How to do well on chemistry mock exams?

[Kamen rider baron]

So I am an sl chemistry student and for my mock exams, I really want to do well on my exams like at least a 5. What would be the best method to do so?

[Baller97]

Just know your stuff man...

[Emilia1320]

Listening during lessons should be enough for a 5. Revise at home to be sure.

[Msj Chem]

If only it were that simple! For the majority of students, just listening in class will not get them a 5.

Of course 'knowing your stuff' is important but it is also important that you are able to apply what you know in an unfamiliar situation.

The best way to do this is to practice with past exam papers - however there aren't any past exam papers for the new syllabus which puts the first round of students at a disadvantage to students who will sit the exams in November 2016 or May 2017 for example.

That said, most IB chemistry textbooks have practice questions at the back of the chapter.

You may also find my videos helpful for review:

http://www.msjchem.com

Edited November 29, 2015 by Msj Chem

[kw0573]

Chem, but also apply to many other tests
1. Read your textbook and lecture notes. Make new notes if time allows (eg. at least a week before mock)
2. Do/Redo homework questions. If you keep doing careless mistakes, do more problems.
3. If you are completely stuck, try skip the question and do one or two similar ones. If you are still stuck, go back and reread textbook sections / watch online videos / ask a friend. Jot down your questions. Then once you are comfortable, do a couple of questions.

4. Do some IB questions (if these are separate from homework) from past years (the style* of questions will not be much different). 
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until you know/understand/are comfortable with most of the concepts. It's ok if you still have some questions unanswered.
6. If you can almost every problem easily, try to find connections among topics you have covered. 
7. Answer your friends' questions. "teaching" others force you to organize the information in a systematic, logical order.

Remember to take study breaks and spread out the sessions! To have a very strong chance of getting a 5, you should probably be able to do most of the questions you encounter, and quite comfortably (step 4 ish first time, in my list). This 7-step by no means correspond to each IB level. 

[Msj Chem]

You are right in that a large part of the syllabus is unchanged so you can still use past exam papers for the old syllabus. But there are parts of the syllabus that have changed and no one knows what the IB will ask about the new parts of the syllabus. To make matters more difficult, the syllabus objectives are much more vague than in the old syllabus. This means that teachers are not sure about the amount of detail to go into for each topic. So really we are all waiting for the first exams in May 2016 to see what the changes will be.

[Msj Chem]

 

You are right in that a large part of the syllabus is unchanged so you can still use past exam papers for the old syllabus. But there are parts of the syllabus that have changed and no one knows what the IB will ask about the new parts of the syllabus. To make matters more difficult, the syllabus objectives are much more vague than in the old syllabus. This means that teachers are not sure about the amount of detail to go into for each topic. So really we are all waiting for the first exams in May 2016 to see what the changes will be.

Do you think it is a good idea to have the mentality: "I understand all the past paper questions. I am prepared for those topics" for the topics where there has not been a lot of change (+ learning the new bits as well as you can)?

 

 

Yes, I think that is a good way to approach it - try to understand as much of the content that hasn't changed and be prepared for questions on the new content. 

[kw0573]

You are right in that a large part of the syllabus is unchanged so you can still use past exam papers for the old syllabus. But there are parts of the syllabus that have changed and no one knows what the IB will ask about the new parts of the syllabus. To make matters more difficult, the syllabus objectives are much more vague than in the old syllabus. This means that teachers are not sure about the amount of detail to go into for each topic. So really we are all waiting for the first exams in May 2016 to see what the changes will be.

With due respect, are the specimen papers for the 2016 exam sessions enough to make a judgement? 

[TDgen47@IB]

well given that these exams are mocks and new syllabus is involved, your focus should not be on doing well but on taking the risks and learning as much as possible from the mistakes. That doesn't mean that doing well is not a priority but really that shouldn't be your main focus. And by risks I mean that if you are not sure on how to approach a particular question, just do what seems most suitable (for example, follow the old syllabus way of approach and answer) and see the end result and change whatever is needed to be changed for the actual real final exams. Other than that ,yea, you just have to revise and know your chemistry and you should be fine because I think if you know your chemistry (because chemistry is chemistry), then the only concern remaining is the approach and the answering technique which should be clear after these mocks. 

[Msj Chem]

You are right in that a large part of the syllabus is unchanged so you can still use past exam papers for the old syllabus. But there are parts of the syllabus that have changed and no one knows what the IB will ask about the new parts of the syllabus. To make matters more difficult, the syllabus objectives are much more vague than in the old syllabus. This means that teachers are not sure about the amount of detail to go into for each topic. So really we are all waiting for the first exams in May 2016 to see what the changes will be.

With due respect, are the specimen papers for the 2016 exam sessions enough to make a judgement?

They would be if you could guarantee that students hadn't seen them already on the posted on the Internet. They are definitely good practice though.