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Cheddar Cheese

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resolved :)
« on: April 24, 2014, 10:39:12 pm »
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I have a lot of questions because I'm trying to figure out if I want to continue Biology and Chemistry for VCE next year!

Just wondering, are practical investigation SACs completed with a partner or individually? (I mean the experiment part)

Also, how many marks is the part you have to complete in the same class as your experiment worth? I don't mean the actual questions completed in the next lesson (the primary SAC part).

Do you have to complete the graph in this first lesson, or can you take graph paper home to complete it?

Also, how many pages is the questions you have to complete in the first lesson?

Are they just general questions like your hypothesis?

Furthermore, how do you write a hypothesis if the prac SAC is something like "finding the amount of something in something"

How many pages is the second part that you have to complete in the second lesson? What types of questions will these be? (Please give an example!)

Will you get told what the prac SAC will be on? How far in advance?

Are you meant to research the topic beforehand? If you can't, how do you prepare for the SAC??? Are the questions in the second part all relating to what you have learnt in class? I don't understand how they would be, since prac topics are always so random!

Lastly, how many marks (approximately) would the ENTIRE thing be out of?

I'm really really bad at pracs and almost died when I found out that most Bio/Chem Sacs are investigations like these!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Other than that, I get really good on tests and stuff.


Will pracs be the death of me?!!!!!!!!!
SORRRRYYYYY But I will love you forever if you answer these.

-Grace Heady (yr 10)
« Last Edit: September 13, 2014, 04:17:51 pm by Cheddar Cheese »

Stevensmay

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Re: Yr Bio/Chem 12 SACS...LOTS OF QUESTIONS
« Reply #1 on: April 25, 2014, 12:00:24 am »
+1
Hey there!
I have a lot of questions because I'm trying to figure out if I want to continue Biology and Chemistry for VCE next year!

Just wondering, are practical investigation SACs completed with a partner or individually? (I mean the experiment part)
We did our in pairs.

Also, how many marks is the part you have to complete in the same class as your experiment worth? I don't mean the actual questions completed in the next lesson (the primary SAC part).
Likely to vary, ours was just 1 or 2 marks for the results.
Do you have to complete the graph in this first lesson, or can you take graph paper home to complete it?
We had to do our graphs within class.

Also, how many pages is the questions you have to complete in the first lesson?
Just a results page.

Are they just general questions like your hypothesis?
N/A
Furthermore, how do you write a hypothesis if the prac SAC is something like "finding the amount of something in something"
To determine the concentration of a chemical in the analyte via back titration.
How many pages is the second part that you have to complete in the second lesson? What types of questions will these be?
Ours was about 3 pages. For chem it was questions like 'a) calculate the mol of chemical 1 used b) thus find the concentration of the analyte. c) Name two sources of error in this experiment and state their type.

Will you get told what the prac SAC will be on? How far in advance?
We were given the experiment sheet to look over about a week prior to the SAC.

Are you meant to research the topic beforehand? If you can't, how do you prepare for the SAC??? Are the questions in the second part all relating to what you have learnt in class? I don't understand how they would be, since prac topics are always so random!
You can research if you want but won't help too much if you have been keeping up in class. It will be on things you have covered, just a practical application of them.

Lastly, how many marks (approximately) would the ENTIRE thing be out of?
I think mine were out of about 20-25 marks depending.

Keep in mind it is up to the school to set SAC's, what is said above could be completely different for you.

walkec

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Re: Yr Bio/Chem 12 SACS...LOTS OF QUESTIONS
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2014, 08:20:15 am »
+3
I can only answer for Biology, so..

Just wondering, are practical investigation SACs completed with a partner or individually? (I mean the experiment part)
-For our pracs this year, we have completed them in groups (2-3 people), but each person is responsible for collecting your own results. I have found working in groups very beneficial as you are able to discuss the theory behind the prac to better understand it for the discussion section of the SAC.

Also, how many marks is the part you have to complete in the same class as your experiment worth? I don't mean the actual questions completed in the next lesson (the primary SAC part).
-It probably depends on the prac/school. For me, this has been anywhere from 2-4 marks. It usually relates to collecting data from the experiment and writing this up correctly in the discussion. For example, in our enzymes prac, our table of results was worth 2 marks and a graph of temperature versus rate of reaction was also worth 2 marks.

Do you have to complete the graph in this first lesson, or can you take graph paper home to complete it?
-The only graph I've had to do was in the discussion, so it was actually in the second lesson. If we had time in the first class, we could do a good copy of our results to take into the second class. If we don't have time, we take our rough copy.

Also, how many pages is the questions you have to complete in the first lesson?
-I have never had to complete any "questions" in the first lesson, it has just been collecting results.

Are they just general questions like your hypothesis?
-Sometimes. It depends on the SAC.

Furthermore, how do you write a hypothesis if the prac SAC is something like "finding the amount of something in something"
- I feel as if I can't really answer this as I don't know the context of this "SAC" you are asking about. if hypotheses are your weak point, work on these with your teacher one on one prior to the SAC.

How many pages is the second part that you have to complete in the second lesson? What types of questions will these be? (Please give an example!)
-We usually get one page of questions. The write up is about 3-4 pages for me usually, and I have average sized handwriting. In terms of questions, they relate to the theory undertaken so they are usually similar to questions set for homework or that you would have come across in your own private study.

Will you get told what the prac SAC will be on? How far in advance?
-Yes, you will be told what part of the course the SAC relates to. For me, this has been about 7-10 days in advance.

Are you meant to research the topic beforehand? If you can't, how do you prepare for the SAC??? Are the questions in the second part all relating to what you have learnt in class? I don't understand how they would be, since prac topics are always so random!
-You can always "research the topic" before hand - this is called revision. You need to revise the content of the biology course that is part of the SAC. For example, my first 3/4 SAC was on movement across membranes, so I made a checklist of all content relating to movement across membranes and revised around my checklist.

Lastly, how many marks (approximately) would the ENTIRE thing be out of?
-My three SACs for Outcome 1 of Unit 3 are all Pracs. The first two were out of 16 each, and the last one will be out of 16 marks. Your mark out of 50 marks is what VCAA will see. So if you don't do so well on one, don't worry, there will always be ways to catch up.

I'm really really bad at pracs and almost died when I found out that most Bio/Chem Sacs are investigations like these!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Other than that, I get really good on tests and stuff.
-TBH, so was I feel as though I have improved massively on pracs. I quite enjoy pracs now actually  :)


Will pracs be the death of me?!!!!!!!!!
-No, well they might be if you swallow some hydrochloric acid...
But in short, you'll be fine.

If you're considering not choosing Biology or Chem in Year 11 because of the prac component, my advice is to take the subjects if you enjoy the content and see how you go. If you take both or one of them, work really hard to improve your practical skills, you could do really well in either of them if you end up taking them 3/4s.

Good luck  :)

rhinwarr

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Re: Yr Bio/Chem 12 SACS...LOTS OF QUESTIONS
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2014, 12:06:40 pm »
+1
SACs vary a lot between schools but this is from my experience so far.

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Just wondering, are practical investigation SACs completed with a partner or individually? (I mean the experiment part)
The experiment part is usually in groups of 2-3.

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Also, how many marks is the part you have to complete in the same class as your experiment worth? I don't mean the actual questions completed in the next lesson (the primary SAC part).
For the SACs I've done in biology and chemistry the experiment part has not been allocated any marks since it can vary a lot between groups. Sometimes even the graph is not marked, it is just there to help you answer the questions in the next part of the SAC.

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Do you have to complete the graph in this first lesson, or can you take graph paper home to complete it?
Yea its usually done in the first lesson and theres usually plenty of time for it, including reading through all the questions, asking the teacher if you dont understand etc.

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Also, how many pages is the questions you have to complete in the first lesson?
None. Its mainly just finishing the experiment and recording the results, which is usually done during the experiment eg. observations, recording of titres

Quote
Are they just general questions like your hypothesis?
The questions can range from experimental design (explaining controls, variables, observations) to general theory questions based on the topic the prac is about.

Quote
Furthermore, how do you write a hypothesis if the prac SAC is something like "finding the amount of something in something"
I've never had to write a hypothesis for a SAC so I don't know but probably something like, The experimentally calculated value of the substance will be approximately equal to the theoretical value stated, which is _______

Quote
How many pages is the second part that you have to complete in the second lesson? What types of questions will these be? (Please give an example!)
Around 5-10 pages, most of the space is taken up by lines for you to write on so around 15 questions. There's a lot of different types of questions. They can be about the experimental design (eg. Identify the control group and explain why it was needed, or Explain two sources of error). They can be about the practical itself (eg. Calculate the concentration of ______, explain why the rate of reaction increased when ____ was added). They can be random theory questions (eg. What is an enzyme, what is the name of the instrument used to obtain the aliquot). They can add a situation or case study type thing and ask questions about it (eg. Arctic poppies survive for long periods of time without the presence of sunlight. What molecule allows them to do so? What stages does this molecule go through to provide energy to the poppies).

Quote
Will you get told what the prac SAC will be on? How far in advance?
We usually get given the cover page/experiment one week in advance and we go over it in class so everyone knows whats going on.

Quote
Are you meant to research the topic beforehand? If you can't, how do you prepare for the SAC??? Are the questions in the second part all relating to what you have learnt in class? I don't understand how they would be, since prac topics are always so random!
You don't need to research it. If it is an unfamiliar context there will most likely be some background information provided. The questions are all related to the topic and definitely what you learn in class (or else why would it be there...). Prac topics are not as random as they seem, they are just different applications of the same theory you learn in class.

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Lastly, how many marks (approximately) would the ENTIRE thing be out of?
Each prac is generally around 15-25 marks each.