Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 28, 2024, 09:53:06 pm

Author Topic: VCE Biology Question Thread  (Read 3570422 times)  Share 

0 Members and 8 Guests are viewing this topic.

Azim.m

  • Forum Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 64
  • Respect: +1
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10635 on: September 11, 2018, 04:51:04 pm »
0
I know it’s not recommended, but could I use a pencil for the exam?

darkz

  • Forum Obsessive
  • ***
  • Posts: 413
  • Respect: +154
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10636 on: September 11, 2018, 05:05:51 pm »
+1
I know it’s not recommended, but could I use a pencil for the exam?

I don't actually think you're allowed to use pencil - only a blue or black pen
2018: Biology [50 + Prems]
2019: English [46], Latin [45], Chemistry [41], Mathematical Methods [48], Specialist Mathematics [41]
ATAR: 99.95

2020: BMedSci, M.D. @ Monash Uni

VCE Biology Units 1&2 and 3&4 Tutoring for 2021

PhoenixxFire

  • VIC MVP - 2018
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3695
  • They/them/theirs
  • Respect: +3102
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10637 on: September 11, 2018, 05:12:03 pm »
+3
Definitely only use pen. Your exam will be scanned and pencil doesn’t always show up in scans. It’s not worth the risk.
2019: B. Environment and Sustainability/B. Science @ ANU
2020: Just Vibing
2021: B. Paramedicine/B. Nursing @ ACU Canberra

Bell9565

  • Forum Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 93
  • Respect: +37
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10638 on: September 11, 2018, 09:46:23 pm »
+2
Also just to add, not sure if you were considering it but do NOT attempt to get the best of both worlds and use erasable pen - I have heard some horror stories of people using them, then the heat from the scanners actually erasing all the work on the exam due to the heat or something. Not sure how true it is but thought i'd give a heads up
2017 - Further Mathematics (50), Biology (49)
2018 - English (39), Mathematical Methods (44), Specialist Mathematics (38), Chemistry (50), UMAT (100th)
ATAR - 99.35

PopcornTime

  • Forum Obsessive
  • ***
  • Posts: 264
  • Respect: +10
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10639 on: September 12, 2018, 05:59:55 pm »
0
What are some traits that define hominoids?

Agimo

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 20
  • Respect: 0
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10640 on: September 12, 2018, 06:28:57 pm »
0
How many practise exams should I do for biology? I am in year 11 but also taking Further 3/4

vox nihili

  • National Moderator
  • Great Wonder of ATAR Notes
  • *****
  • Posts: 5343
  • Respect: +1447
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10641 on: September 13, 2018, 11:06:03 am »
+1
How many practise exams should I do for biology? I am in year 11 but also taking Further 3/4

How long is a piece of string? Classic conundrum tbh!

It's not so much how many you do but how you do them. If you just try to churn through practice exams, you won't get anywhere. However, if you actually take the time to do practice exams to identify any weaknesses then target your study to ameliorating those weaknesses then they become a lot more useful. How many you need to do is really determined by what your goals are and whether or not you're achieving those during practice.
2013-15: BBiomed (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), UniMelb
2016-20: MD, UniMelb
2019-20: MPH, UniMelb
2021-: GDipBiostat, USyd

FabAsianZung

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 19
  • Respect: 0
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10642 on: September 13, 2018, 09:40:07 pm »
0
“• significant changes in life forms in Earth’s geological history including the rise of multicellular organisms, animals on land, the first flowering plants and mammals“

According to this study design dot point, I assume you would have to know the key events of when a particular group of species first appeared. But is this really necessary? I feel like VCAA might not ask ‘direct’ questions on it, but would be used somewhere in another question as a context. Furthermore, if I actually do need to memorize this stuff, do you actually have to remember the time period it occurred in?

One final questions. What the heck is a fossil record? Isn’t that basically stratigraphy, the law of supposition and the law of fossil correlation combined together?

Thanks in advance!
Eh? I passed?

*look at front page and an A+ is written*

Bell9565

  • Forum Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 93
  • Respect: +37
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10643 on: September 13, 2018, 10:40:33 pm »
+3
“• significant changes in life forms in Earth’s geological history including the rise of multicellular organisms, animals on land, the first flowering plants and mammals“

According to this study design dot point, I assume you would have to know the key events of when a particular group of species first appeared. But is this really necessary? I feel like VCAA might not ask ‘direct’ questions on it, but would be used somewhere in another question as a context. Furthermore, if I actually do need to memorize this stuff, do you actually have to remember the time period it occurred in?

Pretty much we were told just to know which order those events specified in the dot point occurred in - I wouldn't memorise them but I'd have some rough idea of what sort of is going on (like I had notes on it but didn't memorise them)

"One final questions. What the heck is a fossil record? Isn’t that basically stratigraphy, the law of supposition and the law of fossil correlation combined together?

Thanks in advance!

Pretty much sorta, the fossil record is all the fossils that have ever been found compiled together. There are some gaps in it, but overall it shows how species evolved over time. It could be used to date things because if there was like a certain fossil known to exist in lets say, the Jurassic period, and it was found somewhere else - it could suggest that that strata of rock is from then.

Not 100% sure about that though, someone else could probably answer that last one better :)
2017 - Further Mathematics (50), Biology (49)
2018 - English (39), Mathematical Methods (44), Specialist Mathematics (38), Chemistry (50), UMAT (100th)
ATAR - 99.35

PhoenixxFire

  • VIC MVP - 2018
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3695
  • They/them/theirs
  • Respect: +3102
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10644 on: September 13, 2018, 11:12:19 pm »
+1
Quote
Not 100% sure about that though, someone else could probably answer that last one better
You’re right. The fossil record just means any evidence of past life. The others things (stratigraphy, the law of supposition and the law of fossil correlation) are ways to tell how old the past life is.
2019: B. Environment and Sustainability/B. Science @ ANU
2020: Just Vibing
2021: B. Paramedicine/B. Nursing @ ACU Canberra

FabAsianZung

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 19
  • Respect: 0
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10645 on: September 16, 2018, 08:16:11 pm »
0
“• the human fossil record as an example of a classification scheme that is open to interpretations that are contested, refined or replaced when new evidence challenges them or when a new model has greater explanatory power, including whether Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis interbred and the placement of the Denisovans into the Homo evolutionary tree.”

I understand the “out of Africa” hypothesis and how it is suspected that Homos all originated from Africa and slowly migrated to other places and diverged from there. I also know a little bit about Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbreeding, as a portion of humans in this present day have Neanderthals DNA in them. And Denisovans was placed into the Homo  evolutionary tree, due to the fact that they interbred with Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.

What I typed up just then, sums up about all I know for this study design dot point. Can anyone expand on this to the level of what I need to know?
Eh? I passed?

*look at front page and an A+ is written*

peachxmh

  • Forum Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 84
  • ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • Respect: 0
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10646 on: September 16, 2018, 09:33:17 pm »
0
Hey guys would someone be able to help me with this question? The correct answer is B btw:

The disease cystic fibrosis is caused by a gene mutation that produces an incorrectly formed protein channel, the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator). When this channel is not formed correctly, chloride ions will not be able to exit the cell. The accumulation of chloride ions causes the movement of water via osmosis.

Based on this information, which of the following are likely consequences of cystic fibrosis?

A. Large amounts of watery diarrhoea as chloride ions in the intestinal tract attract water.
B. Thick sticky mucus outside cells as water remains in the cell rather than move out via osmosis
C. Selective sodium channels provide an alternative passage of chloride ions.
D. Water will be actively transported into the cell following the accumulation of chloride ions.

I chose A as my answer because I thought that there would be a buildup of chloride ions inside the cell, meaning water would move into the cell via osmosis as the environment outside the cell would be hypotonic to the cell? Can someone explain why B is the correct answer instead? :P
2019: VCE
2020: Med @ Monash

darkz

  • Forum Obsessive
  • ***
  • Posts: 413
  • Respect: +154
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10647 on: September 16, 2018, 09:40:16 pm »
+6
Hey guys would someone be able to help me with this question? The correct answer is B btw:

The disease cystic fibrosis is caused by a gene mutation that produces an incorrectly formed protein channel, the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator). When this channel is not formed correctly, chloride ions will not be able to exit the cell. The accumulation of chloride ions causes the movement of water via osmosis.

Based on this information, which of the following are likely consequences of cystic fibrosis?

A. Large amounts of watery diarrhoea as chloride ions in the intestinal tract attract water.
B. Thick sticky mucus outside cells as water remains in the cell rather than move out via osmosis
C. Selective sodium channels provide an alternative passage of chloride ions.
D. Water will be actively transported into the cell following the accumulation of chloride ions.

I chose A as my answer because I thought that there would be a buildup of chloride ions inside the cell, meaning water would move into the cell via osmosis as the environment outside the cell would be hypotonic to the cell? Can someone explain why B is the correct answer instead? :P

Well you are quite right in saying that the water will move into the cell, as there would be a build up chloride ions in them. However, it is not A because the water moves into the cell where it would accumulate. For it to be A, the water has to move out of the cell into the intestinal tract, thereby causing diarrhoea.

Its not C, because a sodium channel is for sodium, so chloride would not be able to pass through
And can't be D, because water is never actively transported, if active transport is involved, then the movement of water always occurs through osmotic gradients created by the active pumping of ions

Therefore, because the water goes into the cell, then the extracellular environment wouldn't be as moist, so sticky mucus can develop
2018: Biology [50 + Prems]
2019: English [46], Latin [45], Chemistry [41], Mathematical Methods [48], Specialist Mathematics [41]
ATAR: 99.95

2020: BMedSci, M.D. @ Monash Uni

VCE Biology Units 1&2 and 3&4 Tutoring for 2021

Tyler_

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 9
  • Respect: 0
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10648 on: September 16, 2018, 09:47:46 pm »
0
Hey guys would someone be able to help me with this question? The correct answer is B btw:

The disease cystic fibrosis is caused by a gene mutation that produces an incorrectly formed protein channel, the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator). When this channel is not formed correctly, chloride ions will not be able to exit the cell. The accumulation of chloride ions causes the movement of water via osmosis.

Based on this information, which of the following are likely consequences of cystic fibrosis?

A. Large amounts of watery diarrhoea as chloride ions in the intestinal tract attract water.
B. Thick sticky mucus outside cells as water remains in the cell rather than move out via osmosis
C. Selective sodium channels provide an alternative passage of chloride ions.
D. Water will be actively transported into the cell following the accumulation of chloride ions.

I chose A as my answer because I thought that there would be a buildup of chloride ions inside the cell, meaning water would move into the cell via osmosis as the environment outside the cell would be hypotonic to the cell? Can someone explain why B is the correct answer instead? :P

That's a tricky one! A and B both sound very nice. Going by the wording, option A refers to "watery diarrhea" while the question asked for the best answer based on the "information alone". For this reason, maybe they say that B is the correct choice as it is talking about a symptom that is a direct result of the inability of water to diffuse out of the cell. After all, the best answer is the most correct and accurate based on the instructions. What a trap!!  :o

If anyone has a better idea, let us know! It's an interesting question.
VCE Student
2018: Biology

PhoenixxFire

  • VIC MVP - 2018
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3695
  • They/them/theirs
  • Respect: +3102
Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #10649 on: September 17, 2018, 09:42:29 am »
+4
“• the human fossil record as an example of a classification scheme that is open to interpretations that are contested, refined or replaced when new evidence challenges them or when a new model has greater explanatory power, including whether Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis interbred and the placement of the Denisovans into the Homo evolutionary tree.”

I understand the “out of Africa” hypothesis and how it is suspected that Homos all originated from Africa and slowly migrated to other places and diverged from there. I also know a little bit about Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbreeding, as a portion of humans in this present day have Neanderthals DNA in them. And Denisovans was placed into the Homo  evolutionary tree, due to the fact that they interbred with Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.

What I typed up just then, sums up about all I know for this study design dot point. Can anyone expand on this to the level of what I need to know?

This is what I had in my notes:
Spoiler
The fossil record of hominins is very poor because:
-Fossilisation is an extremely rare event.
-Hominins don’t/didn’t live in places conducive to fossilisation.
   A lot of our fossils have come from underwater, or areas that were underwater when the fossils formed.
-Hominins have behaviours that make fossilisation unlikely.
   Burying our dead often prevents fossilisation from occurring.
-Hominins have not been around very long.

The fossils we do have are incomplete because they are either:
-A complete fossil of an incomplete specimen
   Part of the body was missing before fossilisation)
-An incomplete fossil of a complete specimen
   Part of the fossil was removed/destroyed after being fossilised.
Homo denisovans were around during the same time as Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. They may have evolved from Homo erectus.
It is believed that Neanderthals and humans may have interbred after humans migrated out of Africa due to the presence of Neanderthal DNA in non-African human DNA. It is also possible the H. denisovans interbred with one or both species. If we followed the typical definition of a species, this would make them all the same species. However, it is known that our current model is unable to explain some relationships (for example, how do you define a species of asexual organisms?)

Theories on the origin of modern humans
1. Out-of-Africa Hypothesis
This theory states that all humans (Homo sapiens) evolved from a discrete African population within the last 200,000 years and then migrated in relatively recent times throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia, displacing the more primitive H. erectus and H. ergaster populations. Also referred to as the replacement theory.
Mitochondrial DNA evidence – A comparison of mitochondrial DNA of native people around the world allows us to use a molecular clock to calculate the rate of mutation in mitochondrial DNA and therefore figure out where each group of native people came from and when. This traces it back to Africa 200,000 years ago. This theory is the one that is generally accepted.

2. Parallel evolution hypothesis
This theory states that the Homo sapiens line is older than 200,000 years, the theory is that Homo sapiens originated independently in different parts of the world from Homo erectus populations that had migrated from Africa around one million years ago, it was presumed that although there was some geographic isolation of populations there was some contact and hybridisation, and hence mixing of gene pools.
So basically the only other information I had was about how fossils are formed and why the fossil record isn't perfect.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2018, 09:48:07 am by PhoenixxFire »
2019: B. Environment and Sustainability/B. Science @ ANU
2020: Just Vibing
2021: B. Paramedicine/B. Nursing @ ACU Canberra