2016 WJEC A2-Level Biology, HB4/BY4

To kinda conclude...
I'm no master at biology but got pretty high UMS last year (288/300) and did pretty extensive revision for BY4. What I can say is that for this paper there was very little 'standard recall' - even the easiest questions had some level of ambiguity, more than I've ever seen in any of the other BY4's. For the other years the average raw mark for an A* is 67/80 - I'm going to guess much lower than that for this year, because other than the synapses/photosynthesis/kidneys I would say every question as harder than your average question on the subject (except for the 10 marker). I do have one question: use of ATP in muscle cells: I wrote active transport because, although my knowledge isn't great that what I think causes muscle contraction. Too complex? Have a feeling just muscle contraction will get the mark

Reply 161

Squashy_josh

1

Original post by Zwitterion1

Exactly the same as what I said, K+ channels begin to denature so less k+ diffuse out

the question said that temperature controls how they open so i dont think its about denaturing also 37 degrees is pretty low temp

Reply 162

mikejordan97

7

Original post by matt1997x

Does anyone know the flexibility of the markers for exams like this? Because there was loads of application they'll be getting a lot of different answers. I also saw this thing where the mark schemes that markers get are different to the ones we get online. Apparently the ones online are simplified to contain the core answer. So maybe questions you thought you got disastriously wrong may actually be right, because the questions on that paper today had many different scopes.

What you said was absolutely correct - there is a much broader mark scheme that isn't released, which contains many more marking points for questions than the ones that are released online do - they are the ones that are released beforehand, and then the examiners have a meeting and suggest what other marking points could be on there that are correct, so the final mark scheme is a much more lenient one.

Reply 163

edenjxde

5

Original post by Mango88

Damn

haha aw not to worry! it was only a couple of marks i think! :smile:

Reply 164

DrKillerX

1

Original post by samwray

To kinda conclude...
I'm no master at biology but got pretty high UMS last year (288/300) and did pretty extensive revision for BY4. What I can say is that for this paper there was very little 'standard recall' - even the easiest questions had some level of ambiguity, more than I've ever seen in any of the other BY4's. For the other years the average raw mark for an A* is 67/80 - I'm going to guess much lower than that for this year, because other than the synapses/photosynthesis/kidneys I would say every question as harder than your average question on the subject (except for the 10 marker). I do have one question: use of ATP in muscle cells: I wrote active transport because, although my knowledge isn't great that what I think causes muscle contraction. Too complex? Have a feeling just muscle contraction will get the mark

I wrote active transport as well.

Reply 165

k.russell

13

The question about K+ ion pumps and the effect on the ion channels is I think to do with increasing temperature increasing the speed at which the K+ channels open and close, so when the temperature is raised you would get the K+ ion channels opening quicker (halting depolarisation) and closing quicker (halting the refractory period) explaining why a temperature increase brings about an action potential of less magnitude

Reply 166

BubbleLover98

9

aw I just put muscle contraction for that one.

Reply 167

thatcooldude2.0

15

I put muscle contraction too

Reply 168

alevelsarepoo

5

Hey everyone. I didn't find the paper that bad and now I'm worrying because everyone is saying it was really hard! The 23 degrees and 37 degrees one threw me and I didn't know about cocaine, kinda used the diagram to make it up! What do people think grade boundaries will be? I'm worried now! Does anyone wanna try and put together an unofficial mark scheme? :smile:

Reply 169

SCIENCE :D

18

Yeah is anyone willing to attempt Unofficial markscheme?

Reply 170

thepinkhorse118

That exam was awful, all application no simple questions and way too much detail on the AS topics. Every question was weirdly worded and no questions from previous year had been repeated (apart from the lovely 10 marker), unofficial mark scheme anyone?

Reply 171

Mr Average.98

1

Original post by alevelsarepoo

Hey everyone. I didn't find the paper that bad and now I'm worrying because everyone is saying it was really hard! The 23 degrees and 37 degrees one threw me and I didn't know about cocaine, kinda used the diagram to make it up! What do people think grade boundaries will be? I'm worried now! Does anyone wanna try and put together an unofficial mark scheme? :smile:

Im willing if you are..😉

Reply 172

samwray

1

Original post by Mr Average.98

Im willing if you are..😉

can give input if needed, remember most of the exam

Reply 173

Spwoosh

i need an A in bio and to get an A overall ill need an A* in by4, feel like that is impossible now. Feel like ive lost at least 18-20 marks 😭, weirdest exams ive ever sat. I couldnt even answer the cocaine question properly because the diagram confused me.

Reply 174

Mr Average.98

1

OMG.. pheww. That Bt bacteria question . That was actually CHEMICAL control agent . Many argue if it was biological or chrmical. But its definitely chemical.

Reply 175

alevelsarepoo

5

Original post by Mr Average.98

Im willing if you are..😉

Yeah I'd be happy to, never made one before though so this would be new! I wrote biological control ;(

Reply 176

arrangill

Hi, i did HB4 and also found it quite hard. These are my answers for what i remember, i know a few are wrong:

first page was: azotobator, diffusion for nitrates into roots, nitrification aerating the soil by ploughing,

spreading organic manure, planting leguminous plants between seasonsthen

next page:myofibrils, actin, quaternary, tertiary

then A and D

sq, something , w, ,w, something

for the why glucose left in filtrate for diabetes people, saying not enough sodium ions present to get diffuse in with glucose via co-transport

180 and 60 for the numbers

why more would diffuse at end of pct: it would be more concentrated as less water present at bottom

carbon dioxide fixing: inorganic to organic compound

hydrolysis of acetyl choline: adding a molecule of water, forming ethanoic acid and choline

Thats all i remember
Thanks

Reply 177

wwwwwwwwwwwf

2

It was biological control for sure

Chemical control would be something like DDT. The Bt is a bacteria, not a chemical so it has to be biological.

Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt) is a Gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, commonly used as a biological pesticide.

source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis

Sorry for the bad news though, it was a really tough question

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 178

Oneyx

9

Original post by BubbleLover98

yes, i put amino acids to manufacture proteins and then the bases for dna synthesis :smile:

Exactly what I put lol I wasn't confident in one word answers so I wrote that.

Reply 179

Zwitterion1

6

Muscle contraction

is separate to active transport, the mechanism for bringing about muscle contraction is not active transport, so I'm pretty sure muscle contraction is the answer

2016 WJEC A2-Level Biology, HB4/BY4

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