Author Topic: Unit 6 Practical Biology  (Read 1701 times)

Offline nickyrp

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Unit 6 Practical Biology
« on: March 29, 2010, 09:18:01 am »
oh gosh I need help! I have absolutely no idea what to do for my Unit 6 for Biology. It seems like, after searching for hours in the internet, I can only find simple experiments that are not related to A2. Either that or it does not have any good rationale. :( Like an experiment involving different types of mouthwash with different ingredients, I have a good procedure, but no rationale! SOBS.


Any ideas on what can be done in 4 weeks and has a solid rationale. :) Please help me with ideas? :D :D

Offline Dr.Black Knight

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2010, 10:03:55 am »
which board are you doing?

Offline nickyrp

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2010, 10:31:36 am »
Edexcel. :D

Offline MaNi_DaDuDe

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2010, 11:14:08 am »
oh gosh I need help! I have absolutely no idea what to do for my Unit 6 for Biology. It seems like, after searching for hours in the internet, I can only find simple experiments that are not related to A2. Either that or it does not have any good rationale. :( Like an experiment involving different types of mouthwash with different ingredients, I have a good procedure, but no rationale! SOBS.


Any ideas on what can be done in 4 weeks and has a solid rationale. :) Please help me with ideas? :D :D

Hey! :)

Since I do not do Edexcel, I am not really sure what to say but I'd say to have a read of :
http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/GCE-Biology-6BI06-FAQs.pdf
and
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=939606

There was a thread with all the edexcel experiments in the forum, let me find it and link you..

Good Luck!


-MaNi

[[EDIT]] :: Have a look at https://studentforums.biz/index.php/topic,6046.0.html and https://studentforums.biz/index.php/topic,4830.0.html :S

Dug up some quotes from various forums: (not sure they'll help but. . . :/)

Quote
-Try as much as possible to summerize the important points(i.e, in chi squared, Correlation test,etc)
-DON'T by mug up any notes(i.e, mugging up notes on Chi squared, etc.; it's about learning how to use it)
-Practice all the past papers
-learn all the practical works(i.e, experiments from 'Respiration nad Coordination' and 'Genetics, Evolution & Biodiversity')

Quote
as for your questions, try getting the book Nelson Advanced science 'Tools, Techniques and Assesment in Biology'. Remember the important tests for those doing W2: chi squared, t-test, (Spearman)correlation test, Mann-Whitney U test,Wilcoxon test and linear reggresion..Practice how to use all of them. so far as I know, some of these tests hanen't appear in any of the past papers; the most frequent in the past papers are the t-test and correlation. there are some chi squared and Mann-Whitney U test. I heard my teacher say that there was a Wilcoxon test-even to her own amazment. In fact, my teacher & I concluded that we learn how to use ALL tests. I even asked her where the syllabus for W2 was and she siad it is not there (So I have no idea of W2 syllabus).So my advice to you is to practice all pass papers. in one of the past papers there was need to use tabulating data in form of tally chart (so revise any necessary mathematics).

As for groovy angel:
The practicals are ;
-A breeding experiment using tribolium
-estimating population size using the Lincoln Index
-a comparison of two closely related communities
-timed float method to determine current velocity
-determining ph of a soil sample
-determining water content of a soil
-investigating effect of weedkillers on plant growth
-investigating the effects of mineral deficiency
-the effects of light intensity and carbondioxide concentration on the rate of photosynthesis
-chromotography of chloroplast pigments

(All the above are from Unit 5)

-Use of a redox indicator to show dehydrogenas activity
-Measuring reaction time
-Histology of spinal cord

(all the above are from unit 4; practical from option section are NOT required to be studied as questions will not be asked from the for W2 that is.)

You can get the summarized form of the practicals from Nelson advance science 'Make the grade' for Biology(the book is a revision guide)-just understand the points and DON'T mug them up.

So far as I know, I haven't seen the need for equations; but just go through them like degrees of freedom, how to calculate U values, etc.

Your study and revision is incomplete without practicing with past papers; so try hard to get them.

Remember: It's never too late to start revision; 'IT'S MIND OVER MATTER'.the sooner to the exam you know everything the better

You don't have to revise the whole Biology syallabus for W2.It's more of analyzing, presenting data,etc.(at least learning the whole A2 practicals for W2 is also good for the Unit 4&5 exam)


Try to do as much; remember that you're writing Edexcel, so don't leave any stone unturned!

Good luck (and by the way some yoga REALLY helps)
« Last Edit: March 29, 2010, 11:20:32 am by MaNi_DaDuDe »

Offline Kim

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2010, 03:58:38 pm »
oh gosh I need help! I have absolutely no idea what to do for my Unit 6 for Biology. It seems like, after searching for hours in the internet, I can only find simple experiments that are not related to A2. Either that or it does not have any good rationale. :( Like an experiment involving different types of mouthwash with different ingredients, I have a good procedure, but no rationale! SOBS.


Any ideas on what can be done in 4 weeks and has a solid rationale. :) Please help me with ideas? :D :D

hey finally some one doing edexcel
well for question 1 u need to know all the practiclas u have done
the practicals are written in the syllabus in bold
learn them
then for question 2 its just calculations and u need to know when to use which type of ghraph
then comes q3 the worst question this is where you have to plan an experiment
make a note of wat is stated in the question always know whether da experiment is in the lab or outside it is stated in the question
do not make a foolproof plan because you will have to give improvements
for eg for growing seeds you can use wet cotton for the experiment and in improvements you can write about using soil
mention the type of sampling you are using along wid the method of collection (transacts or quadrats)
then describe the calculations as well as the test you are gonna do and state wen to use which hypothesis
also draw a table as an example along wid an example graph.
you also need to know some safety precautions and ofcourse u need to describe the plan as well
just know all of this and ull do great
remember there are 2 marks for organisation so plan it in ur head b4 u write so that everything comes in the right order
you also need to remember to write numerical values example length of land shud be about 100m2
then how much of the sample u are taking and how many petri dishes or fields etc
good luck
if you need more help you can always mail me
hopefully i helped
After all is said and done, more is said than done.

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Offline T.Q

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2010, 11:47:08 pm »
No Matter What Happens In Life , Just Don't Lose Hope :)

Offline Kim

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2010, 03:55:59 pm »
hey
ihave got a doubt cud sum1 tell me how to do the graph for may 07 paper??
ms says its a histogram but i dont understand how do u draw it?
After all is said and done, more is said than done.

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Offline Kim

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2010, 04:16:31 pm »
come on any one???
the paper is tomorrow i really need the answer
After all is said and done, more is said than done.

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Offline Kim

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2010, 06:19:16 pm »
seriously ppl emergency anyone???
After all is said and done, more is said than done.

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Offline Kim

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Re: Unit 6 Practical Biology
« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2010, 06:52:19 pm »
guess not
"goes and cries in a corner" lol
not really haha
i got my answer
After all is said and done, more is said than done.

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.