Biology Post-exam Discussion

[itsdanny]

As per title!
I have to admit I rushed at the end, didn't feel very comfortable doing that and realised better answers for a few questions after the time was up... otherwise, it was pretty fun 

[achre]

Fun's not the first word I'd use to describe it, but I think it went alright.
Just out of curiousity:
What made the plate-mouthed fish go extinct?
What selection pressures were acting on the bats?

[saheh]

THE BAT DRAWINGS WERE HILARIOUS I LOVED THE SMILIG ONE...CHEEKY BAT

[WhoTookMyUsername]

How'd you guys find it?
Any particularly tough questions?

Talk about your qualms and queries here!
Hope you were all happy with how you went
(+ if anyone has a copy of the exam please scan it up

[rebeccab26]

was okay
it was challenging but could answer most questions
was pushed for time so messed up multiple choice.
had only 10 minutes to do it lol

[HighLatency]

Too much writing...and after the English exam dammit, my hand is still jittery.
There was a question asking for the advantages of a protruding nose as a feature of australopiretenfdsskfsdis sediba and I had absolutely so effing clue

[Shenz0r]

Think the A+ mark may be high, just like the midyears.

I only had 10 mins to check over though, spent too long making a detailed diagram of replication

[Shenz0r]

There wasn't really any question that stood out as "omgwtf i have no idea", didn't really freeze during the exam.

That said, I think the grade cut offs will be similar to midyears

[InsaneMcFries]

I don't know depending on how harsh VCAA are with their solutions for the applications, it could be lower. There's no way it was as easy as 2011.

[itsdanny]

Just out of curiousity:
What made the plate-mouthed fish go extinct?

I don't think there is a factual explanation since these are species that existed hundreds of millions of years ago in the Cambrian period. The anomalocaris also is resemblingly similar to an animal today, the Mantis shrimp, which although is smaller, but similar, lives on the Great Barrier Reef, it's as ancient as anomalocaris. Both have big raptorial appendages, to hunt prey. So I would think that as these were powerful, large and superior predators, and eventually the prey had to evolve elaborate defensive adaptations as well, like Opabinia with 5 eyes and Hallucigenia with spines on its back, in order to survive. Thus, selection pressures such as these, or possibly even the rise of other predators could have also acted as a selection pressure against them, and over time, the anomalocaris' could not withstand these pressures and eventually decreased in numbers, hence the rate of deaths were higher then births, thus reproduction rates were gradually decreasing, which consequently lead to the extinction of the species over a period of time. I think this is rather reasonable from a logical sense.

edit: more info

[dan_21]

Think a lot of people would've forgotten ligation in dna replication.

[HighLatency]

Think a lot of people would've forgotten ligation in dna replication.

Shit. Forgot that one. Hope that 4 marks is not solely dependent on getting everything in there because there are a lot of things going on in DNA replication =/

[Shenz0r]

Think a lot of people would've forgotten ligation in dna replication.

Shit. Forgot that one. Hope that 4 marks is not solely dependent on getting everything in there because there are a lot of things going on in DNA replication =/

I showed the process using 4 steps, I think the mark allocation would be something like:

-Unzipping of the double-helix by DNA Helicase
-Binding of RNA primers to the separated strands of DNA
-DNA polymerase elongates the primers by adding new DNA nucleotides, needed to show leading strand and lagging strands (okazaki fragments)
-Ligation by DNA Ligase

[HighLatency]

Think a lot of people would've forgotten ligation in dna replication.

Shit. Forgot that one. Hope that 4 marks is not solely dependent on getting everything in there because there are a lot of things going on in DNA replication =/

I showed the process using 4 steps, I think the mark allocation would be something like:

-Unzipping of the double-helix by DNA Helicase
-Binding of RNA primers to the separated strands of DNA
-DNA polymerase elongates the primers by adding new DNA nucleotides, needed to show leading strand and lagging strands (okazaki fragments)
-Ligation by DNA Ligase

I did all of that but instead of ligation I had the direction of synthesis and the 5' to 3' or whatever thingo.

[Shenz0r]

Think a lot of people would've forgotten ligation in dna replication.

Shit. Forgot that one. Hope that 4 marks is not solely dependent on getting everything in there because there are a lot of things going on in DNA replication =/

I showed the process using 4 steps, I think the mark allocation would be something like:

-Unzipping of the double-helix by DNA Helicase
-Binding of RNA primers to the separated strands of DNA
-DNA polymerase elongates the primers by adding new DNA nucleotides, needed to show leading strand and lagging strands (okazaki fragments)
-Ligation by DNA Ligase

I did all of that but instead of ligation I had the direction of synthesis and the 5' to 3' or whatever thingo.

You would need to show that during the elongation of the primers I think, it would constitute part of that mark.