The Exam

[qshyrn]

i think that questions a bit dodgy, but  i think its connector/interneuron
I think i read somehwere that effector neurons are connected to sensory neurons by interneurons.
If it is sensory neuron, then that means it would be connected to the effector neuron directly...

[shinny]

i think that questions a bit dodgy, but  i think its connector/interneuron
I think i read somehwere that effector neurons are connected to sensory neurons by interneurons.
If it is sensory neuron, then that means it would be connected to the effector neuron directly...

True.

As for the diagram, that doesn't really affect any of the 'arguments' listed here. I really have no idea =\

[nerd]

The question still remains however, why would an interneuron be connected to the retina (a receptor)?

[shinny]

My interpretation was that the first part is definitely a sensory neuron, but that the right branch of it could have been the interneuron (hence why the arrow only points towards that branch). And yes, I know that the interneuron needs its own cell body, and I've made that clear in the list of 'arguments'.

[nerd]

I see your point - I still think my way is right, but your interpretation could be argued pretty well!

[qshyrn]

on a slightly different note:
Is there a set marking scheme that biology assessors stick to?? (e.g such as dealing with spelling mistakes, different interpretations of the question and other aspects..)
Are the assessors generally well qualified for their role or well-knowledged? (just a bit worried cause on the thyroxine question i put that it has an intracellular receptor, which i read somewhere else and the assessor may not know that)

[qshyrn]

the guy at those TSFX lectures is actually the teacher at my school, and i reckon writing out "Adenosine triphosphate" instead of ATP, or "human immunodeficiency virus" instead of HIV is just dumb and a waste of time. But for school sacs i always listen to what my teacher says (as they are marking.)
im pretty sure theyll accept NADPH as an answer. THe question said "Name one of these charged carriers." - they ahve already told u in the question that these carriers charged/loaded so i dont think theres any need to say that in ur answer...

[nerd]

I disagree with you, qshyrn - if they say NAME the molecule, they are asking you implicitly to write out the whole name. Although they usually end up accepting both, they always mention it in the assessment report that they wanted students to write it out fully.

[qshyrn]

o ok..
i can understand if they are asking you to NAME a specific thing, but if you need to give an explanation answer, then i dont see the reason of incorporating "adenosine triphosphate"in your answer instead of atp.
btw, with that charged carrier question, i dont think anyone knows what NADP stands for (i dont even know if were even meant to know it.)
- i dont go to those TSFX lectures

[shinny]

I see your point - I still think my way is right, but your interpretation could be argued pretty well!

Well actually, I'm more inclined towards thinking it's a sensory receptor as it doesn't rely on assuming that the diagram is screwed up; just that it's really really poorly drawn. I'd say this is more likely as VCAA isn't likely to let mistakes pass through into the exam.

on a slightly different note:
Is there a set marking scheme that biology assessors stick to?? (e.g such as dealing with spelling mistakes, different interpretations of the question and other aspects..)
Are the assessors generally well qualified for their role or well-knowledged? (just a bit worried cause on the thyroxine question i put that it has an intracellular receptor, which i read somewhere else and the assessor may not know that)

Spelling mistakes are covered by a rule that just states people need to be able to write out a word which at least phonetically sounds like the word they're trying to get. So writing glicojen instead of glycogen will get you the mark, but writing glucagon which is actually much closer in terms of spelling will make you lose the mark. Of course, if it doesn't resemble anything at all, you'll lose the mark too. Also, different interpretations of the question are covered by the meetings the examiners have. As for the thyroxine thing, why's that relevant? The question asked for TSH, not thyroxine. Sorry to say but you'll get it wrong regardless =\

[nerd]

o ok..
i can understand if they are asking you to NAME a specific thing, but if you need to give an explanation answer, then i dont see the reason of incorporating "adenosine triphosphate"in your answer instead of atp.
btw, with that charged carrier question, i dont think anyone knows what NADP stands for (i dont even know if were even meant to know it.)
- i dont go to those TSFX lectures

At the end of the day, the exam is all about showing off your knowledge in the subject to the examiners. If you write out the full name of a chemical, such as ATP, you are showing the person marking your exam that you aren't simply memorizing acronyms, but rather have a greater expanse of knowledge on the subject. That's just my opinion - if you can show off to the assessor a little bit, I don't see why you wouldn't do it!

[qshyrn]

It was the one after the TSH one, about thyroxine on the brain tissue +testes

[shinny]

It was the one after the TSH one, about thyroxine on the brain tissue +testes

Oh right. Well for 1 mark, you could have just gotten away by saying they didn't have the specific receptor required anyway. No need to go in depth, but well, look below and I'll elaborate on possible benefits of that.

o ok..
i can understand if they are asking you to NAME a specific thing, but if you need to give an explanation answer, then i dont see the reason of incorporating "adenosine triphosphate"in your answer instead of atp.
btw, with that charged carrier question, i dont think anyone knows what NADP stands for (i dont even know if were even meant to know it.)
- i dont go to those TSFX lectures

At the end of the day, the exam is all about showing off your knowledge in the subject to the examiners. If you write out the full name of a chemical, such as ATP, you are showing the person marking your exam that you aren't simply memorizing acronyms, but rather have a greater expanse of knowledge on the subject. That's just my opinion - if you can show off to the assessor a little bit, I don't see why you wouldn't do it!

You aren't simply memorising acronyms; you're simply memorising entire names now =P I don't think this conveys a greater knowledge of the subject, just a greater will to memorise stuff, rather than true understanding. As for whether you need to or not, well put simply, pretty much no. You won't gain any more marks than anyone else for that question, and you would have wasted time writing out the bitch of a word. VCAA doesn't expect people to memorise nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase. HOWEVER, I personally did do stuff like that in most of my subjects (indirectly of course; I didn't sit down and try to memorise stuff like that) because from my experience, examiners (or at least school teachers) get more lenient on subsequent questions if they realise you're smart :]

[davyp3]

qshyrn.. were you the guy that Ian was like "I'm not gonna ask you the question, because you'll know it" at the first Bio lecture
I was sitting liek a row behind you :OO:O:O
If it's you

I disagree with you, qshyrn - if they say NAME the molecule, they are asking you implicitly to write out the whole name. Although they usually end up accepting both, they always mention it in the assessment report that they wanted students to write it out fully.

True, they will probs accept the NADPH because everyone's gonna write it (given that they wrote about the write acceptor molecule), except my silly friend wrote NADPH+

why is that NADPH+ is wrong?
isnt it accepted as it states charged?

[shinny]

qshyrn.. were you the guy that Ian was like "I'm not gonna ask you the question, because you'll know it" at the first Bio lecture
I was sitting liek a row behind you :OO:O:O
If it's you

I disagree with you, qshyrn - if they say NAME the molecule, they are asking you implicitly to write out the whole name. Although they usually end up accepting both, they always mention it in the assessment report that they wanted students to write it out fully.

True, they will probs accept the NADPH because everyone's gonna write it (given that they wrote about the write acceptor molecule), except my silly friend wrote NADPH+

why is that NADPH+ is wrong?
isnt it accepted as it states charged?

It's NADP+, not NADPH+. It loses the positive charge after being reduced by hydrogen.