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Chemistry and Biology AS LEVEL

Hello i have just finished GCSEs and am hopefully going to be taking chemistry and biology at AS level , does anyone have any tips of things i should revise over the holidays so that when i start school it wont be such a big jump? any advice would be helpful
Reply 1
Original post by Sophia_xx
Hello i have just finished GCSEs and am hopefully going to be taking chemistry and biology at AS level , does anyone have any tips of things i should revise over the holidays so that when i start school it wont be such a big jump? any advice would be helpful


Do you know what exam board you have for A level chemistry and biology? :smile:
I have chosen Bio and Chem... AQA :smile:
Reply 3
Original post by 06shawm
Do you know what exam board you have for A level chemistry and biology? :smile:


Biology is AQA
Chemistry OCR :smile:
Original post by Sophia_xx
Biology is AQA
Chemistry OCR :smile:


I just finished biology AS level. I would advise you to get this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-AQA-Student/dp/1847627870/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406061362&sr=8-1&keywords=cgp+biology+student+book start going through it in the summer if you won't (not necessary though)

This book is really good to read through when it comes to revision http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Revision-Notes-Biology-ePub-ebook/dp/B00C3H7BGO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406061501&sr=8-4&keywords=my+revision+notes+biology

Read around the topics you learn by watching documentaries or the news or something because at A2 unit 5 has a 25 mark essay question that awards extra marks for information outside the syllabus.

Go through every question paper and mark scheme for the exams. MEMORISE THOSE MARK SCHEMES!!!

Youtube videos are really good. I watch crashcourse with Hank Green for chemistry and biology. They give you the information you need and more.

I hope this helped cos that's how I studied as biology (along with classwork of course) and I'm expecting an A so I guess it's worked.

Good luck :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by vee_wuvshugs
I just finished biology AS level. I would advise you to get this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-AQA-Student/dp/1847627870/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406061362&sr=8-1&keywords=cgp+biology+student+book start going through it in the summer if you won't (not necessary though)

This book is really good to read through when it comes to revision http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Revision-Notes-Biology-ePub-ebook/dp/B00C3H7BGO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406061501&sr=8-4&keywords=my+revision+notes+biology

Read around the topics you learn by watching documentaries or the news or something because at A2 unit 5 has a 25 mark essay question that awards extra marks for information outside the syllabus.

Go through every question paper and mark scheme for the exams. MEMORISE THOSE MARK SCHEMES!!!

Youtube videos are really good. I watch crashcourse with Hank Green for chemistry and biology. They give you the information you need and more.

I hope this helped cos that's how I studied as biology (along with classwork of course) and I'm expecting an A so I guess it's worked.

Good luck :smile:

Thank you !
I did Biology AQA and chemistry AQA.
For both subjects complete any induction work set by your college/sixth form.
For biology especially i'd look online and find the AQA textbook or some guide sorta thing and read that. You don't need to go overboard and self study this summer but it'd be useful to have a little prior knowledge before starting in september.
Also, dont buy any revision guides yet, because your college/sixth form would have them anyway and they'd sell them to you for a cheaper price.
Original post by Sophia_xx
Thank you !

You're welcome. You can do the same with chemistry I guess.
Reply 8
Original post by Sophia_xx
Hello i have just finished GCSEs and am hopefully going to be taking chemistry and biology at AS level , does anyone have any tips of things i should revise over the holidays so that when i start school it wont be such a big jump? any advice would be helpful


I did AQA biology and OCR B chemistry.

If you're taking OCR B chemistry, the first topic they teach you covers a lot of the things you learnt in GCSE (as well as a few extra bits of course), so it's designed to ease you in. Rather than trying to get ahead by looking at the AS content, I would probably advise you just to go over the key concepts from GCSE.

In my experience, biology initially feels like quite a large jump because there are a lot of new words and topics you won't have touched on before. The biology exam itself is essential one giant memory test; the content isn't particularly difficult, there's just quite a lot of it. As long as you review the material regularly, you shouldn't find it too hard to adapt. If you want to be prepared, maybe look over the list of topics beforehand and read up on anything that piques your interest?

It's good to be prepared, but remember not to overdo it. You'll probably be very busy once the school year starts, so ensure you're well rested and make the most of your Summer :smile:

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