I’m in year 12 and I want to do medicine. I’m currently getting D’s and E’s in chemistry, despite getting a 9 at GCSE. I really, really need to improve my grades in order to get at least a predicted A in chemistry.”, any tips on how I could do this?? I am studying AQA chemistry Please help!!!!
Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum.
The Medicine forum gets a high volume of questions being posted, and some of these are already answered by the resources and Megathreads that members of the community and volunteers have created. This is an automatic post which is designed to highlight these resources. Below is a list of threads and articles that could answer your question (you should be looking in the original post of the megathreads). If one of the below threads is a more relevant place to ask your question, please post a reply in that thread to ask your question. If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked below, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.
If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked above, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.
I’m in year 12 and I want to do medicine. I’m currently getting D’s and E’s in chemistry, despite getting a 9 at GCSE. I really, really need to improve my grades in order to get at least a predicted A in chemistry.”, any tips on how I could do this?? I am studying AQA chemistry Please help!!!!
A simple yet overlooked tip I have for you is to refer back to your specification points, it specifically states everything you need to know. If it's not written there then you don't need to know it. You can use your specification as a checklist, this allows you to keep track of the topics you have covered. The spec points also include definitions learn and formulas that you need to know. Definitely memorise these definitions as they are easy marks.
Another tip is to not neglect your maths and practical skills, as there is literally an entire section dedicated to these two areas. Ensure you are comfortable using the formulas listed in the spec points. Once you become familiar with the maths, they often become quite repetitive and easy to do- lots of practice questions will secure you those marks in the exam. In terms of practicals, it's important to pay attention to the details- how equipment is set up, which chemicals are used and at which order etc... You might also be expected to draw diagrams of the experiment.
Lastly, I think reading the examiner's report would be very helpful. Oftentimes explanations are provided beside each question so it can be more helpful than the mark scheme, which just gives you the answer. You can read them to see what common mistakes are often made and how you can avoid them.
Hi @Swa235, A simple yet overlooked tip I have for you is to refer back to your specification points, it specifically states everything you need to know. If it's not written there then you don't need to know it. You can use your specification as a checklist, this allows you to keep track of the topics you have covered. The spec points also include definitions learn and formulas that you need to know. Definitely memorise these definitions as they are easy marks. Another tip is to not neglect your maths and practical skills, as there is literally an entire section dedicated to these two areas. Ensure you are comfortable using the formulas listed in the spec points. Once you become familiar with the maths, they often become quite repetitive and easy to do- lots of practice questions will secure you those marks in the exam. In terms of practicals, it's important to pay attention to the details- how equipment is set up, which chemicals are used and at which order etc... You might also be expected to draw diagrams of the experiment. Lastly, I think reading the examiner's report would be very helpful. Oftentimes explanations are provided beside each question so it can be more helpful than the mark scheme, which just gives you the answer. You can read them to see what common mistakes are often made and how you can avoid them. Hope this helps, Danish BCU Student Rep
Ok thank you so much, the specification tip was a really useful one, I’ve never heard of it before; gonna try it out today!!