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Help with Biology questions! (1 Viewer)

x.Exhaust.x

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Biology Questions:

1. Identify and describe two evidences that Australia was once part of Gondwana (6 marks)
2. Describe the similarities of present-day organisms on Gondwanan continents (4 marks)
3. Talk about the relationship of extant and extinct organisms with two examples (5 marks)
4. Use available evidence to illustrate the changing ideas of scientists in the last 200 years about individual species such as the platypus as new information and technologies become available. (5 marks)

How would you answer each question to get the maximum amount of marks obtained? This might be a good test for you biologists for the yearlies :D.

Thanks.
 

MatildaR

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1. Identify and describe two evidences that Australia was once part of Gondwana (6 marks)
rock evidence (same rocks along continents that were joined)
borders of countries fit togeth
fossils found in continents match up

2. Describe the similarities of present-day organisms on Gondwanan continents (4 marks)
Large flightless birds (emu, rhea, casswry etc)

4. Use available evidence to illustrate the changing ideas of scientists in the last 200 years about individual species such as the platypus as new information and technologies become available. (5 marks)
DNA testing has led to discovery that platypus male has 53 chromosone while female has 54
 

ital101

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x.Exhaust.x said:
Biology Questions:

1. Identify and describe two evidences that Australia was once part of Gondwana (6 marks)
Answer:
- The same/similar fossils (rocks and plants) found across Australia and Asian continents when there were never any land bridges there (supposedly).
- Alfred Wegener's theory of plate tectonics...sorry, look it up! :lol:
- Continental drift
- Aborigines migrated to Australia from Papua New Guinea. So how did they get here if the countries weren't attached...Gondwanaland! :D
- There's heaps more...
just pick up a Yr 9 Sci textbook and flick to 'Earth's fragile crust' like I did...Chpt 5 in
Science Focus 3 ...doesn't take a genius to do that!!! Pls don't be lazy.
2. Describe the similarities of present-day organisms on Gondwanan continents (4 marks)
Arrgh look at your textbook, girl/boy. Please!!! Don't waste your time on here when this info is all found in a good Yr 11 or Yr 12 BIO text, just go to your local library and borrow one! :uhhuh:
3. Talk about the relationship of extant and extinct organisms with two examples (5 marks)
Horseshoe crabs and trilobites
Simiar bodies, similar size and shape...eyes located in same position...and so on...um also:
The elephants and the wooly mammoths - mammoth has fur, elephant doesn't, mammoth larger, elephant still of a similar size and shape...related by evolution (I think...thinking back to Yr 10 SCI here, sorry)
4. Use available evidence to illustrate the changing ideas of scientists in the last 200 years about individual species such as the platypus as new information and technologies become available. (5 marks)
Sorry, you're on your own here...I (ital101) cannot think where to start, it's too broad a question for my liking...maybe that's why I did NOT choose BIO, too much content and the scope of question too uh...too large.

How would you answer each question to get the maximum amount of marks obtained? This might be a good test for you biologists for the yearlies :D.

Thanks.
Achieve max marks by answering all aspects of the question, cover all your bases. Good luck!
Rico
 

x.Exhaust.x

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1. Identify and describe two evidences that Australia was once part of Gondwana (6 marks)

Two pieces of evidence which identify that Australia was once part of Gondwana is matching continental margins and fossils in common Gondwanan continents. Matching continental margins is one piece of evidence that relates to the theory of continental drift, as proposed by Alfred Wegner. The matching continental margins make the continents fit together with the continuity of rocks between the edges. Fossils in common Gondwanan continents are the second piece of evidence. This is evident through two distinctive fossilised plants, Gangamopteris and Glossopteris, which were found in all of the continents of Gondwana.

2. Describe the similarities of present-day organisms on Gondwanan continents (4 marks)

The distribution of birds such as the Rhea (S. America), Emu and Cassowary (Australia), Ostrich (Africa) and Kiwi (New Zealand) are similar as they’re all flightless birds. They are situated in different continents, hence this provides evidence that Gondwana separated and drifted apart due to the theory of continental drift. Flora such as the plant family myrtaceae and proteaceae in southern continents has many features in common. This also provides evidence that Gondwana separated and drifted apart due to the theory of continental drift, proposed by Alfred Wegner.

3. Talk about the relationship of extant and extinct organisms with two examples (5 marks)

The diprotodon and procoptodon are two types of megafauna that have become extinct in the past. The relationship between the diprotodon is that it is a relative with the modern wombat, but not a direct descendant. This is also the same with the procoptodon, the short faced kangaroo. It became extinct in the Pleistocene and is related to the modern grey and red kangaroos, but it is not a direct descendant. That would get me 4 marks, don't think it'd get me 5. How could I expand on it?

4. Use available evidence to illustrate the changing ideas of scientists in the last 200 years about individual species such as the platypus as new information and technologies become available. (5 marks)

As technological advancements have continued to occur with the findings of significant information for individual species, changing ideas have also continued to occur. Early ideas about the platypus included the belief that it was a transitional form between reptiles and mammals, and that monotremes and marsupials were more closely related to each other than placental mammals. But new research has established that the monotremes represent a unique evolutionary path that branched away from a common mammalian ancestor. This research has been supported by researchers through the Australian National University, who found that the platypus has ten sex chromosomes compared to the two present in other mammals. More evidence includes the study of the amino acid sequence of a protein in their milk carried out by researchers. Current research has also shown that the platypus has a unique arrangement of electroreceptor and mechanoreceptors in the skin of its bill, which are believed to help it detect electrical and pressure impulses from its prey. I'm not sure my response to the question makes sense...Does it? Is it worthy of 5 marks?
 
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minijumbuk

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x.Exhaust.x said:
Lol np, I'd probably would as well. But would you give me the marks? :D
lol well I haven't even read your answers, but for 6 marks you gotta be writing a lot more.
Here's a general rule for high mark questions:
1 mark = ~1.5-1.8 min worth of writing

But of course, it doesn't meant just babble on without relating your answer to the question. The amount of marks basically tell you how much content and how much detail they want you to give. They must all be relevant though. And remember to hammer the keywords (discuss, evaluate, assess, etc...) and key ideas (e.g. evidences that support the theory that Australia was a part of Gondwana)
 

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