13BIO

NCEA Level 3 Biology

Course Description

Teacher in Charge: Mr V. Pygott.

Students taking this course will be learning biological concepts related to: 

Animal and plant responses - how their behaviour or responses are affected by the environment and their interactions with each other.

This will lead to a practical investigation into an aspect of the ecological niche of an organism.
Evolution - looking at the evidence for evolution, the processes that cause evolutionary change in organisms, and evolutionary patterns.
Homeostasis - this is an aspect of animal physiology and you will be studying how an animal maintains a constant internal environment.
Contemporary socio-scientific issue - this is an open topic but will most likely be based on the environmental science or biotechnology important to New Zealand.

Students will also be given the option of doing Human Evolution - looking at our biological and cultural evolution.

Scholarship Biology will be available for students who, in Level 2 Biology, get Excellence in their External Standards, although we encourage all students who are interested in Scholarship to consider trying for Scholarship.

Course Overview

Term 1
Bio 3.4 - Demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment.
Bio 3.7 - Demonstrate understanding of human manipulations of genetic transfer and its biological implications.

Bio 3.6 - Demonstrate understanding of trends in human evolution.
Scholarship

Term 2
Bio 3.2 - Integrate biological knowledge to develop an informed response to a socio-scientific issue.
Bio 3.3 - Demonstrate understanding of the responses of plants and animals to their external environments.

Bio 3.6 - Demonstrate understanding of trends in human evolution.
Scholarship

Term 3
Bio 3.5 - Demonstrate understanding of evolutionary processes leading to speciation.

Revision for External Standards
Scholarship

Term 4
Revision for External Standards
Scholarship

Recommended Prior Learning

14 Level 2 Biology credits.

Good literacy skills are essential.


Contributions and Equipment/Stationery

1 x Level 3 Biology sciPAD Combo from Office Max, $27.30 excl GST (prices as at July 2018)

Trip to Tiritiri Matangi, $25 approximately.

Pathway

Students who take biology typically go into:
Health-related careers - doctors, dentists, nurses, physiotherapy, medical or genetic research.
Animal-related careers - farming, aquaculture, fisheries, veterinary, veterinary assistants, and animal husbandry
Plant-related careers - horticulture, arborist (working with trees), landscaping, and gardening.
Environment-related careers - conservation, environmental science, helping New Zealand to become predator-free, having clean waterways and oceans, improving marine reserves or local and National Parks.

Credit Information

You will be assessed in this course through all or a selection of the standards listed below.

Total Credits Available: 22
Internal Assessed Credits: 9
External Assessed Credits: 13
Assessment
Description
Level
Internal or
External
Credits
L1 Literacy Credits
UE Literacy Credits
Numeracy Credits
A.S. 91602 v2
NZQA Info

Biology 3.2 - Integrate biological knowledge to develop an informed response to a socio-scientific issue


Level: 3
Internal or External: Internal
Credits: 3
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 3r *
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91603 v3
NZQA Info

Biology 3.3 - Demonstrate understanding of the responses of plants and animals to their external environment


Level: 3
Internal or External: External
Credits: 5
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 5r,5w *
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91604 v2
NZQA Info

Biology 3.4 - Demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment


Level: 3
Internal or External: Internal
Credits: 3
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 3r *
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91605 v2
NZQA Info

Biology 3.5 - Demonstrate understanding of evolutionary processes leading to speciation


Level: 3
Internal or External: External
Credits: 4
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 4r,4w *
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91606 v2
NZQA Info

Biology 3.6 - Demonstrate understanding of trends in human evolution


Level: 3
Internal or External: External
Credits: 4
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 4r,4w *
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91607 v2
NZQA Info

Biology 3.7 - Demonstrate understanding of human manipulations of genetic transfer and its biological implications


Level: 3
Internal or External: Internal
Credits: 3
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 3r *
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 93101 v21
NZQA Info

SCHL - Biology


Level: 3
Internal or External: External
Credits: 0
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 0
Numeracy Credits: 0
Credit Summary
Total Credits: 22
Total Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
Total University Entrance Literacy Credits: 22
Total Numeracy Credits: 0

Approved subject for University Entrance

Number of credits that can be used for overall endorsement: 22

Only students engaged in learning and achievement derived from Te Marautanga o Aotearoa are eligible to be awarded these subjects as part of the requirement for 14 credits in each of three subjects.

Disclaimer

Rosmini College's timetable is student-driven and a new timetable is generated each year based on student subject selection. Unfortunately, while we do our best to avoid them, timetabling clashes may still occur and a few students may be required to choose an alternative subject option.

The 2025 timetable, including the number of classes in each subject and staffing allocations, is created based on student selections made in 2024. Because of this, changing subjects at the beginning of 2025 may not be possible. Please, make your subject choices carefully.