dramatic? Yes. Possible? Yes.
Final note - best of luck to all of you doing Biology. I sincerely wish you all the best, and hopefully you smash it and get what you want!! It's time to finish the race, you've been at it for a long time working hard, and it's time to seal the deal!!! :)
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Haven't posted here for a while!
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Yacoubb, what specific advice do you have for answering application-type questions? :)
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Yacoubb, what specific advice do you have for answering application-type questions? :)
Contextualise your knowledge to the question. For instance:
You know that proteins are made up of amino acids.
If the question asks you to discuss the synthesis of a dipeptide made out of glycine and leucine, you would say:
The dipeptide is synthesised in a condensation reaction. When the amine group of glycine reacts with the carboxyl group of leucine, a water molecule is formed and eliminated, to form a covalent (peptide) bond between glycine and leucine. The dipeptide is formed.
^ Don't just say amino acids. Use what they've given. This'll demonstrate sound application of knowledge and give your answers oomf! :)
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Contextualise your knowledge to the question. For instance:
You know that proteins are made up of amino acids.
If the question asks you to discuss the synthesis of a dipeptide made out of glycine and leucine, you would say:
The dipeptide is synthesised in a condensation reaction. When the amine group of glycine reacts with the carboxyl group of leucine, a water molecule is formed and eliminated, to form a covalent (peptide) bond between glycine and leucine. The dipeptide is formed.
^ Don't just say amino acids. Use what they've given. This'll demonstrate sound application of knowledge and give your answers oomf! :)
Thank you! Wish me luck for Friday :)
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Bit off topic, but i dont do biology atm, however i was thinking of doing it as a option for next year, might change a subject for it. Im interested in the human body and the way it operates, but i was wondering if there is heaps to remember. This is because if it is, it can be characterised as more of a year 11 subject when time is at your disposal however i dont want it to influence my other year 12 subjects such as methods, spesh, english etc..
if anyone can give me a quick summary of pros and cons in their opinion, that would be awesome!!
thanks
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Bit off topic, but i dont do biology atm, however i was thinking of doing it as a option for next year, might change a subject for it. Im interested in the human body and the way it operates, but i was wondering if there is heaps to remember. This is because if it is, it can be characterised as more of a year 11 subject when time is at your disposal however i dont want it to influence my other year 12 subjects such as methods, spesh, english etc..
if anyone can give me a quick summary of pros and cons in their opinion, that would be awesome!!
thanks
If you love learning about the human body then it's definitely a great subject to take.
In Unit 3, you cover a lot about cells and the immune system which is actually really enjoyable and overlaps quite a bit with year 10 Biology. Unit 4, you cover gene technology and evolution. I was honestly expecting evolution to be hard and boring but it was quite interesting.
I think the subject isn't just about memorising- you only memorise definitions and other than that, it's mostly about understanding how things work and linking the information together. The only thing that I found was quite challenging was wording answers which I struggled with a lot but practice really helps. So I'd definitely recommend taking the subject :)
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Definitely knows what to say :)
Thanks dude!!
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Hi!!
Currently I'm doing VCE year 12 biology units 3 and 4 and so far I'm finding it difficult. I did my first sac and got a low mark 14/50,which was very unexpected because last year I used to be at the top of class. My teacher said it's because I didnt answer questions smartly enough and I was writing too much for questions, which were 1 mark.
Do you have any advice on how to apply your knowledge by how to answer questions properly? :) thxs
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Hi!!
Currently I'm doing VCE year 12 biology units 3 and 4 and so far I'm finding it difficult. I did my first sac and got a low mark 14/50,which was very unexpected because last year I used to be at the top of class. My teacher said it's because I didnt answer questions smartly enough and I was writing too much for questions, which were 1 mark.
Do you have any advice on how to apply your knowledge by how to answer questions properly? :) thxs
Don't worry too much, 'biological' expression is something you develop over the course of the year as you answer more questions. My advice is always answer one mark questions with one sentence (unless the question requires multiple steps of reasoning, which is highly unlikely) and structure your answers to multi-mark questions with dot points according to how many marks are available. This should help you in making your answers concise while giving them a logical rhythm and flow. It's quite a struggle at first but after a while you'll get the hang of it.
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Thanks! :)