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March 29, 2024, 12:18:50 pm

Author Topic: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology  (Read 39877 times)  Share 

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ca052267

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #30 on: July 22, 2017, 04:41:05 pm »
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How would you approach your studies for Bio exams?

Right now I just go through past papers. Should I be re-writing notes? I get really anxious during exams and it makes me buckle under pressure.

Any tips?

Charbella :)
'In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.'
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HSC 2017
Advanced English
General Maths 2
Biology
Food Technology
Textiles and Design

maddiewainwright

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How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #31 on: July 23, 2017, 03:30:54 pm »
+1
How would you approach your studies for Bio exams?

Right now I just go through past papers. Should I be re-writing notes? I get really anxious during exams and it makes me buckle under pressure.

Any tips?

Charbella :)

Hi Charbella,

Practice papers are the absolute best things you can be doing right now in preparation for trials, so you're on the right track. I wouldn't recommend rewriting all your notes if you're already happy with them. However, one thing that I would do up until the HSC would be to read through my notes, and whenever I came across something super important, like a definition or a useful diagram, I would write it out on an A4 sheet. I tried to fit one topic area (i.e. all of Maintaining a Balance) onto one sheet, to really make sure I was understanding concepts, not just memorising loads of content. Basically by the end of the HSC, the notes I would study off for Bio were about 4 pages long.
That was just my style, but I think it's a great way of picking out what are important things to memorise. It also really helped with managing anxiety, because it made me feel calm to think that an entire topic was on one page, and that's all I needed to memorise for the exam.
Trust me, Bio is totally manageable, and you can do it :) I hope this helps!
Studying Bachelor Laws/Advanced Science (Molecular and Cell Biology) UNSW

HSC Subjects: Biology, Chemistry, French Extension, Visual Arts, English Extension 2

Diala

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #32 on: September 27, 2017, 08:40:32 pm »
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I'm super confused about a Communication dotpoint because I'm receive 2 different answers. In the textbook it says that when detecting yellow light the blue and green cones are responding, however, websites and pictures depict red and green cones responding to interpret yellow. Which is correct?

theyam

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #33 on: December 03, 2017, 02:49:56 pm »
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Hi guys~

For biology exams, I will generally do well for the written response but I will do horrendously for the multiple choice section. I just had my exam a few days ago and I'm sure I've lost at least 5 marks out of 20 already (for multiple choice section) Any tips on how to combat this?

thank you~~
From theyam

Natasha.97

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #34 on: December 03, 2017, 03:03:10 pm »
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Hi guys~

For biology exams, I will generally do well for the written response but I will do horrendously for the multiple choice section. I just had my exam a few days ago and I'm sure I've lost at least 5 marks out of 20 already (for multiple choice section) Any tips on how to combat this?

thank you~~
From theyam
Hi!
In my honest opinion, MCQs are the toughest part of an exam. It’s either correct or incorrect; no half-marks given in contrast to Section 2. My advice would be to know the content inside out, ensuring that you know exactly which answer to pick out of the four options. When looking at a question for the first time, eliminate answers that are completely incorrect (usually two). Then, think through the remaining two, explaining to yourself why one is correct and one is incorrect. Practice is key for this section: get your hands on as many past papers as you can!
Hope this helps :)
Life is weird and crazy as heck but what can you do?

dani01

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #35 on: August 06, 2019, 05:54:37 pm »
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I heard that bio is one of those subjects where as any asnwer you can dotpoint or even draw a diagram? to what extent is this truth becuase this would be extremely helpful- especially for the section where we have to explain the eyes/ears and technologies
thankyou

InnererSchweinehund

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #36 on: August 12, 2019, 08:27:21 am »
+1
I heard that bio is one of those subjects where as any asnwer you can dotpoint or even draw a diagram? to what extent is this truth becuase this would be extremely helpful- especially for the section where we have to explain the eyes/ears and technologies
thankyou

Hi Dani01!

Yes it is true that you can explain an answer with a diagram / dot points, or use a diagram to aid your answer.
Biology is not an english subject so as long as you can get your point across and convey your understanding, then you don't have to answer with an essay; dot points are fine. Using dot points is also a great way to keep your answers concise!

Using diagrams is also another great way to demonstrate your knowledge because it shows your markers you have a true understanding of the content, and haven't just rope-learned a textbook. If you go onto the HSC Biology Challenge Questions Thread https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=185693.0, there was a question on there asking "Why is it difficult to determine whether the disease is dominant or recessive". The best way to answer this question would be to use diagrams of a pedigree to demonstrate how the disease could be dominant, and a pedigree to show how the disease could be recessive, and then write a short paragraph or sentence at the end saying something like, "Hence, as each of the pedigrees are viable patterns of inheritance, it is difficult to determine whether the disease is dominant or recessive."

Hope this helps!!
 :)


dani01

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #37 on: October 26, 2019, 11:54:55 am »
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Hey out of the following which are chemical response in the lines of defense.
- mucous membrane
- inflammation
- phagocytosis
- cell death
- fever
- lymph system

and what exactly is the difference. i would consider fever chemical simply because of the protein interlukin 1. but i saw that in the CSSA fever was physical and a chemical repsonse was production of histamines. (so would this mean that inflammation is chemical).
thanks!!

InnererSchweinehund

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #38 on: October 26, 2019, 02:29:09 pm »
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Hey out of the following which are chemical response in the lines of defense.
- mucous membrane
- inflammation
- phagocytosis
- cell death
- fever
- lymph system

and what exactly is the difference. i would consider fever chemical simply because of the protein interlukin 1. but i saw that in the CSSA fever was physical and a chemical repsonse was production of histamines. (so would this mean that inflammation is chemical).
thanks!!

Hi!

Based on the syllabus, I think you might need to consider it more like 'physical vs chemical barriers' rather than 'physical vs chemical responses'.

Either way, for the first line of defence, I would consider the 'chemicals' response as more of a 'chemical barrier'.
This would include stomach acid, alkali conditions in the small intestine (pH levels) and enzymes in the mouth which can all destroy pathogens.

For the second line of defence, I would classify the actual inflammation (eg. dilation of blood vessels) as physical, but the release of histamines at the site as chemical, as the histamines are actually chemicals released from the damaged tissues to stimulate the physical response.

I would classify fever as physical, because the increase in temperature can cause some pathogens to be denatured/deactivated, however is is a physical, not a chemical response. I don't think you need to go as deep down as knowing about the protein interlukin 1.

In summary:

- mucous membrane - physical: This is a physical barrier that traps pathogens
- inflammation - physical: The process of inflammation is to increase blood flow to the site
                    ↪ Releasing histamines, and the action of histamines, is chemical
- phagocytosis - physical: the phagocyte engulfs the pathogen / pathogenic cell
- cell death - physical: the actual apoptosis and necrosis processes are physical, but during these processes, they can release chemicals to signal for other phagocytic cells to come and 'clean up'
- fever - physical: increase in temperature can cause some pathogens to be denatured/deactivated,
- lymph system - physical and chemical in the second line of defence: Pathogens are drained to the lymph nodes via the lymph fluids (physical) where they are killed/neutralised by immune cells (chemical)

I hope this is somewhat helpful! 

Also just FYI, in future I would probably post questions like this in the Biology Questions Thread  :D

dani01

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Re: How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Biology
« Reply #39 on: October 26, 2019, 04:55:13 pm »
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Hi!

Based on the syllabus, I think you might need to consider it more like 'physical vs chemical barriers' rather than 'physical vs chemical responses'.

Either way, for the first line of defence, I would consider the 'chemicals' response as more of a 'chemical barrier'.
This would include stomach acid, alkali conditions in the small intestine (pH levels) and enzymes in the mouth which can all destroy pathogens.

For the second line of defence, I would classify the actual inflammation (eg. dilation of blood vessels) as physical, but the release of histamines at the site as chemical, as the histamines are actually chemicals released from the damaged tissues to stimulate the physical response.

I would classify fever as physical, because the increase in temperature can cause some pathogens to be denatured/deactivated, however is is a physical, not a chemical response. I don't think you need to go as deep down as knowing about the protein interlukin 1.

In summary:

- mucous membrane - physical: This is a physical barrier that traps pathogens
- inflammation - physical: The process of inflammation is to increase blood flow to the site
                    ↪ Releasing histamines, and the action of histamines, is chemical
- phagocytosis - physical: the phagocyte engulfs the pathogen / pathogenic cell
- cell death - physical: the actual apoptosis and necrosis processes are physical, but during these processes, they can release chemicals to signal for other phagocytic cells to come and 'clean up'
- fever - physical: increase in temperature can cause some pathogens to be denatured/deactivated,
- lymph system - physical and chemical in the second line of defence: Pathogens are drained to the lymph nodes via the lymph fluids (physical) where they are killed/neutralised by immune cells (chemical)

I hope this is somewhat helpful! 

Also just FYI, in future I would probably post questions like this in the Biology Questions Thread  :D

thankyou! yeah I did consider it as barriers instead of responses but was just fazed by the CSSA paper on responses. Also I will keep that in mind for next time, thanks for your help :)