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What happens in Year 12 Chem Prac Exams? (2 Viewers)

enigma_1

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I have a yearly prac exam fast approaching and am not sure what to expect.

Do we have to perform practicals in the syllabus? Are there any common pracs?
Are there chem prac exam past papers anywhere?

Thanks :)
 

strawberrye

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Firstly, calm down:) Usually your pracs should directly be related to the syllabus and test you relevant experimental skills, you should consider pracs that are doable within the timeframe of your exam as a particular focus for studying, I think it is rather difficult to find chemistry prac exam papers online, you are better off finding out what the prac exams for your school in the past is like. I have also included a short extract of tips for acing in practical exams below-hopefully it will give you some more guidance to study for this exam:)

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
 

bangladesh

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Make sure you know your theory REALLY well as well as lab techniques (watch youtube) walking into the exam. You'll be fine.
 

enigma_1

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Yes, this. Like how to use a pipette (properly).
Thanks guys so much for your help. I'm so fkin daunted. We had 4 pracs to do in the span of 45 minutes plus a freakin titration (with the standard prepared). I didn't even use the stupid pipette cause obv exam mode stressing and stuff. It said to measure 25mL of the standard but instead I grabbed the whole standard solution in the volumetric flask and added it to the conical flask (I knew something wasn't right) my brain wasn't working as the stupid exam was at freakin 8 in the morning like wtf. I'm still in sleep mode then!

And to add to my devastating experience, I didn't even see the tiny pH paper for one of the pracs and I was like wtf is happening, and I didn't answer 4 questions cause I had no time :(

Seriously, who the fkk puts titration in a prac exam which is gonna be at 8 in the morning. I'm so dead. So guys who have a prac test coming up, PLEASE make sure that you read the question and work fast, without spilling HCl over your fingers (like what happened to me in the last 2 minutes) and be calm. If your exam is early in the morning, get up early!!!! Good luck to everyone else and I hope no one has to go through what I did, because it's stressful :(
 

zhertec

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Whoa 4 pracs in the 45 minutes, crazy...we only had 2 practicals in the span of 1 hour and we could barely finish that.
 

enigma_1

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Whoa 4 pracs in the 45 minutes, crazy...we only had 2 practicals in the span of 1 hour and we could barely finish that.
I know right, and one of them was half a titration, plus there was a random question on esters. Ahh screw it.
 

iStudent

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4 prac in just 45 minutes now that's pretty intense.
but its all relative (i.e everyone in your cohort goes through the same thing) so not too much to worry about
 

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