Agriculture 2018 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• use the number of lines as an indication of the expected length of the response
• engage with any stimulus material and use the material to strengthen their response
• use relevant Agricultural terminology to improve the quality of the response
• use the key words to guide the structure and depth of their response  
• carefully read the question and use the question’s structure to guide the response. For example, if the question asks ‘provide reasons for …….’ then students can expect that they have to provide at least two reasons
• expect questions to be drawn from the syllabus and respective course outcomes
• expect to perform some basic mathematical functions, interpret data/graphs/tables and assess information for accuracy, reliability and/or validity.

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify TWO nutrients that plants require for healthy growth, for example Nitrogen and Phosphorous (a)
• outline TWO benefits of this crop rotation, for example fixation of atmospheric Nitrogen for plants to utilise and the breaking of disease cycles (b)
• explain a strategy to alleviate a named soil degradation problem, for example tree plantings to combat soil erosion (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing greater detail on HOW the strategy provided does alleviate a soil degradation problem. Many responses outlined the strategy rather than explain it in sufficient detail (c).

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• comprehensively explain ways farmers can manage competition (a) and extremes of temperature in plant production (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• taking note of the ‘s’ in ‘ways’ and providing more than one way to manage plant competition (a)
• providing greater depth in responses and clearly showing cause and effect (the how and why) of the strategies they are proposing, rather than an outline (a, b).

Question 23

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly show how a factor can affect supply of agricultural products, for example how drought influences production and hence supply (a)
• comprehensively describe, with examples, two ways that demand for products can be increased, for example specific marketing campaigns, the opening of new markets overseas or domestically (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing greater depth in their responses (b)
• being aware of not doubling up on the same strategy, for example many students provided two different marketing/promotion methods rather than two different strategies to increase demand (b).

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• comprehensively provide details for and/or against artificial insemination in terms of animal welfare and genetic gain.

Areas for students to improve include:

• reading the question carefully to ensure they respond to all components asked. In this case, both genetic gain AND animal welfare aspects of artificial insemination.

Question 25

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe TWO elements of the trial and clearly show how these attribute to the validity of the trial (a)
• give a detailed and relevant explanation of an improvement to the design of the trial for increased validity (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• making sure they have a clear understanding of the components of experimental design (randomisation, replication, standardisation and a control) and their purpose/role in valid experimental design a, b)
• understanding what standard deviation represents in data sets (c).

Question 26

In better responses, students were able to:

• explain how a named management strategy/technique improves the quality of the product (b)
• describe at least two ways their selected product could be value added (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• provide greater detail on HOW the management techniques implemented improve the quality of the product. Many responses outlined the management technique rather than explain it in enough detail (b)
• taking note of the ‘s’ in ‘ways’ and providing more than one way their selected product can be value added (c).

Question 27

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide clear features of how pests/diseases can affect the marketing of plant or animal products (a)
• show the relationship between a pest/disease control strategy and both environmental AND economic sustainability (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• reading the question carefully to ensure they respond to all components asked. In this case, both environmental AND economic sustainability.

Question 28

In better responses, students were able to:

• structure the response in a logical and cohesive sequence
• clearly outline the benefits of the use of genetically modified organisms in Agriculture, citing examples (ai)
• provide a detailed response regarding regulation of genetically modified organisms in Australia from either a development or use perspective (aii)
• produce a sophisticated judgement on the use of biofuels in relation to both food demands and the sustainable use of carbon (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing more than one benefit of the use of genetically modified organisms in Agriculture and providing examples (ai)
• developing a better understanding of the associated acts/legislations and government bodies involved in the regulation of GMO’s in Australia (aii)
• developing more cohesive responses that clearly provide a judgement of the use of biofuel production (b)
• providing a judgement on both components of the question; world food demands AND sustainable use of carbon (b).

Question 29

In better responses, students were able to:

• structure the response in a logical andcohesive sequence
• outline three sources of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems (ai)
• give a detailed description of how farmers can reduce the emissions of all three greenhouse gases (aii)
• provide a comprehensive and clear explanation of the cause/effect of La Nina, El Nino and changes in the SOI on crop yield (production) in eastern Australia (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing three sources of greenhouse gas emissions and making sure agricultural systems are used as the source (ai)
• providing greater detail on how farmers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions (aii)
• making sure that ALL three greenhouse gases form part of the response (aii)
• providing a more comprehensive and cohesive explanatory link between changes in the SOI, La Nina and El Nino on crop yield, detailing both positive and negative weather patterns (b).  

Question 30

In better responses, students were able to:

• structure the response in a logical and cohesive sequence
• clearly outline benefits of plant breeder rights to either plant breeders or growers (ai)
• give a detailed description of the benefits to farmers of adopting new technologies (aii)
• provide clear and comprehensive points for and/or against the recent use of robotics in agricultural production (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing more than one benefit of plant breeder rights to plant breeders or growers (ai)
• providing greater depth in the description of benefits of farmers adopting new agricultural technologies (aii)
• providing more than one benefit of farmers adopting new agricultural technologies (aii)
• demonstrating a greater depth of understanding of a range of robotic applications in agricultural production, providing points for and/or against each (b).