Australian Science Olympiads (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Zero Infinite
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alez
feel like an angel
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Re: Science Olympiads
lol im going in all 3 and after school us doing physics (3-4 of us, me and my physics friends that i roped into) are just studying some extra stuff after school 1 day a week. might also do that with chem, but i cant be fucked with bio cuz none of my friends in olympics do bio. anyway just doing it so we can say we gave it a go. got nothing to lose i guess
lol im going in all 3 and after school us doing physics (3-4 of us, me and my physics friends that i roped into) are just studying some extra stuff after school 1 day a week. might also do that with chem, but i cant be fucked with bio cuz none of my friends in olympics do bio. anyway just doing it so we can say we gave it a go. got nothing to lose i guess
FerengCheng
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Re: Science Olympiads
I haven't even started studying. I think I'm screwed for this.
Oh well, let's do some past papers. *sigh*
I haven't even started studying. I think I'm screwed for this.
Oh well, let's do some past papers. *sigh*
Heliotrope
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Re: Science Olympiads
I'm doing Biology as well! I. am. so. excited. !!!! *nerd* I think I might actually do well, too. I don't want to say that I'll get into the camp, because if I build my expectations up... well, it would be kind of crushing when (if?) I don't get in.
Don't worry guys, you've got over a month to study.
And if you're not set on getting into the camp, then being "screwed" for the exam won't exactly matter.
I'm doing Biology as well! I. am. so. excited. !!!! *nerd* I think I might actually do well, too. I don't want to say that I'll get into the camp, because if I build my expectations up... well, it would be kind of crushing when (if?) I don't get in.
Don't worry guys, you've got over a month to study.
And if you're not set on getting into the camp, then being "screwed" for the exam won't exactly matter.
cccclaire
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Re: Science Olympiads
I'm doing bio and its stressing me out =[
Not because I particularly care about getting into the camp. In fact I'd probably rather not spend 2 weeks of my holidays doing biology.
But my bio teacher talks about me and my friend whose doing it as if we're biology geniuses, and we're not. She even told the headmaster how great we are. I don't want to come out of the test with like a credit or participation and have everyone like 'oh =['
Appart from that its pretty alright. We do this training thing at sydney Uni. Appart from us theres 5 girls from sydney girls and 2 from north sydney girls, and we're from a private non-selective eastern suberbs school. But they don't seem that smart, one of them's actually quite annoying.
I'm doing bio and its stressing me out =[
Not because I particularly care about getting into the camp. In fact I'd probably rather not spend 2 weeks of my holidays doing biology.
But my bio teacher talks about me and my friend whose doing it as if we're biology geniuses, and we're not. She even told the headmaster how great we are. I don't want to come out of the test with like a credit or participation and have everyone like 'oh =['
Appart from that its pretty alright. We do this training thing at sydney Uni. Appart from us theres 5 girls from sydney girls and 2 from north sydney girls, and we're from a private non-selective eastern suberbs school. But they don't seem that smart, one of them's actually quite annoying.
cccclaire
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Re: Science Olympiads
I should really do some.
um zero hours.zdzislaw said:Is it just me or do accuse everyone of being asian Minn2?
Well, how many hours of study is everyone doing overall for the olympaids?
per day, etc?
I should really do some.
Re: Science Olympiads
Pretty exciting stuff
=)
You do a National Qualifying Exam to begin with for either Chem, Bio or Physics. Then, a select amount of people represent Australia in the international one after training.minnn2 said:
Pretty exciting stuff
=)
PrettyVacant
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Re: Science Olympiads
=) VERY EXCITING!zdzislaw said:
sle3pe3bumz
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Re: Science Olympiads
sounds really mad .. never heard of it though. =/ Would have been really interested .. how did you guys get involved in this ?
sounds really mad .. never heard of it though. =/ Would have been really interested .. how did you guys get involved in this ?
PrettyVacant
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Re: Science Olympiads
Ask teh school. Then back-hand them for not telling you, DUH.sle3pe3bumz said:
PrettyVacant
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Re: Science Olympiads
.
=( Sorry.
Nah, applications closed end of last termcccclaire said:
.=( Sorry.
sle3pe3bumz
glorious beacon of light
Re: Science Olympiads
ah well .. =/
awwww ..PrettyVacant said:Nah, applications closed end of last term
=( Sorry.
ah well .. =/
Heliotrope
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Re: Science Olympiads
I recently enrolled for the physics NQE. I don't expect much to come of it, but if nothing else it should certainly help out for HSC physics. I think if anyone can do reasonably well (40% or thereabouts, possibly less) they should be pretty set for HSC science. It also gave me an excuse to hoard up on uni physics textbooks -teacher lent me a bunch, I’m the only one in my class vaguely interested in doing the exam (fairly typical for my school I guess). Studying for this would be a whole lot easier if I wasn't left to just work through undergrad uni-textbooks alone... gets pretty tiresome, and daunting at times *sniff*. Sometimes I regret passing up a selective education- other times not =p .
On another note, I think it's somewhat meaningless to compare the difficulties of each exam directly- each subject appears to make use of a specific kind of "logic" (for lack of a better word). E.g. The physics papers are very mathematical, and in fact I think that's part of the reason why Unsyd isn't offering the training course in phys this year- many of the questions could well make appearances in a maths paper (and in fact, on their website they recommended that the best preparation would be taking yr. 12 maths- which crossed me as a little strange, since I have yet to come across any questions which require calculus or anything of the sort). Chemistry is somewhat harder to express concisely; although I have looked through some of the papers and take the subject at school- it's still largely calculations, but of a different kind entirely (and a lot of jargon, which probably helps to scare off prospective students). I certainly feel as though I’m in quite a different "mind-space" in chemistry class as opposed to physics, if that means anything... Biology appears to be at the other end of the spectrum; mostly knowledge based, and to be quite honest it appears to me (although admittedly I don't take biology) to be like a harder SC-style science paper i.e. a good dose of knowledge mixed with largely just doing good science, and interpreting graphs & tables etc.
Anyway, 'nuff of a rant. Opinions?
I recently enrolled for the physics NQE. I don't expect much to come of it, but if nothing else it should certainly help out for HSC physics. I think if anyone can do reasonably well (40% or thereabouts, possibly less) they should be pretty set for HSC science. It also gave me an excuse to hoard up on uni physics textbooks -teacher lent me a bunch, I’m the only one in my class vaguely interested in doing the exam (fairly typical for my school I guess). Studying for this would be a whole lot easier if I wasn't left to just work through undergrad uni-textbooks alone... gets pretty tiresome, and daunting at times *sniff*. Sometimes I regret passing up a selective education- other times not =p .
On another note, I think it's somewhat meaningless to compare the difficulties of each exam directly- each subject appears to make use of a specific kind of "logic" (for lack of a better word). E.g. The physics papers are very mathematical, and in fact I think that's part of the reason why Unsyd isn't offering the training course in phys this year- many of the questions could well make appearances in a maths paper (and in fact, on their website they recommended that the best preparation would be taking yr. 12 maths- which crossed me as a little strange, since I have yet to come across any questions which require calculus or anything of the sort). Chemistry is somewhat harder to express concisely; although I have looked through some of the papers and take the subject at school- it's still largely calculations, but of a different kind entirely (and a lot of jargon, which probably helps to scare off prospective students). I certainly feel as though I’m in quite a different "mind-space" in chemistry class as opposed to physics, if that means anything... Biology appears to be at the other end of the spectrum; mostly knowledge based, and to be quite honest it appears to me (although admittedly I don't take biology) to be like a harder SC-style science paper i.e. a good dose of knowledge mixed with largely just doing good science, and interpreting graphs & tables etc.
Anyway, 'nuff of a rant. Opinions?
Heliotrope
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Re: Science Olympiads
I'd only taken a brief glance at the Physics and Chemistry papers before I was scared off, but I think that's a very good breakdown, Kirjava. They all utilise a different kind of logic, but I do think that Biology is the easiest. Perhaps that's because I have a predilection for the subject and I'm already somewhat versed in the material, but I feel like the questions for Bio are very much feasible, while the other two... not so much. It is a lot like the SC, though a step up in difficulty, naturally. In recent years, they have dumbed it down somewhat by replacing the 15-mark essay question with a series of short responses. After studying for few days, I attempted the 2001 paper and got 25/50 for the multiple choice, which I think at this point bodes well. You don't have to study as much - the topics in the syllabus are ones we've already studied in past years, and I don't have to seek out a uni-level textbook. For example, if I'd bothered to listen in Year 9 science, I'd know all about flowering plants and monocots vs. dicots. 40% or thereabouts might be a good mark for Physics, like you said, but not so much for Bio, I'd think. For those who qualify for the camp, I'd imagine that there'd be a significant gap in percentage between the exam scores of the Physics and Chem scholars versus the Bio scholars. I think for Biology you'd really have to get 80%+.
There's a message on the website from the director of the Biology program stating that this year's exam will focus more on the interpretation of graphs and the prediction of trends, i.e. "thinking" type questions. Which kind of throws a curve ball my way, because I'm terrible at thinking. I would infinitely prefer to just jot down everything I know about a given topic. Oh well... with luck it'll still be okay.
I'd only taken a brief glance at the Physics and Chemistry papers before I was scared off, but I think that's a very good breakdown, Kirjava. They all utilise a different kind of logic, but I do think that Biology is the easiest. Perhaps that's because I have a predilection for the subject and I'm already somewhat versed in the material, but I feel like the questions for Bio are very much feasible, while the other two... not so much. It is a lot like the SC, though a step up in difficulty, naturally. In recent years, they have dumbed it down somewhat by replacing the 15-mark essay question with a series of short responses. After studying for few days, I attempted the 2001 paper and got 25/50 for the multiple choice, which I think at this point bodes well. You don't have to study as much - the topics in the syllabus are ones we've already studied in past years, and I don't have to seek out a uni-level textbook. For example, if I'd bothered to listen in Year 9 science, I'd know all about flowering plants and monocots vs. dicots. 40% or thereabouts might be a good mark for Physics, like you said, but not so much for Bio, I'd think. For those who qualify for the camp, I'd imagine that there'd be a significant gap in percentage between the exam scores of the Physics and Chem scholars versus the Bio scholars. I think for Biology you'd really have to get 80%+.
There's a message on the website from the director of the Biology program stating that this year's exam will focus more on the interpretation of graphs and the prediction of trends, i.e. "thinking" type questions. Which kind of throws a curve ball my way, because I'm terrible at thinking. I would infinitely prefer to just jot down everything I know about a given topic. Oh well... with luck it'll still be okay.