2013 Notes from the Marking Centre – Senior Science
Introduction
This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 Senior Science course. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2013 Higher School Certificate examination, highlighting their strengths in particular parts of the examination and indicating where candidates need to improve.
This document should be read along with:
- the Senior Science Stage 6 Syllabus
- the 2013 Higher School Certificate Senior Science examination
- the marking guidelines
- advice for candidates attempting science examinations
- Advice for HSC students about examinations
- other support documents developed by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW to assist in the teaching and learning of Senior Science in Stage 6.
Section I – Part B
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- understanding the role of the skin, particularly microflora in maintaining skin pH (Q.21)
- explaining shampoo’s biodegradability and its environmental impacts (Q.23)
- understanding total internal reflection (Q.26)
- understanding how experimental reliability is achieved and the concept of scientific models and their uses (Q.29)
- knowledge of biomedical devices and the materials they are constructed from (Q.30).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- constructing tables – most candidates drew diagrams (Q.22)
- knowledge of subdermal implants in the delivery of medication (Q.22)
- interpreting information system diagrams (Q.24)
- labelling graphs (Q.25)
- not confusing ‘biomedical device’ with ‘biomaterial’ (Q.25)
- knowledge of the research associated with heart transplants and artificial hearts, as opposed to the role of pacemakers (Q.27)
- understanding how electricity can be transformed into other energy forms (Q.28)
- understanding how communication systems work (Q.26)
- knowing about the use of data loggers and their advantages (Q.29).
Section II – Options
Question 31 – Polymers
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- identifying synthetic polymers (part a)
- drawing a labelled diagram to represent polymerisation (part c).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- describing scientific developments in polymer chemistry (part e)
- interpreting graphical data to recognise key trends (part d).
Question 32 – Preservatives and Additives
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- knowing the requirements for conducting an appropriate experiment (part b).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- understanding the process of osmosis and representing it in a diagram (part c)
- interpreting graphical data to recognise key trends (part d).
Question 33 – Pharmaceuticals
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- understanding the causes of inflammation (part a)
- using flowcharts to show the sequence of events (part d)
- knowledge of the work of scientists such as Fleming, Lister, Pasteur and Jenner (part e)
- knowledge of penicillin resistance in bacteria and how it develops (part e)
- understanding that antibiotics target specific sites in bacteria (part e).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- distinguishing between conscious and reflex arc responses in a specific context (part d)
- interpreting graphical data to recognise key trends (part d).
Question 34 – Disasters
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- naming the types of earthquake waves (part a)
- recognising how short-term weather conditions contribute to the risk of bushfires (part d)
- identifying technologies used in predicting weather patterns (part e).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- contrasting the properties of P, S and L waves produced by an earthquake (part a)
- describing how long-term weather/climate conditions contribute to the risk of bushfires (part d)
- interpreting graphical data to recognise key trends (part d)
- knowing that natural disasters like tectonic events are not due to weather and climate (part e).
Question 35 – Space Science
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- identifying a range of space technologies including some details of their data source and information gathered
- knowledge of the requirements for sustaining human life in space.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- providing information as to how specified human requirements are satisfied in space
- analysing the strengths/weaknesses of the technologies used to collect information about space
- interpreting graphical data to recognise key trends (part d).
NSW Government