Studying Biology 3/4 without 1/2. Any tips or resources I can use to catch up?

[sackbunny]

I got into the EBS school which means I have the option to study bio 3/4 in year 11. I would like to do a year 11 subject thus I opted to do so. I have been spending a lot of time trying to revise what I have missed with the nelson textbook I borrowed from my friend but when it comes to revision and practice exams, are there any revision guides I can use in order to make the most useful flashcards? I don't want to be spending time on unnecessary stuff. Any tips on this general topic would be greatly appreciated.

[homeworkisapotato]

Hey sackbunny, welcome to AN! I'm also a Year 11 doing 3/4 Bio and I think I'm going relatively good so here are my two cents. I personally don't think flashcards are that helpful for Bio. This is because although you do have to remember content, Bio is more about application. You do not have to memorise most definitions word for word and it would do better if you just take notes. In Year 10, I used the Atarnotes Bio 1/2 notes to write notes for 1/2 and even though most of the content from 1/2 isn't really assessable there are some topics which are carried into the start of 3/4. Taking notes of 1/2 content before 3/4 started helped me learn my study methods really quickly as well as learn how to condense the large amount of content in the subject. I don't think you should spend time actually memorising 1/2 content except for plasma membranes and apoptosis. I recommend you learn Unit 3 AOS 1 in the summer holidays by taking notes and doing practice questions to learn the written expression in the subject. Some tips are stay a little ahead of class, take condensed notes, use a lot of diagrams, teach others to learn the content, find overlaps in the different study design dot points, and have a correction book with questions you got wrong throughout the year to assist you in exam revision. I don't think you should stress too much about exam revision as you have another year but I do recommend getting the Neap question bank and the NEAP 4 mock exams.
Check out this thread with amazing guides from the top Bio students on this forum:
https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=36018.0

[dedformed]

I got into the EBS school which means I have the option to study bio 3/4 in year 11. I would like to do a year 11 subject thus I opted to do so. I have been spending a lot of time trying to revise what I have missed with the nelson textbook I borrowed from my friend but when it comes to revision and practice exams, are there any revision guides I can use in order to make the most useful flashcards? I don't want to be spending time on unnecessary stuff. Any tips on this general topic would be greatly appreciated.

Heyy!
Welcome to EBS! I'm currently undertaking 3/4 Bio and EI there as well. Although I did complete 1/2 bio at my previous school, I know people in my class that moved from Year 9 (yes, skipped year 10) and are doing Bio 3/4, doing perfectly fine. Obviously work ethic matters but there's not a whole lot of overlap between 1/2 and 3/4 (everything I learnt this year was new to me) except just have some understanding of cellular biology (know your organelles and their function). There's a lot of people that come into EBS without 1/2 biology and the teachers are very accommodating for that (at least, mine was), and they held a couple of extra lectures at lunchtimes to provide support. I think they have awesome resources so don't stress too much, as long as you come with a good work ethic and willingness to try your best.
One thing I would recommend though, is if you've never done a 1/2 subject before, make sure you get yourself organised -learn to schedule your tasks, maybe start scheduling your tasks so that you don't struggle with time management. You'll find that there'll be lots of blocks of free time or light workload followed by intense weeks (I had a bio sac, the EI report, critical thinking exam, English test and methods SAC due in the same frame of ten days last term after one whole month of nothing) but if you stay on top of the schedule and tasks (they give you a task list at the start of the week), you'll glide through it like you're on heelys.
Congrats on your entry, and good luck!