Leaving Cert biology: No shocks, no surprises - but skeleton question spooks some

There were no major shocks or curveballs on a wide-ranging higher-level biology paper that allowed students to play to their strengths, teachers have said.

Margaret McGagh, ASTI subject representative and a biology teacher at Dunmore Community School in Co Galway, said that the questions that candidates would have expected appeared on the paper.

“They always get questions on ecology and, this year, they were there, as were questions on respiration, genetics and human reproduction,” Ms McGagh said.

“There have been a few years where one question contained both plant and human biology, and it was welcome that they were kept separate in this exam.”

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Wesley Hammond, a biology teacher at the Institute of Education in Dublin, said that the paper was very fair, with few surprises.

“Thanks to the ample choice afforded, students would have been able to answer a full paper while avoiding less popular topics completely,” he said.

“There was great clarity within many questions, both in terms of phrasing and focus, as there was minimal mixing of topics.

“Those who put in the effort to get a thorough grasp of every part of the topics will find this paper a fantastic opportunity to prove that to the examiner. There were of course trickier questions, but those who took the time to read through the paper will have been able to navigate them.”

There were, however, some tricky parts, both teachers said.

“Some questions did have a sting in their tail, particularly in the latter part of the paper,” said Mr Hammond.

“Section C had many moments that tested the finer details of topics in a way that would really distinguish the H1/H2 students. For example, the ecology question’s demand on the nitrogen and carbon cycles will have turned off many who may have previously expected to do that question. Other questions were rather verbose or wordy in a way that would likely be off putting for a weaker student.”

Ms McGagh said that most of the short questions were doable, although question three, on skeletons, used an unfamiliar word, “innominate”.

“Innominate bones are pelvic bones, but innominate is not a word we have come across and I don’t believe it is one that is on the syllabus,” she said.

- Section A&B

- Section C

Ordinary

Ms McGagh said that the ordinary paper was familiar and doable.

“There was nothing there that would not suit an ordinary level student, although some parts of the ecology question were a bit wordy and may have challenged some students,” she said.

Liam Hennelly, Studyclix.ie subject expert and a biology teacher at Belvedere College in Dublin said that the ordinary level paper had a wide range of topics.

“Short questions included food, scientific method, digestion, respiration, microscopy, DNA & the nervous systems. Experiment questions included ecology, osmosis and leaf yeast.

“The long Questions gave students a lot of choice across ecology, genetics, photosynthesis, human reproduction and circulatory system amongst other topics. Overall,  the paper was very fair and accessible,” Mr Hennelly said.

- Section A (ordinary)

- Section B (ordinary)

Try this one at home:

Leaving Cert biology (higher level)

Mushrooms belong to kingdom Fungi. (i) Suggest one way in which you could distinguish between edible and poisonous mushrooms. (ii) Name any one example of an edible mushroom. (iii) Name any one example of a poisonous mushroom.

Another member of kingdom Fungi is Rhizopus (or common bread mould). (iv) Draw a diagram showing the basic structure of Rhizopus, labelling the following parts: stolon, rhizoid, sporangium. (v) Give one function for each of the following parts: 1. Stolon 2. Rhizoid 3. Sporangium (vi) Name the mode of nutrition used by Rhizopus.