The purpose of this drawing is to show accurately the components of individual cells observed using an optical microscope. The drawing should be detailed but should not show more than two or three cells. Tissue map The purpose of a tissue map is to show the location and extent of tissues in an organ or in a whole organism. Cellular detail of any of the tissues should not be shown. Instead, the outline of each tissue should be drawn. This often presents a problem, since cell differentiation is seldom discrete. Students must use their background knowledge and understanding to interpret what they see. Body plan Following dissection, a morphological drawing should provide a lifelike representation of the main body parts exposed by the dissection. Common errors in biological drawing The table shows errors that commonly occur when students begin to practise drawings of biological material. Each would reduce the value of the drawing and result in loss of credit being awarded. Most result from lack of attention or care and are easily solved. in Biology During development of the new specification, there was general agreement amongst examiners, teachers and representatives from higher education & industry that there is no value in students calculating test statistics manually as in most commercial and academic institutions computers are used to carry out the numerical calculations. Consequently, we expect that most students will often use electronic devices to calculate test statistics during their classwork. In written examinations, students might be asked to perform simple calculations such as fining a mean value. Students will not be asked to perform a calculation using a statistical test. It will be important for students to understand how to select a statistical test that is appropriate for given data and to be able interpret the results of such a statistical test. Students could also be asked to explain their choices and interpretation. Students taking A-level Biology should be familiar with the language of statistics and understand the need to devise random sampling procedures that avoid observer bias. Students will be expected to be familiar with the following types of statistics. Descriptive statistics that provide an understanding of the data. Inferential statistics that enable inferences about a population based on the sample of data that has been collected.
The purpose of this drawing is to show accurately the components of individual cells observed using an optical microscope. The drawing should be detailed but should not show more than two or three cells. Tissue map The purpose of a tissue map is to show the location and extent of tissues in an organ or in a whole organism. Cellular detail of any of the tissues should not be shown. Instead, the outline of each tissue should be drawn. This often presents a problem, since cell differentiation is seldom discrete. Students must use their background knowledge and understanding to interpret what they see. Body plan Following dissection, a morphological drawing should provide a lifelike representation of the main body parts exposed by the dissection. Common errors in biological drawing The table shows errors that commonly occur when students begin to practise drawings of biological material. Each would reduce the value of the drawing and result in loss of credit being awarded. Most result from lack of attention or care and are easily solved. in Biology During development of the new specification, there was general agreement amongst examiners, teachers and representatives from higher education & industry that there is no value in students calculating test statistics manually as in most commercial and academic institutions computers are used to carry out the numerical calculations. Consequently, we expect that most students will often use electronic devices to calculate test statistics during their classwork. In written examinations, students might be asked to perform simple calculations such as fining a mean value. Students will not be asked to perform a calculation using a statistical test. It will be important for students to understand how to select a statistical test that is appropriate for given data and to be able interpret the results of such a statistical test. Students could also be asked to explain their choices and interpretation. Students taking A-level Biology should be familiar with the language of statistics and understand the need to devise random sampling procedures that avoid observer bias. Students will be expected to be familiar with the following types of statistics. Descriptive statistics that provide an understanding of the data. Inferential statistics that enable inferences about a population based on the sample of data that has been collected.
aqa-practical-hand-book-requirements.docx