Bio 3/4 without 1/2

[Donut]

Hello all!

I didn't do Biology 1/2 and was wondering what I should learn before school begins and if there are any good resources I could use.

[Sine]

Hello all!

I didn't do Biology 1/2 and was wondering what I should learn before school begins and if there are any good resources I could use.

I don't think you need to go back into too much detail of bio 1/2 as bio 3/4 is quite well self contained. Just brushing up on the language used in biology would be good and maybe a small start on unit 3.

[darkz]

Hello all!

I didn't do Biology 1/2 and was wondering what I should learn before school begins and if there are any good resources I could use.

Hi Donut and welcome to AtarNotes!
It's perfectly fine that you haven't completed 1/2 Biology - a lot of students don't as they take the 3/4 in Year 11 and in my opinion, not a lot of the content from 1/2 actually carries into 3/4. With the being said, ideally you should simply enjoy the remainder of your holiday, as once school starts, the work might never slow down! However, if you really want a headstart, I'd suggest reading the textbook and getting an idea of what the course is about - so read the study design and familiarise yourself with the topics that you will be learning.

Don't know what resources are available to you, but I've heard good things about the Atarnotes course notes and I can personally recommend the Biology ExamPro Book, having used it, the extensive solutions provided really help you understand the content.

[Twisty314]

Hey Donut!

I'm assuming that you are starting bio units 3/4?

Biology 3/4 is very manageable without 1/2, especially if you have studied at least a little bit of 1/2. I haven't done this myself, but this is what I've heard from others, and judging from VCAA's study design https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/biology/BiologySD-2016.pdf, it certainly should be.


Unless you want to be way ahead, you can just enjoy your holidays. Maybe brush up on bio terminology but if you do want to get really ahead anyway,
units 1/2 cover these two topics
- How do living things stay alive?
- How is the continuity of life maintained?

So for unit 1, I recommend you try to cover cell organelles, phospholipid bilayer, adaptations, homeostasis, biodiversity and population growth.
For unit 2 try to cover reproduction, stem cells, genetics (DNA, pedigree charts, mutations), ethics of genetic screening.
Some good resources to direct what you should study are:
https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/biology/Biology_study-summary_2016-2021.docx
https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/studies/biology/biologyindex.aspx#H2N10023

Some good learning resources can be found all over the web, but something I found very useful was:
https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/animalcell.html
https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/dna

Hope this helps! 
Twisty314