ATAR Notes: Forum
QCE Stuff => QCE Science Subjects => QCE Subjects + Help => QCE Biology => Topic started by: Joseph41 on January 30, 2019, 03:25:43 pm
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QCE BIOLOGY Q&A THREAD
What is this thread for?
If you have general questions about the QCE Biology course (both Units 1&2 and 3&4) or how to improve in certain areas, this is the place to ask! 👌
Who can/will answer questions?
Everyone is welcome to contribute; even if you're unsure of yourself, providing different perspectives is incredibly valuable.
Please don't be dissuaded by the fact that you haven't finished Year 12, or didn't score as highly as others, or your advice contradicts something else you've seen on this thread, or whatever; none of this disqualifies you from helping others. And if you're worried you do have some sort of misconception, put it out there and someone else can clarify and modify your understanding!
There'll be a whole bunch of other high-scoring students with their own wealths of wisdom to share with you, so you may even get multiple answers from different people offering their insights - very cool.
To ask a question or make a post, you will first need an ATAR Notes account. You probably already have one, but if you don't, it takes about four seconds to sign up - and completely free!
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Apparently there are many overlaps between QCE and the Victorian Curriculum. Mainly just posting here so that I'll get notified of other replies and be able to help out! There are heaps of great resources in the VCE section of the board for any QCE students looking for help.
A new list of tips that has definitely been super helpful is this one.
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Apparently there are many overlaps between QCE and the Victorian Curriculum. Mainly just posting here so that I'll get notified of other replies and be able to help out! There are heaps of great resources in the VCE section of the board for any QCE students looking for help.
A new list of tips that has definitely been super helpful is this one.
You can also press the "NOTIFY" button in the bottom right corner of a page to enable notifications for it.
(https://i.imgur.com/YblmhNV.png)
Same button also appears on sections of the forum as well :)
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Oh awesome! I had never noticed that before! Sorry!
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Oh awesome! I had never noticed that before! Sorry!
Nothing to apologise about haha. Just pointing it out to make life easier in the future :)
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I was wondering what study methods everyone recommends for biology, besides reading through textbook and flashcards?
thankyou,
Alice
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I was wondering what study methods everyone recommends for biology, besides reading through textbook and flashcards?
thankyou,
Alice
I found that after noting the textbook, a good way to gauge understanding and to help really consolidate knowledge was to jump right into some practice questions. You can do the textbook questions, however, I personally prefered (when I did VCE bio) doing biozone questions and exam-style questions from the ATARnotes topic tests. Unfortunately, there aren't QCE topic tests yet, but there does seem to be a biozone the book, although I cannot speak to its quality. There may also be some other qce syllabus question books sold by other companies, however, I am not aware of any. Regardless of what questions you can get your hands on, doing them will hopefully identify areas that you don't really understand (which you need to go back and study some more) and will help you retain the information in the long run.
I also found that trying to teach topics really helped both remembering content. If you have friends doing bio, try taking turns teaching each other topics as the process of teaching really forces you to understand the topic yourself. And if you don't have anyone to teach you could always (like me) teach aloud to a imaginary friend.
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Welcome to the forums!! :)
To add on to what Erutepa said about practice questions, Units 1,2 & 4 have significant crossover with the VCE biology syllabus so you can use past VCAA (vic equivalent of QCAA) questions to get in QCE practice & if you happen to have edunlimited I recommend looking at the VCE and HSC topic tests and doing relevant questions from there.
If at any point you don't know where to find questions relevant to QCE science subjects let me know and I'll point you in the right direction for the topic you're studying :)
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QCE BIOLOGY Q&A THREAD
What is this thread for?
If you have general questions about the QCE Biology course (both Units 1&2 and 3&4) or how to improve in certain areas, this is the place to ask! 👌
Who can/will answer questions?
Everyone is welcome to contribute; even if you're unsure of yourself, providing different perspectives is incredibly valuable.
Please don't be dissuaded by the fact that you haven't finished Year 12, or didn't score as highly as others, or your advice contradicts something else you've seen on this thread, or whatever; none of this disqualifies you from helping others. And if you're worried you do have some sort of misconception, put it out there and someone else can clarify and modify your understanding!
There'll be a whole bunch of other high-scoring students with their own wealths of wisdom to share with you, so you may even get multiple answers from different people offering their insights - very cool.
To ask a question or make a post, you will first need an ATAR Notes account. You probably already have one, but if you don't, it takes about four seconds to sign up - and completely free!
Hi,
I am currently doing a research assignment on how gene sequencing of a bacteria can produce ethanol. The evidence look pretty confusing when it comes to analysing and interpreting. I'll attach an image. Any advice on how i can analyse and interpret this?
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Hi,
I am currently doing a research assignment on how gene sequencing of a bacteria can produce ethanol. The evidence look pretty confusing when it comes to analysing and interpreting. I'll attach an image. Any advice on how i can analyse and interpret this?
Hi,
It's pretty hard to analyse and interpret this for your IA without any additional context.
What information was accompanying this?
Were you provided with this or is it something you've found during your research?
For your claim, keep in mind the gene sequencing is where you find out about the genes an organism has, the sequencing itself wouldn't directly be used to produce ethanol.
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Hi,
It's pretty hard to analyse and interpret this for your IA without any additional context.
What information was accompanying this?
Were you provided with this or is it something you've found during your research?
For your claim, keep in mind the gene sequencing is where you find out about the genes an organism has, the sequencing itself wouldn't directly be used to produce ethanol.
That was an image i found during my research, but i think i found better sources now.
My research question is "how can genome sequencing of Zymomonas mobilis contribute to a sustainable generation of ethanol?"
So iv found a few genetic engineering sources, where they derive the ethanol-producing genes (pyruvate decarboxylase & alcohol dehydrogenase) from Zymomonas mobilis and integrate it into another bacteria e.g cyanobacteria to produce ethanol. So im going to be using 2 two sources that are like that (integrated into different bacterias but still using the genes from Zymo), and for my third evidence i found a source where they clone and sequence alcohol dehydrogenase using indicator plates. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3584063/
Since genetic engineering and genome sequencing are related, i thought that would be okay to use as evidence. What are your thoughts on this?
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The textbook gives you three types of transects: belt transects, line intercepts and strip census. I know their definitions but I struggle to interpret them in questions.
So I have two questions,
1. What is the actual difference between these three?
and
2. How do I know which one is the best to use in a situation?
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For the record I'm in my final year of an ecology and conservation biology major and have done sampling along transects but never been asked this
Anyway here's the info:
- belt transect:
1. Set out your transect line
2. Sample along the transect at regular intervals using quadrats
3. Put all of your data into excel and spend hours trying to analyse it because even with pivot tables it's just too much and very frustrating thus motivating you to learn R ...
Since you're sampling in quadrats you can see changes in abundance and distribution along the transect
- line intercept
1. Set out your transect
2. Rather than picking out particular quadrats, note everything that intercepts the transect line
This can give you information on distribution but not abundance. Useful for things like building species accumulation curves where you don't need abundance info as it's quicker than using quadrats.
- strip census
1. Set out your transect and decide a distance either side that you'll be including in the strip
2. Note everything that intercepts that strip
You could think of the strip as being like one long thin quadrat but like in line transects you don't record abundance; so basically it's line intercept but a thick line (that therefore takes longer)
I hope this helps :)
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This helped a lot thank you!
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Hi I'm going into grade 12 this year and am wondering if it might be a good idea to drop biology? I do six general subjects currently and biology is not my worst subject but I sort of think it's the most unnecessary. I'll just let you guys know approximately what I got last year so there's a better clue of my situation.
Biology- 88
Chemistry-78
Japanese-85 (i think)
Methods-75
Visual Art- 97
Literature- 89
I enjoy all my subjects and I'm not willing to give any of them up except biology as i don't believe it scales particularly well and I already have chemistry. Last year it was really stressful to manage all my subjects, especially having two sciences where I get the same assignments at similar times. I feel it might be better to use the time for biology for other subjects because chemistry is really hard. I want to do a bachelor of science or language at UQ and seeing as I already have chemistry I'm thinking it's not that bad to give bio up?
My friend from grade 12 last year said she wished she only did 5 subjects so that's why I started wondering. I want to get a high atar but I'm not that bothered by it enough to study my brains out all the time and want to have time for work and friends.
But I'm not completely sure yet, if anyone has any thoughts on this I would love to know.
Thank you so so much for reading this and have a wonderful day :)
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Hey Flower2021! :)
Firstly, congrats on those results! Such a great accomplishment :)
I would just like to start off by saying that most people (at least those from my school) experience a fairly substantial increase in grades between year 11 and 12. Personally, I found year 12 much easier than year 11 because I had already had a test run of all of the assessment. So I would say if chemistry is the science that you want to keep, try not to stress too much about trying to improve your grade because there is a good chance you will see some improvement just from having a greater familiarity with the types of assessment.
That being said, dropping a subject certainly can be helpful for improving grades as it does allow you to devote that time to other subjects. I don't have any first-hand experience with chemistry, but I do have a friend who did both bio and chem. There is a lot of content in both subjects, but from my friends experience chem is less intuitive than bio and requires more work. Whether you find a subject difficult really comes down to the person, so I would recommend keeping the subject that you enjoy the most (because chances are, if you enjoy it you are more likely to study if more effectively).
I, personally, wouldn't worry too much about scaling. There was a girl at my school who primarily studied subjects that typically don't scale as well (music, HPE, gen math, gen eng, SOR, & psych) and she got a 96+. So I wouldn't stress over how well your subjects scale, rather just put effort in and try your best :) You don't need to study your brain out all the time to get a high ATAR as well ahaha, just prepare well early on, ask questions, and take care of yourself.
If you were to go into a bachelor of science, what are you hoping to study in that? Because determining that could also help with answering this question. You can get into that degree with either bio, chem or physics, but if you were to major in chemistry I would recommend keeping chem and if you were to major in bio I would recommend keeping bio. If you were planning on going into advanced science, however, you would need to keep both.
In summary, you need to do what you think is best for you. It is super important to take care of your mental wellbeing so if you are finding it too stressful to manage all of those subjects, then I would really talk to a staff member to see what you can do to relieve you of some of that pressure. Whether you drop bio or not comes down to your own preference really - do you enjoy it? is the workload more manageable than chem? what do you want to study in uni? Whatever decision you make try not to worry too much about scaling because, in the end, if you are aiming for a high ATAR scaling doesn't matter as much as how well you perform in your subjects.
Hope this helps! If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to give us a shout :)
Good luck for this year
- Katelyn
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Just a quick question, but since Bio is pretty content-heavy, am I supposed to memorise all the stuff my teachers give me or just the dot points on the syllabus. All the stuff that are on my teacher's slides are pretty lengthy and hard to memorise. I was just wondering what other people have done that is/have worked for them in the past. Thanks in advance. :)
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Just a quick question, but since Bio is pretty content-heavy, am I supposed to memorise all the stuff my teachers give me or just the dot points on the syllabus. All the stuff that are on my teacher's slides are pretty lengthy and hard to memorise. I was just wondering what other people have done that is/have worked for them in the past. Thanks in advance. :)
I did VCE but I think it’s best to memorise everything unless told otherwise. Remember your teachers’ slides are their interpretation of the study design and hence represent what they think is important for you to know for the course. Which means it’s possible for anything on them to pop up on your SACs (basically assessment tasks that contribute to your final subject score if you don’t have those in QCE). You can also try determining if something is just there for context (ie as an example to help you better understand something), or if it’s something you absolutely have to know, when in doubt, never hesitate to ask because teachers are literally paid to answer everything you ask no matter how silly you think your questions are
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I did VCE but I think it’s best to memorise everything unless told otherwise. Remember your teachers’ slides are their interpretation of the study design and hence represent what they think is important for you to know for the course. Which means it’s possible for anything on them to pop up on your SACs (basically assessment tasks that contribute to your final subject score if you don’t have those in QCE). You can also try determining if something is just there for context (ie as an example to help you better understand something), or if it’s something you absolutely have to know, when in doubt, never hesitate to ask because teachers are literally paid to answer everything you ask no matter how silly you think your questions are
Thanks so much for the advice :). So just know everything because everything might pop up on the external exam?
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Thanks so much for the advice :). So just know everything because everything might pop up on the external exam?
For the external exam, I’d recommend going over past exams because those are the most representative of the actual exam style. Then spend more time studying the things that pop up the most often
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For the external exam, I’d recommend going over past exams because those are the most representative of the actual exam style. Then spend more time studying the things that pop up the most often
Thanks heaps!
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Hi I am doing a bio assignment on genetic modification of organisms.
I am currently in the process of writing our how GMO is done. ''
So, I understand that the new genes are put into new cells which divide and become a plant or animal. The offspring of the plant or animal will then be affected by the new gene.
What I don't understand, is if the new gene is added into the new cells before or after the sprem or egg meet for animals?
and
Is the plant and animal which has the new genes added affected?
and
How are new genes added to plants with sexual reproduction?
Thanks
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Hi I am doing a bio assignment on genetic modification of organisms.
I am currently in the process of writing our how GMO is done. ''
So, I understand that the new genes are put into new cells which divide and become a plant or animal. The offspring of the plant or animal will then be affected by the new gene.
What I don't understand, is if the new gene is added into the new cells before or after the sprem or egg meet for animals?
and
Is the plant and animal which has the new genes added affected?
and
How are new genes added to plants with sexual reproduction?
Thanks
Hey Tech1234,
Admittedly, I don't know much about GMO because I never learnt about it in school. I did some googling and here is what I came up with:
- Originally, we would modify embryos by injecting the DNA into the embryo and then implanting that embryo into a female of that species (we would ensure that the DNA is in the embryonic stem cells so that it would be incorporated into the reproductive cells - allowing future offspring to exhibit the trait). Now, we are able to inject the DNA directly into the nuclear envelop of an organisms cells (so it gets to the nucleus) or we can use viral vectors.
- Typically, yes, the organism with the new gene is affected. This is because we are usually after an effect and expect that to be the case once the DNA is recombined. DNA is, after all, an instruction manual that helps an organism to function and so if it is changed then the organism won't function the same. This change will depend on what genes you change.
- For plants, we take their cells and inject the DNA into it. Then we let the cells form a tissue culture, where they eventually turn into a plant (which will ultimately have the desired gene). Then the seeds that this plant produces will inherit the gene.
I hope this helps!
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any ideas on a research question relating to either of these student experiments:
• Measure the wet biomass of producer samples.
• Measure the population of microorganisms in Petri dishes to observe carrying capacity
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any ideas on a research question relating to either of these student experiments:
• Measure the wet biomass of producer samples.
• Measure the population of microorganisms in Petri dishes to observe carrying capacity
Hi SophieQ!
Working on a research question can be quite tricky, but there are a few things to consider that can help the process of developing one.
It is important to consider the variables involves (independent and dependent), as well as how you will be measuring them (this should all be included in the question). So, it can be helpful (particularly for biology) to look at different biotic and abiotic factors that may influence the DV.
I feel as though the second experiment would potentially be easiest to develop a question for.
I hope this helps to guide you towards a research questions.
Please feel free to let me know how you go or to ask any questions that you come up with along the way! :)
~ Katelyn