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AS Level Chemistry ISA

Okay my Chemistry teacher said our ISA is coming up very soon (April time) and I'd like to know what exactly the ISA is. How many marks are there? Is there a time limit on the practical? Do we have to do everything on our own or does the teacher go through it before the real thing? Do they tell us exactly what the practical is?? Help! Thanks!

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Reply 1

Dylann

Original post by ohnanailikenanas

We are not allowed to discuss specifics, however I can answer a few of your other questions. The ISA is worth 50 raw marks which is 60 UMS marks (it's 20% of your AS level). Yes there is a time limit, but it's usually 40-60 minutes I would guess. It's more than enough to do everything. You have to do the experiments yourself, your teacher will probably read through the instructions and/or show you what the final products/intermediate products should look like. It depends on the type of practical. I don't think your teacher is allowed to demonstrate at the front immediately before the real thing.

From experience, the practicals themselves aren't really hard, as long as you read through all the instructions beforehand and proceed carefully at a steady pace you should be good. Also, the practical + PSA marks are worth 20 raw and the written exam is 30 raw. PSA marks are practical skills assessment marks which are recorded by your teacher throughout the year (if you turned up to lesson and didn't burn down the lab then you probably got 12/12)