Hey Bri,
I have to disagree with you a little bit on what you said about the mutations - we do actually need to know the difference betweens missense, nonense and silent mutations as well as their specific impacts on biological processes. I definitely had a few questions on my mock exams about these types of mutations so again, I think it's better to be safe than sorry.
Hopefully, that helps
Have a great week and kind regards,
Darcy Dillon.
Hey Darcy,
I would always rather be challenged if that means that people can get more accurate info or things can be clarified so thank you.
The reason I have said missense, nonsense etc. does not need to be known is because in the syllabus this is explicitly stated.
Page 56:
https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior-qce/syllabuses/snr_biology_19_syll.pdf" Students are not required to identify the effects of mutations (i.e. silent, missense, nonsense)"
At least in other states, I have noticed in the past issues with mock exams where the syllabus has not been fully followed and questions are not completely indicative of what would actually appear on an exam. The most trusted source of information should always be QCAA and especially current QCAA documents such as the syllabus, then other material which may have been produced in support of this.
Ultimately, the difference between missense, nonsense and silent is not hard to learn so if anyone would feel more comfortable in learning these I'm not going to say you can't; however, the syllabus provides clear instruction about this being unnecessary.
I hope you have a great week too
Edit:
Alright thankyou! and for pedigrees, they have not been mentioned by the syllabus, yet they came in the mocks..
From the syllabus:
"predict frequencies of genotypes and phenotypes using data from probability models (including frequency histograms and Punnett squares) and by taking into consideration patterns of inheritance for the following types of alleles: autosomal dominant, sex linked and multiple"
(page 56)
imo it is not unreasonable for patterns of inheritance to be shown in a pedigree and for you to be expected to interpret those.