Feedback on GCSE Science double award Biology 2018
Feedback on GCSE Science (double award): Biology 2018
GCSE Double Award Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier Maximum mark = 60 Grade boundary Cumulative % at grade Mean mark = 18. 9 Entry = 18640 C D E F G 23 19 15 12 9 33. 5 52. 5 70. 3 81. 0 89. 4
GCSE Double Award Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier GENERAL COMMENTS FROM PRINCIPAL EXAMINER • Short answer questions usually answered well but candidates struggled with extended answers • Quality of expression was an issue for many • Lack of revision/ preparation was an issue for some • Failure to use comparative responses resulted in many lost marks • Avoid the word amount • Mathematical skills were poor • Practical style questions were done well by a minority of candidates
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier QUESTION 1 – Cell structure • A pleasing number were able to measure and calculate the magnification in (a). However a number multiplied rather than divided in (ii). Candidates should check that their answer makes sense. E. g. Not 16 metres! • Half of the candidates were able to label the vacuole • Most were able to give at least one correct answer in (c). Although few were able to score three or four
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier QUESTION 2 – Enzymes • (a) had a facility factor of 43. 6 – disappointing for a straight forward question. Many appeared to be guessing. • There was a lack of understanding of p. H and very few were able to correctly identify enzyme X as the enzyme that worked in acid conditions or then identify the correct p. H range in (ii). • Many gave ‘mouth’ in (c) which was allowed, but salivary glands would have been preferred.
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier QUESTION 3 – Feeding relationships • This was a type of comprehension exercise and candidates were asked to only use the information given. They were expected to be able to understand the key terms required and then to extract the terms from the passage. • The mean mark of 1. 8/5, shows that this was found to be very challenging. Many copied out large chunks of the passage which did not gain credit. • Percentage calculations were found difficult by most.
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier QUESTION 4 – Respiration • Disappointingly only a minority were able to recall respiration in (ii). • (b) required candidates to draw an arrow on the diagram to show the direction of oxygen. Most were not able to do this and arrows were placed just about anywhere on the diagram. • Most were able to complete the ‘spot the difference activity in (ii) but were not able to explain why this was a problem. • Only better candidates were able to correctly complete the table in (c).
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier QUESTION 5 – Effect of lifestyle factors • Only a minority knew the harmful effect of excess salt was raised blood pressure (although heart or kidney disease/ failure was also allowed). Most were able to give cancer as the answer to ‘smoking cigarettes’. • The question in (b) needed candidates to make a judgement about the success of a trial of e-cigarettes. It was hoped that they would see it was a success, although’quite successful’ was credited. They needed to look at the data and see that it was a success in some aspects but not in others. Few could do this in a constructive way. Most just talked about each bar. • There was little understanding of the term ‘representative’. Many confused this with fair testing.
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier QUESTION 6– Cheek cells - QER • Mean score = 3. 2 out of 6 • Majority of candidates appeared to have done this practical and many good answers were seen. • Use of the mounted needle to harvest cheek cells was disturbingly common. • Many put the cells on the cover slip and put the slide on top. • Full marks could be obtained without use of the mounted needle as long as there was some description of how the coverslip was lowered to prevent the formation of air bubbles. • Quality of drawing was very poor with only a third of candidates gaining any credit here.
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 1 Foundation/ Higher Tier QUESTION 7/1 Microscope • Disappointingly few were able to describe how to select a magnification. Most higher candidates were able to select the x 10 lens but were unable to state power of eyepiece x power of objective for the second mark. • This was also an issue in (b) where equally low number of foundation and higher tier candidates were able to give the function of the coarse focus knob. • Question (c) should have been accessible to key stage 3 students but both foundation and higher tier candidates found it difficult to give these definitions.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 1 Foundation/ Higher Tier QUESTION 8/2 Pollution • Most were not able to interpret the stacked bars. • Candidates were expected to use the map in a(iii) but many gave vague answers such as to stop the waste getting too close to the shore. • Poor understanding that the sewage sludge would be decomposed by bacteria. • Plastic was commonly seen in (c), although it was done poorly by most.
GCSE Double Award Biology Unit 1 Higher Tier Maximum mark = 60 Mean mark = 19. 4 Entry = 8436 A* A B C D Grade boundary 34 22 20 13 9 Cumulative % at grade 8. 1 21. 2 46. 2 76. 0 89. 2
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 1 Higher Tier QUESTION 3 Bile/ lipase QER • Some good responses seen here with candidates gaining marks in the top and middle bands • Many candidates understood emulsification of fats but the site of the action of bile was often stated as the stomach. • The increase in surface area of fat globules was frequently omitted from answers, as was the effect that bile had on the p. H of the small intestine.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 1 Higher Tier QUESTION 4 Lifestyle choices • (a)and (b) were well answered by most. • Most candidates gained one mark for ‘reducing the intake of fats or carbohydrates in the diet’. Answers which stated ‘don’t eat sugars’ or ‘don’t eat fats’ were not credited. Nor were answers which specified the removal of named items of food from the diet, e. g. ‘eat less potatoes/fast food/or eat fewer items from well known fast food outlets’. • Candidates must learn to read questions more carefully. Many candidates referred to taking more exercise when the question specifically asks for two ways in which Iorwerth could alter his diet.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 1 Higher Tier QUESTION 5 Osmosis • (a) and (b) were well done by most. • (c) had a facility factor of 14. 1% and was poorly done. There were far too many instances of candidates incorrectly referring to solutions or sugar or sucrose moving through the SPM by osmosis. • Many candidates attempted to answer (c) by simply quoting the data in the table. This gained no marks. A straightforward definition of osmosis gained no marks. Knowledge of osmosis had to be applied to this naked egg scenario.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 1 Higher Tier QUESTION 6 Photosynthesis • (a)Photosynthesis is not well understood and often confused with respiration. Statements about the gases exchanged during photosynthesis and respiration often appear in the same answer. • (b)Limiting factors is in bold on the specification. Candidates found this question very difficult. • This question [and part (c)] required careful and detailed examination of the table. The candidates were expected to note that in readings 2, 3 and 4 increasing light intensity or CO 2 concentration had no effect on O 2 production. Therefore neither of these factors is limiting. The 2 nd mark is awarded for identifying temperature as being limiting.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 1 Higher Tier QUESTION 7 Heart structure and blood pressure • Most were able to label the pulmonary vein and tricuspid valve// right AV valve • Quality of expression was an issue in b(II). Many referred to ‘sides’ rather than ventricles. However some excellent answers were seen.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 1 Higher Tier QUESTION 8 RESPIRATION • Poorly answered. Equations were very often a mixture of aerobic respiration, anaerobic fermentation and anaerobic respiration in muscle tissue. • The mark for the equation was often lost because ATP was either omitted as a product or substituted with the term energy. • In (b), reference to the incomplete breakdown of the glucose molecule and to fewer molecules of ATP being produced was required for the 2 marks. • (d) required a reference to there being more haemoglobin present. However, this was rarely seen.
GCSE Double Award Biology Unit 4 Foundation Tier Maximum mark = 60 Grade boundary Cumulative % at grade Mean mark = 17. 8 Entry = 12822 C D E F G 21 17 14 11 8 37. 2 55. 0 68. 3 79. 3 88. 4
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 4 Foundation Tier QUESTION 1 – Biotic factors • (i) was done well by most • Common errors in (ii) included missing the title/unit from the axis • (iii) required the understanding of the term ‘hypothesis’ and credit was gained for copying the sentence from the top of the page.
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 4 Foundation Tier QUESTION 2 – Classification • Only a few candidates were able to place the hedgehog in the animal kingdom, with many stating ‘United’ ! • Many gave the full name rather than the Genus. • (b) required both why the scientific name is used as well as why the common name was not used. This passed by many candidates.
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 4 Foundation Tier QUESTION 3 – Nervous system • (i) Very few candidates successfully recognised both of the correct terms – ‘stimuli’ and ‘impulse’ – in the correct order. • Most candidates selected from the more general words ‘signs’, ‘messages’ and ‘signals’. • In part (b) (i) candidates generally failed to make full use of data and confined their answers to generalisations, such as ‘old people don’t hear very well’, which, though it may be true, is not
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 4 Foundation Tier QUESTION 4 – Genetics • Many candidates at this level find genetics to be very challenging, so part (b) is heavily structured and cued in order to provide some support. • The meaning of the term ‘phenotype’ remains unknown to almost all candidates. The most common answers by far were to do with the genotype. This was also the case with heterozygous.
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 4 Foundation Tier QUESTION 5 – Bacteria and antibiotics • Definitions again proved difficult with the term ‘pathogen’. • Two ways in which pathogens spread was well known by most. • The most common answer for an antibiotic was ‘ Paracetamol’. • (c) (ii) Few expressed the idea that the safety limit was likely to have been crossed before the next sampling date
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 4 Foundation Tier QUESTION 6 – Cell division • A response that merely answers the instruction to ‘describe what you can see at the start and the result for each type of cell division’ would gain sufficient credit to put the candidate into middle band. • It is thus disappointing that a great many answers failed to write this simple piece of description. In fact, 15% of the entry did not attempt it all and the mean mark of 2 out of 6, confined the average performance on QER once again to bottom band. • However, there were also some well organised accounts that gained middle band several that went on to demonstrate sufficient knowledge to access top band, with a score of six in some cases.
GCSE Science (double award) Biology Unit 4 Foundation/ Higher Tier QUESTION 7/1 Diabetes • The passage concerning diabetes is followed by two, single-mark comprehension questions and two questions (that call for recall of knowledge from the specification. • In (a) (i) Examiners were looking for the idea that the earlier the condition is detected, the sooner it can be treated or managed. Many vague answers such as ‘so you can do something about it’ were seen. • (c) was particularly poorly done and had a facility factor of 5. 8 on foundation and 28. 4 on higher.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 4 Foundation/ Higher Tier QUESTION 8/2 Variation • Most candidates were unable to calculate the percentage change in mass in (a)(i). • Most candidates did not understand the concept of variation in mass. The idea of spread was rarely seen. • Idea of bias was understood well by most. However the term reproducibility was less well explained. • Some good answers were seen for (b). However please note that candidates need to state that the advantageous gene is passed on.
GCSE Double Award Biology Unit 4 Higher Tier Maximum mark = 60 Mean mark = 26. 1 Entry = 6504 A* A B C D Grade boundary 41 33 25 17 9 Cumulative % at grade 5. 7 24. 2 55. 8 86. 5 97. 8
GCSE Double Award Biology Unit 1 Foundation Tier GENERAL COMMENTS FROM PRINCIPAL EXAMINER • • • As in previous years there is evidence that candidates do not read questions carefully enough, they miss essential detail, or instructions, in the question and lose marks. For examinations, instructing students in how to read questions is almost as important as teaching them the contents of the specification. Use the correct letters on genetic crosses If instructed to only use the information/ diagram, please do so. In maths questions if instructed to give an answer to 2 significant figures, please do so. Use a ruler to draw label lines.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 4 Higher Tier QUESTION 3 Genetics • Candidates struggled to suggest any sensible advantages in (a) • Most were able to complete the Punnett square correctly. • C(i), (ii) and (iii) were found to be tricky by many of the candidates.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 4 Higher Tier QUESTION 4 Reflex arc - QER • Generally well answered with most candidates being placed in the top or middle bands. • Most were familiar with the main components of the reflex arc: • sensory neuron • spinal cord or coordinator (not brain and spinal cord) • relay neuron • motor neuron • effector/muscle • Recalling these 5 components in the correct order put the candidates into the middle band. In order to achieve top band candidates needed at least another two of the following correctly placed: • stimulus + receptor, (electrical) impulse (not electronic), synapse (correct position) and contraction of effector/muscle withdrawing the hand
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 4 Higher Tier QUESTION 5 Capture/ Recapture • Many candidates struggled to gain a mark in (b) • A comparative answer was required in (c). Also candidates were expected to suggest an alternative marking technique to gain credit.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 4 Higher Tier QUESTION 6 Digestive system • Generally well answered, but the use of a ruler may have helped some gain credit. • Some found this difficult. Reference to the volume of sweat produced was required rather than to the speed or the rate of sweating or to changes in the colour of the cobalt chloride paper. • Few understood the purpose of the colour standard. • Many did not refer to mitosis in (d) and so did not gain credit.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 4 Higher Tier QUESTION 7 Immunity • Candidates were expected to study the diagram in (a) and use the information found in it to explain what happens if a foreign antigen enters the body. Many candidates used very little of the information in the diagram in their explanation. • Many candidates struggled with (b). Responses were expected to compare Population 1 and Population 2. Far too many candidates made a simple statement such as – if you are vaccinated you won’t catch measles or if your not vaccinated you’ll catch measles. The question is not about the individual. Candidates were expected to state what they could see on the right-hand side of both the top and bottom part of the diagram.
GCSE Science (Double award) Biology Unit 4 Higher Tier QUESTION 8 Alien species • Most candidates had a general understanding of the meaning of the term invasive species and gained a mark. However the second mark seemed more difficult to obtain. Answers such as – they can take over an area; they compete with other wildlife; they affect biodiversity; they ruin the food chain; they harm native species – were insufficient to gain the mark. • A common error in b(iii) was to not give the answer to two significant figures.
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