Australian Science Olympiads (3 Viewers)

[vulgarfraction]

Re: Olympiads

I've seriously got no idea.. I don't know enough about bio. But I'd bet money that it's higher than phys or chem.

 

[Wooz]

Re: Olympiads

Yes i mean the camp, the top 21-23(depending on staff and tutor numbers) students are invited to go to the camp. There is no set cut-off mark for the olympiads they just take the top 20 or so candidates.

 

[shepwarp]

Re: Olympiads

oh ok cool... yeah I haven't heard much about these olympiads and things so I am just sussing them out

 

[onethreehundred]

Re: Olympiads

the chemistry test seemed easier this year than in recent years; redox equations and organic chemistry constitutes about half of the paper

 

[vulgarfraction]

Re: Olympiads

think the cutoff for physics will be 60% this yr, compared to 40% or so usually. the circuit and donkey questions were give aways

Those figures are for the camp, you think? What about HD's and D's? (And what percentages of total entrants get each?)

 

[Wooz]

Re: Olympiads

Vulgarfraction those figures are not for the camp, entry to the camp is based on your ranking. HD, D, C, P depend on the results of this years cohort.

onethreehundred: where are all of your figures and %'s from? Have u spoken to past olympiaders who made it to the camp and trainers, because i have and there is no cutoff mark for entry, entry is based on the ranking of the top candidates.

 

[vulgarfraction]

Re: Olympiads

Vulgarfraction those figures are not for the camp, entry to the camp is based on your ranking. HD, D, C, P depend on the results of this years cohort.

onethreehundred: where are all of your figures and %'s from? Have u spoken to past olympiaders who made it to the camp and trainers, because i have and there is no cutoff mark for entry, entry is based on the ranking of the top candidates.

You don't get what I mean. Of course I know that you don't get in the camp on figures. If it's an easy test then fifty people get in and then what? But each year there's an approximate lowest mark that gets you in. That's what everyone's been estimating for the past page or so. Understand that concept?

 

[SoulSearcher]

Re: Olympiads

You'll find out if you get in when they tell you if you got in.

 

[shepwarp]

Re: Olympiads

such a confuddling process... I guess I will just sit and wait for my participation certificate to reach me lol... I majorly screwed up.

 

[shepwarp]

Gosh you were prepared :S... it's people like you who make me feel bad

 

[Wooz]

James Ruse started preparing in Feburary they had lessons scheduled just for the olympiads one per week. The people who get in are usually freaks who can remember all the concepts in the uni textbooks.

 

[shepwarp]

Crazy... but from the sounds of things you were pretty on top of it all my teacher didn't hand us out Campbell textbooks... I don't think she was pressuring on us to go well this year... our school usually has at least one student place in the top three awards for Tasmania (which I guess doesn't say much... pop'n 490 000 lol)... but this year we only had two girls going in it and our other three entrants were guys from our brother school.

One girl from my school got into the camp last year and she hadn't studied at all... but she wasn't terribly serious about it all... but she is pretty intelligent... just not freaky intelligent lol. Although... out of the camp she did get a formal date

 

[Wooz]

Re: Olympiads

I've been talking to two of the scholars from ASO post-exam of course. Note their is no cut-off mark for the camp and is based on ranking (top 23 get in)!!! For Chem camp entry entrants usually have a mark above 40%, HD is ususally 10-15%+, D around 10% correct, but it varies every year depending on the exam and cohort.

 

[shepwarp]

Re: Olympiads

You'd think it'd be a mark of about 80% or higher at least for bio though wouldn't you? I mean most of the stuff on that exam was doable...

 

[Wooz]

Re: Olympiads

You'd think it'd be a mark of about 80% or higher at least for bio though wouldn't you? I mean most of the stuff on that exam was doable...

Yeah 80% is achievable if you know most of the stuff but you have to remember you also have to focus on yr11 not just the olympiad.
I'll ask tonight one of the scholars tonight, but what i posted up was for chem and i know in the the recent years the bio NQE has been dumbed down with no 25 mark essay/thesis questions. Then again they take the top 23 students.

 

[shepwarp]

Re: Olympiads

lol... haha yep... year 11 is most definitely the priority atm... ... although in Tas it's not that big a deal if you screw up year 11... you can pick up the pieces in year 12... Wooz how are you finding bio as HSC? Is it very diff to TCE?

 

[Wooz]

Re: Olympiads

lol... haha yep... year 11 is most definitely the priority atm... ... although in Tas it's not that big a deal if you screw up year 11... you can pick up the pieces in year 12... Wooz how are you finding bio as HSC? Is it very diff to TCE?

Yeah here in NSW up to 30% of yr 11 can be examined in the sciences. Theirs alot of theory work.

Yr 11 topics
Local Ecosystem: (Terrestrial & acquatic environments, Energy in ecosystem, interactions and responses)
Patterns in Nature: (Cells-structure, cell funtions and forms, systems and cells nutrients, gas exchenge, transporting nutrients and waste, growth and repair)
Life on Earth: (Origion of life, fossils and evolution, procaryotes, taxonomy)
Evolution of Australian Biota: (Gondwana, Flora and fauna changes, adaptatins, future of australian biota)

Yr 12
Maintaining a balance (Enzymes, body function, Immune, Blood, Active, Passive transport, regulation)
Blueprint of life (evidence for evolution, mendel, chromosomes, enheritance, technology and genetic engineering)
The Search for better health (Healthy organism, importance of clealiness, search for microbes, infectious diseases, immune system, protecting the body, epidemiology)
Option topic: Either Genetics, Bio Chem, Communication, etc.

HSC Bio Syllabus: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/syllabus2000_listb.html#biology

I was looking at the TQA are all of your external exams are seperated do you do your external examination throughout the year?
Im also confused with for A, B, C rating system.

In NSW our marks are half internal and half external, the external exam is a single 3 hour exam and the end of yr 12.

 

[shepwarp]

Re: Olympiads

In Tasmania you pick subjects and each of those subjects only lasts for one year... the Biology course is one year long and you can do it in either year 11 or year 12 because it doesn't require any prerequisite subjects (like physics or chem are year 12 subjects pretty much because physical sciences is a prerequisite (or leadup) subject).

Basically you can do a maximum of 5/6 pretertiary (5C) subjects a year in years 11 and 12... but when it comes down to counting your TER score you can count up to two scores from year 11 and the other three scores from year 12... or one from year 11... and four from year 12... or none from year 11 and five from year 12.

The subjects that have external examinations are all 5C subjects and are pretertiaries... the A means it's a 50 hour course... B means it's a 100 hour course... and C means it's a 150 hour course... kind of like how the 3 unit, 4 unit thing works I guess?

We get assessed internally throughout the year for 10 criteria (with inclass tests, midyear exams, assignments, writeups etc)... and given an A, B, C or D rating on those... then in the end of year external exams (3 hours for most pretertiary subjects... stuff like music gets away with a 2 hour exam) we get assessed on 5 of the original 10 criteria and given an A, B, C or D rating on those...

If that makes sense? It sounds so complicated lol.

Anyway... the biology syllabus is okay, but by the sounds of things we aren't as thorough as you guys are. We don't do the Immune System... and we don't do The Search for Better Health. But apart from that I guess we are pretty even? I'm not sure... I think the fact that you guys have two years would mean you are more thorough.

 

[vulgarfraction]

Re: Olympiads

Hey, what do you guys reckon would happen if some of the invited people don't go to the camp? It's bound to happen considering that the most talented people would usually do a few NQE's and get in more than one. Do they ask other people as reserves, or just have less than 23, or invite more in the first place? Because I'm pretty sure that AMOC people invite others to go when some people can't make it..

If, then, do people know that they are reserves?

 

[SoulSearcher]

Re: Olympiads

If that makes sense? It sounds so complicated lol.

Somewhat confusing, but it makes sense, I think