Edexcel IAS Biology revision notes

[GARGOYLER]

Hello ,
Below are my personal revision notes for IAS Biology made based on the specification on Edexcel's Website . These notes cover the basics required for the examination , and are divided by topic , but i recommend to revise from the book as well as these notes , as they do not include many examples that are in the book , and are barebones . Good luck with your examinations.

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[Paras]

THE notes are okay but too summarised!

 

[GARGOYLER]

THE notes are okay but too summarised!

THANKS ! butyeah they are an extreme bare bones summary , its not a standalone source .

 

[nor]

hi guys
just wanted to ask about something in the msc that i can't understand
the marks awarded in the msc are for all the points given or it depends
like for example sometimes 2 marks are given but there is about 4-5 points
so shall i mention all four or just two ??!!!
thx in advance

 

[GARGOYLER]

hi guys
just wanted to ask about something in the msct i can't understand
the marks awarded in the msc are for all the points given or it depends
like for example sometimes 2 marks are given but there is about 4-5 points
so shall i mention all four or just two ??!!!
thx in advance

Its a good question . its best to write all that you know about the point stated , because you cant lose marks for writing anything wrong but you will gain points if you write anyrhing right . usually when there are more points than needed in the question the msc will say any two of the following and ignore these . there are no downgrades for writing extra , unless the question is about quality of writing, in which case there are key phrases you mudt write down.

 

[nor]

Its a good question . its best to write all that you know about the point stated , because you cant lose marks for writing anything wrong but you will gain points if you write anyrhing right . usually when there are more points than needed in the question the msc will say any two of the following and ignore these . there are no downgrades for writing extra , unless the question is about quality of writing, in which case there are key phrases you mudt write down.

first of all thx for the fast reply
secondly what i understood is that i shall write 2 or more points to gain the mark
but what if wrote exactly 2 so would i gain the full mark for that question or not ??!
thx

 

[GARGOYLER]

first of all thx for the fast reply
secondly what i understood is that i shall write 2 or more points the mark
but what if wrote exactly 2 so would i gain the full mark for that question or not ??!
thx

It depends on the type of question . if it is a question that says you must state points , writing 2 will get you the mark . if the question is quality of writing , then you must state all the points relevant to the question for full marks .

 

[nor]

It depends on the type of question . if it is a question that says you must state points , writing 2 will get you the mark . if the question is quality of writing , then you must state all the points relevant to the question for full marks .

sorry
but i still didn't get like for example i solved a question right now which is of 2 marks
and in the mark scheme 4 points are given and in the marks column it was written max two and btw it was not a quality question and i gave two answers out of the 4 so this mean that i will be awarded the those two marks (in case i wrote 3 i will also be given 2)

 

[minayoki]

nor I know you asked this question a year ago but maybe I someone who is browsing through may find it useful.

Okay so the general rule I follow is if the questions has (2) Marks next to it I must write two points linked to the question.
Sometimes they specifically ask you "State TWO organelles a Eukaryotic Cell has/ (2) Marks"
Other times they ask you to a general question like "Define the term Heterozygous/ (2) Marks"

Sometimes If it's a 2 mark question, and you can only think of the one point, because as you were revising there was only one point given, you most likely exemplify your answer in the context that they are asking.
E.g Cleft Lip is a result of mutation.
"Define the term Heterozygous/ (2) Marks"
- So I'd define the term, and use cleft lip to as an example to prolong my answer to hit the 2 marks.

This can be applied to 2/3/4 Marks.

If they ask you to write about the process of protein synthesis (5) Marks
It doesn't mean you write 5 points, you write the whole process.

In the mark scheme you will some points in in (brackets) and some in {squiggly brackets}
The squiggly brackets are terms/points you must mention to get the mark. The square bracket is a general guidance/reference for the examiner so is not needed.

When you see a * next to some questions they assess you on your quality of written communication these questions have 4/5/6 marks generally. This is where you are trying to show the examiner how well you understand the question you're answering and it's transparent by the way you've written your answer.
E.g If you ask me to write a recipe on chocolate cake, I'd be able to tell you everything because I know it very well and you will be able to tell by my writing/explanation. If you ask me to write about an ice cream recipe, I wouldn't be able to explain it confidentially, as I don't know it well enough, I would waffle/write nonsense just to prolong the answer and again that can be seen.