**Leaving Cert AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE 2014-predictions,discussion,queries etc**

LmnadZ

Alright guys about a week left let's get this started!Talk about anything in this subject.

My predictions(not really):

soil question so definitely going to know to know top to bottom on it.
Grass question-must know
Little question on sheep maybe about fostering a lamb,question on feeding/maintaining suckler cows,life cycle of liverfluke,questions on genetics especially embryo implantation,asexual reproduction in plants ,vegetative propagation(grafting etc.)

definitions on general husbandry such as Dagging,dipping,tail docking, genetics definitions such as polyploidy,allele,hybrid vigour or heterosis,soil ones like immibitional water,water table,loamy soil,humus etc.

Experiments:
%fat content in milk
Isolating DNA from a plant sample
Demonstrate flocculation

From the top of my head gotta find some more,your thoughts .?

Saskatchewan

I'd say we'll be getting a good deal on forestry this year, probably in Q9.

Also I didn't think isolating plant DNA was on the ag science course. I reckon we'll get selective herbicide and milk test.

SoundInfluence

Good old % organic matter will come up in Q4.. And hopefully a nice soil experiment in Q2 like compare capillarity between 2 contrasting soils!

Crazy that Q1,2,4 and 7 equate to 204 marks out of 300 and you know what can pretty much come up!

Saskatchewan

SoundInfluence wrote: »

Crazy that Q1,2,4 and 7 equate to 204 marks out of 300 and you know what can pretty much come up!

I never realised they were worth that much.... that's pretty much 75% overall predicted (including the project)..... Ridiculous! :eek::eek:

onethreefive

I'm looking forward to Ag Science Since January I have put so much work into Ag and I'm hoping it pays off! I have to avoid Q7 because I never understood the crosses but other than that it shouldn't be too bad. I'm not sorted yet for the experiments though, There are so many of them!

LmnadZ

Saskatchewan wrote: »

I'd say we'll be getting a good deal on forestry this year, probably in Q9.

Also I didn't think isolating plant DNA was on the ag science course. I reckon we'll get selective herbicide and milk test.

We never did forestry in my class :0 oh we'll you can skip it right?

SoundInfluence wrote: »

Good old % organic matter will come up in Q4.. And hopefully a nice soil experiment in Q2 like compare capillarity between 2 contrasting soils!

Crazy that Q1,2,4 and 7 equate to 204 marks out of 300 and you know what can pretty much come up!

That's quite crazy but I am not sure about my project though,especially my pictures which turned out to so bad.I had to stick in purple cows because of that faulty cartridge in my the printer :€

onethreefive wrote: »

I'm looking forward to Ag Science Since January I have put so much work into Ag and I'm hoping it pays off! I have to avoid Q7 because I never understood the crosses but other than that it shouldn't be too bad. I'm not sorted yet for the experiments though, There are so many of them!

If u did biology you might fly through the EXPs :-|

WhatzLogin

Does anyone have any Ag-Science predictions?


Post your Predictions and what you plan to study for both levels so I can get an idea what I should study.

ExpensiveClock

WhatzLogin wrote: »

Does anyone have any Ag-Science predictions?


Post your Predictions and what you plan to study for both levels so I can get an idea what I should study.

I predict cows. Lots of them

onethreefive

What experiments do ye all know? People keep saying the experiments are the easiest question and I think that it's the hardest

Owen.N

Alright lads ( and ladies )it's less than a week to go till **** hits the fan. So we'll start of with a few predictions. Pretty obvious every year, the genetics and soil and that dodgy question 9 which is unpredictable. That and dairy, pig breeding, animal feed stuffs and nutrients, grass and root crops.

Badwulf

IVE GOT LIKE 4 DAYS TO CRAM THE WHOLE AG COURSE INTO MY SKULL, TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD REALLY BE FOCUSING ON COS I WANNA GET LIKE A C OR B

ExpensiveClock

Badwulf wrote: »

IVE GOT LIKE 4 DAYS TO CRAM THE WHOLE AG COURSE INTO MY SKULL, TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD REALLY BE FOCUSING ON COS I WANNA GET LIKE A C OR B

Dairy
Beef
Pigs (rarely comes up but sometimes as a comparison but you're better off not risking it)
Sheep


Grassland
Grazing Systems
Cereals (Potatoes and Barley)


Genetics


Experiments


Soil is optional really but if you can handle it it's a good one to know seeing as it's guaranteed

WhatzLogin

ExpensiveClock wrote: »

I predict cows. Lots of them

no reason to be a smart-ass ..
don't reply if you dont have anything useful to say ..

T0001

Some practice Q9's.

Give Scientific explanations for:

a. Candling chicken eggs after 5 days in an incubator.
b. Thinning of forests after 10 years.
c. Autumn ploughing
d. Taking Soil samples.
e. Ventilation in Farm Buildings

Enjoy!

ExpensiveClock

T0001 wrote: »

Some practice Q9's.

Give Scientific explanations for:

a. Candling chicken eggs after 5 days in an incubator.
b. Thinning of forests after 10 years.
c. Autumn ploughing
d. Taking Soil samples.
e. Ventilation in Farm Buildings

Enjoy!

Do people plan on answering Q9?

It seems like by far the hardest one to prepare for and just completely unpredictable

accountname

ExpensiveClock wrote: »

Do people plan on answering Q9?

It seems like by far the hardest one to prepare for and just completely unpredictable

It can often look hard, but it's fairly easy to bluff it too if you know anything about the topic at all. They only look for 3 points for each so if you have time at the end, right a few points on it if you can and it can be handy marks!

Saskatchewan

Effort of ag study with this weather.....

Anyone have any even half ideas about what might be there?

Q1,2,4,7 are okay, but I still need 2 others! Effort....

T0001

I'll be doing Q1,2,4,7,9 and probably one of the options on 3, like usual.
ALlhough we has so much time in the mocks alot of us did extra questions

onethreefive

Hopefully answering every question apart from Q7 and Q9

Derek101

If you have 2 days to study for the test what would the main sections be very far behind and need to cram a lot in. Also what experiments would people recommend doing and which ones are likely to come up?

LiverpoolLad95

For question 9 do you only have to give 1 note or 3 notes?

E.G. (b) Teat dipping of cows after milking.

Answer- Disinfect the teat.

Would this suffice?

Saskatchewan

LiverpoolLad95 wrote: »

For question 9 do you only have to give 1 note or 3 notes?

E.G. (b) Teat dipping of cows after milking.

Answer- Disinfect the teat.

Would this suffice?

You have to give at least 3 points, just write EVERYTHING you know or think might be half right!

Eg: dip teats to disinfect teats from bacteria using an iodine spray. Prevents mastitis that would lead to losses. Reduces TBC of the milk etc....

Not all relevant but there isn't any negative marking!

Badwulf

So tempted to drop down pass on the day, but the fact I only bet around 40 points with a B is ridiculous...

onethreefive

What experiments do ye think will come up. I got some serious narrowing down to do.

Badwulf

What I know
Cows
Sheep
Dairy
Pigs
Geneitics

and thats it D3 here I come <333

onethreefive

Badwulf wrote: »

What I know
Cows
Sheep
Dairy
Pigs
Geneitics

and thats it D3 here I come <333

I know the same but I always get confused as to what they are actually asking then when I see the marking scheme it's like I knew that! Learning pigs at the minute :cool:

Badwulf

whats must know for soil?

onethreefive

I'd say the soil experiments would be good to know. There isn't too many of them to learn before tomorrow.

Badwulf

How many pages was everyones folder? :pac:

Saskatchewan

Badwulf wrote: »

How many pages was everyones folder? :pac:

My Project was 100 pages...

Louisew97

I wouldn't spend a lot of time on sheep as it only comes up on small part of a question . Grassland comes up a lot . My teacher just said keep writing and answering as much questions as possible !!

SoundInfluence

Do you think pigs could come up as a big Q or just a part Q like in q1?
Hoping for some sweet bacon tomorrow!

Badwulf

Saskatchewan wrote: »

My Project was 100 pages...

I hope to god you mean the entire thing and not just the livestock section by itself :(

Saskatchewan

Id love a full question on something biology related or tillage. A full question on barley please!


@Badwulf Yeah entire thing was 100 pages, about 50 pages of photos and 50 of words! Think 10,000ish words altogether

ExpensiveClock

What score out of 100 did everyone get in the practical?

halppme

ExpensiveClock wrote: »

What score out of 100 did everyone get in the practical?

How did you find out what you got in the practical??

halppme

Also my project was about 50 pages, not much waffle straight to the point with a good layout & photos but some people in my class had over 200 pages eeeeek.

Colinted

halppme wrote: »

How did you find out what you got in the practical??

Well your teacher marks it so he/she can tell you if they want although there not supposed to.....I got 21% out of 25% I think

Fudge dice

Saskatchewan wrote: »

Id love a full question on something biology related or tillage. A full question on barley please!


@Badwulf Yeah entire thing was 100 pages, about 50 pages of photos and 50 of words! Think 10,000ish words altogether

I only had 40 pages on my project and I got 100

Badwulf

Colinted wrote: »

Well your teacher marks it so he/she can tell you if they want although there not supposed to.....I got 21% out of 25% I think

How many pages did you do?

Colinted

Badwulf wrote: »

How many pages did you do?

80 altogether

Our grade was also decided by assessments we did in class on each topic

Mayo4sam14

Dropping down to pass in the morning. Is the project still included in overall mark if i do pass?

accountname

Fudge dice wrote: »

I only had 40 pages on my project and I got 100

This is why I hate teachers marking our own projects. There's no way to set a proper standard at all. Our teacher has been teaching for 20 odd years and he said that this year, he genuinely had the best projects he's ever had, yet said he'd never give anyone close to full marks. There's no way to keep it as fair and unbiased as with the full exam. While I get the interview is out to change that, they never actually bring projects up. I don't see why Ag gets special treatment and doesn't have its' project marked externally like every other subject.

Anyways on a lighter note, best of luck tomorrow :P

randylonghorn

accountname wrote: »

Our teacher has been teaching for 20 odd years and he said that this year, he genuinely had the best projects he's ever had, yet said he'd never give anyone close to full marks.

The externs who come in do look at the projects too you know!

accountname

randylonghorn wrote: »

The externs who come in do look at the projects too you know!

Oh I know :P

But I just don't think it's right that it's a class based thing, one person can't be marked up and one down if they so deserve so. Can't understand why it's not marked like every other Leaving Cert project tbh.

Alas, ranting on boards won't get me anywhere :pac:

randylonghorn

accountname wrote: »

But I just don't think it's right that it's a class based thing, one person can't be marked up and one down if they so deserve so.

Nevertheless, if your teacher was impressed with the standard of the projects this year, as you say, yet is generally a tough marker, there is a definite possibility that the extern may have prodded his marks up a little.

You would be surprised how well an experienced extern can gauge the standard in a group (and the standard of individuals within that group) from quite a brief visit ... and in particular, they get a feel very quickly for whether a teacher / initial marker is inclined to be lavish or stingy with marks.

rainbowtrout

Mayo4sam14 wrote: »

Dropping down to pass in the morning. Is the project still included in overall mark if i do pass?

yes the project is marked at common level and is worth 25% at both higher and ordinary level.

omara95

Very nice paper. Really happy with it. Did anyone else think question 9 was unusually easy this year?

SoundInfluence

Beautiful paper!! Experiments only Q I didn't answer

Badwulf

Horrible paper. Unless I got around 60-70 marks for the folder I prob failed

PRDY

What is the weight of a replacement heifer at yearling stage? I said 290kg, the answer isn't in our book. Its probably round 270kg now I think about it.