What to do to prepare for AS level exams? (PLEASE HELP)

So I started Y12 few weeks ago, I am very new to all this from many.
Firstly, what is the difference between A-level and AS?
Let's say I wanna see and understand specification for Chemistry from the AQA website, shall I ignore the one that says (A-level only) or not?
I wanna head start or like understand what I am gonna expect for the exams ifykwim.

Any tips/suggestions are appreciated 🌸💕

I’ve gone into yr 13 taken chem as a subject and last year did the AS, got to say I am not 100% on how an actual AS exam would look because covid f’ed it up and we ended up just doing regular end of topic testing and the overall average led to the results we got.
I have some half tips. Make sure you know the equations because there’s quite a bit of maths. Also make sure you are 100% on definitions of terms such as ‘ionisation energy’ etc because not including a specific phrase could lose you a mark or two. There’s no point in stressing atm though, you’ve only just started and there’ll be plenty of opportunities throughout the year to learn how the chemistry exam qs are laid out and what they expect out of answers. Good luck. (:

AS Level is the same thing as Year 1 A-Level, so if you see a spec for Year 1 A-Level, it’s the same thing as AS.

If it says AS Level, AS And A-Level or A-Level Year 1 then it’s good.
If it says A-Level only or A-Level Year 2 then don’t use it.

Hope I didn’t make things too confusing

You helped me a lot !!! I appreciate your existence 🥺💕

i would say, mostly do a lot of exam questions/past paper questions. during my 1st year i found myself getting better grades after i stopped relying on just rereading my notes like i did for gcse. this is rlly important for subjects like biology and chemistry as practise makes perfect !! once you're done doing a past paper, mark it + focus on the questions u got wrong. i then used spaced repetition with different past papers til i was familiar with the mark scheme good luck in ur first year ^_^

Thank you so much for this ✨ Ik you said there is no point stressing atm buttttt- as you said covid f~ked up the overall testing system for the past year, we got many of your GCSE topics removed across various subjects. This includes "Quantitative" and "Organic" Chemistry for me 💀. So low-key many of Y12 are struggling but some can cope and some (who are like me) cannot. Sometimes I question myself: Am I good enough to be here? Was this just by chance? . I am so anxious about chemistry rn but chemistry is such a crucial subject for me and my future. I don't wanna give up just now !!! 😰😭