So what's the deal with EES Scaling??? (1 Viewer)

alexandher

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I've heard it's not that good, like it scales down quite a bit.
Is this true? Because i moved from Biology to EES, not sure if that was such a smart move :S

Someone please get back to me?

Cheers.
 

davidbarnes

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Yes, it does scale down. But it is a very easy subject. Certinaly the easiest science subject (apart from Agriculture).
 

alexandher

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davidbarnes said:
Yes, it does scale down. But it is a very easy subject. Certinaly the easiest science subject (apart from Agriculture).


Alright, so that means, if i do freaking heaps good in the subject, because its so easy, i'll do heaps well yeah.

I don't even get this whole scaling thing. Why does it scale down? Is it because the people who do it are Dummys or something??

I don't want to get a crap UAI because of this aye. :(
 

davidbarnes

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It scales down beacuse it is easy to get high raw marks in it.
Likewise subjects liek Physics, and extensions subjects etc scale up as it is much harder to get high raw marks in them.

If you do good you'll be fine.
 

Incubus Man

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Road Runner said:
I disagree. Earth scales pretty good if you get marks of 85+

And it's also not the easiest science. ( the easiest science are senior science and agriculture).

It would have been better though if you did both Biology and Earth because some of the things you learn are pretty similar.

Good Luck.
+1

With any subject if you achieve high enough, the scaling is good.

I do Bio and E&E. I wish I'd have done chem and physics instead, but I must've been smoking in year ten when I picked it. Non the less, E&E and Bio are very complimentary subjects. They go better together than cricket and the beach.
 

jasonml

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overall it is much easier to get lower marks, but harder to get marks 85+ in EES than in Biology.

as for the actually difficulty levels of the work, i'm finding both Chemistry and Physis quite a bit easier than most of the content in EES.
 

davidbarnes

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jasonml said:
as for the actually difficulty levels of the work, i'm finding both Chemistry and Physis quite a bit easier than most of the content in EES.
what??? I find that both Chemistry and Physics have heaps more content, and content that is much harder. With Physics, there is a tonne of knowledge of laws, rules, formulas etc that need to be known and applied. Chemsitry requires even more knowledge, and still some calcualtions. E&E Science has (a) not much content to the cource in comparison to Physics or Chemistry or Biology(b) the content is much easier (c) has hardly any calcualtions, meaning that if you know the content you're guranteeed to do well.

Read the E&E Science Sptlight book twice (its only what, 110 pages?) or so and you will know everything you need to know. Not only is E&E Science content basic, but a lot of it is just basic knowledge and common sense. You would have to be a compelte idiot to fail it.
 

Road Runner

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davidbarnes said:
what??? I find that both Chemistry and Physics have heaps more content, and content that is much harder. With Physics, there is a tonne of knowledge of laws, rules, formulas etc that need to be known and applied. Chemsitry requires even more knowledge, and still some calcualtions. E&E Science has (a) not much content to the cource in comparison to Physics or Chemistry or Biology(b) the content is much easier (c) has hardly any calcualtions, meaning that if you know the content you're guranteeed to do well.

Read the E&E Science Sptlight book twice (its only what, 110 pages?) or so and you will know everything you need to know. Not only is E&E Science content basic, but a lot of it is just basic knowledge and common sense. You would have to be a compelte idiot to fail it.
hey what text book do you use for EES? because we have like separate binder books for each topic.
 

isabella-j

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dont worry about scaling
it takes into account your other subjects too
but ees is easier than the other science subjects e.g chem , physics
 

jasonml

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davidbarnes said:
what??? I find that both Chemistry and Physics have heaps more content, and content that is much harder. With Physics, there is a tonne of knowledge of laws, rules, formulas etc that need to be known and applied. Chemsitry requires even more knowledge, and still some calcualtions. E&E Science has (a) not much content to the cource in comparison to Physics or Chemistry or Biology(b) the content is much easier (c) has hardly any calcualtions, meaning that if you know the content you're guranteeed to do well.

Read the E&E Science Sptlight book twice (its only what, 110 pages?) or so and you will know everything you need to know. Not only is E&E Science content basic, but a lot of it is just basic knowledge and common sense. You would have to be a compelte idiot to fail it.
Have a look at the Caimbridge EES textbook. Then have a look at the Jaccaranda Physics textbook. There is initially WAY more content in the Caimbridge text, and even more when you take into account that nearly half of the stuff in the Jaccaranda is just repeating itself over and over.

Also, it is PHYSICS that involves loads of common sense. It is probably one of the most straight forward sciences. If you have a copy of ANY ONE of the HSC physics textbooks you can virtually teach yourself the entire course. I admit at university-levels, yes, Physics generally does involve more difficult/advanced levels of work compared to Environmental sciences, but not at a HSC level.

EES in a lot of ways, covers some very modern science, so you have to be constantly up to date with new theories, statistics. Also the general style of work is a lot more acedemic, (i.e. geological time-scale, calculating lithospheric movements, not to mention ALL the principals of geology (faunal sucession, superposition, uniformitarianism, original horizontality, etc.).

I agree, Chemistry gets pretty hard in some areas, but when you consider all three subjects at a high-ish HSC level, I think EES is generally hardest!
 

laurasia

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i really recommend the cambridge EES textbook as an essential tool to use while studying EES
 

henry08

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jasonml said:
Have a look at the Caimbridge EES textbook. Then have a look at the Jaccaranda Physics textbook. There is initially WAY more content in the Caimbridge text, and even more when you take into account that nearly half of the stuff in the Jaccaranda is just repeating itself over and over.

!
I've got the Spotlight E&ES book as well as the Cambridge one. Also have Jacandra Physics. Spotlight E%ES books is real simple, you could learn the netire course from it easily. Cambridge book is much harder (albeit mroe interesting though), althoguh is way too detailed for the course and syllabus. Jacandra Physics textbook easily contaisn a lot mreo content.

There is absolutely no way E&ES is harder than Physics, Chem or Biology.
 

courtneyb

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well im doin bio, senior science and earth nd enviro, and find that although bio has alot of content, earth and enviro by far has the most. some topics like caring for the country and tectonic impacts are somewhat common knowledge but environments through time and introduced species is definitely ALOT to remember, like really has anyone memorised the geological time scale or the fossils and their appearance along the geological time scale?? if u have u deserve a medal.

even though its hard i do really like this subject coz i reckon its heaps interesting, if i didnt like it though, id definitely struggle
 

courtneyb

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and to david - senior science is definitely WAYYY easier. ees has alot of indepth background info required to understand the subject, senior science is so superficial its ridiculously easy
 

brendlol

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I've got the Spotlight E&ES book as well as the Cambridge one. Also have Jacandra Physics. Spotlight E%ES books is real simple, you could learn the netire course from it easily. Cambridge book is much harder (albeit mroe interesting though), althoguh is way too detailed for the course and syllabus. Jacandra Physics textbook easily contaisn a lot mreo content.

There is absolutely no way E&ES is harder than Physics, Chem or Biology.
Hhmm the first topic of EES is the thing that makes it hard.
I think its harder than Biology by heaps. But that's only because I'm a bio nerd and enjoy doing bio lol.
 

Alec01

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Earth scales shit.

pretty much have to ace it, over 80 at last, or it will scale bad.
\

anyone remember what their multiple choice answers where?
 

rembo

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I think the difference is that in Physics you either know the correct equation and how to apply it, or you don't. So 0% on an answer is always a possibility in physics. And Chemistry is also somewhat like that, but it also includes more conceptual stuff where you can waffle a bit in the essay-type answers and still get a decent mark. In EES, being a 'soft' science, you can generally waffle a bit more in general terms and still answer a question well enough to get a decent mark (if you've read a bit relevant to the question). Knowing the exact terminology and naming who came up with a theory at what exact date can help, but isn't mandatory.

So, EES is probably easier to 'pass' than, say physics and chemistry, but is also probably harder to get a really top mark in (especially the scaled mark, due to the cohort of students taking EES vs. physics etc.). And in physics, like in maths, if you know the correct equation to use and how to apply it, you can get 100% on a question without any sweat. While in subjects like EES you could know a topic inside-out and still not get 100% for an answer if your English expression isn't too good.

To a large extent whether EES is 'easier' than physics, or vice versa, will depend on your particular strengths eg. maths ability vs. essay writing skills. And how much you enjoy doing background reading on the topic vs. solving practice questions.
 

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