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Tell me about AS Biology!

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Original post by C0balt
Such sarcasm *rolls eyes*

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You would think that, but it isn't. That's just me anyways... I prefer subjects which require you to think logically; Biology just doesn't do that, especially the OCR syllabus. In my opinion it is awful, but like I said, I prefer to study it over physics and my physics teacher is an incompetent imbecile.


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Reply 41
Original post by CallMeJay
You would think that, but it isn't. That's just me anyways... I prefer subjects which require you to think logically; Biology just doesn't do that, especially the OCR syllabus. In my opinion it is awful, but like I said, I prefer to study it over physics and my physics teacher is an incompetent imbecile.


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That sounds weird but okay ._. Well i'm sorry for your bad luck with teacher

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Reply 42
I did AQA too and I just finished A2 Bio
Well, tbf the content wasn't that hard to learn at all, it's pretty interesting but you really need to know your stuff! Also when it comes to revision, do EVERY single past paper.
As for revision guides, I didn't really find them useful except the Collins revision guide for unit 1 and 2 (if you do A2 you can get the unit 4 and 5).. Those books are the BOMB!
The thing I hated about biology though was the exams, especially the marking because it's really specific so make sure your are very precise and you get your terminology down to a T!
Oh yeah, and the ISA's suck. There is no way around them, so make sure you try and do your best the first time round. I had to redo my AS ISA's in my A2 year to try and boost up my UMS but I got LOWER, so really try hard!
Everything else (the content) is a piece of cake


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Reply 43
I was on AQA and I hated biology up until around the exam period.. I didn't even hate the actual subject, I just hated the work load and the mounts of revision that needed to be done!

In the end, I covered everything and I can say that it is very interesting - learning about the body and the way we function. What wasn't as fun was the EMPA/ISAs ie. the experiment work, which was repetitive and boring.

I recommend it, but revise as you go along with it otherwise it'll be a hell of a lot of stress.
Reply 44
Original post by Beenaa
I did AQA too and I just finished A2 Bio
Well, tbf the content wasn't that hard to learn at all, it's pretty interesting but you really need to know your stuff! Also when it comes to revision, do EVERY single past paper.
As for revision guides, I didn't really find them useful except the Collins revision guide for unit 1 and 2 (if you do A2 you can get the unit 4 and 5).. Those books are the BOMB!
The thing I hated about biology though was the exams, especially the marking because it's really specific so make sure your are very precise and you get your terminology down to a T!
Oh yeah, and the ISA's suck. There is no way around them, so make sure you try and do your best the first time round. I had to redo my AS ISA's in my A2 year to try and boost up my UMS but I got LOWER, so really try hard!
Everything else (the content) is a piece of cake


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What do you have to do for the ISA thingy ?

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Reply 45
Original post by C0balt
What do you have to do for the ISA thingy ?

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There are two parts, the practical and the paper. The ISA can be about any of your topics but your teacher tells you which ones to revise a week before so you can prepare. After you do your data collection for the practical, you are assessed on how well you did the experiment, your table (make sure you put the units, independent variable in the 1st column etc), then you have to draw a graph. It can be bar, line etc. where it applies you draw a line of best fit but make sure you don't over extrapolate your line! Also, make sure you plot your graph REALLY accurately (I lost a mark for being 1 tiny square off).

For the paper, make sure you know the topic inside out, make sure you know how to answer the reliable mean question about repeating the experiment (easy marks). Also before you do the paper you can think of what kind of questions they'll ask you by looking at the method and asking why you did particular things so you kind of know what to expect (e.g they may ask you why you used a water bath or a PH buffer) and how it might affect the results.

The thing about the ISA's though is that they are pretty straightforward but the marking is REALLY harsh, and the grade boundaries are ridiculous (if you got 32/50 last year that was a U)

You should really try your best!
Reply 46
Original post by Beenaa
There are two parts, the practical and the paper. The ISA can be about any of your topics but your teacher tells you which ones to revise a week before so you can prepare. After you do your data collection for the practical, you are assessed on how well you did the experiment, your table (make sure you put the units, independent variable in the 1st column etc), then you have to draw a graph. It can be bar, line etc. where it applies you draw a line of best fit but make sure you don't over extrapolate your line! Also, make sure you plot your graph REALLY accurately (I lost a mark for being 1 tiny square off).

For the paper, make sure you know the topic inside out, make sure you know how to answer the reliable mean question about repeating the experiment (easy marks). Also before you do the paper you can think of what kind of questions they'll ask you by looking at the method and asking why you did particular things so you kind of know what to expect (e.g they may ask you why you used a water bath or a PH buffer) and how it might affect the results.

The thing about the ISA's though is that they are pretty straightforward but the marking is REALLY harsh, and the grade boundaries are ridiculous (if you got 32/50 last year that was a U)

You should really try your best!


Wow that sounds really annoying...

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its a topic within physics.

further maths > biology any day of the week.
Original post by Kabulkid
its a topic within physics.

further maths > biology any day of the week.


Lmao.


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