AQA GCSE Biology Unit 2 (B2) 24 January 2012 exam discussion

DNA section was quite annoying.

1.Genes
2.Ribosomes
3.I put something like DNA has a specific code which makes the amino acids go in a certain order to make the required protein in this case, blue eye protein. I didn't refer to the diagram.
4. The one mark question .. I just put something like, there will be different pairs. This question f-cked me over.
5. I said the change in structure will result in different eye colour. Just a random guess. Well not that random because it was about eye colour. A lot of people put this answer.

Reply 182

Drug A i put for the diabetics because it said why would they have a high blood sugar level and i answered that insulin is not being produced therefore your cells cannot store it as glycogen and use it for later use therefore it will use fats as a supply as energy which results in weight lost

Reply 183

Hannah22

is it just me or was that paper quite hard!there was nothing on alleles or anything and i had revised so much..the blue eye question?!

Reply 184

Original post by ClarkyC...

Right few questions I would like to ask. Firstly I understand why people are saying that the enzyme question was 11.6 but in diagrams and in the revision guide when the temp is increased the enzymes totally denature and a very minimal reaction occurs.

Next is a,b,c, insulin question. I thought it was B because it didn't say the person had diabetes it said in 'some people' so therefore if the pancreas cells aren't working then insulin is not produced.

DNA question... Well let's not even go there, I nearly did a Will off inbetweeners when I saw that question.

And finally the last question, it was quite an easy question but some of my mates are saying that you describe one or the other because it did say evaluate embryonic stem cell OR adult bone marrow. Is this true?

When I saw 'or' I instantly got happier because I only knew about embryonic stem cells. So i just decided to do embryonic stem cells. I don't know but it said OR in the bit before the question. The question simply said evaluate.

Reply 185

rjs123

I swear there was no information about protein synthesis in the CGP revision guide - that test was HARD. I put something vague about DNA containing the code for the combinations of amino acids. What did other people put for the drugs question ( I put "A" because hypoglycemia can cause someone to feel sick, but I wasn't sure)?

Reply 186

PrinceyJ

12

Original post by yakubuuu

Drug A i put for the diabetics because it said why would they have a high blood sugar level and i answered that insulin is not being produced therefore your cells cannot store it as glycogen and use it for later use therefore it will use fats as a supply as energy which results in weight lost

I put Drug C for that. because it said the body will retain more water. I explained that this would only happen if there was a high blood concentration because the body will try to keep all cells isotonic, so more sugar = more water.

On second thought (because people above have outlined answers for A and B) maybe that question was designed as any correct answer (other than insulin) and you get both marks for justifying why.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 187

v.007

Hi, for the frostbite question i put 9 , is this right or wrong :s-smilie:

Reply 188

Original post by yakubuuu

Drug A i put for the diabetics because it said why would they have a high blood sugar level and i answered that insulin is not being produced therefore your cells cannot store it as glycogen and use it for later use therefore it will use fats as a supply as energy which results in weight lost

Yeah I think this is a possible answer. Would it not be correct if i said B because the cells in the pancreas are damaged which means insulin or not enough will be produced to bring the blood sugar levels down. My teacher said it probably depends on what one you chose and your explanation.

Reply 189

Hannah22

Original post by v.007

Hi, for the frostbite question i put 9 , is this right or wrong :s-smilie:

yess i put that!

Reply 190

momo26396

Overall an extremely dodgy exam....... In fact it's AQAs fault for giving us such easy past papers to do. I have a feeling c2 and p2 will be as difficult. In some ways we didn't even have to revise the text book since everything was how science works. I have a bad feeling that grade boundaries wont be so low because this is a January exam= because fewer people take, averages will be higher. I think 32 will be an a* (unfortunately :/)

Reply 191

Original post by PrinceyJ

I put Drug C for that. because it said the body will retain more water. I explained that this would only happen if there was a high blood concentration because the body will try to keep all cells isotonic, so more sugar = more water.

im sure theres more than 1 answer as long as you give a valid point it should be ok shouldnt it??

Reply 192

Original post by v.007

Hi, for the frostbite question i put 9 , is this right or wrong :s-smilie:

Right. I was contemplating whether to put 9 or 10. 10 meant YOU WOULD GET FROST BITE. The question was asking for the longest time without getting frostbite. I did ip dip dop ... to choose 9 or 10. Ended up with 10 and I was kicking myself but I had to write it down!

BTW GUYS - In what form is energy loss in GRASS?
I was thinking heat because it asked for FORM OF Energy but then I thought lets change that to respiration .. because that generates the heat. I don't know. Could they accept respiration?

Reply 193

nataliekwong

13

Results day in March will be quite fun. ><

Reply 194

v.007

BTW GUYS - In what form is energy loss in GRASS?
I was thinking heat because it asked for FORM OF Energy but then I thought lets change that to respiration .. because that generates the heat. I don't know. Could they accept respiration?

I wrote heat because the question mentioned form , which aqa has never asked in any past paper :angry:

Reply 195

Original post by letsbehonest

Yeah I think this is a possible answer. Would it not be correct if i said B because the cells in the pancreas are damaged which means insulin or not enough will be produced to bring the blood sugar levels down. My teacher said it probably depends on what one you chose and your explanation.

yeah that should be fine your answer looks good i dont see why the examiner shouldnt give you a mark for that,however there are some examiners who only follow the mark scheme which is very stupid.. as not every answer is in the mark scheme

Reply 196

Original post by momo26396

Overall an extremely dodgy exam....... In fact it's AQAs fault for giving us such easy past papers to do. I have a feeling c2 and p2 will be as difficult. In some ways we didn't even have to revise the text book since everything was how science works. I have a bad feeling that grade boundaries wont be so low because this is a January exam= because fewer people take, averages will be higher. I think 32 will be an a* (unfortunately :/)

I done C2 and P2.

100 in chemistry and 91 in Physics. They were WAAAAAAAAAAAAY easier than the bio paper. I didn't even know I done that good in chem until i got my result. The questions were straightforward. Same with physics, just had to apply knowledge and a few calculations. Biology on the other hand .. what is this?! Asking questions in such a obscure way! SMH

Reply 197