Mid year exam assistance thread

[chubz90]

Hey guys,
can some one please explain the visible light spectrum thing and what i must know about this. The teacher skipped this and never ended up teaching us about this fully. All i do know that kind of relates to this is that colours remain just as bright in darkened conditions. So yeah, some basic explanations would be helpful.

what you need to know (basically):

-range of the visible light spectrum and their corresponding wavelengths (~380nm - ~760nm)
-380nm corresponds to light of VIOLET colour; 760nm corresponds to light of RED colour (think of ROYGBIV --> colours of rainbow)
-cones respond best to red/yellow light; rods respond best to blue/violet light.

thats about it

okay thats very helpful but can you explain what the core meaining that i am meant to grasp from the spectrum thing. As in how is it relating to the topic or what VCAA wants us to understand about this? lol, i have never really heard about this sepctrum thing until about 3 days ago.

well, in a nutshell, just know that electromagnetic energy lies on a continuum, from extremely extremely small wavelengths (gamma rays and stuff) to really really massive wavelengths (think football fields long).  we can only see a TINY proportion of this continuum, and it is referred to as the VISIBLE SPECTRUM (~380 - ~760nm wavelength).  if we could see the whole spectrum of electromagnetic energy, we would see radio waves flying about, x-rays etc etc.

honestly, i doubt you need to know so much about all this.  just know the points i mentioned before and it should be sufficient knowledge.

cheers    that helps alot, i just got a little shoked when i heard it being mentioned in a lecture and thinking to myself i have never learnt about this. lol again thanks

[thelovecatsx]

Do we need to know what primary/secondary depth cues are? I stumbled on the term in a non-vcaa practise exam and I've never heard of the terms before.

[daniel99]

Primary(internal):
Accommodation, monocular.
Convergence, binocular.
Retinal disparity, binocular.

Monocular pictorial cues;
linear perspective
height in the visual field
interposition/overlap
relative size
texture gradient

These are very important for AOS 2 and im 100% sure that they will come up on the exam!!!

[Nick]

Depth cues (classified as either monocular or bionocular) will definitely be tested, but you are not required to know them in terms of whether they are primary or secondary- this is terminology from the old study design.

[thelovecatsx]

Ah thank you for clearing it up. I know the depth ques but I wasn't sure which ones went under which term.

[daniel99]

But its always good to know what they are under e.g. If you got a question what is the primary monocular depth cue?

Know the pictorial depth cues well as they always come up in the exam.

[Nick]

But its always good to know what they are under e.g. If you got a question what is the primary monocular depth cue?

Know the pictorial depth cues well as they always come up in the exam.

It's very unlikely that they'd use the terms "primary" or "secondary" but it's possible I suppose. Technically they're not allowed to though.

[psychlaw]

Test Questions (NO BOOKS ALLOWED)
What are some advantages and disadvantages of:

(a) Random Sampling


(b) Stratified Sampling


(c) Independent Groups


(d) Matched Participants


(e) Repeated Measures


(f) CT Scan


(g) PET Scan


(h) ESB


(i) EEG

[psychlaw]

What exactly do we need to know about the Central Nervous System?

[Nick]

What exactly do we need to know about the Central Nervous System?

Just know that the CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord, coordinating and controlling the major functions of the body. Receives sensory information from the body (via sensory neurons) and transmits information via motor neurons to the PNS which in turn, activates muscles.

It'd also be helpful to know that the spinal cord connects the brain to all areas of the body.

The term "CNS" also indirectly relates to knowing all about the brain and all of the lobes/functions (although it's not under the "CNS" dot point)
 

[daniel99]

Test Questions (NO BOOKS ALLOWED)
What are some advantages and disadvantages of:

(a) Random Sampling


(b) Stratified Sampling


(c) Independent Groups


(d) Matched Participants


(e) Repeated Measures


(f) CT Scan


(g) PET Scan


(h) ESB


(i) EEG

(a) Random Sampling
Advantage; quick
Disadvantage; may not be representative

(b) Stratified Sampling
Advantage; representative
Disadvantage; takes longer to create

(c) Independent Groups
Advantage; eliminates order effects
Disadvantage; requires the most participants

(d) Matched Participants
Advantage; eliminates extraneous variables
Disadvantage; time consuming

(e) Repeated Measures
Advantage; less participants needed
Disadvantage; order effects can occur

(f) CT Scan
Advantage; shows structural abnormalitites, such as strokes, tumours etc
Disadvantage; Does not show the functions of the brain

(g) PET Scan
Advantage; Shows the function of the brain whilst involved in a particular activity
Disadvantage; harmful as it involves radioactive isotope

(h) ESB
Advantage; can determine what tissue is dead or alive (whilst operating) and can determine what part of the cortex is responsible for the action that it inhibits or activates.
Disadvantage; invasive as it requires the removal of the skull

(i) EEG
Advantage; can be used on children, non-invasive, shows brain activity whilst involved in a particular task, e.g. sleeping, awake and so on.
Disadvantage; most primitve technique, does not show structure of the brain or function, to an extent.

[moshi]

the radioactive form of glucose injected isn't really harmful, i think it's better to say that it's mildly invasive

[daniel99]

it can be harmful so exposure must be limited as it involves radioactive glucose though cant it?

[moshi]

yes exposure must be limited, so that's another disadvantage because of the gaps between scans, thus rapid changes are harder to pick up
my teacher said that it's more correct to say that it's mildly invasive due to the injection, that's all.
i guess your answer's fine, it's just that you wrote it's 'harmful', not that it 'can be harmful' if exposed for too long, because it'd be unethical to use the PET scan if it was flat out harmful if you were injected with the radioactive substance

[jess3254]

It's not necessarily 'harmful' always as such, but the use of radioactive materials must be limited as it has the potential to affect an individual’s health after exposure.

If you are not sure, use the following for a disadvantage instead:
-Extremely expensive procedure
-Requires highly trained staff
-Each individual PET scan takes around 40 seconds, so you can't take them in rapid sucession and view subtle changes.
-The image is not structurally clear.