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Advise with chemistry as level

Hi there, I am in year 12 and literally so stressed with chemistry and finding it really hard. I got an A* at gcse but so far I just sit in class no understanding anything that's going on. I wanted some advice with revising chemistry so I can get an A at as level I would be very greateful for any help. Thank you

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Original post by AlphaNick
It is a very good idea to revisit the content after lesson to make sure you understand with absolute clarity.

Wow...havent heard that advice before...Maybe an actual post A level Chemistry student please? You've obviously got the necessary experience.:wink:
tbh the problem isn't normally with the theory work, it's getting your exam technique perfect cos unless your terminology is spot on, you won't be getting the marks

it takes most people a while to get used to it, so i suggest looking through a few model answers/examiners reports to see how they lay their answers out and what vocabulary they use

edit - also make sure you're really confident with calculations and know all the definitions of the top of your head, those should be your easy marks in teh exam

hope this helps :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by AlphaNick
Can you leave me alone please? The advice I've given is what I'm doing right now for A-level Chemistry, and so far in the only test we've done I got an A so it is clearly working.

Well done..its not like we've done anything that hard anyway, its only been GCSe standard...the only hard thing was orbital but that didn't take much time to understand...You won't be so confident when the there units come around. If you really want advice about A level Chemistry take it from someone who has actually been through the entire course, not someone who has just started it.
Reply 4
Original post by josephinemar25
Hi there, I am in year 12 and literally so stressed with chemistry and finding it really hard. I got an A* at gcse but so far I just sit in class no understanding anything that's going on. I wanted some advice with revising chemistry so I can get an A at as level I would be very greateful for any help. Thank you


Hi Josephine, I have just started too the Edexcel Chemistry AS course (I got an A* too at IGCSE), and I must say so far I have found it relatively fine. In class what I tend to do is go ahead, because my teachers just blab on about particular things that I know in could cover myself in say, 10minutes to their 30. Then if I have any questions I ask at the end. I think it helps if you have an interest in chemistry as you'll learn the stuff, so reading ahead I believe is always a nice thing to do. What particular parts of the course are you finding hard ATM? The mathematical or theoretical side?


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To be honest at AS it's mostly memorizing mechanisms etc.
You just sort of have to drill them...
When I didn't understand stuff I used the Chemguide or youtubed stuff which were pretty helpful.
Also if you are doing OCR chemistry, they have a revision book that has basically everything you need to know in.
And yeah obviously past papers are pretty good.. when I was revising for my exam I did each one about 5 times :P All the questions are pretty much the same in each paper.
Original post by AlphaNick
What A-levels are you doing, what GCSE grades did you get?

i got 11 A*s and 1 A, i'm not arrogant about my results like you. Anyone has the ability to do well if they work at it.I'm taking Biology Chemistry Japanese Latin and Maths.
Reply 7
Original post by FatFace817
To be honest at AS it's mostly memorizing mechanisms etc.
You just sort of have to drill them...
When I didn't understand stuff I used the Chemguide or youtubed stuff which were pretty helpful.
Also if you are doing OCR chemistry, they have a revision book that has basically everything you need to know in.
And yeah obviously past papers are pretty good.. when I was revising for my exam I did each one about 5 times :P All the questions are pretty much the same in each paper.


Oh yeah that's completely true. With Edexcel there are CGP books which cover the course (they are about £10 on Amazon I think?) and they are so concise and clear that you can catch up on anything in no time :smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile
I would recommend the Chemrevise notes if you are following the AQA board. I found those notes very useful since they are pretty concise. Also, buy a revision guide/textbook to help you. Just do a lot of practice questions to improve your exam technique.
Reply 9
Original post by josephinemar25
Hi there, I am in year 12 and literally so stressed with chemistry and finding it really hard. I got an A* at gcse but so far I just sit in class no understanding anything that's going on. I wanted some advice with revising chemistry so I can get an A at as level I would be very greateful for any help. Thank you

What exam board are you doing? If it's AQA then type into Youtube

"E Rintoul" and "Tywin Lannister chemistry" and you'll find some pretty good stuff
Original post by AlphaNick
Well it seems as if you haven't completed A-level chemistry either so why don't you leave me to give my own advice and let the OP decide whether or not it is useful? And you're derailing the topic.

Lets just let people who have actually completed the course do the talking, they know what they're talking about. Also I'm not trying to tell people what to do, so stop making a fool of yourself.
Original post by AlphaNick
No one posting here has actually finished the course my friend. Why aren't they getting hell from you?

**AS** level in the title. Its a course in its own right. Most of the people giving advice here are in year 13 who have finished the **AS** course and are now on the A2 course.
Just read mark schemes to make sure you get definitions right

And also how you set answers out
Original post by AlphaNick
So what? I'm hard working and smart and I know my stuff and have been taught all of Unit 1 AQA and I have the capacity to read ahead, why can't I offer my advice? Arithmeticae and MrJAKEE are year 12s too for the record. And what are you doing to help the OP?

I'm helping by making sure people now what they are talking about. And as if you've finish foundation Chemistry all ready...Again being arrogant...:hand:
Original post by AlphaNick
Lol we have finished unit 1 already... anyway, leave me alone please.


Can you just ignore them, no point
Original post by AlphaNick
Lol we have finished unit 1 already... anyway, leave me alone please.

dbs My teacher is an actual examiner he makes sure we're on track and we're only halfway through foundation unless your on some random course with about 100 units...then thats excellent..(!)
Original post by AlphaNick
maybe they're just facilitating your pace :rolleyes:

Slow and steady wins the race....:rolleyes: Its not just about who can finish the course first...
Reply 17
The fact of the matter is, is that with anything academically related, if you don't know something ask a teacher to go over it with you. At our school we have Chemistry clinics, Maths clinics etc, which for me have been exceptional. Use the resources you have and you'll be fine :smile:


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Original post by FatFace817
To be honest at AS it's mostly memorizing mechanisms etc.
You just sort of have to drill them...
When I didn't understand stuff I used the Chemguide or youtubed stuff which were pretty helpful.
Also if you are doing OCR chemistry, they have a revision book that has basically everything you need to know in.
And yeah obviously past papers are pretty good.. when I was revising for my exam I did each one about 5 times :P All the questions are pretty much the same in each paper.


What did you get in AS?
Original post by MrJAKEE
Hi Josephine, I have just started too the Edexcel Chemistry AS course (I got an A* too at IGCSE), and I must say so far I have found it relatively fine. In class what I tend to do is go ahead, because my teachers just blab on about particular things that I know in could cover myself in say, 10minutes to their 30. Then if I have any questions I ask at the end. I think it helps if you have an interest in chemistry as you'll learn the stuff, so reading ahead I believe is always a nice thing to do. What particular parts of the course are you finding hard ATM? The mathematical or theoretical side?
Original post by MrJAKEE


Thanks for the advise Hess's law and enthalpy cycles are doing my head in at the moment. Yeah reading ahead definitely helps I have learnt the next few lessons for after half term :smile::smile::smile:
anyone understand Hess's law and mind explaining it to me???

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