Biology Practice Exam Discussion

[Biology24123]

Does anyone know the A+ cut-offs for VCAA papers pre-2002. At the back end of the examiners reports there is a graph but no cut-offs.

I read in an extremely old thread that if the A+ cut-off was hypothetically speaking 60/75 thus top ~9-10% once you get to around 62/75 it takes out a huge amount of people moving to top 5-6% Anyone aware of anything like this.(It was for chemistry but it should be the same)

Is their a way to work out how many marks above the A+ cut-off you need to get various scores above 40 or is information from former students the best way to go?

Anyone have an extremely general rule(considering A+ cut-offs have ranged from 54-65/75 for exam score----->Study score for the exams that are out of 75marks

Thanks

Did you find pre 2002 VCAA exams to be harder than the recent ones

[Sine]

Did you find pre 2002 VCAA exams to be harder than the recent ones

I'm not too sure as I haven't been able to do the full exams as some questions aren't relevant anymore for instance for Unit 3 2000 I completed 58 marks.

[cosine]

Has anyone done the 2007 exam 1? I got 69/75 for a few stupid mistakes..

They accepted ribosomes for bi). but for the bii). they only said that the rough endoplasmic reticulum produced and secreted the IgE antibodies. My main concern is, I know this is true, because if proteins are produced and secreted, then they're produced by the fixed ribosomes on the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and free ribosomes only produce proteins for intracellular use. So for part bii). I said that the ribosomes need to be present to produce these antibodies. Would this gain the mark or did I need to be specific about the rough ER ribosomes actually producing these antibodies, as they're secreted?

[Sine]

Has anyone done the 2007 exam 1? I got 69/75 for a few stupid mistakes..

They accepted ribosomes for bi). but for the bii). they only said that the rough endoplasmic reticulum produced and secreted the IgE antibodies. My main concern is, I know this is true, because if proteins are produced and secreted, then they're produced by the fixed ribosomes on the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and free ribosomes only produce proteins for intracellular use. So for part bii). I said that the ribosomes need to be present to produce these antibodies. Would this gain the mark or did I need to be specific about the rough ER ribosomes actually producing these antibodies, as they're secreted? Bump

69/75 is a great score! The A+ cut-off was 60.5/75 XD
 Did you ace MC. I haven't done 2007 exam 1 but from what I've heard they should rename it and call it a test on immunity.

[Biology24123]

69/75 is a great score! The A+ cut-off was 60.5/75 XD
 Did you ace MC. I haven't done 2007 exam 1 but from what I've heard they should rename it and call it a test on immunity.

The hardest thing is learning to mark yourself harshly is what I've found

[cosine]

69/75 is a great score! The A+ cut-off was 60.5/75 XD
 Did you ace MC. I haven't done 2007 exam 1 but from what I've heard they should rename it and call it a test on immunity.

Haha, not a great score. Definitely room for improvement. I got all the MC right but lost insanely stupid marks.

I got my brother to mark it for me, he took off marks because:

Spoiler

I lost marks on the above question (asnwer it for me, its on the exam anyways). I lost a mark because I said carbohydrates as the polymer for monosaccharides, but I just learnt that they're polysaccharides, and carbohydrates are not polymers (glucose is a carb...).

[Sine]

Has anyone done the 2007 exam 1? I got 69/75 for a few stupid mistakes..

They accepted ribosomes for bi). but for the bii). they only said that the rough endoplasmic reticulum produced and secreted the IgE antibodies. My main concern is, I know this is true, because if proteins are produced and secreted, then they're produced by the fixed ribosomes on the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and free ribosomes only produce proteins for intracellular use. So for part bii). I said that the ribosomes need to be present to produce these antibodies. Would this gain the mark or did I need to be specific about the rough ER ribosomes actually producing these antibodies, as they're secreted?

Okay my answers would have been ribosomes & synthesis of proteins whilst relating the proteins to the antibodies because they asked for the "specific role"
So I don't see why you wouldn't get the mark.
A former assessor told me that they are given a sheet with suggested solutions but if they feel like the statement is correct and makes sense but not exactly like the solutions they will grant the mark.
Usually with the more ambiguous questions they are either really lenient or really harsh. 

[cosine]

Okay my answers would have been ribosomes & synthesis of proteins whilst relating the proteins to the antibodies because they asked for the "specific role"
So I don't see why you wouldn't get the mark.
A former assessor told me that they are given a sheet with suggested solutions but if they feel like the statement is correct and makes sense but not exactly like the solutions they will grant the mark.
Usually with the more ambiguous questions they are either really lenient or really harsh.

Well thats good to hear then xD

[Sine]

Where are B cells formed in the body?   1 mark
I answered "Thymus" as I thought they were produced there but the answers say bone marrow. Is their a distinction between formation as in they are called somthing else before they go to the bone marrow?

Also for the question attatched there was a arrow pointing to the myelin sheath but as it was pointing to a single cell I answered that it was a schwann cell. Answers say myelin sheath.

Both these questions are from VCAA 2001 Unit 3

[BakedDwarf]

Where are B cells formed in the body?   1 mark
I answered "Thymus" as I thought they were produced there but the answers say bone marrow. Is their a distinction between formation as in they are called somthing else before they go to the bone marrow?

Also for the question attatched there was a arrow pointing to the myelin sheath but as it was pointing to a single cell I answered that it was a schwann cell. Answers say myelin sheath.

Both these questions are from VCAA 2001 Unit 3

Adult stem cells (undifferentiated cells) in the bone marrow differentiate into specialised B and T cells. Hence:
- B-cells are produced and mature in the bone marrow.
- T-cells are produced in the bone marrow but mature in the thymus gland

Is this what you're looking after?

[cosine]

Where are B cells formed in the body?   1 mark
I answered "Thymus" as I thought they were produced there but the answers say bone marrow. Is their a distinction between formation as in they are called somthing else before they go to the bone marrow?

Also for the question attatched there was a arrow pointing to the myelin sheath but as it was pointing to a single cell I answered that it was a schwann cell. Answers say myelin sheath.

Both these questions are from VCAA 2001 Unit 3

Basically what BakedDwarf said, you can remember them by:

B = bone marrow
T = thymus

Hence B cells are produced in the bone marrow from stem cells, and also mature there, whereas T cells are produced in the bone marrow from stem cells but mature in the thymus.

[cosine]

Where are B cells formed in the body?   1 mark
I answered "Thymus" as I thought they were produced there but the answers say bone marrow. Is their a distinction between formation as in they are called somthing else before they go to the bone marrow?

Also for the question attatched there was a arrow pointing to the myelin sheath but as it was pointing to a single cell I answered that it was a schwann cell. Answers say myelin sheath.

Both these questions are from VCAA 2001 Unit 3

The neuron is a bit ambiguous, not going to lie. But I would have said myelin sheath too, only because the black shade is actually surrounding/coating the axon, and it wasn't the whole cell shaded in, suggesting that this is the myelin sheath.

[Sine]

The neuron is a bit ambiguous, not going to lie. But I would have said myelin sheath too, only because the black shade is actually surrounding/coating the axon, and it wasn't the whole cell shaded in, suggesting that this is the myelin sheath.

Thanks for the input
Have you completed Unit 3 2001 -VCAA how did you go, I thought there was only about 49 marks which were available as per this study design.

[Biology24123]

Thanks for the input
Have you completed Unit 3 2001 -VCAA how did you go, I thought there was only about 49 marks which were available as per this study design.

Is biology your only 3/4 this year? How often are you doing practice exams?

[THEBEAST]

Can anyone please share with me Unit 3 VCAA papers before 2002 as I can't seem to find them anywhere