chemistry alevel

I want to study chemistry alevel and i’m at a grade 7, my teacher said im predicted to get an 8 in my actual gcse however to take chemistry I have to get a 7 in maths and im only at a 5. is it possible to go up 2 grades in the span of 4 months?

Reply 1

klafow

Original post by chickenpotnoodle

probably, if you practice a lot!! trying working through corbett maths or maths genie questions, and once you feel more confident work through papers. you can only get better at maths with practice, and now is a good time to start!!
Maths Genie • Learn GCSE Maths for Free
maths genie are split by grade
5-a-day GCSE 9-1 – Corbettmaths
corbett maths have loads of stuff but the 5-a-day is really good to get a bit of maths in every day! work out which level is best for you and increase the difficulty once you gain confidence.
there are so many free resources on the internet, look around and see what works for you if you don't like what i've suggested above (which is perfectly fine - everyone has a different favourite revision resource!)
good luck 🙂 i hope your grade improves by the time of the real exams!!

Reply 2

dodgeviper2000

Original post by chickenpotnoodle

Absolutely possible, infact id say its easier than going from a 6 to 8. definitely make sure you have grade5/ foundation stuff down great. losing marks there will hurt you. online, search up grade 6-7 questions and grade 7-8. 7-8 is more accurately grade 7 level ive found. Other user mentioned corbett maths, and maths genie, esp corbett maths questions on specific topics. Sparx ive heard is great too, to find those are great, but straight up, pass paper questions. LOADS of past paper questions. then its less likely you will come across a question type youve never seen before. One great tool is OnMaths. They do mini predicted papers, and show where your loosing marks in comparison to how many marks you couldve potentially gotten if i remember correctly.

On Maths: https://www.onmaths.com/mock_exams/?archiveType=half_prediction

In exams, little tip, if you do any mocks or just an exam by yourself, or even the real thing, imo the golden rule to make sure youve secured a grade, is to do (10 x (your grade)) - 15. so in this case, 45 approximately for a 7, and thats a solid effort. During tests, if you have time, count up presumed marks, itll help with working out how much you need to get a grade. single handedly boosted my grade from a 5 to 6 and sometimes 7. bare in mind, 45 is lowkey pretty harsh, especially in regards to last years papers (1 was easy, 1 was meh, 1 sucked, and this is a shared opinion from what i know), so if you get anywhere near that, then your in the running for a 7. Wish you luck, hope you get that 7.

Reply 3

chickenpotnoodle

Original post by dodgeviper2000

Absolutely possible, infact id say its easier than going from a 6 to 8. definitely make sure you have grade5/ foundation stuff down great. losing marks there will hurt you. online, search up grade 6-7 questions and grade 7-8. 7-8 is more accurately grade 7 level ive found. Other user mentioned corbett maths, and maths genie, esp corbett maths questions on specific topics. Sparx ive heard is great too, to find those are great, but straight up, pass paper questions. LOADS of past paper questions. then its less likely you will come across a question type youve never seen before. One great tool is OnMaths. They do mini predicted papers, and show where your loosing marks in comparison to how many marks you couldve potentially gotten if i remember correctly.
On Maths: https://www.onmaths.com/mock_exams/?archiveType=half_prediction
In exams, little tip, if you do any mocks or just an exam by yourself, or even the real thing, imo the golden rule to make sure youve secured a grade, is to do (10 x (your grade)) - 15. so in this case, 45 approximately for a 7, and thats a solid effort. During tests, if you have time, count up presumed marks, itll help with working out how much you need to get a grade. single handedly boosted my grade from a 5 to 6 and sometimes 7. bare in mind, 45 is lowkey pretty harsh, especially in regards to last years papers (1 was easy, 1 was meh, 1 sucked, and this is a shared opinion from what i know), so if you get anywhere near that, then your in the running for a 7. Wish you luck, hope you get that 7.

thank you!

Reply 4

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post by chickenpotnoodle

Hi there @chickenpotnoodle ,

Yes, of course you can go up 2 grades in 4 months! I was in a very similar position to you when I was a GCSE student and wasn't sure how to improve my maths.

However, one of the most helpful things my teacher did was to give me a syllabus with all of the topics covered in the GCSE course, when I asked for one. This was a great way to structure my revision and practice without forgetting anything. This might be a good starting point from which you can then find practice questions online.

Having eventually improved my grades and done A level chem I'd give you the heads up that if you do well in your maths GCSE then I'm sure you will also be okay with the maths in A level chem as long as you keep up to date with the content. There is quite a bit of algebra, balancing equations, complex division and multiplication as well as long answer maths questions for working out things like volume, concentration and mass/moles (you will learn all of this in the A level!). However I'd recommend trying to work on any areas of maths you are finding particularly difficult or are finding you're not scoring well on to bump up that grade.

A 5 is not a bad grade and it is more than possible to boost it to a 7/8 - just make sure you understand the tricky areas, use all the resources and sessions at school available to you, do practice questions, and use your teacher for help if you need it.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

Holly
University of Bath