Biology
The three Level 3 externals: plant & animal responses, evolution & speciation, and human evolution.
Achievement standards
Reference sheet Print flashcardsExternal · 13 credits
AS 91603 Responses of plants and animals to their external environment Tropisms & nastic responses, animal behaviour, biological rhythms, migration & homing. External 5 credits AS 91605 Evolutionary processes leading to speciation Mechanisms of evolution, reproductive isolation & speciation. External 4 credits AS 91606 Trends in human evolution Bipedalism, skeletal changes and cultural evolution of hominins. External 4 creditsInternal · 6 credits
AS 91602 Integrate biological knowledge: socio-scientific issue Build an informed, evidence-based response to a biological issue in society. Internal 3 credits AS 91604 Demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment A control system: purpose, components, mechanism, and a traced disruption. Internal 3 creditsWhere this leads in business & finance
Biotech is one of the fastest-growing investment sectors globally, and it is notoriously hard to value — you cannot judge a gene-therapy startup or an agritech firm without understanding the biology underneath the pitch. That is why life-science equity analysts and venture-capital associates are usually science graduates first. In NZ specifically, the primary sector (dairy, horticulture, aquaculture) is the country's export engine, and the commercial roles there — from Zespri to Fonterra to LIC — reward people who understand both the organism and the P&L.
Watch: Biology in the real world Opens a YouTube search: a good one to watch when motivation dips