A* in AQA A2 Chemistry and Biology - my tips.

Revision is not supposed to be fun. Fact. The fun takes away from the actual learning. We're not going to come to an agreement here.

I'm starting AS Chemistry and Biology in September, any tips?

I only got a B in AQA AS Chemistry! I really need an A overall for A-Level. Would this be possible if I retake chem2 along with chem4&5


Posted from TSR Mobile

THANK YOU FOR THE ADVICE. Also do you think doing loads of past papers is important. I'm doing edexcel btw.

YES! I cannot stress how important past papers are. If you have done them once, do them again! And don't limit yourself to only your exam board. Do papers from other exam boards. I did OCR and edexcel papers as well as AQA - it's extra practise. Do the old past papers too. I did papers dating back to the 90s. Note down the questions that come up year after year and memorise their answers thoroughly. Memorise the exact phrase that they want and make sure you write that, word for word. This particularly applies to definitions in chemistry and short answer questions in biology.

Best of luck.



Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you so much!!! Do you think it is wise to write out all your notes based from checking the specification before heavy revision of (past papers, flashcards and posters etc.). Or is this a waste of time. I did this for AS I think it helped with biology but I'm not sure about chemistry.

YES! I cannot stress how important past papers are. If you have done them once, do them again! And don't limit yourself to only your exam board. Do papers from other exam boards. I did OCR and edexcel papers as well as AQA - it's extra practise. Do the old past papers too. I did papers dating back to the 90s. Note down the questions that come up year after year and memorise their answers thoroughly. Memorise the exact phrase that they want and make sure you write that, word for word. This particularly applies to definitions in chemistry and short answer questions in biology.

Best of luck.



Posted from TSR Mobile

Can you recommend any websites as to where I can access past papers from the 90's ?


Posted from TSR Mobile

x

Hiya! Quick question! Do you know if the 'packs' on sciencemathsmaster.weebly.com are past paper questions reformatted or made up questions?

Hiya!
They are past paper questions and are extremely good.

Thank you! What I'm trying to say is, do they also come up on the past papers off the AQA site? I don't want to start doing them too early if that's the case

Im doing aqa biology and chemistry! Im am so worried😱😱😱 what can i do to ensure A grades?


Posted from TSR Mobile

Hello, lovely people!

After receiving numerous PMs asking me to share tips on how to achieve A*s in AQA A2 Biology and Chemistry, I thought it would be a good idea to create this thread. This is by no means a guide to achieve an A* but rather just a few tips that I used during my A2 levels.
So let's get started!

-POSTERS - posters are your best friend. Create large and colourful posters with only key information and diagrams. I find diagrams superb because they help me visualise information. So for example in biology I drew diagrams for all the cycles (Krebs, Calvin), this helped me remember them. This also helps condense key information and helps you understand key topics better. Stick them up in your study, your room or even around your house (if your parents don't mind) and try to read them every time you walk past them. It worked wonders for me.

-FLASHCARDS - these things are fabulous for memorising information and passing time on the bus. I had a pretty long journey to school so I made flashcards that I read on the way to and back from school. Colour co-ordinate all your cards, if you wish. What I did for chemistry was put all the mechanisms in one colour, equations in another and calculations in another. Also flashcards are very useful for testing your own knowledge. Write the question on one side and answer on another and test yourself.

-AUDIOS & PODCASTS -This might sound a little weird at first but I recorded myself speaking and listened back to it just before going to bed. That way, it stayed in my head. This is particularly good if you study languages because pronunciation is extremely important. It's also good because if you are anything like me, you get tired and bored from reading. So audios are a great way of relaxing from reading without feeling guilty.

-WRITING INFO over and over and over again - Yes I know it's tedious and boring but I personally couldn't find a better way than this for memorising lots of information. This isn't probably very applicable for chemistry but it's good for biology and essay writing subjects. If you are struggling to memorise things write them over an over and over again and I promise that it will stick in your brain.

-MAKE YOUR OWN NOTES - try not to use several different documents of notes for revision, just have one. In my case my teacher used to give us notes, I had the Nelson Thornes book, notes off the Internet and notes from my revision guide. Rather than read them all over and over again I used all sources to make my own notes. I didn't type up my notes because I can't learn from black and white texts, I find it too boring. I wrote all my notes by hand because I learn best from my own writing. It might work for you too!

For chemistry, this website http://chemrevise.org/revision-guides/ (great notes) along with http://www.a-levelchemistry.co.uk/ (practise questions) is your best friend! The Nelson Thornes book for chemistry is also very good - it gives clear, concise information. I would recommend buying the Collins revision guides: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0007268289/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=479289247&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0007268262&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1T803BAYRVAYGBQNJBAB.
Also do all the end of chapter and examination style questions along with all the past papers you can find. This website is good for past papers - http://www.xtremepapers.com/
Also this guy is an absolute legend, check his channel out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQISj4GNx3tJxOPGs8Yht8w

For biology, I found the Nelson thrones book to be completely useless. There was so much rambling and useless information in that book. So I strongly recommend buying the Collins A2 biology revision guide - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/000726822X?pc_redir=1408116382&robot_redir=1
I only ever used to Nelson thrones book for questions. For practise I recommend that you do questions by topic. So find all the past papers and put questions of the same topic together. I found that very helpful because it enabled me to concentrate more on my weaker topics. This website is also very good for practise questions - http://sciencemathsmaster.weebly.com/
For the synoptic essay:
-keep recapping AS topics mainly the important ones such as plants can cells.
-Use this amazing document - http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=157340&d=1339779087 Try to learn the main points of each essay, if you can. At first this document may scare you because most of the essays are brilliant. But remember these essays were not done under timed exam conditions so yours won't be as good. There is no need to worry!
- You need to include extra knowledge in your essay so I recommend reading up on the kidneys as this has many topics that AQA could set an essay on e.g osmosis, ions, specialisation of cells. At first the kidneys can seem complex and if you get completely stuck, drop me a message.
Also I'm sure your teacher will let you know about how you should structure the essays etc.

Although this year will undoubtabely be the most stressful year of your school life with so many things going on at the same time it will definitely be one of the best. Make the most of this and remember: work hard, play hard.

Best of luck.

Nav_Mallhi

Ps. if some of the links do not work, let me know.

Hello, lovely people!

After receiving numerous PMs asking me to share tips on how to achieve A*s in AQA A2 Biology and Chemistry, I thought it would be a good idea to create this thread. This is by no means a guide to achieve an A* but rather just a few tips that I used during my A2 levels.
So let's get started!

-POSTERS - posters are your best friend. Create large and colourful posters with only key information and diagrams. I find diagrams superb because they help me visualise information. So for example in biology I drew diagrams for all the cycles (Krebs, Calvin), this helped me remember them. This also helps condense key information and helps you understand key topics better. Stick them up in your study, your room or even around your house (if your parents don't mind) and try to read them every time you walk past them. It worked wonders for me.

-FLASHCARDS - these things are fabulous for memorising information and passing time on the bus. I had a pretty long journey to school so I made flashcards that I read on the way to and back from school. Colour co-ordinate all your cards, if you wish. What I did for chemistry was put all the mechanisms in one colour, equations in another and calculations in another. Also flashcards are very useful for testing your own knowledge. Write the question on one side and answer on another and test yourself.

-AUDIOS & PODCASTS -This might sound a little weird at first but I recorded myself speaking and listened back to it just before going to bed. That way, it stayed in my head. This is particularly good if you study languages because pronunciation is extremely important. It's also good because if you are anything like me, you get tired and bored from reading. So audios are a great way of relaxing from reading without feeling guilty.

-WRITING INFO over and over and over again - Yes I know it's tedious and boring but I personally couldn't find a better way than this for memorising lots of information. This isn't probably very applicable for chemistry but it's good for biology and essay writing subjects. If you are struggling to memorise things write them over an over and over again and I promise that it will stick in your brain.

-MAKE YOUR OWN NOTES - try not to use several different documents of notes for revision, just have one. In my case my teacher used to give us notes, I had the Nelson Thornes book, notes off the Internet and notes from my revision guide. Rather than read them all over and over again I used all sources to make my own notes. I didn't type up my notes because I can't learn from black and white texts, I find it too boring. I wrote all my notes by hand because I learn best from my own writing. It might work for you too!

For chemistry, this website http://chemrevise.org/revision-guides/ (great notes) along with http://www.a-levelchemistry.co.uk/ (practise questions) is your best friend! The Nelson Thornes book for chemistry is also very good - it gives clear, concise information. I would recommend buying the Collins revision guides: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0007268289/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=479289247&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0007268262&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1T803BAYRVAYGBQNJBAB.
Also do all the end of chapter and examination style questions along with all the past papers you can find. This website is good for past papers - http://www.xtremepapers.com/
Also this guy is an absolute legend, check his channel out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQISj4GNx3tJxOPGs8Yht8w

For biology, I found the Nelson thrones book to be completely useless. There was so much rambling and useless information in that book. So I strongly recommend buying the Collins A2 biology revision guide - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/000726822X?pc_redir=1408116382&robot_redir=1
I only ever used to Nelson thrones book for questions. For practise I recommend that you do questions by topic. So find all the past papers and put questions of the same topic together. I found that very helpful because it enabled me to concentrate more on my weaker topics. This website is also very good for practise questions - http://sciencemathsmaster.weebly.com/
For the synoptic essay:
-keep recapping AS topics mainly the important ones such as plants can cells.
-Use this amazing document - http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=157340&d=1339779087 Try to learn the main points of each essay, if you can. At first this document may scare you because most of the essays are brilliant. But remember these essays were not done under timed exam conditions so yours won't be as good. There is no need to worry!
- You need to include extra knowledge in your essay so I recommend reading up on the kidneys as this has many topics that AQA could set an essay on e.g osmosis, ions, specialisation of cells. At first the kidneys can seem complex and if you get completely stuck, drop me a message.
Also I'm sure your teacher will let you know about how you should structure the essays etc.

Although this year will undoubtabely be the most stressful year of your school life with so many things going on at the same time it will definitely be one of the best. Make the most of this and remember: work hard, play hard.

Best of luck.

Nav_Mallhi

Ps. if some of the links do not work, let me know.