How to succeed in Biology Unit 3/4 to your best potential

[Bhootnike]

Hi,
This is my thread on how I personally think you should approach 3/4 biol, if you want to achieve the score you are truly capable of.

First off - My journey.

I completed 3/4 Biol this year as a year eleven. I did do units 1/2 as well, and personally I thought Unit 1 was extremely essential for unit 3, but unit 2 was not that necessary for unit 4.
This year I scored 24/25 for most of my SAC's and got A+ for Unit 3. I'm also looking for A+ for unit 4 hopefully!

Secondly - The question of whether or not you need the 100000000000000000000000000000000 different types of resources:

My opinion is that to an extent, no you do not! This year I used: Nature of Biology (NoB), Biozone (barely used it and barely learnt from it tho), A+ Biol notes (great and essential source of information!) and TSFX unit 3 + unit 4 mastering the exam lecture notes (also very useful).

I used some other books available in my library, but only for specifc things such as in Unit 4 - Linkage. Really got stuck on this but I understood it The book is called: Cambridge Advanced Biolgy by Mary and Geoff Jones : http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Advanced-Biology-Mary-Jones-Geoffrey-Jones/9780521484732

I didn't go to tutors, weekly classes of any sort, as really.. I don't think you need them unless you really struggle with it. Or.. if you have the time & money , then sure! I suppose they'd be helpful!

Also, UNI book's are going to go into depth with things, most of time things irrelevant to VCE. My brother studies med so I had the chance to go through his books.. lol, mm yeah, i found out that the krebs and calvin cycle are rather complex if you wanna speak UNI style :p  If you really want to look into UNI books however, check out Bazza's thread, as he's provided some info on Campbells.

So in summary, if you are a capable student. don't waste the time , energy and money on tuition, TSFX/NEAP/TSSM masterclasses or w.e they are!, and don't overload on books and notes unless you really really need them.

My suggestions would be:
Textbook: NoB
Workbook -
Notes : a+ biol notes, tsfx notes.
Other : Douchy's podcasts, Adv Biology by Mary & Geoff Jones (only for pinpointing on things, dont buy it if you can borrow it from a library!!!)

Thirdly - Studying throughout the Year.

For yr 11s:
You'll have probably 2 3/4's, maybe 3, but this goes to your advantage, big time! I found that I needed to focus on unit 1/2 subjects, so I spent about equal time on most of my subjects. But looking back on it, I could've spent much more time on Biol and thus could have gone much much better! So really, focus on your 3/4s, in this case biology, and do lots of revision! Practice exams are a MUST! Start doing them 1 month before the exam and get 40 done!

For yr 12's:
I haven't experienced this, so I can only say that spread out your subjects and spend time on subjects, or topics specifically that you struggle with!

Fourthly - Exam

Really, you should do a lot of exams, 20 + to get a feel of it, 30 + to get a good base, 40 + to have the magical skill of writing out answers as they are in the exam answers!
if you want to, do 100, it'll benefit you in the long term!
The exam is nothing special, this year I found unit 3 easier than unit 4, which is contradictory to probably most of the state lol, but ay.. thats how it goes i guess!
Really learn how to attack drug design/ experimental design questions.. because there were none on this years exams. Expect one!

I was told to make glossaries and stuff... didnt do it cause I don't learn that way! I understand it first, and then just make my own definition of it on the spot.
e.g. define genetic drift was on this years unit 4 exam.
I just said something like: the change in the allele frequencies of a gene pool of a specific population, which occurs randomly in the environment.
I was able to define it since I knew what a gene pool is, I knew that examples of genetic drift are : earthquakes, bushfires, natural disasters, and that these end up wiping out a majority of one type of organism in a population, hence .. one variety of that organism will become more prevalent than the other. Over the course I had come across terms like 'allele frequency', and also through prac. exams. So i was able to string together this definition!

If you learn this way, i suggest you learn the concepts, if not, then rote learn. Make your cram cards and go for it!

I'll update this along the way.. fill in any missing points and etc.

 

[pi]

Great post, PM me when you finish it and I'll add it to the main thread!

(or PM any other relevant mod )