Ecology B/C

[paleonaps]

Hey, I was just wondering, I've been studying all of the basics and a bit more for Eco, and I'm wondering, in nationals, what will some problem questions be, that are more unique/some people have never seen them (that I should prepare for, maybe with notes on my cheat sheet)?

When I did last year's national test, I saw a lot of speciemens. Like a taxidermied coyote.

[Paradox21]

Interesting, was the B div national test a stations test? Or did they just put the coyote in the front of the room or something? The C div test was a pretty conventional written test.

[paleonaps]

Interesting, was the B div national test a stations test? Or did they just put the coyote in the front of the room or something? The C div test was a pretty conventional written test.

Well, I wasn't there, so don't quote me, but from what I saw it was excruciatingly long stations, some of which centered near specimens or other things they didn't bother to put into the test packet.

[maggymay]

Interesting, was the B div national test a stations test? Or did they just put the coyote in the front of the room or something? The C div test was a pretty conventional written test.

Well, I wasn't there, so don't quote me, but from what I saw it was excruciatingly long stations, some of which centered near specimens or other things they didn't bother to put into the test packet.

Oh, lovely....

[w0607858]

The first thing that really gets me at this event is that even if you studied 24/7 on this event (no sleep included); if the proctors of the test decide to stray from the basic concepts (that pretty much everybody who passed grade school already should have a good grasp of) to a more complex branch of Ecology, you could still be caught utterly unawares due to the colossal proportions of this subject. There are millions of ways you could study, and depending on the test thrown; 999,999 of those ways could be utterly wrong (for example you worked your hind end raw studying Disease Ecology and the test is centered on stuffed Specimens). Thus the point that it is better to study a little bit (meaning as much as you can humanely cram without driving yourself insane) of everything than focus innately on one particular part. Hope this helps.

....Oh yeah; and that one sheet of paper they're giving you to put down everything that you couldn't learn in time? It's going to be your new best friend.

[Paradox21]

While the subject is very broad, I think there are still ways to study for the event. I consistently earn a 1st place in the event which would not paint the picture of a hit-and-miss test. If you can think like an ecologist, and of course study your tail off, you can consistently do well. You have to be able to extend beyond what you know to make logical inferences for some questions. I would suggest not relying on the cheat sheet as a crutch, but certainly utilize it for all it's worth. I mostly put numbers and statistics on, not concepts and ideas.

[maggymay]

While the subject is very broad, I think there are still ways to study for the event. I consistently earn a 1st place in the event which would not paint the picture of a hit-and-miss test. If you can think like an ecologist, and of course study your tail off, you can consistently do well. You have to be able to extend beyond what you know to make logical inferences for some questions. I would suggest not relying on the cheat sheet as a crutch, but certainly utilize it for all it's worth. I mostly put numbers and statistics on, not concepts and ideas.

So... what exactly do you put on *your* one-page sheet?

[Paradox21]

What I put on my sheet shouldn't really matter. I put lots of dates and numbers on just because those are generally tough to remember. Some is basic, like precipitation and temp, some gets more obscure. If you have concepts or ideas you just can't remember, of course you should put them on your sheet. Your sheet should accommodate your specific needs.

[paleonaps]

I agree with Paradox.

Anybody know some good environmental toxins to study? I have had a lot of them on my tests, and States is in a week.

[Paradox21]

I really am not that aware of a lot of different toxins. You may have already thought of the following, but this seems like the most obvious ones. Each of these is a part of a group (except DDT) and there would be many different chemicals within each group, but all would have more or less the same effect as others from within the group, with the exception of heavy metals.
I would say:
DDT (which is different from DEET)
CFCs
PCBs
Heavy metals (arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, iron, aluminum)
PCP's

And of course the deadliest of all: water. (Millions die from it every year.)