Biology: should I choose it?

What will I learn?

How will I be assessed?

Progression and companion subjects

No complete companion or exclusion review is attached to this profile. Check the official course-entry conditions, language eligibility and your school’s sequence before enrolling. Links between resource hubs show related learning; they do not establish a compulsory prerequisite.

Will I find it hard?

Difficulty depends on your experience, interests, teaching and assessment. These are our reflection prompts, not an official difficulty rating.

• Look at how much data, calculation and graph interpretation appear in the sample for this particular science.
• Can you explain the ideas in your own words as well as recall the terminology?
• Do investigations and evaluating evidence interest you? Check the course’s practical requirements.

Does it scale up or down?

Use SATAC subject evidence. An aggregate-to-ATAR table is not a subject scaling table.

Scaling is not a measure of difficulty or a guaranteed bonus. Prioritise content you can engage with and required subjects for courses you are considering.

Try a little of the subject

Cells and microorganisms

Living systems contain cells, use energy in controlled chemical reactions, maintain internal conditions, respond to their surroundings and possess hereditary information. Populations of living organisms can reproduce and evolve. No single visible feature proves life: a crystal grows without cells, and a sterile animal remains alive. A dormant seed has living cells even though its metabolism is slow. Viruses depend on host cells for reproduction and lack independent cellular metabolism, so their status differs from that of cellular organisms. Cell theory states that organisms consist of one or more cells, that the cell is the basic functional unit of life and that new cells arise from existing cells. Cells contain hereditary information copied and transmitted during division. A plasma membrane bounds each cell and separates its internal chemistry from the environment. This boundary is active in regulation rather than an impermeable wall. Prokaryotic cells, including bacteria, have DNA without a membrane-bound nucleus. Their main chromosome is usually circular, and some also contain small plasmids. Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus containing linear chromosomes and membrane-bound organelles. Typical bacterial cells are smaller than typical eukaryotic cells, but size alone cannot establish identity. Both groups possess membranes, cytoplasm, nucleic acids, proteins and ribosomes. Ribosomes build proteins; they are not exclusive to eukaryotes. Mitochondria support aerobic respiration in eukaryotic cells, while photosynthetic plant and algal cells contain chloroplasts. Fungi do not contain chloroplasts. Before division, cellular DNA is copied. In bacterial binary fission the chromosome copies separate as the cell elongates, and the membrane and cell wall divide the cytoplasm. R

Original practice question: Which observation best distinguishes a living seed from a growing salt crystal?

This is ATARMAxxing’s original sample learning material. It is not an official assessment task or a prediction of your school’s workload.

Explore the resources

Open the Biology subject hub and free preview (opens in a new tab)

• Biology — SACE Stage 2 (opens in a new tab)

Core subject information and planning are free. Full study resources are optional.