2014 Holiday Biology Study

[bonkbadonk]

What are some techniques to effectively learn the content and apply them to questions?

Hand-write your own notes. That is hands down the best way of memorising content. You may buy notes from companies (I myself bought TSFX), but then I summarised them down to the content I needed to remember/had a lot of trouble remembering.

As for application, there are a lot of ways to improve that:
1. Remember specific question types and how to go about answering them. For example, when you explain the difference between something and something else, you need to give examples of both sides eg. Cytosol refers to the fluid in cells, whereas Cytoplasm refers to the fluid in the cells, as well as all the organelles except the nucleus. There are also set ways of writing out questions got to do with natural selection, evolution, remembering what to put down for inheritance questions... These easy marks are often left out.

2. Do lots of practise exams to work out the type of questions which might be asked. But do note they are often much more harder than the actual exam. I got 80s-90s out of 110, and I was freaking out for some of them, but then when I moved onto VCAA exams, they are much more easier and accessible. If you are lazy, I suggest you stick to the VCAA exams. Have a book next to you when you are marking your practise exams. Jot down any mistakes you make into that book, so you remember them so you can avoid them. Don't feel pressured to do like fifty practise exams. I did around ten to fifteen, and I got a pretty good study score.

3. Don't panic if you don't get something. If you know the content, then skip the question and come back to it later. Really valuable strategy in the exam. Once you get back to it, you'll have a different mindset and the question suddenly becomes more answerable.  Remember the links between all the areas of study, biology is not a rigid list of topics, but rather a collection of knowledge. A topic in a different area of study might just be the answer you need. Keep that in mind.

[LoadedWithPotatoes]

Cheers for the advice guys.

[plants]

I'm probably going to try and complete unit 3 questions + summaries. More realistically, I will probably try and get >chapter 1 summaries & work requirement done.

What are some techniques to effectively learn the content and apply them to questions?

Hmm..I typed and collated a bunch of tips on this; here is some:

1) Look over your notes after class.
Seems redundant since you just learned that material, but it actually does help. Be sure to have pen and paper handy (or post it notes to stick to the page and draw arrows to the misunderstood concept) so you can write down any questions you might have. That way you’re always on top of what you’re learning in class and avoid having holes in your understanding.

2)Take notes or read some of the book before class.
My teacher posts her Powerpoints on the school portal, so if I have extra time I like to get ahead in the notes so I can focus more on what I don’t know in class and ask questions. Not only does this help you understand material better, but it also helps you memorize it!

3)Make review sheets.
Making review sheets is just another way to study before your tests. The bigger benefit here, though, is that you have a concise sheet of information for a unit you did that you can use later when you’re study for the big Exam! (Additionally you might do a review sheet test, where you write down absolutely everything you know about a specific topic without referring to anything. Then go back over your notes and see what you've missed. Focus on the things you have trouble remembering aaand repeat.

4)Space your repetition. Spread out your learning in any subject a little every day, just like an athlete. Your brain is like a muscle—it can handle only a limited amount of exercise on one subject at a time.

5)Use explanatory questioning and simple analogies.Whenever you are struggling with a concept, think to yourself, How can I explain this so that a ten-year-old could understand it? Using an analogy really helps, like saying that the flow of electricity is like the flow of water. Don’t just think your explanation—say it out loud or put it in writing. The additional effort of speaking and writing allows you to more deeply encode (that is, convert into neural memory structures) what you are learning. Actually teach! Use a whiteboard and teach an invisible class, or your mum, as I do.

6) Work with the information!!!!! As some one previously said make flowcharts. Do your own summaries. The more the information is transformed into new forms, the more you, well I, seem to remember.

Don’t feel like you have to do all of these. I don’t do all of them all the time. However, I do suggest you at least try all of these. Figure out which ones help and which ones don’t. If all of them help, figure out which ones help the most and save the others for when you have free time

I'm probably going to write some sort of guide for Biology so keep your eyes peeled

yessssssss!!

[winchesteraddict]

Going to try to finish the entire Nature of Biology, units 3 and 4, and revise over school lectures and biozone next year.

[katiesaliba]

Going to try to finish the entire Nature of Biology, units 3 and 4, and revise over school lectures and biozone next year.

Be careful not to push yourself too much because you might burn out. Also, trying to cram in a whole year's worth of work probably won't be beneficial in the long run. Instead, I'd definitely recommend attending the TSFX head start lectures because they essentially cover each unit! 

[dankfrank420]

Going to try to finish the entire Nature of Biology, units 3 and 4, and revise over school lectures and biozone next year.

Wouldn't recommend that. Focus on Unit 3 entirely, give Unit 4 a brief skimming over if you want. But make sure you get through Unit 3. I found Unit 3 much more difficult conceptually and it had more concepts to learn. Since you're in year 11 when you're doing it, there's plenty of time in the term 2 holidays to start Unit 3 exams and finish Unit 4.

[TwinNerd]

gonna try finish all Unit 3 theory work and go through the bio Nature textbook

[lindaho]

It's great to see that everyone is so motivated already! If you have any specific questions please feel free to message me. I'll be happy to help 

[cosine]

It's great to see that everyone is so motivated already! If you have any specific questions please feel free to message me. I'll be happy to help 

All hail the 50 raw!

[winchesteraddict]

Ok so Unit 3  and a bit of unit 4, right?
I want to do as much as year 11 as I possibly can, I've already done methods unit 1 and 2 (almost 2, damn differentiation) and chem unit 1 so I thought I'd start bio.
Also could you tell me how much of your midterm is contributed to your final study score?

[dankfrank420]

Ok so Unit 3  and a bit of unit 4, right?
Also could you tell me how much of your midterm is contributed to your final study score?

There isn't one.