IB Chemistry exam tips
Today, BartyED’s expert IB Chemistry tutors have a look at the common issues faced by Chemistry students and some tips to remedy them.
As with any subject, having a strong foundation in Chemistry is crucial for top marks in the exams. What our tutors have found is that many IB Chemistry students lose easy marks because they tend to slack on remembering definitions and consolidating basic concepts. Further, when independently revising or preparing for exams, students tend to avoid topics they are not confident in and hope for the best when exam time rolls around. With a subject that necessitates a strong theoretical and conceptual foundation, students need to remember to ask the easy questions and go back to the basics.
Much of the complex, advanced topics in IB Chemistry demand a strong foundation in mathematics. To do well in the course at SL or HL, students cannot do without consolidating mathematical skills, yet our IB Chemistry tutors have found that students going into the course are often surprised by how maths-intensive it is. In the exam, students will find that the most marks come from long questions involving multi-step calculations, which means that one wrong calculation takes away a significant number of marks. With a strong foundation in maths, students can break down the question more easily and maximise their scores with greater confidence.
This tip may seem obvious, but our tutors have found that many students do not have a firm grasp on the command words specific to the IB Chemistry assessment criteria. Looking more closely at the assessment criteria allows students to break down the key points a particular question asks for, but more foundationally helps students understand what the examiner is looking for with any given question. Knowing the difference between a ‘state’ and ‘explain’ question, for example, means that students can check if their answer is actually answering the question.
Perhaps the hardest task for IB students to do consistently is making effective notes. To make the most of revision, throughout the course students should be continually producing a comprehensive and concise set of notes with definitions, theories, and experiments. These notes should be based on key terms recognised from IB Chemistry mark schemes, and include diagrams and drawings in the standard form that the course demands. Flashcards can be helpful when it comes to committing key points to memory, as there are many tests and definitions to remember. Students should already be in this habit of effective note-taking from before the start of the course, but even a week of intensive pre-exam revision can make the difference between a passing mark and a 6 or even 7.
We hope these tips will help you with the IB Chemistry course, and make the exams less daunting. Our IB Chemistry tutors have found that students often struggle because they lack the right guidance, but with an experienced tutor, consolidating the necessary theoretical foundations and getting top marks is only a matter of time. If you feel that you could benefit from extra support, feel free to check out our website here for more information on our IB Chemistry teaching programmes, or reach out today at (852) 2882 1017 or enquiries@bartyed.com.