Biology comes from the terms bio and logy. Bio means life and logy is a common suffix meaning science or study. So, biology comes to mean science or study of life. The 2 broad branches of biology are botany, or the study of plants, and zoology, or the study of animals. Then, there are branches like microbiology, a field of study that deals with the study of microorganisms.

Some important topics taught in Biology in class 12 are:

• Multicellularity: Structure and Function – Animal Life
• Multicellularity: Structure and Function – Plant Life
• Origin and Evolution of Life
• Applications of Biology

Tips for preparation

• Biology is a content-based subject. It is inevitable that new terms have to be familiarized with and memorized. You can make flash cards with definitions of the new terms that you learn each day.
• Try to write the definitions in your own language without altering the meaning.
• Use the flash cards while traveling, during your lunch break or even 5 minutes before your dinner break.
• Follow your textbook and when you’ve fully understood the concept, browse through your school notes and test papers that you have taken.
• Ensure that you pay attention in lab sessions and actually perform the experiments.
• Make notes, highlight, and if you don’t mind making notes in your book, then you can even summarize the page in the margins.
• Take note of the common questions that have been asked and observe how the question should be answered.
• After you finish your syllabus, revise as many times as possible. When you finish, do take the sample papers provided by CISCE in a timed environment.
• Take as many practice tests as possible.

Tips for scoring good marks

• During the exam, try to write your descriptive answers in points and give pictorial or graphical illustrations wherever possible.  It enhances visibility
• Scan the paper before answering
• For long answer type questions, before starting, frame a skeleton of the answer in the margin.
• Be crisp and to the point in very short questions.

Recommended Books

• Trueman’s elementary biology for Class XII Vol II priced at Rs 525, it is a great backup for your text book.
• Dinesh’s New Course Biology for Class 12, priced at Rs 742, is a hot favourite because of its simplicity in language and the number of problems it supplements it with.
• CISCE Sample papers: You can download the papers from the official website. The sample papers provided by the CISCE are as close to the real exam as it gets.

To know more about which books to follow, click here