How to nail a data test

[K.Smithy]

Hi everyone

I will be sitting 3  data tests in 3 weeks time (psych, bio and physics), and I was wondering if there were any must knows when going into a data test? How can I make sure I ace a data test? I didn't do super well in unit 1 when it came to the data tests (7.75/10 for psych, 6/10 for bio and 5/10 for physics), so I really want to make sure I nail these ones. I really want a good ATAR and I don't want data tests to be my downfall.

Thanks!! 😉

[Bri MT]

Hey!

I've actually been working on articles for data tests for each of the sciences - once they're published (which will be before your tests) I'll link them here! 

In terms of specifically helping you with your data tests, what did you find you were losing marks on last time? 

E.g. a big thing I had to learn to be careful of was reading units on the axes of graphs in physics - in my first physics data test of year 12 I said it took a lollies worth of energy to get a rocket into orbit due to this

Chem is already published as well but since you're not studying that here's psych & physics

[K.Smithy]

I've actually been working on articles for data tests for each of the sciences - one they're published (which will be before your tests) I'll link them here! 

awesome!!! I'll be sure to keep checking back

In terms of specifically helping you with your data tests, what did you find you were losing marks on last time? 

E.g. a big thing I had to learn to be careful of was reading units on the axes of graphs in physics - in my first physics data test of year 12 I said it took a lollies worth of energy to get a rocket into orbit due to this

For me I made a ton of stupid mistakes (e.g. dividing by 10 instead of 100, stuffing up a simple multiple choice question, not providing good enough examples when asked to list things...). But there were also a couple weird questions that I still remember now, because everyone was just like "What even?"
1. (Physics) We were taught how to read the coloured bands on resistors, but every time we were taught there was only three coloured bands. On the actual test there was four, and no one knew what the fourth meant.
2. (Physics) There was a question that had something to do with uncertainty and there was a graph that had a line of best fit, a max slope line and a min slope line... non of us got it correct because we were taught how to draw max and min slope lines wrong
2. (Bio) We were told to draw a conclusion from a data table that had two independent variables (carbon dioxide and oxygen levels) and one dependent variable (rate of respiration)... so no one was able to draw a correct conclusion (we all got it wrong because we all thought that oxygen determined rate of respiration, rather than carbon dioxide... we just weren't taught it)
3. (Psych) We were asked to calculate the mean of one number... we all got the question correct, but we were very confused.

There were also a lot of questions that had assumed knowledge that we didn't know/didn't remember (some stuff even dating back all the way to 8th grade).

[Bri MT]

For me I made a ton of stupid mistakes (e.g. dividing by 10 instead of 100, stuffing up a simple multiple choice question, not providing good enough examples when asked to list things...). But there were also a couple weird questions that I still remember now, because everyone was just like "What even?"
1. (Physics) We were taught how to read the coloured bands on resistors, but every time we were taught there was only three coloured bands. On the actual test there was four, and no one knew what the fourth meant.
2. (Physics) There was a question that had something to do with uncertainty and there was a graph that had a line of best fit, a max slope line and a min slope line... non of us got it correct because we were taught how to draw max and min slope lines wrong
2. (Bio) We were told to draw a conclusion from a data table that had two independent variables (carbon dioxide and oxygen levels) and one dependent variable (rate of respiration)... so no one was able to draw a correct conclusion (we all got it wrong because we all thought that oxygen determined rate of respiration, rather than carbon dioxide... we just weren't taught it)
3. (Psych) We were asked to calculate the mean of one number... we all got the question correct, but we were very confused.

There were also a lot of questions that had assumed knowledge that we didn't know/didn't remember (some stuff even dating back all the way to 8th grade).

1 & 2 . There's not much I can really say with these ones from that obviously sucking and to remember when drawing your lines be conscious of uncertainty bars.
3. It would be expected for you to know that oxygen is a limiting factor for rate of respiration - i.e. if there isn't enough oxygen the rate of respiration will be reduced. You would also be expected to know that there are other limiting factors & hence not all of the available oxygen might be used, making the amount of oxygen unsuitable as a proxy for rate of respiration. However, if we assume that all of the carbon dioxide present is due to respiration, then it is appropriate to use CO2 for determining the rate of respiration. In general, if you have: input -> process -> output, use the output rather than the input to find the rate of the process.
4. Haha yeah that is a bit weird but there's technically nothing wrong with it

In regards to making silly errors: setting out your working clearly & knowing your timing can help a lot with this. Practice also helps - after a while you also get a feel for the type of number you'd expect and can use that to sanity check yourself.


Hope this helps