Biology Practice Exam Discussion

[Sine]

The front cover and exam materials have now been released for all 2015 VCE exams:

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/exams/examcovers/2015examindex.aspx

Check out Biology.

11 SA questions as opposed to 12 in 2013 & 2014.

Total exam is 45 pages long as opposed to 41 pages in both 2013 & 2014. More diagrams? More text?

[Biology24123]

I do indeed remember.  Lost marks on the geological time scale question, and the flamingoes (both easy questions, just... well don't know, timed conditions do that to you).  And yes, though I found the potassium one you posted hard, I did figure it out.

SAC average - I was at DECV, had like a 94% average (super easy SACs) and was rank 1 because it was a pretty bad cohort - only one other from the cohort got 40+ (40 from memory).  No clue of my SA marks on the exam... I found it pretty similar to others, easier than 2006/early in the last study design, but harder than 2013.

You'll have absolutely no problem getting a 45, cosine.  Unless you have some hidden sections of the course you know nothing about.  Keep studying for the higher 40s!

People underestimate how a big an achievement a 40 is in any subject

[Biology24123]

Check out Biology.

11 SA questions as opposed to 12 in 2013 & 2014.

Total exam is 45 pages long as opposed to 41 pages in both 2013 & 2014. More diagrams? More text?

Really wouldn't read much into that

[Biology24123]

Kind of annoyed I lost some marks in multiple choice for 2014 but luckily the SA wasn't hard

[BakedDwarf]

Uhh, when should I be doing the VCAA 2013/2014 exams? They're the only VCAA ones i've got left

Considering everyone here has basically done them, should i do them or wait a few days before the actual exam (this is what i was considering)?

[Biology24123]

Uhh, when should I be doing the VCAA 2013/2014 exams? They're the only VCAA ones i've got left

Considering everyone here has basically done them, should i do them or wait a few days before the actual exam (this is what i was considering)?

Wait till a week before a reckon. I only did it now because it was set by my school

[heids]

People underestimate how a big an achievement a 40 is in any subject

Okay, yeah, I fully agree. Interestingly, AN has two dichotomous but co-existing problems: a) saying '40 is piss easy and everyone can easily get it' (RUBBISH!!!), and b) thinking that to get a high score you need to know LOADS of information (like the belief that 38/40 can't get a 40+ score, or that you need to know respiration or transcription or photosynthesis in heaapppps of detail).  I'm against both mindsets.

[cosine]

Okay, yeah, I fully agree. Interestingly, AN has two dichotomous but co-existing problems: a) saying '40 is piss easy and everyone can easily get it' (RUBBISH!!!), and b) thinking that to get a high score you need to know LOADS of information (like the belief that 38/40 can't get a 40+ score, or that you need to know respiration or transcription or photosynthesis in heaapppps of detail).  I'm against both mindsets.

If proteins require DNA to be synthesised, and DNA requires proteins to be expressed, for VCE Biol, do we need to know which molecule God created first?

[heids]

If proteins require DNA to be synthesised, and DNA requires proteins to be expressed, for VCE Biol, do we need to know which molecule God created first?

Here you have (one of) my problem(s) with the theory of evolution...

But no.  God is most definitely not on the study design

[sunshine98]

How did everyone find 2012 unit 4 VCAA exam?

[cosine]

How did everyone find 2012 unit 4 exam?

Ridiculously difficult. I lost 6 marks on a SINGLE question about the gene cloning, never been so disheartened before..
And that define homologous chromosomes question, I said they are chromosomes that are found in pairs, one from the paternal and maternal line, but now I know that the proper definition is that homologous chromosomes are chromosomes that come in pairs and have identical gene loci, but may possess different alleles for the genes. The MC was not bad, think I lost just one mark, but definitely made up for it on the SA part..

How did you find it?

[sunshine98]

Ridiculously difficult. I lost 6 marks on a SINGLE question about the gene cloning, never been so disheartened before..
And that define homologous chromosomes question, I said they are chromosomes that are found in pairs, one from the paternal and maternal line, but now I know that the proper definition is that homologous chromosomes are chromosomes that come in pairs and have identical gene loci, but may possess different alleles for the genes. The MC was not bad, think I lost just one mark, but definitely made up for it on the SA part..

How did you find it?

I don't remember a gene cloning question...?
I think you're talking about a different exam, cause I found this one on the easier side.

[Biology24123]

What did everyone get for 2014. Our teacher marked it so harshly

[warya]

What did everyone get for 2014. Our teacher marked it so harshly

I got 99/110 and yeah  so did our teacher, e.g. For the last  wooly mammoth question the examiner report suggested that u could've said allopatric speciation or speciation, I went with speciation but my teacher took 2 marks off 

Definetely room for improvement regardless, some very silly mistakes like mitochondria is the site of anaerobic respiration wtf haha

[Biology24123]

I got 99/110 and yeah  so did our teacher, e.g. For the last  wooly mammoth question the examiner report suggested that u could've said allopatric speciation or speciation, I went with speciation but my teacher took 2 marks off 

Definetely room for improvement regardless, some very silly mistakes like mitochondria is the site of anaerobic respiration wtf haha

For PCR I wrote that it needs to be repeated. I lost a mark because it need to be repeated "many times"