A* Biology, chemistry, math subject achievers

Hi guys,

I am doing bio, chem, maths in a level, any tips for getting A*s, and tricks, as for gcse I just re read the textbook and it was so worth it but will it be possible at a level?

Reply 1

shkshjsdh

11

Original post by cupcakeglorious6

Hi guys,
I am doing bio, chem, maths in a level, any tips for getting A*s, and tricks, as for gcse I just re read the textbook and it was so worth it but will it be possible at a level?

hey i got 3 A*s in bio chem maths this year. the holy trinity of revision is anki, the spec, and past exam questions

Reply 2

cupcakeglorious6

OP

10

Original post by shkshjsdh

hey i got 3 A*s in bio chem maths this year. the holy trinity of revision is anki, the spec, and past exam questions

That's amazing results!! did u do medicine? yeah ive heard a lot about anki, do u think it would be possible to memorise the textbook (annotated too) and then just do past papers to get the A*s for sciences? also any tips for subject specific? thanksssss

Reply 3

user1234512345

12

Original post by cupcakeglorious6

That's amazing results!! did u do medicine? yeah ive heard a lot about anki, do u think it would be possible to memorise the textbook (annotated too) and then just do past papers to get the A*s for sciences? also any tips for subject specific? thanksssss

hate to tell u this butI was like u at gcse but got a reality check when i tried that at a level, i went from 9s to Ds in my first tests. the textbooks for chem are almost useless and ur revision should be laregly focused on practice qs (has made me improve so much). for bio the textbook is good for understanding so do use it but its not mark scheme specific so its doing u harm to memorise the phrasing from there. instead memorise the mark scheme answers as your notes and make flashcards on them. mrs estruch is like the freesciencelessons of a level lol so her yt vids will help with understanding

Reply 4

cupcakeglorious6

OP

10

Original post by user1234512345

hate to tell u this butI was like u at gcse but got a reality check when i tried that at a level, i went from 9s to Ds in my first tests. the textbooks for chem are almost useless and ur revision should be laregly focused on practice qs (has made me improve so much). for bio the textbook is good for understanding so do use it but its not mark scheme specific so its doing u harm to memorise the phrasing from there. instead memorise the mark scheme answers as your notes and make flashcards on them. mrs estruch is like the freesciencelessons of a level lol so her yt vids will help with understanding

thankssss its so annoying i do edexcel for bio and chem and apparently aqa is better, and the aqa biology textbook seems so much easier to understand (sadly i do edexcel b and textbook is rubbish and also the spec is missing things no joke!! it was much more specific for gcse, not a level which is so badddd is it the same for aqa and what to do?) also how to remember the bio content as it doesnt stay in my head like it did for gcse? any more tips to get the a* such as how much to revise because i am so slow now compared to gcse like reading the textbook takes so long only to find i just remember the gist a few days later not the actual wording

Reply 5

Ajhdhd

14

Original post by cupcakeglorious6

thankssss its so annoying i do edexcel for bio and chem and apparently aqa is better, and the aqa biology textbook seems so much easier to understand (sadly i do edexcel b and textbook is rubbish and also the spec is missing things no joke!! it was much more specific for gcse, not a level which is so badddd is it the same for aqa and what to do?) also how to remember the bio content as it doesnt stay in my head like it did for gcse? any more tips to get the a* such as how much to revise because i am so slow now compared to gcse like reading the textbook takes so long only to find i just remember the gist a few days later not the actual wording

Hi, I was getting A*s with this technique for bio (edexcel A). I find it much easier to make mental associations and visualise how all biological processes work. For example with DNA replication, I drew a poster and made harry the DNA helicase, Paul the DNA polymerase and Lenny the DNA ligase. That's one method. Lots of practice questions and flashcards on any I got wrong. The textbook is kind of useless for me, I agree with you so I use save my exams instead and will make up questions for flashcards on any topics I don't understand. For example, I struggled to remember cystic fibrosis, so I made flashcards on 'how does it affect the reproductive system?', 'how does it affect the respiratory system' these are questions I have never seen before but content I needed to learn. I also sometimes write out processes with my own intrusive thoughts lol like fertilisation e.g 'hydrolytic enzymes from the acrosome allow the zona pellucida to be gobbled up'. It's dumb I know, but I have never gotten a question on fertilisation wrong since then. Youtube is great too. Lovelovelove the feynman technique. I feel biology is much more process-y than just memorising a flame test so I think honestly the best revision is to be able to teach it to someone else. Also make sure you know the key words in questions. E.g compare and contrast means similarities too, not just differences, easy marks to lose.

It's not like GCSE unfortunately ☹️ so you wont be able to just read the textbook, because it's not so straightforward anymore and topics tend to cross over now. So application is the only way. Good luck! :smile:

Reply 6

shkshjsdh

11

Original post by cupcakeglorious6

That's amazing results!! did u do medicine? yeah ive heard a lot about anki, do u think it would be possible to memorise the textbook (annotated too) and then just do past papers to get the A*s for sciences? also any tips for subject specific? thanksssss

thank you!! i went for dentistry instead of med haha😭😭i agree with what others have said, don’t try memorising the textbook as there’s just too much content so it’s pretty unsustainable, instead make flashcards of key info (refer to the spec). i’d then do all the past exam qus on physics and maths tutor for specific topics before an end of topic test then make flashcards of exam questions i got wrong. that was my strategy for bio and chem. for maths just as many practice questions as possible, u can use resources from other exam boards as the content is all pretty much the same

A* Biology, chemistry, math subject achievers

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you