HSC Biology Question Thread

[pikachu975]

Hi!
I was just wondering, as someone just starting their HSC course, what books/textbooks would you recommend using as notes and studying for Biology?
Thank you

Biology in Focus is good and I even know a few guys who solely study from that and it works. 20th in the state last year used bio in focus solely I think

[sophiegmaher]

Does anyone know the difference between random segregation and independent assortment, and what phase of meiosis they each occur in? I've looked at heaps of definitions, videos and explanations and I still feel like they are just different explanations of the same process?

[Potatohater]

Does anyone know the difference between random segregation and independent assortment, and what phase of meiosis they each occur in? I've looked at heaps of definitions, videos and explanations and I still feel like they are just different explanations of the same process?

I could he wrong bit pretty sure independent assortment is when they all line up along the middle in their pairs before the first split and random segregation is where the two copies of the chromosome split in the 2 split. I don't know what phases they are cause we were told we wouldnt need to know the phase names so i never tried leaning them

[Tempestuous]

Hi,
Does anyone who is doing the option Genetics: The Code Broken? know how in depth our knowledge of "the way in which transposable genetic elements operate" needs to be? (This is for the dotpoint "Describe the way in which transposable genetic elements operate and discuss their impact on the genome") As in, do we need to know the entire processes of replicative and non-replicative transposition and reverse transcription?

Thanks, been confused on this for a while  

Also, in regards to second-hand investigations, is bias, repute, currency of source relevant to reliability or validity?

[angelahchan]

Hi, for the communication elective do we have to understand how depth perception works and how we see things three dimensionally? because I'm seeing questions on it in old papers (e.g. 2003), but I have no notes on it and idk where it corresponds to in our syllabus

[liya1234]

Hi all - What are the top 10 diagrams we should know how to draw for the cores heading into the exam???

Personally I would say:
Maintaining a Balance:
- kidney
- transverse/longitudinal cross sections of xylem and phloem
- arteries, veins, capillaries
- blood cells prac diagrams

Blueprint of Life:
- DNA structure
- pedigree trees
- cloning methodology flowchart
 plus bonus ones (ie idk if they are necessary but i find it very helpful to know them): meiosis, dna replication, polypeptide production process (transcription and translation)

The Search for Better Health
- Pasteur swan neck flask prac
- not necessarily draw but be able to identify the differences in diagrams of viruses, prions, bacteria, protozoan etc

Please feel free to add if i have missed anything!!

[caitlinlddouglas]

Hey I was wondering if someone could give me a guide on how to graph? In never know whether to do column / dots with straight or curved lines/ where the dependent or independent variable goes!
Thanks heaps

[pikachu975]

Hey I was wondering if someone could give me a guide on how to graph? In never know whether to do column / dots with straight or curved lines/ where the dependent or independent variable goes!
Thanks heaps

Never do column graphs unless it asks

Always do crosses not dots to plot your points

Independent variable on the x axis

Usually you join up the dots if it looks linear but if not do freehand. Also if it says line of best fit do that.

[caitlinlddouglas]

Never do column graphs unless it asks

Always do crosses not dots to plot your points

Independent variable on the x axis

Usually you join up the dots if it looks linear but if not do freehand. Also if it says line of best fit do that.

Thanks so much !

[taylorlucy]

Hi!
I was just wondering, as someone just starting their HSC course, what books/textbooks would you recommend using as notes and studying for Biology?
Thank you

I personally haven't relied a textbook as such - I do have a copy of Heinemann Biology which I used occasionally as this is the book my school uses. It has some serious gaps in it though, as do most singular resources on their own. I've found that every resource has slightly different information, and some may be less specific in some areas that requires a higher level of content/understanding, whereas others may go overboard on a more simple section of the syllabus where you really don't need to waste your time knowing more than a sentence or two about it. There are SO many online resources for this subject, including stacks here on ATARnotes as well as a heap of others that come up with a simple google search. Aside from buying the ATARnotes biology summary book (10/10 would recommend for helping to revise content once you've learnt it) I didn't spend any money on this subject; I just compiled my notes from online resources! I would have multiple documents/tabs open at a time and go through dot point by dot point and compare each resource, and pull the better parts from each one into my own document of summaries. The content that you see is clearly in every single summary helps you understand what the really crucial parts of the syllabus are, as oppoised to the extra bits and pieces that sound good an exam but aren't actually necessary knowledge to get all the marks. Note that it's important not to assume these to be reputable sources as lots are written by students like you and I, not by paid professionals, so there's potential that whole sections might be missing or incorrect. But the bonus of student-written summaries is that they are written in a language we understand! This approach has really worked for me, I've made these summaries into a palm card for each dot point and used those to revise!

Hi, for the communication elective do we have to understand how depth perception works and how we see things three dimensionally? because I'm seeing questions on it in old papers (e.g. 2003), but I have no notes on it and idk where it corresponds to in our syllabus

Under communication syllabus statement #3: explain how the production of two different images of a view can result in depth perception

Hi all - What are the top 10 diagrams we should know how to draw for the cores heading into the exam???

Hi! to add to the other response you got (which I would say is pretty spot on for the most part) diagrams of meiosis and also polypeptide production (transcription/translation) are very important, there are specific syllabus points on being able to draw a model for both of these!

[bridie_2345]

hi there what is the difference between random segregation and independent assortment during meiosis? thanks heaps!

[vox nihili]

hi there what is the difference between random segregation and independent assortment during meiosis? thanks heaps!

There isn’t really a difference.
Random segregation basically just means that in each pair of chromosomes, which way they go is random.
Independent assortment is fairly similar. It basically means that wherever one chromosome goes doesn’t influence where any other chromosome goes. So if the paternal chromosome one ends up in one cell, that has no influence over where paternal chromosome two goes, for example.

[Potatohater]

Hey, how do I stop writing excessivley long answers for the core component of the exam?
I just practiced a 5 marker for blueprint of life and spent almost a page answering it, we wont get that much space in the exam though so how do I make it more concise?

[kdurante]

Can someone please help me with this question and also explain it... there are no marking guidelines for 2007 hsc bio so I don't know if I'm doing it right.

[kdurante]

hi there what is the difference between random segregation and independent assortment during meiosis? thanks heaps!

Hey! To my understanding, Independent assortment occurs when homologous chromosomes align for the first division during metaphase, as homologous chromosomes will assort and split in a way that is independent of any others i.e all the mothers chromosomes aren't all on one side. Conversely, random segregation refers to the manner in which chromatids randomly 'segregate' into the newly formed gametes during the second division.