How to study for practicals (1 Viewer)

[Sushi1998]

Hey guys... I'm really confused.. Can any one suggest me some tips on revising for practical exams especially for chemistry.... I have chemistry practical in 2 days and I can't even find past papers for it.. And I have no idea how it's going to be..

Basically what I have done till now is
- went through my whole book
- revised my practicals till now

But is there anything that might help me like books, practise papers or websites or something...

 

[blackbird_14]

For chemistry, make sure you know how to calculate everything they've taught you aka moles=mass/molar mass etc. I have mine on Wednesday- good luck!

 

[Sushi1998]

Thanks guys.. I have revised possibly everything in the syllabus and I'll make sure that I know all the calculations

 

[DatAtarLyfe]

Learn the methods and procedures for the pracs. I did a chem prac and i remembered the methods vaguely and lost a tonne of marks cause my methods weren't detailed (measurements and shit). Yeh and like they said, know how to do the calculations and also just go over basic science principles (identifying variables, testing validity and reliability etc). Generally prac exams aren't too difficult and doing well in them is quite easy

 

[Sushi1998]

This helps a lot! Thank you so much

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Knowing the aim, equipment, diagram of set-up, method, results, conclusions, etc. of your experiments.

Then knowing how to improve or address VARSE.

Validity

Accuracy

Reliability

Safety

Errors - Systematic errors and Random errors

 

[Sushi1998]

Thanks

 

[strawberrye]

Below is an extract from my senior study guide which you may found helpful, for the full guide, feel free to read: http://community.boredofstudies.org...how-excel-senior-year-studies-yr-11-12-a.html

MORE DETAILS ON HOW TO EXCEL IN HSC SCIENCE PRACTICALS (BIOLOGY/CHEMISTRY/PHYSICS/SENIOR SCIENCE etc..)

1)You must understand and differentiate the terms accuracy, validity and reliability and for each prac you have done so far-you should know these three terms in relation to the experimental method and apparatus, as well as independent, dependent and controlled variables, areas for improvement and possible sources of error in experiments, you must understand ways in which accuracy/validity/reliability can be improved for each experiment, as well as being able to do risk assessments

2)Think about what experiments in the syllabus will give you a result in the set time frame of your task-if you did an experiment that involves observation over several days, then it is logical that experiment is unlikely to be in your practical, ask a former student what they did last year for bio-it will give you some ideas of the kind of prac they are going to ask-although there may be variations, you can study those possible experiments in more detail than others

3)If you are required to draw graphs or diagrams-make sure you use a pencil and bring a rubber, it is much easier to rub out mistakes-make sure you have a watch-and adhere strictly to the time frame, say for example, if you have two parts, don't spent too much time on part 1-because you will not have enough time to finish part 2-if any question or part is too hard, come back to it-just circle it and come back if you have time

4)Don't panic, make sure your handwriting is legible, you have adopted the most appropriate form of recording your results-i.e. whether it be labelled diagrams or tables, make sure to have headings and sub-headings where appropriate to make it easier to read-allocate your time according to the marks of the question-read each question carefully-don't miss out any parts-and answer nothing but what the question asks-highly recommend you to read it several times and highlight key words to make sure you don't miss out any marks

5) might be a good idea to make sure you know verbs like evaluate, explain, assess, critically analyse, justify, contrast, compare, means-I don't think you will get a glossary of words and definition in your exam-not impossible, but unlikely

Lastly, make sure you rest well, bring all the required equipment and follow my above advice-and you will have maximised your potential of achieving the highest mark

 

[WrittenLoveLetters]

Know the difference between validity & reliability and how to answer those questions.
Know how to draw tables correctly. (Make sure the box is closed off, make sure the recorded results are all in the same decimal point etc)
Know how to draw diagrams correctly.

These are the main things I usually take into a practical examination

 

[wu345]

Not sure if i can post the full thing as it belongs to my school but here's information that may help:
9. Discussion:
a) Assess the reliability of the data you used. Do your repeated results show consistency? You must justify any judgements you make. If secondary source data or information is used, it’s reliability should also be assessed.

b) Assess / justify the validity of i) the methodology(procedure) used
ii) calculated results
iii) conclusions drawn

i) You can claim that the methodology used is valid if you can show that
* the investigation applied accepted Laws and mathematical relationships.
* all variables were identified and controlled except for the stated dependent and independent variable.
* the method included enough repetition to achieve a reliable result.
* the type of analysis used was appropriate. ie is visual inspection, data averaging or graphical analysis most appropriate for this particular case ?

ii) Calculated results can be judged to be valid if you can demonstrate that;

* the reliability of data and any secondary sources used have been assessed as acceptable (note that if you assessed your data to be unreliable then any numerical results derived from them must also be unreliable)


* the accuracy of the numerical result was assessed (if there was one).

iii) Conclusions can be demonstrated to be valid if ;

* they are based on accurate results and refer directly to the aim.



c) Brief discussion of specific experimental errors .
d) Suggest or propose further investigations that would be appropriate or of interest.


10. Conclusion

A statement relating to your Aim and the results you achieved or in the case of a Hypothesis, whether the data supports or rejects it.

If appropriate, state further experimental or research work that should be done.