Hello and welcome to this pre-recorded event for the June 2015 examination for Unit B3
GCSE Further Additional Science (Biology). To help you get the most out of this feedback,
you may want to have the following documents handy as we will refer to them during the
session. Here are the aims and objectives of today's
session. You will: Receive feedback on national performance of
candidates in Unit 3 of the June 2015 examination series.
Consider the variation of candidates' performance on different questions and possible reasons
why. Look at the Examiner's Report.
Address common issues. The next three slides will look at question
5c of the Foundation tier paper. This question gave the candidates some information
about yogurt making and they are asked to describe the stages including the role of
micro-organisms. Candidates found this question difficult to
access. This candidate has correctly described why
pasteurisation takes place but then the response is too vague to score the higher marks.
This answer provided no details on the process of yogurt making and unfortunately refers
to lactose being added rather than lactobacillus. In this question, successful candidates:
Knew the process of pasteurisation. Understood the role of lactic acid in clotting
milk to form yogurt. Were able to recall the role of the bacteria
lactobacillus in the conversion of lactose to lactic acid.
The next four slides are about Question 4b part i of the Higher tier paper.
This is a higher topic which involves the understanding of the role of monoclonal antibodies
in pregnancy testing. This candidate has answered well; they were
able to accurately make reference to the attachment of the blue beads to the test strip and that
the hormone was found in the urine of the tester.
This candidate has also given a response worthy of 3 marks showing excellent understanding
of the role of monoclonal antibodies in pregnancy testing.
This candidate did less well but was able to gain one mark for understanding that it
was the hormone that stimulated the monoclonal antibodies to show colour.
In this question, successful candidates: Generally understood that you urinate on the
pregnancy test to activate the antibodies. Were able to understand that the antibodies
were bound to the blue beads. Were able to recognise that it was the hormone
(HCG) in the urine that indicated pregnancy. Look at this example of an answer to question
5b on the higher tier paper. Using the mark scheme, decide what mark you
think should be awarded and why.
This is a point at which you can pause the video to look at the whole question on page
11 of the question paper and the mark scheme and decide on the mark and why.
This was a good response and many candidates produced answers of this quality.
Out of the 6 marking points available, this candidate's answer addressed enough to put
them into marking band 2 so was awarded 4 marks.
They did not give the detail required for level 3 including information about the permeability
of the collecting duct that is essential for the higher marking band.
Successful candidates: Were able to give the action of ADH including
where it is released from and where it acts. Were able to understand that high levels of
ADH caused more water reabsorption. Could relate the action of ADH to the permeability
of the collecting duct. This question is from the foundation tier
paper and is a mathematical question finding a percentage.
This candidate did well in this question as they showed their working and calculated the
correct answer. This candidate did not show their working
and did not calculate the correct answer. They lost possible marks by not showing their
working. Some candidates did better on this question
as they were able to calculate the percentage in various ways but in all cases they need
to show their working. The next four slides show the candidates response
to the higher tier question 3c which was worth 3 marks.
This candidate did not give specific examples. Plants still produce carbon dioxide when they
are burned as fuels but this is somewhat offset by their ability to photosynthesise when growing
thus moving towards the possibility of carbon neutral fuels. General statements about cost
were insufficient for the marks.
This candidate gave an answer worth 4 marks; they addressed both the advantages and disadvantages
of biofuels and were specific in their response. Candidates can improve their responses by
reading the questions carefully and making sure that they do not give vague advantages
or disadvantages which are not qualified. Successful candidates thought the question
through and gave a clear response relevant to the question asked, highlighting the important
advantages and disadvantages.
Look at this example of an answer to question 6c on the higher tier paper.
Using the mark scheme, decide what mark you think should be awarded and why. Please ensure
you look at the graph on page 14 of the question as this is crucial to the response.
This is a point at which you can pause the video to look at the whole question on page
13 and 14 of the question paper and the mark scheme and decide on the mark and why.
This candidate made several correct comments based on the graphical data recognising the
optimum temperature for yogurt formation and what was occurring at higher temperatures.
This candidate achieved mark band 2 with 4 marks but was unable to access mark band 3
as they did not explain why the pH was dropping due to the conversion of lactose into lactic
acid. Across the paper the candidates who lost marks
often had: Gaps in their knowledge.
Were not reading the question carefully, giving responses that were related to the topic being
tested but not answering the question as set. Had difficulty in applying knowledge to new
situations. Had difficulty in analysing, interpreting
and evaluating data. Were not thinking through answers before writing. This slide gives you some websites to access statistics about examinations.
This slide gives some information on the changes to GCE and GCSE examinations.
Thank you.