ErinMei's year 13 study blog (A*A*A*)
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14/10/17
The post came this morning and I saw I had a letter from Leeds so I assumed it would simply be an acknowledgement letter- like the email. When I opened it and read the letter and it turns out they have already decided to give me an offer but in order to actually receive the offer I have to visit on a UCAS day and have a one on one informal interview. From the wording of the letter it seemed to me that the interview wasn't part of giving out offers and they'd already made up their mind. I feel very excited by this ! I booked to come and visit on the 8th of November. I hopefully won't feel too nervous and having this interview will be good prep for any other interviews I get. I was also suprised at how fast they responded as I applied on the 12th and the letter was dated the 13th. I emailed my biology teacher to let him know I will be missing his lesson for the interview, as I think he may be planning a required practical for that day.
After my excitement calmed down I finished off exercise 3C which seemed to have loads of functions in ! It was a nice refresh to go over some functions work. Although , I think we're doing functions in class next week since we didn't finish the chapter last year.
After the maths I started the nitrogen cycle questions I have for homework. There were only two questions I left blank and they were my favourite type of question (joke) the 'suggest' questions.
I then did my other biology homework which was some questions on the eye. The eye exam questions were such a walk in the park compared to the nitrogen cycle questions.
I have no other homework , the only things on my to-do list are to get up to date with notes and flashcards and revise for TSA which I didn't have time for today.
@Desmos
@sniperxsakib
@Anonymous1502
The post came this morning and I saw I had a letter from Leeds so I assumed it would simply be an acknowledgement letter- like the email. When I opened it and read the letter and it turns out they have already decided to give me an offer but in order to actually receive the offer I have to visit on a UCAS day and have a one on one informal interview. From the wording of the letter it seemed to me that the interview wasn't part of giving out offers and they'd already made up their mind. I feel very excited by this ! I booked to come and visit on the 8th of November. I hopefully won't feel too nervous and having this interview will be good prep for any other interviews I get. I was also suprised at how fast they responded as I applied on the 12th and the letter was dated the 13th. I emailed my biology teacher to let him know I will be missing his lesson for the interview, as I think he may be planning a required practical for that day.
After my excitement calmed down I finished off exercise 3C which seemed to have loads of functions in ! It was a nice refresh to go over some functions work. Although , I think we're doing functions in class next week since we didn't finish the chapter last year.
After the maths I started the nitrogen cycle questions I have for homework. There were only two questions I left blank and they were my favourite type of question (joke) the 'suggest' questions.
I then did my other biology homework which was some questions on the eye. The eye exam questions were such a walk in the park compared to the nitrogen cycle questions.
I have no other homework , the only things on my to-do list are to get up to date with notes and flashcards and revise for TSA which I didn't have time for today.
@Desmos
@sniperxsakib
@Anonymous1502
Original post by ErinMei
14/10/17
The post came this morning and I saw I had a letter from Leeds so I assumed it would simply be an acknowledgement letter- like the email. When I opened it and read the letter and it turns out they have already decided to give me an offer but in order to actually receive the offer I have to visit on a UCAS day and have a one on one informal interview. From the wording of the letter it seemed to me that the interview wasn't part of giving out offers and they'd already made up their mind. I feel very excited by this ! I booked to come and visit on the 8th of November. I hopefully won't feel too nervous and having this interview will be good prep for any other interviews I get. I was also suprised at how fast they responded as I applied on the 12th and the letter was dated the 13th. I emailed my biology teacher to let him know I will be missing his lesson for the interview, as I think he may be planning a required practical for that day.
After my excitement calmed down I finished off exercise 3C which seemed to have loads of functions in ! It was a nice refresh to go over some functions work. Although , I think we're doing functions in class next week since we didn't finish the chapter last year.
After the maths I started the nitrogen cycle questions I have for homework. There were only two questions I left blank and they were my favourite type of question (joke) the 'suggest' questions.
I then did my other biology homework which was some questions on the eye. The eye exam questions were such a walk in the park compared to the nitrogen cycle questions.
I have no other homework , the only things on my to-do list are to get up to date with notes and flashcards and revise for TSA which I didn't have time for today.
@Desmos
@sniperxsakib
@Anonymous1502
The post came this morning and I saw I had a letter from Leeds so I assumed it would simply be an acknowledgement letter- like the email. When I opened it and read the letter and it turns out they have already decided to give me an offer but in order to actually receive the offer I have to visit on a UCAS day and have a one on one informal interview. From the wording of the letter it seemed to me that the interview wasn't part of giving out offers and they'd already made up their mind. I feel very excited by this ! I booked to come and visit on the 8th of November. I hopefully won't feel too nervous and having this interview will be good prep for any other interviews I get. I was also suprised at how fast they responded as I applied on the 12th and the letter was dated the 13th. I emailed my biology teacher to let him know I will be missing his lesson for the interview, as I think he may be planning a required practical for that day.
After my excitement calmed down I finished off exercise 3C which seemed to have loads of functions in ! It was a nice refresh to go over some functions work. Although , I think we're doing functions in class next week since we didn't finish the chapter last year.
After the maths I started the nitrogen cycle questions I have for homework. There were only two questions I left blank and they were my favourite type of question (joke) the 'suggest' questions.
I then did my other biology homework which was some questions on the eye. The eye exam questions were such a walk in the park compared to the nitrogen cycle questions.
I have no other homework , the only things on my to-do list are to get up to date with notes and flashcards and revise for TSA which I didn't have time for today.
@Desmos
@sniperxsakib
@Anonymous1502
Well Done !
16/10/17
No update yesterday as I had some social things going on so I ended up doing no work !
We carried on with transition metals in chemistry. First we were told to write down a few definitions from memory such as ligand and co-ordinate number ( remembering these keywords was our homework). We started looking at ligand substitutions such as 4 chloride ions replace 6 water molecules in an aqua ion as they are bigger ligands. We looked at a few colours of the aqua ions and the colour change for a substitution with ammonia and chloride ions. We were given some homework which was a few questions to answer on the basics of the transition metals.
In maths we revisted the functions chapter we covered last year. We went through it pretty quick as our teacher had done it before, so it was more like a recap lesson. We recapped the type of functions e.g. many to one , one to one and how one to many is not a function unless the domain is restricted. We identified which equations were which type of function and then we moved onto looking at domain and range. We finished by working out the range of some given equations. I didn't know interval notation existed until today ! We didn't have time to cover composite and inverse functions so we'll be doing that on Friday. We didn't get our homework back either as our teacher forgot it so she didn't bother taking anymore in or giving anymore out.
In my free I let my sixth form mentor know about the leeds news and she was really happy for me and said it was amazing how quickly they responded. I then started reading the transition metals section in the textbook again. The more i read it the more sense it makes and i'm also teaching myself little bits too like how complex ions can show stereoisomerism. I know eventually i'll feel confident with the topic but at the moment it looks a little daunting.
I then started the chemistry homework and it was pretty easy , just a few electron configurations and stated some information. I didn't finish all of it however.
In biology we finished off the topic on heart rate control by looking at how pH of the blood and pressure changes effect the heart rate due to chemoreceptors and pressure receptors sending action potentials to the medulla oblongata which sends impulses to the nodes in the heart. Its cool how this whole process is totally subconcious. We did a few exam questions before starting the new topic.
The new topic was simply looking at the structure of neurones and the functions of the certain parts. We finished by making some notes on the different neurones in the sensory , intermediate and motor neurones. We then started some questions on the heart before the lesson ended.
For homework I have to finish the heart questions and some exam questions on the heart. After the holidays we are having a test on the stuff on stimuli and responses we have learnt so far - but not until the 3rd week in. When we come back after half-term we are looking at action potentials in more detail I think.
When I came home I finished off my transition metals homework and then read my CGP book to try solidify my knowledge further. The part on entropy increase with the chelate effect made more sense in the CGP book.
Then i started making notes on the pacinian corpuscle and photoreceptors in the eye before making flashcards from my notes.
@Desmos
@sniperxsakib
@Anonymous1502
Posted from TSR Mobile
No update yesterday as I had some social things going on so I ended up doing no work !
We carried on with transition metals in chemistry. First we were told to write down a few definitions from memory such as ligand and co-ordinate number ( remembering these keywords was our homework). We started looking at ligand substitutions such as 4 chloride ions replace 6 water molecules in an aqua ion as they are bigger ligands. We looked at a few colours of the aqua ions and the colour change for a substitution with ammonia and chloride ions. We were given some homework which was a few questions to answer on the basics of the transition metals.
In maths we revisted the functions chapter we covered last year. We went through it pretty quick as our teacher had done it before, so it was more like a recap lesson. We recapped the type of functions e.g. many to one , one to one and how one to many is not a function unless the domain is restricted. We identified which equations were which type of function and then we moved onto looking at domain and range. We finished by working out the range of some given equations. I didn't know interval notation existed until today ! We didn't have time to cover composite and inverse functions so we'll be doing that on Friday. We didn't get our homework back either as our teacher forgot it so she didn't bother taking anymore in or giving anymore out.
In my free I let my sixth form mentor know about the leeds news and she was really happy for me and said it was amazing how quickly they responded
. I then started reading the transition metals section in the textbook again. The more i read it the more sense it makes and i'm also teaching myself little bits too like how complex ions can show stereoisomerism. I know eventually i'll feel confident with the topic but at the moment it looks a little daunting. I then started the chemistry homework and it was pretty easy , just a few electron configurations and stated some information. I didn't finish all of it however.
In biology we finished off the topic on heart rate control by looking at how pH of the blood and pressure changes effect the heart rate due to chemoreceptors and pressure receptors sending action potentials to the medulla oblongata which sends impulses to the nodes in the heart. Its cool how this whole process is totally subconcious. We did a few exam questions before starting the new topic.
The new topic was simply looking at the structure of neurones and the functions of the certain parts. We finished by making some notes on the different neurones in the sensory , intermediate and motor neurones. We then started some questions on the heart before the lesson ended.
For homework I have to finish the heart questions and some exam questions on the heart. After the holidays we are having a test on the stuff on stimuli and responses we have learnt so far - but not until the 3rd week in. When we come back after half-term we are looking at action potentials in more detail I think.
When I came home I finished off my transition metals homework and then read my CGP book to try solidify my knowledge further. The part on entropy increase with the chelate effect made more sense in the CGP book.
Then i started making notes on the pacinian corpuscle and photoreceptors in the eye before making flashcards from my notes.
@Desmos
@sniperxsakib
@Anonymous1502
Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 6 years ago)
17/10/17
In mechanics we skipped collisions and momentum and moved onto chapter 4. This was so we could practice resolving as some people were struggling with the homework. It seems like a pretty simple chapter - just looking at particles in equilibrium.
We did a few questions from exercise 4A- including ones with particles on a slope. Some questions turned out to be simultaneous equations and some gave an expression for Psintheta and Pcostheta so we could divide them to get tantheta and work out an angle value
. We then moved onto the equilibrium questions on the homework sheet which we had been told to leave out. I managed to get one whole question done before the bell went. For homework we need to finish the questions on the sheet-so I only have 3 left to do.
After lunch I went and bought a birthday present for my friend as it is her birthday on Thursday. I then came home and had some lunch before going to the gym.
Posted from TSR Mobile
In mechanics we skipped collisions and momentum and moved onto chapter 4. This was so we could practice resolving as some people were struggling with the homework. It seems like a pretty simple chapter - just looking at particles in equilibrium.
We did a few questions from exercise 4A- including ones with particles on a slope. Some questions turned out to be simultaneous equations and some gave an expression for Psintheta and Pcostheta so we could divide them to get tantheta and work out an angle value
. We then moved onto the equilibrium questions on the homework sheet which we had been told to leave out. I managed to get one whole question done before the bell went. For homework we need to finish the questions on the sheet-so I only have 3 left to do. After lunch I went and bought a birthday present for my friend as it is her birthday on Thursday. I then came home and had some lunch before going to the gym.
Posted from TSR Mobile
18/10/17
I only managed to get five hours of sleep last night so I felt very tired today
In biology we marked the second lot of nitrogen cycle questions we completed for homework. I got 30/40 which was 75% - so I'm pretty happy with that ( a 2% increase from the first set of nitrogen cycle questions haha
)
We then worked through some exam questions on energy transfers in ecosystems until the lesson ended. I didn't get them all finished in class so they're my homework now - luckily we were given the mark scheme this time.
After break I stayed at school to finish my mechanics homework from yesterday. I managed to do 2/3 questions with no problems but the last question had me so confused. It only gave you magnitude of a vertical force and the magnitude of a resultant force and expected you to work out the magnitude and direction of the other force. I asked my boyfriend for help as he has already taken M1 and he said that you needed to use this thing called a 'triangle of forces'. It reminded me of vectors and after that hint I easily finished the question by using the cosine and sine rule.
When I came home i intended to start work straight away but my bad sleep had hit me so I sat on the sofa for around 3 hours haha.
At around 3pm I checked my emails and noticed I had an email from York which said I have been invited to interview !!! I'm so happy with this. York seems like such an amazing place to study chemistry. In the email they said that they don't give out offers this early in the admissions process ,due to lack of places, unless they really think an applicant will succeed !! They confirmed that they have already decided to give me an offer and I just need to go to interview to receive the offer ( same situation as Leeds). The interview will only determine my required grades to meet the offer.
The only interview dates they offered were November 2nd 7th and 9th. I couldn't pick 2nd as that's the day of my Oxford TSA. I ended up picking the 9th. Annoyingly either way I would have ended up with an interview for 2 days straight since I have Leeds interview on the 8th and York interview on the 9th. Although atleast the Leeds interview will prepare me for the York one haha and I'll get them over with quickly.
I started making notes on heart rate control using my textbooks. I didn't bother to make flashcards just yet and I started my heart exam questions I have for homework. Some of them were okay but I got super confused by this one question that gave you a table of changing pressures in the atrium and ventricle and you had to work out for how long the atrioventricular valve was closed. All the numbers confused my mind so I gave up.
I'm hoping for a good sleep tonight to make up for last night. I'll have an easy day at school simply writing up the chemistry required practical before getting round to an Oxford TSA mock (pray for me)
Posted from TSR Mobile
I only managed to get five hours of sleep last night so I felt very tired today
In biology we marked the second lot of nitrogen cycle questions we completed for homework. I got 30/40 which was 75% - so I'm pretty happy with that ( a 2% increase from the first set of nitrogen cycle questions haha
)We then worked through some exam questions on energy transfers in ecosystems until the lesson ended. I didn't get them all finished in class so they're my homework now - luckily we were given the mark scheme this time.
After break I stayed at school to finish my mechanics homework from yesterday. I managed to do 2/3 questions with no problems but the last question had me so confused. It only gave you magnitude of a vertical force and the magnitude of a resultant force and expected you to work out the magnitude and direction of the other force. I asked my boyfriend for help as he has already taken M1 and he said that you needed to use this thing called a 'triangle of forces'. It reminded me of vectors and after that hint I easily finished the question by using the cosine and sine rule.
When I came home i intended to start work straight away but my bad sleep had hit me so I sat on the sofa for around 3 hours haha.
At around 3pm I checked my emails and noticed I had an email from York which said I have been invited to interview
!!! I'm so happy with this. York seems like such an amazing place to study chemistry. In the email they said that they don't give out offers this early in the admissions process ,due to lack of places, unless they really think an applicant will succeed !! They confirmed that they have already decided to give me an offer and I just need to go to interview to receive the offer ( same situation as Leeds). The interview will only determine my required grades to meet the offer.The only interview dates they offered were November 2nd 7th and 9th. I couldn't pick 2nd as that's the day of my Oxford TSA. I ended up picking the 9th. Annoyingly either way I would have ended up with an interview for 2 days straight since I have Leeds interview on the 8th and York interview on the 9th. Although atleast the Leeds interview will prepare me for the York one haha and I'll get them over with quickly
.I started making notes on heart rate control using my textbooks. I didn't bother to make flashcards just yet and I started my heart exam questions I have for homework. Some of them were okay but I got super confused by this one question that gave you a table of changing pressures in the atrium and ventricle and you had to work out for how long the atrioventricular valve was closed. All the numbers confused my mind so I gave up.
I'm hoping for a good sleep tonight to make up for last night. I'll have an easy day at school simply writing up the chemistry required practical before getting round to an Oxford TSA mock (pray for me)
Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 6 years ago)
Congratulations about your York interview! I'm applying there as well! I thought it all looked so great, but I'm very worried I won't get an offer
Good luck for both your interviews, and fingers crossed you'll get offers from your other choices as well!
Good luck for both your interviews, and fingers crossed you'll get offers from your other choices as well!
Original post by ErinMei
Hello,
as this is my last year in school I thought I'd have a go at making a study blog ! I had a brief thread when I was taking my GCSEs, but it wasn't very detailed at all. Halfway through year 12 I came across other GYGs forums and It inspired to do one myself. So here I am
.
About me:
I'm a year 13 student who is taking mathematics (Edexcel), chemistry (AQA) and biology (AQA). I want to study chemistry at university. My goal university is currently Oxford, however, actually receiving an offer seems a little far-fetched. My other favourite universities are Durham and York. My goal for this year is to achieve A*A*A* ,which will secure me a place at a university to study chemistry and it will give me something to be very proud of. Also, I go to a state school and I don't come from a very privileged background.
GCSEs:
In total I have 1 A^ 6 A*s 4 As :
Further mathematics (AQA) : A^
Mathematics (Edexcel) : A*
Biology (AQA) : A*
Chemistry (AQA) : A*
Physics (AQA) : A*
Religious studies (Edexcel) : A*
History (AQA) : A*
English language (CIE) : A
English literature (WJEC) : A
Media studies (AQA) : A
French (Edexcel) : A
AS results:
Even though the new specifications for chemistry and biology mean I cannot keep my AS grade if I continue these subjects on at A2, my school still entered us for all our external AS exams. I found this very helpful as I now know how to revise and it challenged me to work under exam pressures. I think it has prepared me for year 13.
Biology (AQA) : A
Chemistry (AQA) : A
Mathematics (Edexcel) : A ( C1: 95 , C2: 95, S1: 100)
Sociology (AQA) : A ( which I have dropped so I can keep this AS grade )
A2 predicted grades :
Biology (AQA) : A*
Chemistry (AQA) : A*
Mathematics (Edexcel) : A*
University choices :
UCAS application was sent off on 12/10/17
Oxford - chemistry (prospective firm) (A*A*A) ?
Durham- chemistry (prospective firm) (A*AA) ?
York - chemistry (AAB) (prospective firm/insurance) INTERVIEW RECEIVED
St Andrews - chemistry (AAB) ( the least realistic option as the uni is just so far away from me, so it's a little scary, but prospective firm) ?
Leeds - chemistry (prospective insurance) (ABB) - INTERVIEW RECEIVED
Assessments/mocks :
Photosynthesis and respiration assessment: 74% B
I'm planning to update this as regularly as I can so if you're interested in how the next year will unfold for me , please stick around
Also , please let me know if you wish to be tagged in my daily updates
Thankyou!
as this is my last year in school I thought I'd have a go at making a study blog ! I had a brief thread when I was taking my GCSEs, but it wasn't very detailed at all. Halfway through year 12 I came across other GYGs forums and It inspired to do one myself. So here I am
.About me:
I'm a year 13 student who is taking mathematics (Edexcel), chemistry (AQA) and biology (AQA). I want to study chemistry at university. My goal university is currently Oxford, however, actually receiving an offer seems a little far-fetched. My other favourite universities are Durham and York. My goal for this year is to achieve A*A*A* ,which will secure me a place at a university to study chemistry and it will give me something to be very proud of. Also, I go to a state school and I don't come from a very privileged background.
GCSEs:
In total I have 1 A^ 6 A*s 4 As :
Further mathematics (AQA) : A^
Mathematics (Edexcel) : A*
Biology (AQA) : A*
Chemistry (AQA) : A*
Physics (AQA) : A*
Religious studies (Edexcel) : A*
History (AQA) : A*
English language (CIE) : A
English literature (WJEC) : A
Media studies (AQA) : A
French (Edexcel) : A
AS results:
Even though the new specifications for chemistry and biology mean I cannot keep my AS grade if I continue these subjects on at A2, my school still entered us for all our external AS exams. I found this very helpful as I now know how to revise and it challenged me to work under exam pressures. I think it has prepared me for year 13.
Biology (AQA) : A
Chemistry (AQA) : A
Mathematics (Edexcel) : A ( C1: 95 , C2: 95, S1: 100)
Sociology (AQA) : A ( which I have dropped so I can keep this AS grade )
A2 predicted grades :
Biology (AQA) : A*
Chemistry (AQA) : A*
Mathematics (Edexcel) : A*
University choices :
UCAS application was sent off on 12/10/17
Oxford - chemistry (prospective firm) (A*A*A) ?
Durham- chemistry (prospective firm) (A*AA) ?
York - chemistry (AAB) (prospective firm/insurance) INTERVIEW RECEIVED
St Andrews - chemistry (AAB) ( the least realistic option as the uni is just so far away from me, so it's a little scary, but prospective firm) ?
Leeds - chemistry (prospective insurance) (ABB) - INTERVIEW RECEIVED
Assessments/mocks :
Photosynthesis and respiration assessment: 74% B
I'm planning to update this as regularly as I can so if you're interested in how the next year will unfold for me , please stick around
Also , please let me know if you wish to be tagged in my daily updates
Thankyou!
Wow~ I'm impressed by your amazing result. Would you please share how you study biology? Coz I found it hard to do well
Original post by IfYouCanDreamIt
Congratulations about your York interview! I'm applying there as well! I thought it all looked so great, but I'm very worried I won't get an offer
Good luck for both your interviews, and fingers crossed you'll get offers from your other choices as well!
Good luck for both your interviews, and fingers crossed you'll get offers from your other choices as well!
Thankyou !
Are you applying for chemistry or another subject? Some subjects they are more leniant to give out offers- but York has a really good rep for chemistry. A boy in my year has an offer for economics without interview and another boy has an offer for maths with an optional interview.
Good luck for when you apply too !
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by spiderman17
Wow~ I'm impressed by your amazing result. Would you please share how you study biology? Coz I found it hard to do well
Thankyou !
I don't use very many resources for biology. I use the Oxford textbooks and my notes from class. This year I've started using the CGP book too- but I didn't last year. I use a mixture of textbooks and notes from class to make notes-which I then make flashcards of and just use my flashcards to revise for mocks and exams. I practice exam questions using old spec AQA questions and new ones too. If i'm really stuck on a topic or want some extra input I watch Mr Pollock videos on youtube.
I also find my biology teachers to be really helpful.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by ErinMei
Thankyou !
Are you applying for chemistry or another subject? Some subjects they are more leniant to give out offers- but York has a really good rep for chemistry. A boy in my year has an offer for economics without interview and another boy has an offer for maths with an optional interview.
Good luck for when you apply too !
Posted from TSR Mobile
Are you applying for chemistry or another subject? Some subjects they are more leniant to give out offers- but York has a really good rep for chemistry. A boy in my year has an offer for economics without interview and another boy has an offer for maths with an optional interview.
Good luck for when you apply too !
Posted from TSR Mobile
I'm applying for history, I haven't heard anything of whether they want interviews or not for history offers so I really have no idea! I'm just going to wait and see I guess. And thank you!
19/10/17
In chemistry we finished off the write up for required practical 7. We had to write up the results tables , plot a graph and calculate the order of the reaction. However , I think I messed up the order calculation for the first experiment. My graph had volume of potassium iodide on the x axis and rate ( 1/time) on the y axis. I drew a line of best fit and calculated the gradient which gave me a value in s^-1cm^-3. I concluded the order was zero order as the gradient didnt change as the volumes changed. I think I should have compared how the rate ( y axis values) changed when the volume of potassium iodide was changed.
This year we're using folders for our required practicals - not lab books. Our teacher wanted us to hand in our year 12 lab books but mine was at home so I'll bring it after the half-term holidays. My teacher also said that me getting an offer already was really good.
After lunch I went and printed out an Oxford TSA paper (2015) and then I went and picked which year 12 to mentor haha (compulsory mentoring)
I went and sat my TSA mock under timed conditions for the first time. I ran out of time at around question 34 so I went ahead and did a couple maths questions and I guessed the final questions. I find the maths questions so much easier than the long english questions. I marked the paper and I got :
27/50
5 of them were guesses...so really I guess I only got 22. I'm going to do another paper next Monday and start by only doing the maths questions as I'm better at them, so it gives me a greater chance of getting more marks and I'll get through them pretty quickly (hopefully). After i've done them I'll look at the english questions and do the conclusion deducing ones first - as I find them easier. I'm aiming for 35 marks, so I guess i don't have to improve that much.
I looked over the questions to see where I went wrong. On two maths questions I made a silly mistake but I was on track for the right answer. Around 4 english questions i considered and almost picked the correct answer - but ended up picking the second most likely answer. My boyfriend explained some of the ones I got wrong to me too. I guess I had the potential to get 30+.
We also looked at the results for that paper to see how i did against everyone that sat it. I didn't do too bad , i feel around the middle of the normal distribution and my mark was pretty common. However , the most common mark was 31 - so im guessing thats the aim mark. 31 lay to the right of the distribution.
I am determined to get 30+ on my next mock !!
Posted from TSR Mobile
In chemistry we finished off the write up for required practical 7. We had to write up the results tables , plot a graph and calculate the order of the reaction. However , I think I messed up the order calculation for the first experiment. My graph had volume of potassium iodide on the x axis and rate ( 1/time) on the y axis. I drew a line of best fit and calculated the gradient which gave me a value in s^-1cm^-3. I concluded the order was zero order as the gradient didnt change as the volumes changed. I think I should have compared how the rate ( y axis values) changed when the volume of potassium iodide was changed.
This year we're using folders for our required practicals - not lab books. Our teacher wanted us to hand in our year 12 lab books but mine was at home so I'll bring it after the half-term holidays. My teacher also said that me getting an offer already was really good
.After lunch I went and printed out an Oxford TSA paper (2015) and then I went and picked which year 12 to mentor haha
(compulsory mentoring)I went and sat my TSA mock under timed conditions for the first time. I ran out of time at around question 34 so I went ahead and did a couple maths questions and I guessed the final questions. I find the maths questions so much easier than the long english questions. I marked the paper and I got :
27/50
5 of them were guesses...so really I guess I only got 22. I'm going to do another paper next Monday and start by only doing the maths questions as I'm better at them, so it gives me a greater chance of getting more marks and I'll get through them pretty quickly (hopefully). After i've done them I'll look at the english questions and do the conclusion deducing ones first - as I find them easier. I'm aiming for 35 marks, so I guess i don't have to improve that much.
I looked over the questions to see where I went wrong. On two maths questions I made a silly mistake but I was on track for the right answer. Around 4 english questions i considered and almost picked the correct answer - but ended up picking the second most likely answer. My boyfriend explained some of the ones I got wrong to me too. I guess I had the potential to get 30+.
We also looked at the results for that paper to see how i did against everyone that sat it. I didn't do too bad , i feel around the middle of the normal distribution and my mark was pretty common. However , the most common mark was 31 - so im guessing thats the aim mark. 31 lay to the right of the distribution.
I am determined to get 30+ on my next mock !!
Posted from TSR Mobile
20/10/17
Last day of half-term finally !!!
In biology our teacher said he wanted to spend the lesson going over the photosynthesis and respiration resit. I was the only person who didn't resit this test so he said I could either go and do the test and he'll mark it , listen to them go through the test or do my homework. I thought it would be most beneficial to go and do the test. I went down to the computer room and started. Obviously I hadn't revised photosynthesis or respiration, so at some points I got a little stuck trying to remember some info but I got it done and gave it back to him. I'm not too bothered about the mark though.
In my free I went to go and print another TSA paper but there was no paper in the printer so I had to go to the work room and print it there and there was no option to print double sided so now I have a massive stack of paper
I finished off my chemistry required practical exam questions after that.
In maths we were still doing functions
We were told to do some questions from 2C in class but I finished them super quick so my teacher told me to start 2D as my class finished composite functions last year. However, she then went over composite functions before the lesson ended. When we come back after the holidays we'll be doing one lesson on inverse functions and then we'll finally be done
At lunch there was an hour long assembly where we had to meet our year 12 mentees and we also had free pizza. I only signed up to mentor one year 12 but they gave me two. The girl I asked to mentor does chemistry , biology and maths so I thought I could help her if she needs it. However my other mentee doesn't do any of my subjects and doesn't want to go to uni so I don't know how I can help or why they've assigned him to me
We have to have a weekly meeting with our mentees in our free time and I planned to meet the girl on Thursday mornings and the boy on Mondays before lunch. However , I soon realised that for the first 2 weeks of the next half-term I won't be available on Thursdays(doing TSA and leeds applicant day) so I'll need to let her know somehow... I hate that we have to do this , so much extra stress
In chemistry we were doing a practical for fun - trying to make soap. I followed the instructions correctly and it didn't work so i tried again and it still didn't work !! I was already in a pretty bad mood from lunch too. We were given an exam question pack to complete over the holidays. When the lesson ended I was so glad I had finished the first half-term as I was feeling the stress build up and I needed a break ! I will try to destress in the holidays but also get everything done that I need to.
After school I went to the gym and bought my train tickets to go to York!
Posted from TSR Mobile
Last day of half-term finally !!!
In biology our teacher said he wanted to spend the lesson going over the photosynthesis and respiration resit. I was the only person who didn't resit this test so he said I could either go and do the test and he'll mark it , listen to them go through the test or do my homework. I thought it would be most beneficial to go and do the test. I went down to the computer room and started. Obviously I hadn't revised photosynthesis or respiration, so at some points I got a little stuck trying to remember some info but I got it done and gave it back to him. I'm not too bothered about the mark though.
In my free I went to go and print another TSA paper but there was no paper in the printer so I had to go to the work room and print it there and there was no option to print double sided so now I have a massive stack of paper
I finished off my chemistry required practical exam questions after that.
In maths we were still doing functions
We were told to do some questions from 2C in class but I finished them super quick so my teacher told me to start 2D as my class finished composite functions last year. However, she then went over composite functions before the lesson ended. When we come back after the holidays we'll be doing one lesson on inverse functions and then we'll finally be done
At lunch there was an hour long assembly where we had to meet our year 12 mentees and we also had free pizza. I only signed up to mentor one year 12 but they gave me two. The girl I asked to mentor does chemistry , biology and maths so I thought I could help her if she needs it. However my other mentee doesn't do any of my subjects and doesn't want to go to uni so I don't know how I can help or why they've assigned him to me
We have to have a weekly meeting with our mentees in our free time and I planned to meet the girl on Thursday mornings and the boy on Mondays before lunch. However , I soon realised that for the first 2 weeks of the next half-term I won't be available on Thursdays(doing TSA and leeds applicant day) so I'll need to let her know somehow... I hate that we have to do this , so much extra stress
In chemistry we were doing a practical for fun - trying to make soap. I followed the instructions correctly and it didn't work so i tried again and it still didn't work !! I was already in a pretty bad mood from lunch too. We were given an exam question pack to complete over the holidays. When the lesson ended I was so glad I had finished the first half-term as I was feeling the stress build up and I needed a break ! I will try to destress in the holidays but also get everything done that I need to.
After school I went to the gym and bought my train tickets to go to York
!Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 6 years ago)
22/10/17
I got up and made flashcards on my notes on the heart from the other day. I then finished off the heart exam questions.
I finished my sheets on carboxylic acids and esters from lesson and then I started my pack of chemistry exam questions. Most of the questions were okay and some of them were AS content such as the equilibrium constant Kc, which i enjoyed as physical chem is my fave. There was also some rates topic stuff which I also liked. I noticed I needed to revise the dehydration mechanism and I kept getting complete combustion equations for esters wrong as I kept forgetting there were oxygen atoms within the ester, so i kept putting too many O2 molecules haha.
I then started to make notes on carboxylic acids and esters using my CGP book and Oxford textbook. I'll make the flashcards for these notes on a later day.
I'm doing another TSA mock tomorrow so I'm hoping I can get 30 + marks this time !
Posted from TSR Mobile
I got up and made flashcards on my notes on the heart from the other day. I then finished off the heart exam questions.
I finished my sheets on carboxylic acids and esters from lesson and then I started my pack of chemistry exam questions. Most of the questions were okay and some of them were AS content such as the equilibrium constant Kc, which i enjoyed as physical chem is my fave. There was also some rates topic stuff which I also liked. I noticed I needed to revise the dehydration mechanism and I kept getting complete combustion equations for esters wrong as I kept forgetting there were oxygen atoms within the ester, so i kept putting too many O2 molecules haha.
I then started to make notes on carboxylic acids and esters using my CGP book and Oxford textbook. I'll make the flashcards for these notes on a later day.
I'm doing another TSA mock tomorrow so I'm hoping I can get 30 + marks this time !
Posted from TSR Mobile
23/10/17
I didn't have a great day. I felt incredibly nervous to do another TSA mock and throughout it I could barely concentrate, as I was in a bad mindset- worrying and feeling upset. However, I did the paper but I ran out of time again. I did do all the maths questions first and then went back through and did the conclusion and strengthening/weakening the argument questions before guessing the rest. I ended with 24/50 which was lower than last time ! I thought I had done awful but when I actually looked over my exam there were around 8 problem solving questions where i had done the correct method and tripped up on a silly mistake so I didn't get the answer. I knew how to do 23/25 of the problem solving questions.
I'm not going to give up , i'm doing a paper on Thursday but not in timed conditions to practice all the question types and then on Monday I'm doing another in timed conditions before the real exam on the Thursday after that
Posted from TSR Mobile
I didn't have a great day. I felt incredibly nervous to do another TSA mock and throughout it I could barely concentrate, as I was in a bad mindset- worrying and feeling upset. However, I did the paper but I ran out of time again. I did do all the maths questions first and then went back through and did the conclusion and strengthening/weakening the argument questions before guessing the rest. I ended with 24/50 which was lower than last time !
I thought I had done awful but when I actually looked over my exam there were around 8 problem solving questions where i had done the correct method and tripped up on a silly mistake so I didn't get the answer. I knew how to do 23/25 of the problem solving questions. I'm not going to give up , i'm doing a paper on Thursday but not in timed conditions to practice all the question types and then on Monday I'm doing another in timed conditions before the real exam on the Thursday after that
Posted from TSR Mobile
24/10/17
I tried another TSA paper but not in timed conditions and I didn't bother to attempt the flaw, assumption , principle and parallel reasoning questions as I had to leave the house to go to the gym. I got 28/50.
I think the key to my improvement is that I need to be able to answer the flaw and assumption questions as they come up pretty often and it can give me another chunk of marks on top of my average of 26 ish. I'm just not sure how to go about them. I might read some tips I find on the internet.
Posted from TSR Mobile
I tried another TSA paper but not in timed conditions and I didn't bother to attempt the flaw, assumption , principle and parallel reasoning questions as I had to leave the house to go to the gym. I got 28/50.
I think the key to my improvement is that I need to be able to answer the flaw and assumption questions as they come up pretty often and it can give me another chunk of marks on top of my average of 26 ish. I'm just not sure how to go about them. I might read some tips I find on the internet.
Posted from TSR Mobile
25/10/17
I started off the day by making flashcards on my carboxylic acids and esters notes.
Then I started another TSA paper. I didn't intend to time myself but I made a note of the time when I started the paper and halfway through decided I would stop once I reached 1 hour and 30 mins. After 1 hour and 30 mins I changed pen colour and carried on until I had finished all 50 questions ( took about 1 hour 50 mins). I marked it and worked out a score for within the time limit and a score for unlimited time :
32/50 in 1 hour 30 mins.
38/50 in 1 hour 50 mins.
I'm glad I finally managed to get my score into the 30s. I actually performed equally well on the critical thinking and problem solving section. I was under the impression I was terrible at critical thinking and I didn't even bother to answer a lot of the questions in previous papers. I'm now thinking that should change as I have proven I can do those questions. The marks that I did drop on critical thinking were equally spread between the question types so I need to stop thinking I can't answer any of the questions apart from conclusions and additional evidence. I think my new tactic will be to answer all questions up to 25 (as earlier questions seem to be easier) and then look through the last 25 and pick out easy looking questions. I'm worried I will not have enough time to finish the paper, so I'm trying to use my time in the most effective way.
Out of the problem solving questions I got wrong I went back over them afterwards knowing the answers and managed to get to the answer for 4 of them. 2 of them I still have no clue. I also looked at the real answers for the critical thinking Qs I got wrong and I either had nearly picked the right answer or I now understood why that was the answer.
I'm doing another paper tomorrow so let's hope I can get 30+ again
Posted from TSR Mobile
I started off the day by making flashcards on my carboxylic acids and esters notes.
Then I started another TSA paper. I didn't intend to time myself but I made a note of the time when I started the paper and halfway through decided I would stop once I reached 1 hour and 30 mins. After 1 hour and 30 mins I changed pen colour and carried on until I had finished all 50 questions ( took about 1 hour 50 mins). I marked it and worked out a score for within the time limit and a score for unlimited time :
32/50 in 1 hour 30 mins.
38/50 in 1 hour 50 mins.
I'm glad I finally managed to get my score into the 30s. I actually performed equally well on the critical thinking and problem solving section
. I was under the impression I was terrible at critical thinking and I didn't even bother to answer a lot of the questions in previous papers. I'm now thinking that should change as I have proven I can do those questions. The marks that I did drop on critical thinking were equally spread between the question types so I need to stop thinking I can't answer any of the questions apart from conclusions and additional evidence. I think my new tactic will be to answer all questions up to 25 (as earlier questions seem to be easier) and then look through the last 25 and pick out easy looking questions. I'm worried I will not have enough time to finish the paper, so I'm trying to use my time in the most effective way.Out of the problem solving questions I got wrong I went back over them afterwards knowing the answers and managed to get to the answer for 4 of them. 2 of them I still have no clue. I also looked at the real answers for the critical thinking Qs I got wrong and I either had nearly picked the right answer or I now understood why that was the answer.
I'm doing another paper tomorrow so let's hope I can get 30+ again
Posted from TSR Mobile
Loving reading this blog, especially about the TSA prep it's really quite interesting. I'm taking the MAT on the same day and I'm pretty petrified!
Your grades are absolutely mind blowing though so I have all the faith that you've got this down! Also well done on the York and Leeds interviews
I'll be sure to keep following this x
Your grades are absolutely mind blowing though so I have all the faith that you've got this down! Also well done on the York and Leeds interviews
I'll be sure to keep following this x
Original post by EmilySarah00
Loving reading this blog, especially about the TSA prep it's really quite interesting. I'm taking the MAT on the same day and I'm pretty petrified!
Your grades are absolutely mind blowing though so I have all the faith that you've got this down! Also well done on the York and Leeds interviews
I'll be sure to keep following this x
Your grades are absolutely mind blowing though so I have all the faith that you've got this down! Also well done on the York and Leeds interviews
I'll be sure to keep following this x
Thankyou very much !
I'm glad you find it interesting to read.I know someone at my school who is also taking the MAT.
I've just got to keep trying and hopefully I'll get to where I want to be
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by ErinMei
Thankyou very much ! I'm glad you find it interesting to read.
I know someone at my school who is also taking the MAT.
I've just got to keep trying and hopefully I'll get to where I want to be
Posted from TSR Mobile
I'm glad you find it interesting to read.I know someone at my school who is also taking the MAT.
I've just got to keep trying and hopefully I'll get to where I want to be
Posted from TSR Mobile
I know no one personally who's taking the MAT, I wont even be able to walk out of the exam room and scream at someone else who's taken the paper! (That's a first I feel like I did that with every GCSE and AS exam.)
I suppose that's why TSR is a god send because at least I know people here who are taking it!
And I'm sure you'll completely smash it, you seem more than motivated enough
26/10/17
Did another TSA paper and managed to finish all of the questions in 1 hour and 34 mins !. It's nice to see my timings have improved so in the real exam I have a chance at answering all of the questions. I managed to get :
32/50
I'm feeling more positive now that I'm getting marks in the 30s. After looking over the answers I noticed that for 6 critical thinking questions I considered the real answer a lot and nearly picked it. For 3 problem solving questions I made a silly mistake and ended up with the wrong answer. With practice I know I have the potential to do even better. I worked out solutions for all of the remaining questions. I'm really excited to do another paper so I can try get a mark in the high 30s. However , I won't be doing another paped until Sunday as I'm busy until then.
Did another TSA paper and managed to finish all of the questions in 1 hour and 34 mins !
. It's nice to see my timings have improved so in the real exam I have a chance at answering all of the questions. I managed to get :32/50
I'm feeling more positive now that I'm getting marks in the 30s. After looking over the answers I noticed that for 6 critical thinking questions I considered the real answer a lot and nearly picked it. For 3 problem solving questions I made a silly mistake and ended up with the wrong answer. With practice I know I have the potential to do even better. I worked out solutions for all of the remaining questions. I'm really excited to do another paper so I can try get a mark in the high 30s. However , I won't be doing another paped until Sunday as I'm busy until then.
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