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biology microscopy practical

does anyone have a written microscope practical with all the steps which will guarantee all the marks whether its a 6 marker or not and if you know the key words which I must mention for any microscope practical questions in order to get all the marks please also tell me know, so far from the mark scheme i got thin layer/section, stain, coverslip ,slide

Reply 1

i don't have a perfect answer but i have been doing plant question revision recently and one that came up quite frequently seemed to be cutting a "transverse / cross section" of celery for the specific question rather than just saying cut it or cut a thin layer of it, otherwise it's not giving you the mark! remembering some names of stains might also work in your favour (though i find that that's much more difficult).

i hate how specific alevel biology mark schemes are because the idea is always right but hitting the exact wording of what they want can be sooo difficult

Reply 2

Original post
by neptune_
i don't have a perfect answer but i have been doing plant question revision recently and one that came up quite frequently seemed to be cutting a "transverse / cross section" of celery for the specific question rather than just saying cut it or cut a thin layer of it, otherwise it's not giving you the mark! remembering some names of stains might also work in your favour (though i find that that's much more difficult).
i hate how specific alevel biology mark schemes are because the idea is always right but hitting the exact wording of what they want can be sooo difficult


I’m currently doing GCSE Edexel triple higher but Yh just like a level u need to be getting the exact wording which is always the hardest part

Reply 3

Original post
by amuskan
I’m currently doing GCSE Edexel triple higher but Yh just like a level u need to be getting the exact wording which is always the hardest part


oh god my bad😭😭 i realised i didn't ask for a specific exam board or qualification!!

i'd imagine a lot of it is just key terms then like cover slip, slide (like you've said). maybe also specimen, parts of the microscope like the stage and the objective lens, and magnification! the ones you've listed are probably the main lot for gcse though (but of course, do try and check your specification). best of luck with your revision and exams!!

Reply 4

The spec doesn’t rlly help tho tbh it does tel me kinda what I need to know but not in detain i wish it just gave the answers so i could just memorise it off wait u ready done ur GCSEs right did u use the spec as ur checklist and do u have the answers for the spec if u do please send

Reply 5

Original post
by amuskan
The spec doesn’t rlly help tho tbh it does tel me kinda what I need to know but not in detain i wish it just gave the answers so i could just memorise it off wait u ready done ur GCSEs right did u use the spec as ur checklist and do u have the answers for the spec if u do please send

i'm not familiar with the edexcel exam board, nor did i do triple science, but everything that you need to know should be included in your specification, meaning if something isn't there then you don't need to know it. a lot of advice i've come across would be going through your notes and aligning each lesson with where you are in the specification as a way to understand what exactly it is you're being taught and what parts are relevant, as sometimes the notes you have contain extra information which can be helpful at times, but may also be taking up too much of your memory. this should then allow you to really focus on what you're being assessed on and allow you to pick out key words that should appear on the mark schemes for each topic.

Reply 6

Original post
by brasamical
You are asking someone else's work so that "you could just memorise it" (your words, quoted).
I hope you do understand that this is ethically dishonest, but the fact you posted the request in the first place, sadly suggests you don't realise this.
It's ok to ask advice and guidance, and that's what @neptune_ politely gave you . But asking someone's else's hard work to memorise it and making it look like your own, is not: it's fraud, pure and simple.
FYI: At University (if you plan a future at University), that would yield prompt sanction, with trouble for the person who deliberately helped, too.


Thank you for ur opinion just note that I’m still in year 10 but will defo keep in mind when going uni no bad blood promise

Reply 7

Original post
by brasamical
Thanks, no worries, and happy new year 2025!


Happy new year to u too can’t believe it’s already 2025

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