KEY POINTS:
NAME: LUCIA McLEAN
Age: 18
School: Diocesan School For Girls
Subject/Level: Level 3 biology
How do you think you went?
"Hopefully quite well. I don't really want to put marks on it because it could jinx it ... I hope I did well because all of our teachers have put in so much work this year. This is my first year doing bio so it would be good to repay them for all [their] effort."
What mark do you give the exam paper: not achieved, achieved, merit or excellence? Why?
"Merit, maybe an achieved - it was quite unexpected, they asked us some quite obscure things that we just weren't expecting from [studying] past papers."
What was the oddest question in the exam?
"The weirdest question would be a whole page in evolution about cockroaches. It was kind of gross to read about."
What was the hardest question? Why?
"It was probably some of the discussions in human evolution ... There were about four questions on the human pelvis, which we weren't really expecting."
Will you study the subject again next year?
"I am going to be doing biomedical science at Auckland University next year, so I will be doing some bio but not NCEA."
What is your top study tip?
"Don't study in front of the TV because it never works."
* TESTING TIMES
Among yesterday's exam questions:
LEVEL 2 ACCOUNTING
Paul owns Ultimate Games, a store that sells a wide selection of video games.
Last month Paul took home a football video game as a gift for his son. Explain why this is recorded as drawings in the financial statements of Ultimate Games.
LEVEL 1 BIOLOGY
Meningitis can be caused by either a viral or a bacterial infection. MeNZB is a vaccine used against the most common strain of bacterial meningitis in New Zealand.
(a) Describe how meningitis can be passed between people.
(b) Explain how a vaccine works to prevent bacterial infections such as meningitis.
(c) The life processes of bacteria and viruses can cause illness like meningitis. Discuss how the life processes of bacteria and viruses cause illness.
TODAY
Morning: Level 1 science, Level 2 geography, Level 3 science/making music, Scholarship Japanese.
Afternoon: Level 1 geography, Level 2 science, Level 3 geography, Scholarship te reo Maori.
