This is where you can chat to others students taking your subject as you prepare for your GCSE exams this summer.
What can I do in these groups?
Almost anything! If you need help with a certain topic, want to rant about something you are struggling with or just want to support other students who are trying to prepare, this is the place for you. We want these to be a useful place for everyone no matter what you're looking for!
What can't I do in these groups?
Asking or offering copyright papers is against our site rules, and so is taking conversation off-site to do these things. Any posts doing this will be removed. That's the only rule
Ice Breaker questions if you want to use them!
> What exam board are you on? (Vote in the poll as well!)
> What bits of the course are you feeling confident with?
> What areas are you struggling with a little?
> Have you found any resources online that have helped you prepare?
idk how to revise to get atleast a 4 in my chem triple foundation exam
Past papers under timed conditions without access to notes, textbooks etc and mark them afterwards are how you master exam technique and get the required marks. You should find your teachers and see if they can talk you through some of the questions after class if the mark scheme doesn’t help.
When revising or self-teaching, do it in 30 - 45 minute bursts with 15 minute breaks between to have a snack and a drink. This prevents you losing focus and makes your study time as productive as possible.
Past papers under timed conditions without access to notes, textbooks etc and mark them afterwards are how you master exam technique and get the required marks. You should find your teachers and see if they can talk you through some of the questions after class if the mark scheme doesn’t help.
When revising or self-teaching, do it in 30 - 45 minute bursts with 15 minute breaks between to have a snack and a drink. This prevents you losing focus and makes your study time as productive as possible.
That's literally so smart.. what is your average marks for science
That's literally so smart.. what is your average marks for science
At GCSE, my worst mark in chemistry was 89% on a mock with my best being 98% (averaging about 94%)
In physics and biology, I usually got around 70% on average. This is largely because I put much less effort into them and was much less invested in them.
woah are there any other rare tips you could give me since i want to not only get a 9 in science i wanna get high nines since im aiming for medicine im averaging a 9 in physics 8 in chemistry and 7 in biology how can i get higher?
woah are there any other rare tips you could give me since i want to not only get a 9 in science i wanna get high nines since im aiming for medicine im averaging a 9 in physics 8 in chemistry and 7 in biology how can i get higher?
I used something called the Feynman Technique, which in your case should work really well given that you already have a strong grasp of the material. This method involves taking time to summarise a topic and do so in the simplest terms without removing key terminology, writing down notes/flashcards etc as you go along. After writing the notes, you find someone much less familiar with the topic than yourself and you attempt to talk them through it with the aid of the notes you prepared. If they do not understand, you assume you haven’t understood the topic as well as you could have, hence you haven’t been able to summarise it well enough and therefore you refine your own understanding of the topic by reading around it and making simpler notes, then try again. Otherwise, great, you’ve got it but keep practicing exam questions regularly so as to not get complacent.
I’d also advise using the examiner’s reports to find common mistakes made by candidates (i.e misreads, problems with units in calculations and forgetting/mixing up definitions) and learn how to avoid them.
I used something called the Feynman Technique, which in your case should work really well given that you already have a strong grasp of the material. This method involves taking time to summarise a topic and do so in the simplest terms without removing key terminology, writing down notes/flashcards etc as you go along. After writing the notes, you find someone much less familiar with the topic than yourself and you attempt to talk them through it with the aid of the notes you prepared. If they do not understand, you assume you haven’t understood the topic as well as you could have, hence you haven’t been able to summarise it well enough and therefore you refine your own understanding of the topic by reading around it and making simpler notes, then try again. Otherwise, great, you’ve got it but keep practicing exam questions regularly so as to not get complacent.
I’d also advise using the examiner’s reports to find common mistakes made by candidates (i.e misreads, problems with units in calculations and forgetting/mixing up definitions) and learn how to avoid them.
What's the best way to try and memorise all the displayed formulas for organic chemistry? I'm really struggling to remember them
Memorising the displayed formulae is often not the way forward.
Usually a mnemonic to remember the prefixes (meth-, eth-, prop-, but-, pent-, hex-) and the fact that carbon ‘only has 4 friends’ (as my teacher put it), i.e can form a maximum of 4 bonds is enough to get you started.
idk how to revise to get atleast a 4 in my chem triple foundation exam
if u just want a 4, freesciencelessons is the goat. I'd recommend getting a CGP textbook as well as they do help. Also use online flashcards for all the sciences and you should be fine
At GCSE, my worst mark in chemistry was 89% on a mock with my best being 98% (averaging about 94%)
In physics and biology, I usually got around 70% on average. This is largely because I put much less effort into them and was much less invested in them.
that is really good imdoing my gcses next year but im streessing cause iknow nothing
What's the best way to try and memorise all the displayed formulas for organic chemistry? I'm really struggling to remember them
Yh we learnt the mnemonic “Monkey Eats Peanut Butter” for the first four hydrocarbons (Methane/Ethane/Propane/Butane) and then just memorised the general formulas for alkanes (CnH2n+2) and alkenes (CnH2n). So for Methane for example, you’d find out the displayed formula by knowing it had one Carbon and then work out hydrogen was 4 using the formula… which would be CH4
I'm sure you're all busy revising and looking ahead to the upcoming exams!
There are now tons of exam-specific threads being created, where you can share advice and tips, and chat to other students who are in the same boat.
We've put together a directory of all the exam threads that have been created so far and will keep updating it as more are added - you can click here to find yours
You can also create your own if you can't find the exam you're looking for! Just tag @Pwca and I'll add them to the directory.