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AS-level Biology New Spec. Anyone struggling? Please help.

Hi, I'm doing Edexcel's AS-level Biology new 2015 spec, but am struggling a lot with the amount of content including the Maths side to things which adds up to 10% of the overall exam marks. I'm looking through the CGP "Essential Maths Skills for Biology" and have come across a page about Logarithms!!! Why is there so much Maths involved in this subject? I've already got enough formulas to remember for AS-level Maths but now Biology?! Anyone else struggling? Please give me advice and reassurance :frown:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

Meghan26

I'm doing the new spec too and am really struggling! I have been getting all Es and Us all year and I have no idea how to get at least a C to be able to get into uni.

Reply 2

Philip-flop

Original post by Meghan26

I'm doing the new spec too and am really struggling! I have been getting all Es and Us all year and I have no idea how to get at least a C to be able to get into uni.

I know that feeling!! The very precise mark schemes of the exams don't help either :frown:

Feel like I've wasted a year of my life tbh :puppyeyes:

Reply 3

Meghan26

Original post by Philip-flop

I know that feeling!! The very precise mark schemes of the exams don't help either :frown:

Feel like I've wasted a year of my life tbh :puppyeyes:

Yeah I know! Like if you say 'light' instead of 'light intensity', you've lost a mark. It's so ridiculous and picky.

Reply 4

RedRosesBloom

Original post by Meghan26

Yeah I know! Like if you say 'light' instead of 'light intensity', you've lost a mark. It's so ridiculous and picky.

Or low instead of lower :colonhash:

Reply 5

champ_mc99

The logarithsm part is just pressing buttons on your calculator to work out pH. It's not complicated maths.

Reply 6

AdiamDaniel

Original post by Meghan26

Yeah I know! Like if you say 'light' instead of 'light intensity', you've lost a mark. It's so ridiculous and picky.

omg same! i do OCR exam board but its the same here too. It's soo detailed everything you have to know and on top of that if its something like a 1 mark question, before you only needed to say one thing but now you have to say like at least two or three things to get anything.

Reply 7

username2488725

Wow, there are logs on the Edexcel spec? The hardest maths I've seen on the spec I'm doing (AQA) is percentage change...

Reply 8

sciencemad1999

I am hoping the actual paper will have a more forgiving mark scheme. I have just finished one of the specimen papers and feel very dishearten. I have revised very hard for these papers as i want to prove i have the ability to do medicine but looks like this new specification isn't going to allow that to happen. It is reassuring to know that i am not the only one who seems frustrated and concerned about the upcoming exam on Thursday.

Reply 9

Philip-flop

Original post by sciencemad1999

I know exactly how you feel! I'm a mature student who had hope to study a STEM subject at University, but that's looking unlikely now :frown:

Reply 10

maria101xo

logarithms is not on the AS spec- i was freaking out too but if you go onto the specification document on the edexcel website and scroll down towards the bottom there is a list of all the maths skills, and the skills in bold (including logarithms) are ONLY to be tested for the full A-Level :smile: