Biology Year 12 2013

[HighLatency]

Ian Mac @ TSFX is good depending on how you learn,
I transferred into his classes (it was packed full) during the second semester and my god was he entertaining. Also the quizzes he made at the start of each class were fun and showed me how much of a wuss I was when it came to answering questions.
But anyway, he doesn't really make you write down any notes so if you lose concentration really easily you can find that you aren't absorbing any information at which point you forget most of what was taught (unless you write down notes yourself which is probably what I should have done).
The rest of the lecturers consist of boring ladies that make you write 24/7 until you smack your head into the desk from boredom.

[Funkyy007]

In Biology unit 3/4, do we need to know anything about microscopes?

[Stick]

It's not in the study design and only synchrotrons are discussed (and only in a page or so). Perhaps have a very general idea of how it works just in case.

Also, be aware that different biomacromolecules stain as different colours. Other than that I think you should be fine.

[HighLatency]

In Biology unit 3/4, do we need to know anything about microscopes?

Hell. No.

[heart]

Knowing the difference between light and electron microscopes is enough. There was a question related to microscopes/genes in the unit 4 exam this year (a multiple choice question).

[PsychoM]

I would higly recommend tsfx notes for Biology. It is just amazingly amazing!
I also attended his classes in Sem 1&2 and he was a legend
Has the study design change a lot?

[Yacoubb]

Hey guys I'm doing 3+4 Bio next year. Can I just say, there are actually a lot of changes. There is nothing about Osmosis + a lot to do with Cell connections (i.e. occluding, communicating + anchoring junctions) + plasmodesmata in plant cells Cannot wait for next year. Any tips guys?

[Yacoubb]

In Biology unit 3/4, do we need to know anything about microscopes?

Nope thank goodness!

[WhoTookMyUsername]

Is there any advice from current Year 12's doing Biology, for Biology Year 12 students next year? What resources are useful? As well as any general advice to do well in the subject. Any advice would be appreciated!

practice, practice, practice! Spam those practice exams, and make sure you understand the concepts very well

[brenden]

I've never actually been to a TSFX lecture (Biol) however I heard something like
"The best teacher at TSFX by far is Veronica Parsons. She also does the exam revision lectures. She teaches biol and I think chem and maths too. She is soooo awesome!! Two girls from my school got a 50 last year and our normal teacher is hopeless-they said Veronica gives psychic predictions about what will be on the exam and is pretty spot on! Freaky!!! I had her this year and just loved her "
Although I'm not sure on the credibility. It was from a user Vmparl. Can't quite put my finger on it but it seems strange. I also wouldn't trust the credibility of the student, the overuse of exclamation marks just seem indicative of naivety and a lack of emotional maturity. And to actually believe that this wonderful Veronica woman could provide psychic predictions - ha! I wonder how that funny girl went up going in VCE Biol.

[ealam2]

I think they're focusing more on macromolecules and evolution this year. And our teacher made us practice using microscopes because she said that we'll use them for our first SAC. But I don't think knowing about microscopes is important.

[michak]

I think they're focusing more on macromolecules and evolution this year. And our teacher made us practice using microscopes because she said that we'll use them for our first SAC. But I don't think knowing about microscopes is important.

Think you are correct, we never even looked or talked about microscopes in the whole course.

[awesomejames]

Well you guys would be jumping up and down, and screaming at the top of your lungs if you were me. This is because I didn't need to go to the TSFX lectures to learn from MR Mac or what you call him Ian McDonnell.

I HAD HIM AS MY TEACHER FOR BIOLOGY FOR THE WHOLE YEAR LAST YEAR(2012)!!!

He's a very good teacher, does basically everything in class as he would at the lectures, even more!

Take this as a pinch of salt, but even though I had mr Mac as my bio teacher, I did barely any holiday homework thinking that mr Mac could teach me it all. oOOoOH was I very wrong. Teachers can help you oh so much. Without doing holiday homework but having a great teacher can't make you the best student you can be. It is up to you to do the work and stay in front to get the best scores you can.

So the moral of the story, no matter who your teacher is you must have a sound understanding of at least the first few chapters so that you will not fall behind like me and get only an above average score.

Just my 2 cents