Can i pick up biology??

Pk9712

So I was thinking about picking up biology because i heard its just learning off notes which i suppose im good at Im near the end of 5th year and i was going to learn it during summer...any advice?? is it easy to understand it or would i need a teacher?? And would you know how much time would be needed to study it??

aimzLc2

Pk9712 wrote: »

So I was thinking about picking up biology because i heard its just learning off notes which i suppose im good at Im near the end of 5th year and i was going to learn it during summer...any advice?? is it easy to understand it or would i need a teacher?? And would you know how much time would be needed to study it??

Honestly your right thats its just learning off and its easy enough to understand but i would advise you not to take it up now , its too late in my opinion.The course is massive and took us the full two years.

phonypony

I did LC Biology 13 years ago, so I obviously don't know the current curriculum, but I'd say if there's a degree you have your sights on that requires it, or you're just really into it, or you think it could be an easy 100 points, then go for it. Life's too short for regrets and 'what ifs'. The summer is a long time, you'd easily fit 9 months of material if you got the head down a few hours a week.

Jade.

If you're willing to do it over the summer it's possible. It's very manageable to teach to yourself aswell!

Pk9712

Thanks

kingcobra

Do you like Biology? It's simple to understand but it can be a real slog if you don't like it; If you're going to take it up now though you must put in a fair amount of work over the summer as it is a long course

decisions

If you were going to pick up a subject would you not be better off doing a subject with a shorter course, like economics or applied maths? Or Ag science seems popular enough as a 1 yr subject

Someone who does biology is free to correct me on this, but are there not experiments that need to be done and signed off by a teacher?

Pk9712

kingcobra wrote: »

Do you like Biology? It's simple to understand but it can be a real slog if you don't like it; If you're going to take it up now though you must put in a fair amount of work over the summer as it is a long course

It was my faviourite part in JC science and i put it down on my subject choice but got physics instead due to timetable clash. I have more interest in it then physics. And i was thinking an hour to an hour and a half daily would that be enough or would i need to do more??

kingcobra

Pk9712 wrote: »

It was my faviourite part in JC science and i put it down on my subject choice but got physics instead due to timetable clash. I have more interest in it then physics. And i was thinking an hour to an hour and a half daily would that be enough or would i need to do more??

Well at least you have an interest in it anyway and it is an interesting course. Well first of all take a look through the course and see if you like it and then after that try get around half of the course done over the summer and that'll get you up to speed. The main thing is just repetition and get yourself exam papers from the very start. If you can try get notes as well.

Doing an hour and a half daily is a lot easier said than done and it'll just bring the mark down in your other subjects. If you do half the course over the summer (about 5-6 hours a week???) you'll be able to divide your time up fairly between your subjects come Leaving Cert year. Grinds might help keep you on track and on schedule too but with Biology understanding the stuff isn't really a problem so grinds are far from a necessity

Pk9712

kingcobra wrote: »

Well at least you have an interest in it anyway and it is an interesting course. Well first of all take a look through the course and see if you like it and then after that try get around half of the course done over the summer and that'll get you up to speed. The main thing is just repetition and get yourself exam papers from the very start. If you can try get notes as well.

Doing an hour and a half daily is a lot easier said than done and it'll just bring the mark down in your other subjects. If you do half the course over the summer (about 5-6 hours a week???) you'll be able to divide your time up fairly between your subjects come Leaving Cert year. Grinds might help keep you on track and on schedule too but with Biology understanding the stuff isn't really a problem so grinds are far from a necessity

Thanks a million..ill have a look at the course and exam papers etc...tomorrow

damoPL

There are no required experiments BUT there are questions on the exam paper regarding a random experiment. It is a very easy course if you understand concepts easily. You can definitely fit it in the last year that you have. I do biology (5th year) ATM

Pk9712

decisions wrote: »

If you were going to pick up a subject would you not be better off doing a subject with a shorter course, like economics or applied maths? Or Ag science seems popular enough as a 1 yr subject

Someone who does biology is free to correct me on this, but are there not experiments that need to be done and signed off by a teacher?

Well i wouldnt do ag science and im barely hanging on HL maths so applied maths wouldnt be suitable..does economics not require maths???and would you not need a teacher for economics..i would need a subject that i can self-teach myself i prob wont be getting grinds for it either so it needs to be easy to understand...do you do economics?

FaoiSin

Personally I think it's possible! I did it for 2 years so I'm not sure but I didn't find it all that difficult and out of all my science subjects I found it the easiest to get an A1 in. I'm not sure how the experiment sign off will work but the exam itself is very doable with a bit of effort.

decisions

I do Economics and I find it easy enough, the course is short and you can shorten it even more by just covering the regular exam topics. It is just a case of learning off lots of lists and doing the odd easy calculation. You could cover most of the regular Qs over the summer.

Quick question, why are you looking to do another subject?

Pk9712

decisions wrote: »

I do Economics and I find it easy enough, the course is short and you can shorten it even more by just covering the regular exam topics. It is just a case of learning off lots of lists and doing the odd easy calculation. You could cover most of the regular Qs over the summer.

Quick question, why are you looking to do another subject?

I do pass irish. Hl maths isnt looking too good but ill give that a go anyways and physics im mostly around C student but i heard in 6th year physics gets harder so i cant really expect a A or B...but obviously ill try my best, im not afraid of a little hard work (: and would economics be a subject you can teach yourself??

EoghanIRL

An easy subject in general , maybe photosynthesis and respiration might be tricky? Not too late IMO if you work through the summer . Learn a chapter and then do the exam paper questions on it .

Sprog 4

I basically taught myself the whole curriculum even though I had bio classes in school, but the students made the teachers life hell and we learned nothing in class (and this was the higher level class who were supposedly into biology). As was mentioned before, if you have an interest in it and are willing to put in the hours then absolutely you can pick it up. I would say do it, especially if you are not already doing 6 honours subjects.

On a side note, I did applied maths as an extra subject mostly by myself at weekends. It was very tough as I wasn't doing physics but it paid off in the end and increased my points significantly. If you are doing maths and physics then this is maybe worth a look for an extra subject?

Also, I did my LC in 2001 so I'm not even sure if applied maths is still a subject

Pk9712

EoghanIRL wrote: »

An easy subject in general , maybe photosynthesis and respiration might be tricky? Not too late IMO if you work through the summer . Learn a chapter and then do the exam paper questions on it .

Is there a project i have to do that counts toward grade like in geography and history??

Pk9712

Sprog 4 wrote: »

I basically taught myself the whole curriculum even though I had bio classes in school, but the students made the teachers life hell and we learned nothing in class (and this was the higher level class who were supposedly into biology). As was mentioned before, if you have an interest in it and are willing to put in the hours then absolutely you can pick it up. I would say do it, especially if you are not already doing 6 honours subjects.

On a side note, I did applied maths as an extra subject mostly by myself at weekends. It was very tough as I wasn't doing physics but it paid off in the end and increased my points significantly. If you are doing maths and physics then this is maybe worth a look for an extra subject?

Also, I did my LC in 2001 so I'm not even sure if applied maths is still a subject

Thanks for advice but i already do hl maths and physics and accountancy(which theres not really much maths involved but its kinda problem solving) so i dont think i would want to take on another maths subject and i dont particulary like the subject(and im not good at it)...but thanks for advice on biology you gave me hope

decisions

Pk9712 wrote: »

I do pass irish. Hl maths isnt looking too good but ill give that a go anyways and physics im mostly around C student but i heard in 6th year physics gets harder so i cant really expect a A or B...but obviously ill try my best, im not afraid of a little hard work (: and would economics be a subject you can teach yourself??

I covered a fair chunk of the economics course myself and I'm now aiming for an A2. It's definatly do able.

But would you not be better off putting your summer into Maths, Physics and the rest of your subjects?

Pk9712

decisions wrote: »

I covered a fair chunk of the economics course myself and I'm now aiming for an A2. It's definatly do able.

But would you not be better off putting your summer into Maths, Physics and the rest of your subjects?

Well i havnt decided to pick up another subject yet but i wanna see what my options are and if there do-able...and im working on maths at the moment and getting grinds..

kingcobra

Pk9712 wrote: »

Is there a project i have to do that counts toward grade like in geography and history??

Nope there's no project. Every mark you get in Biology is gained on the day itself. Classes go on an ecology trip but it counts nothing toward the grade and it's pretty much the exact same as doing the ecology experiment in 3rd year

Pk9712

kingcobra wrote: »

Nope there's no project. Every mark you get in Biology is gained on the day itself. Classes go on an ecology trip but it counts nothing toward the grade and it's pretty much the exact same as doing the ecology experiment in 3rd year

Does a teacher have to sign of experiments Previous posters said that???

kingcobra

Pk9712 wrote: »

Does a teacher have to sign of experiments Previous posters said that???

Not that I'm aware of. Our teacher is strict about having experiment copies done but she never mentioned that she has to sign them off at the end of the year anyway. The experiment copies definitely don't go for marks in the real thing though

Pk9712

kingcobra wrote: »

Not that I'm aware of. Our teacher is strict about having experiment copies done but she never mentioned that she has to sign them off at the end of the year anyway. The experiment copies definitely don't go for marks in the real thing though

Thanks for the information (:

Layzerman

It's doable if you work through summer I'd say.. Units 1 & 3 are grand to do on your own but Unit 2 might be a bit tricky on your own, especially photosynthesis, respiration and maybe genetics!

EoghanIRL

kingcobra wrote: »

Nope there's no project. Every mark you get in Biology is gained on the day itself. Classes go on an ecology trip but it counts nothing toward the grade and it's pretty much the exact same as doing the ecology experiment in 3rd year

I went on my ecology trip today , to fota :cool: