AS 91604 annotated exemplars

This annotated exemplar is intended for teacher use only. Annotated exemplars are extracts of student evidence, with commentary, that explain key parts of a standard. These help teachers make assessment judgements at the grade boundaries.

Download all exemplars and commentary [PDF, 374 KB]

TKI Biology assessment resources (external link)

For Excellence, the student needs to demonstrate comprehensive understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment.

This involves linking biological ideas, see Explanatory Note (EN) 4, about maintaining a stable internal environment in an animal, by at least one of: 

• a discussion of the significance of the control system (EN3) in terms of its adaptive advantage
• an explanation of the biochemical and/or biophysical processes underpinning the mechanism
• an analysis of a specific example of how external and/or internal environmental influences result in a breakdown of the control system.

This student has described and explained the purpose (1), components (2) and the mechanism (3) of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon.

Biological ideas are used to explain how a specific disruption results in responses to re-establish a stable internal environment (4).

Some biological ideas linking the significance of osmotic balance in terms adaptive advantage are discussed (5).

For a more secure Excellence, the student could:

• discuss the significance of osmotic balance in terms of its adaptive advantage in more depth, or
• analyse how external and/or internal influences result in a breakdown of osmoregulation in more detail.

For Merit, the student needs to demonstrate in-depth understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment.

This involves using biological ideas, see Explanatory Note (EN) 4, to explain how or why an animal maintains a stable internal environment. This includes explaining how a specific disruption results in responses within a control system (EN3) to re-establish a stable internal environment.

This student has described and explained the purpose (1), components (2) and the mechanism (3) of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon.

Biological ideas are used to explain how a specific disruption results in responses to re-establish a stable internal environment (4).

An attempt is made to link biological ideas on the significance of osmoregulation in terms of its adaptive advantage (5).

 To reach Excellence, the student could link biological ideas further to:

• discuss the significance of osmotic balance in terms of its adaptive advantage in more detail, or
• analyse how external and/or internal influences result in a breakdown of osmoregulation, or
• explain the biochemical and/or biophysical processes underpinning the mechanism of osmoregulation.

For Merit, the student needs to demonstrate in-depth understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment.

This involves using biological ideas, see Explanatory Note (EN) 4, to explain how or why an animal maintains a stable internal environment. This includes explaining how a specific disruption results in responses within a control system (EN3) to re-establish a stable internal environment.

This student has described and explained the purpose (1), components (2) and the mechanism (3) of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon.

Some biological ideas are used to describe and explain how a specific disruption results in responses to re-establish a stable internal environment (4).

For a more secure Merit, the student could use biological ideas to give a more in-depth explanation of:

• the mechanism of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon
• how a specific disruption results in responses within this control system to re-establish a stable internal environment.

For Achieved, the student needs to demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment.

This involves using biological ideas, see Explanatory Note (EN) 4, to describe a control system (EN3) by which an animal maintains a stable internal environment. Annotated diagrams or models may be used to support the description.

This student has described and partly explained the purpose (1), components (2) and the mechanism (3) of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon.

Some biological ideas are used to describe and partly explain how a specific disruption results in responses to re-establish osmotic balance (4).

To reach Merit, the student could use biological ideas to explain in more depth:

• how or why an animal maintains a stable internal environment to regulate osmotic balance
• how a specific disruption results in responses within this control system to re-establish a stable internal environment.

For Achieved, the student needs to demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment.

This involves using biological ideas, see Explanatory Note (EN) 4, to describe a control system (EN3) by which an animal maintains a stable internal environment. Annotated diagrams or models may be used to support the description.

This student has described the purpose (1) and components (2) of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon.

Some biological ideas are used to describe the mechanism of (3), and disruption to this control system (4).

For a more secure Achieved, the student could use biological ideas to give a more detailed description of the:

• feedback mechanism of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon
• potential effect of disruption to this control system by internal or external influences.

For Achieved, the student needs to demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment.

This involves using biological ideas, see Explanatory Note (EN) 4, to describe a control system (EN3) by which an animal maintains a stable internal environment. Annotated diagrams or models may be used to support the description.

This student has demonstrated limited understanding by describing the purpose (1) and components (2) of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon.

Some biological ideas are briefly considered to describe the mechanism of (3), and disruption to this system (4).

To reach Achieved, the student could use biological ideas to give a more thorough description of:

• the purpose, components and mechanism of osmoregulation in Chinook salmon
• a specific disruption results in responses within this control system to re-establish a stable internal environment.