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Although next year timetables are yet to be finalised, course selection is now finished. Any changes to student courses will now take place in January.

Course Description

Teacher in Charge: Ms N. Chand.

BIOLOGY – YEAR 12
NCEA LEVEL 2
CODE: 12BIO
This course involves study of the key concepts of Biology to enable students to choose further study pathways in this specialist area. Biology study includes Ecology, Genetics, Cell Processes and anatomy. The course is a prerequisite for Level 3 Biology and required for entry into University and Polytechnic Course pathways.
Field Trip: There will be one field trip during the year.

Biology is the scientific study of living things

Life is incredibly varied yet based on common processes. Biologists – and students studying biology – seek evidence to explain the nature of living things, and to understand where and how life is evolving, how evolution links life processes and ecology, and the impact that humans have on all forms of life. Biology explores the interconnectedness of all living things and the environment.

Through learning in biology, students discover that life involves interactions at all levels of organisation: cells interact with their environment and with each other, so do organs, organisms and ecosystems. No living thing exists in isolation from its environment.

For further information see: Ms.Chand

Course Overview

Term 1
Internal Biology 2.1 -AS 91153 Carry out a practical investigation in a biology context, with supervision -4 credits
Introduction
This assessment activity requires you to produce a Biological Report on osmosis in a chosen produce by the biology teacher. The whole investigation is to be carried out in class time.
As part of the assessment, you will be required to:
● individually plan your investigation
● carry out your investigation in pairs
● process and interpret your data and report on the investigation individually
● interpret your findings with relation to another source, after considering and comparing them with the whole class.

Internal Biology 2.2 -AS 91154 Analyse the biological validity of information presented to the public - 3 credits
This activity requires students to analyse the biological validity of information presented to the public on COVID-19, and the impact on people. Students are required to identify and explain how or why the way in which accurate, inaccurate or biased biological information is presented to the public. A comprehensive analysis requires them to prioritise aspects in relation to COVID-19 and vaccinations and evaluating the overall impact on the public.
Evidence is provided in response to a range of pieces of communication (articles/presentations), selected across at least three different genres, which may include: advertisements, documentaries, newspaper articles, historical accounts, and videos.
Students will need to have a base of knowledge of the biology of cell processes and metabolism. You will also need practice at reading and analysing biological information for its validity. Understanding the importance of referencing sources and the implication this has on analysing validity is recommended. Referencing and/or the provision of a reference list are not used as the basis for making judgements against the achievement criteria. They do, however, provide supporting evidence for in-depth and comprehensive analysis.

Term 2
Internal Biology 2.3 -AS 91155 Describe understanding of adaptation of plants or animals to their way of life- 3 credits
You will be looking at how the adaptations affect its way of life as well.

Way of life encompasses the ways in which an organism carries out all its life processes. It includes:
relationships with other organisms – competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism
reproductive strategies, adaptations to the physical habitat.

You may be comparing:
limitations and advantages involved in each feature within each organism
connections between two life processes within each organism which enhance the effectiveness of both processes
limitations and advantages involved in each feature within each organism - linking adaptations.

Term 3
Biology 2.5 - External AS 91157 Demonstrate understanding of genetic variation and change- 4credits
Population genetics is the study of genetic variation within populations and involves the examination and modelling of changes in the frequencies of genes and alleles in populations over space and time. Many of the genes found within a population will be polymorphic - that is, they will occur in a number of different forms (or alleles). Mathematical models are used to investigate and predict the occurrence of specific alleles or combinations of alleles in populations, based on developments in the molecular understanding of genetics, Mendel's laws of inheritance and modern evolutionary theory. The focus is the population or the species - not the individual.

Biology 2.4 - External AS 91156 Demonstrate understanding of life processes at the cellular level - 4 credits

Life is both wonderful and majestic. Yet for all of its majesty, all organisms are composed of the fundamental unit of life, the cell. The cell is the simplest unit of matter that is alive. This standard is looking at the processes that happen at the cellular level and how factors such as availability of resources and the activity of enzymes can affect the cell. For this topic, you do need to understand DNA and protein synthesis and the process of DNA replication, so I recommend looking at Gene expression as well.

https://youtu.be/gFuEo2ccTPA
https://youtu.be/1Z9pqST72is tour of the cell

Term 4
Revision for external exams and opportunities for resubs may be available.