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AQA Human Biology unit 5 (HBIO5) - 22nd June 2012, AM

Thought I would make a thread for this as it's fast approaching. How is everyone finding the content?

The synoptic essay is rather annoying for me, I don't really know how to organise it all! :frown:

Any tips and information would be much appreciated :smile: Good luck on the exam everyone, and if you need any help - Just post in this thread and I will be more than happy to help :h:
Reply 1
Avatar for biomadboy
biomadboy
Im hating the how science work questions and im mostly scared of the synoptic essay! what shall i revise for it??
Reply 2
Avatar for Sateru
Sateru
me too... any help is appreciated
Reply 3
Avatar for Ben Trevett
Ben Trevett
Can you put diagrams in the essay? For example an example of a punnett square for describing genetic counselling?
Reply 4
Avatar for jojo7866
jojo7866
Original post by Ben Trevett
Can you put diagrams in the essay? For example an example of a punnett square for describing genetic counselling?


yep
Reply 5
Avatar for Jordan_
Jordan_
Original post by Ben Trevett
Can you put diagrams in the essay? For example an example of a punnett square for describing genetic counselling?



Original post by Sateru
me too... any help is appreciated



Original post by biomadboy
Im hating the how science work questions and im mostly scared of the synoptic essay! what shall i revise for it??



Original post by Doctor.
Thought I would make a thread for this as it's fast approaching. How is everyone finding the content?

The synoptic essay is rather annoying for me, I don't really know how to organise it all! :frown:

Any tips and information would be much appreciated :smile: Good luck on the exam everyone, and if you need any help - Just post in this thread and I will be more than happy to help :h:


Hey we've practised a few synoptic essays in class, don't be too scared of them they're fine if you our memory is okay-ish.
For scientific content you get 16, so that's skimming 16 point or doing 8 in a lot of detail, but remember there's 3 up for grabs for breadth as well so it may be best to go for more. What i tend to do is do as many in sufficient detail as possible, and if i'm running out of time just skin over stuff.
What you have to do in your PLAN is to skim through the entire course in your head and pick out anything that's relevant for example if we take the question
What causes a human to become ill
Go through the whole course chapters (this is what i roughly remember the order, it may be wrong)
AS
1. vitamins, bmr, biological molecules
2. enzymes
3. cell structure and cystic fibrosis
4. bacteria and viruses
5. the immune system
6. the heart and CHD
7. DNA
8. mitosis
9. evolution
10. adaptations
11. early farming
so from this pick out the stuff relevant, e.g Deficiency in vitamin D from 1.4 leads to rickets, and in vitamin A weakens eyesight. 2.3 or 2.4 i think was about pancreatitis, 3.8 or something was cystic fibrosis, 4.1 was salmonella, 4.6 was H.I.V 6. CHD is from atheroma, high levels of cholesterol, being overweight. 8.4/5 cancer and non-disjunction for down downsyndrome.

then A2
1. IVF
2. growing up, growing old and passing on your genes/
3. protien synthesis
4. Genetic engineering stuff
5. nuerones
6. horomes
7. homeostasis
8. variation
9. changing communities
10. allergies + water pollution
11. succession
12. climate change
13. Microorganisms

so think, 2 there is heaps of stuff, alzhiemers, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis again (only mention it once) ageing in general, osteoporosis, sex linked diseases, DMD, mutations in general, hypothermia, myasthenia gravies (HSW), type 2 diabetes, allergens, and chaining the gut flora, cryptosporidium

You have quite a good few points there you can skim over or go into as much detail as you like.
That's 16 for content and 3 for breadth cause you selected things from AS and A2 and chose loads of different examples
3 for quality of written communication, make sure you have a short intro maybe and conclusion and then 3 for relevance, which you went through and selected!

It's a good idea to do your plan like that (not listing everything, only list the relevant things, go through the numbered list in your head) Because if you don't have time to finish your essay, the examiner looks at the plan to see what you were going to write and may be kind and give you a few extra marks.
When it comes to actually writing an essay you'll get more Quality marks if it flows nicely, you might decide to start with diet, do vitamin D, type 2 diabetes, CHD, then move on to the next. However, the big scorer is about CONTENT not STRUCTURE so do NOT threat if you lose one mark on quality because remember, content cannot be given in ODD NUMBERS which means if your aiming for high marks, it 12, 14 or 16 which can make all the difference for sure.

My advice is to look over the role of technology/medication in science or Cycles in living organisms. These have come up before in BIOLOGY papers but not HUMAN BIOLOGY (which usually follow suit) There's no guarantee as the biology people do a lot more gene tech. than us, but just think for it
in AS, treatments of cystic fibrosis, using a nebuliser, angioplasty, coronary by-pass, statins, beta blockers, looking for the missing ancestor, cytochrome c and biological anatomical behavioural immunological evidence, IVF all that jazz, gene probes, libraries, the human genome project,

And for cycles (a bit harder in my opinion)
protien synthesis, the life cycle, mentstrual cycle, krebs cycle, photosynthesis, respiration, sperm production, follicle development, succession, PCR, spot development, semi-conservative method of DNA replication, evolution, the cardiac cycle (how the heart pumps) and the immune response every time we get ill.

GOOD LUCK.
Reply 6
Avatar for Doctor.
Doctor.
OP
12
Awesome advice, and thank you :smile:
Reply 7
Avatar for Doctor.
Doctor.
OP
12
How did everyone do? :s-smilie:
Reply 8
Avatar for alice.egh
alice.egh
Original post by Doctor.
How did everyone do? :s-smilie:


hmm not too sure! was quite hard! you?
Reply 9
Avatar for Doctor.
Doctor.
OP
12
Original post by alice.egh
hmm not too sure! was quite hard! you?


It was okayish :frown: Not the best though, what essay did you do?!

I did "The importance of shapes fitting together in cells and organisms"
It was okay i though. alot of quite waffly questions, not much actual knowledge.
is there an unofficial mark scheme yet?
Reply 11
Avatar for Doctor.
Doctor.
OP
12
Original post by stephano1993
It was okay i though. alot of quite waffly questions, not much actual knowledge.
is there an unofficial mark scheme yet?


Doubt there will be a unofficial MS :/ Not enough people do HBIO. What did you write for the essay question? :smile:
Reply 12
Avatar for jojo7866
jojo7866
Original post by Doctor.
It was okayish :frown: Not the best though, what essay did you do?!

I did "The importance of shapes fitting together in cells and organisms"


i did that essay too!
i just realised i only wrote about a2 stuff though :frown:
Reply 13
Avatar for Doctor.
Doctor.
OP
12
Original post by jojo7866
i did that essay too!
i just realised i only wrote about a2 stuff though :frown:


Ohh what did you write about? and I had to write about that essay. Did not even have a clue what to talk about the first one :frown:
Reply 14
Avatar for jojo7866
jojo7866
Original post by Doctor.
Ohh what did you write about? and I had to write about that essay. Did not even have a clue what to talk about the first one :frown:


muscles
synapses
allergens

wbu?
Reply 15
Avatar for Doctor.
Doctor.
OP
12
Original post by jojo7866
muscles
synapses
allergens

wbu?
Ohhh I should have talked about muscles :frown: I did the other two though :smile: The rest of the paper was pretty strange tbh. It wasn't hard-hard but I did end up missing out a 3 marker :frown: it was an odd paper, easy to lose marks :frown: :frown: :frown:
Reply 16
Avatar for jojo7866
jojo7866
Original post by Doctor.
Ohhh I should have talked about muscles :frown: I did the other two though :smile: The rest of the paper was pretty strange tbh. It wasn't hard-hard but I did end up missing out a 3 marker :frown: it was an odd paper, easy to lose marks :frown: :frown: :frown:


so you only wrote about 2 things in your essay?

i hated the paper seriously
Reply 17
Avatar for Doctor.
Doctor.
OP
12
Original post by jojo7866
so you only wrote about 2 things in your essay?

i hated the paper seriously


I wrote a little about Cystic Fibrosis too, but only what I could remember :s-smilie:. The rest was just a blur lol :cry2: I really need to have done well in this as well :frown:

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