Oxford English For Information Technology Answer Key Pdf

[Maren Ruminski]

Downloadthe full transcript of the podcast. Please note that although some of the information and experiences explained in the podcast are assuming interviews will be face to face and take place in Oxford, there is a lot which is relevant for online interviews as well.

We understand that it can be difficult to know what to expect from Oxford interviews or how to prepare, particularly if you or your teachers don't know anyone who has been shortlisted before. The following guidance aims to cover what we would like all shortlisted candidates to know.

Once you are clear on the practicalities and arrangements for your interview, we recommend you begin to think about the content of the interview itself, the sort of questions you might be asked and what you would like tutors to know about how and what you think about your subject. You should also think about any revision you might need to do.

Our top tip is to practise speaking about your subject and your thoughts about what you've seen or read - these don't have to be formal 'mock interviews' - instead they could be chats with teachers, friends, or family.

Whilst watching our demonstration interview videos (view tab), stop and start as many times as you like, so you can think about what your own answers might have been. It will all help you on the day.

For the past few years, interviews have taken place online using Microsoft Teams. Technology requirements have been divided into three tiers, with tier 1 involving the least technology and tier 3 requiring the most.

Note: In some cases, using Teams while logged into a school account, or whilst on a school network, might mean the use of a webcam or video feed is blocked. It is important that we are able to see you during the interview, as therefore it may be necessary for you and/or your school to ensure there is a workaround in place so that you can use a webcam. For example, if taking the interview at home, instead of using your school account, you can join the call anonymously using a browser.

Interviews for some subjects are likely to require the use of a shared virtual whiteboard and in other, more mathematical subjects, a separate touchscreen device will be needed for the whiteboard along with a basic universal stylus so you can share mathematical notation, draw sketches, annotate diagrams or text, or add text.

No candidate or their school will be expected to purchase a touchscreen device in order to participate in their Oxford interviews. Where necessary, for tier 3 subjects and where there are more technology requirements, colleges will discuss arrangements with schools and applicants in order to find a practical solution for everyone involved.

Please note that, in a small number of cases, you might be invited to an interview that uses a lower technology tier than the one listed in this section (for instance, you may not require Tier 3 technology for a Philosophy interview if applying for Mathematics and Philosophy). This will be explained to you in your invitation to interview.

A computer, with a microphone, speakers and a webcam with access to Microsoft Teams as the video conferencing tool, either installed in advance or via an internet browser. You do not need to have a Microsoft account in order to use Microsoft Teams for this purpose.

Either before your interview or at the start of your interview, you will receive a link by email to a Miro whiteboard from the Oxford college running your interview. You will need to follow this link, which will open the whiteboard either in your browser or in the Miro app.

For interviews in this tier, in addition to the device on which you are accessing Microsoft Teams, you will also need a basic universal stylus and a touchscreen device for accessing a Miro Whiteboard. This can be a tablet, or a touchscreen laptop/Chromebook and should have a screen at least 8 inches in size, so a mobile phone is not likely to be suitable.

Either before your interview or at the start of your interview, you will receive a link by email to a Miro whiteboard from the college running your interview. You will need to be able to access this link on your touchscreen device in order to access the whiteboard you will use in your interview, so you should login to your email account on this device before your interview starts.

Would you expect this compound to be more soluble in octanol or water? (The student will be shown the structure of an organic compound with functional groups that they will be familiar with from A-level/IB studies).

If a student struggles with a starting point we would prompt them to describe more generally the different kinds of interactions that hold molecules together and to comment on their relative strength. We would then encourage them to think about what interactions the specific compound might make first with octanol and then with water. A good approach to answering the question would be to first consider the individual functional groups separately and then to discuss the compound as a whole.

The extension to this question asks the student to interpret some graphical data and requires a more technical introduction. We are careful at this point to make sure that the student has understood the explanation before moving forward with the question.

The relative solubility of a compound in octanol vs aqueous solution can be determined by putting a sample of the compound in a 1:1 mixture of octanol and aqueous solution and then measuring the concentration of the compound that has dissolved in each of the solvents. For one particular compound the relative solubility varies with pH as shown in the following graph. Can you interpret this graph?

The aim of this question is to see whether the student can understand a new concept and apply it to a problem. One approach to this question is to first consider the flat regions of the graph. Between pH 0 and 4 the compound has a relative solubility very close 4. The student can use the equation to work out that this corresponds to much more of the compound dissolving in octanol than in water.

In contrast, between pH 9 and 14 the relative solubility of approximately zero corresponds to almost equal concentrations of the compound dissolving in octanol and water. The student then needs to consider how the structure of a compound might change as pH is varied. If they struggle at this point we might give a specific prompt, for example, 'What form would you expect a water molecule to be found in at low pH?'. Ultimately the prompts lead to the idea that the charge of a compound can change with pH due to gain or loss of hydrogen ions.

The graph shown here corresponds to a compound where the vast majority of the molecules are neutrally charged between pH 0 and 4. As the pH is raised a greater proportion of the molecules will lose a hydrogen ion to become negatively charged, being charged reduces the solubility in octanol and so the relative solubility decreases.

The plateau region above pH 9 occurs because almost all of molecules have lost the hydrogen ion by this point. Although the compound becomes negatively charged, it does not become more soluble in water than octanol, this suggests that the compound also includes functional groups that interact well with octanol, such as alkyl chains or rings. It is important to note that a student would not have to make all of these points to do well in the interview.

This question encourages students to think about what high-diversity habitats such as rainforests and coral reefs have in common. In many cases, patterns or correlations can help us to identify the underlying mechanisms. For example, a student might point out that both rainforests and coral reefs are found in hot countries and near the equator. The best answers will attempt to unravel exactly what it is about being hot or near the equator that might allow numerous types of plant and animal to arise, persist and coexist.

Do new species evolve more frequently there, or go extinct less frequently? Once students have come up with a plausible theory, I'd follow up by asking them how they would go about testing their idea. What sort of data would they need?

They might think of specific examples for detailed comparison: tigers and zebras for example both have stripes for camouflage and blending in with background, one to hide from prey and the other to hide from predators.

Problems living on land include extra support for the body, avoiding desiccation, the need for more complex locomotory systems (legs, wings etc) and hence better sensory and nervous systems etc. Then ask in which of the two ecosystems have animals and plants been more successful? So now they have to define 'successful'...

When I've used this question in interviews I've had all sorts of innovative suggestions, including experiments where lions have their manes shaved to investigate whether this influences their chances with the opposite sex or helps them win fights over territory.

The process involves reabsorption by a carrier protein that binds the glucose molecules and moves them out of the renal tubule and back into the blood. Students should appreciate that, in binding glucose, the carrier will share properties with enzymes, about which they will have learned at school: the capacity to reabsorb glucose is finite because once all of the carriers are working maximally, no further glucose reabsorption can occur.

This question builds on commonly held knowledge and on material covered in Biology at school about visual processes. The question assesses criteria such as scientific curiosity (has the applicant ever wondered this themselves? Have they formulated any theories?) and scientific reasoning, based on information provided by the interviewer as the interview progresses.

After establishing that the applicant understands that light is detected by photoreceptors in the eye (and exploring and explaining this concept if it is a new one), the discussion would consider how the glow might be advantageous to the cat, seeing whether the applicant can appreciate that it may help the animal to see in the dark.

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