Being prepared for your exams doesn’t mean you burden yourself with a tonne of extra work to do. It is about studying smarter and not harder. There are a variety of things you can do to set yourself up for success.
To start with, create a study space for yourself. This can be within your home or maybe at your school or even your local library. You want a place that has good natural lighting, has a warm temperature and is relatively distraction-free. Avoid high-traffic areas such as kitchens and areas where you have already established a routine, like your bed.
This may seem odd but you also want to limit your time studying. It is better to study over a longer period of time for shorter sessions than to cram. Our concentration spans differ between each person but it is incredibly rare for someone to be able to revise for eight hours a day and be able to take in all the information.
Limit distractions by leaving your phone on silent somewhere you can’t see it, listen to music that doesn’t have lyrics, and remember to take breaks. Usually, a 5-minute break every 25 minutes helps your brain process the information you have been learning. Our Level 3 Chemistry study guide has more tips.
Where to access NCEA Level 3 Chemistry Past Papers
Anyone with internet access can find the past exam papers used by the New Zealand Qualification Authority or NZQA for short. The site is geared more towards teachers and the layout contains all the details such as assessment number, credit worth, internal or external, and name of the paper.
When you are looking for the right one to use, double check you are in the right level, for year 13 Chemistry you look in the Level 3 Chemistry section. The NZQA website has resources for every paper for all science standards as well as other subjects.
You can search through all assessment standards or exams and exemplars. It is easier to go through exams and exemplars as it only shows the external assessments. This limits the risk of revising with the wrong assessment.
There are a lot of past papers available to you as resources so you want to be a bit picky about the one you use. It is best to stick within the last 3 years max 5 years. Any resources that are older than 5 years are extremely likely to be outdated in regards to both format and content.
If the format and content are outdated it can affect your revision quality and also negatively impact your learning. This is because the way the questions will be formatted will not resemble what you will encounter in the exam.
The content used within the old exams may no longer be relevant to chemistry now and guide you into revising outdated science. Our guide in the NCEA Level 3 Chemistry Syllabus explains in more detail.
How to revise with NCEA Level 3 Chemistry Past Papers
So what is the best way to revise past papers? Using the right standard for starters. That seems pretty obvious but when you're stressed and have a million and one things on your mind your attention to detail can slip. However, before you even touch pen to paper you need to organise your course work from over the year and create notes.
The purpose of notes is to help remind you, not to teach you something new. Cue cards are extremely useful in helping you to remember chemistry terms, formulas, and theories. Using bright colours and bullet points makes it easier for your brain to remember the information.
Past papers are best used once or twice, this is because you use them to practice the format of the exam. Unless there is a change in the standard, the structure of the questions remains pretty similar and it is the content within the question that changes. There are usually three main questions that are split into smaller sections, such as Question 2, part a and even Question 2, part a, section i.
There is a method to the madness as they are all related to the same topic. They are about testing the depth of your knowledge within a certain section and by practising with past papers you can become familiar with the format.
The topic may come up in your end-of-year exam but the content will not be the same. So when using past papers, do not prepare your response because you have no idea of the format of the questions, it could ask you to calculate, explain, justify or a series of them all.
Demonstrate understanding of thermochemical principles and the properties of particles and substances
When using past papers for the practice you can either give yourself an hour to work through one and see how you go or you can slowly work through them and try to answer them by referencing your notes.
It is important in this exam that you use the correct symbols and spelling as you need to demonstrate that you have an understanding of the subject in order to get achieved. If you don’t use the correct terms it makes it harder to demonstrate to the examiners you know what you are doing.
Some formulas will be given and some will not. In the exam, you will be given a periodic table and the molar mass will either be given in the questions or attached to the periodic table sheet. If you are given formula in the question, definitely use it.
The Ministry of Education highlights that all students should learn the following formulae as they will not be provided in the exam. Remember flashcards can really help you retain the information. The formulae are:
- ΔrHo = ∑ n ΔfHoproducts - ∑ n ΔfHoreactants
- q = m(H2O) x c x ΔT
- ΔrHo = q/n
When you do your calculations remember to show all your calculations. This is because it demonstrates the depth of your understanding and can also be a safeguard. If you make a mistake in your calculations you can still be awarded points as the markers can see that you knew the right formula or method and you made an error.
There is more leniency in external than internal assessments for grading because of the fact you have three hours for three papers, no access to resources and a lot of pressure on you. Past papers give you a taste of what to expect.
Demonstrate understanding of the properties of organic compounds
When using past papers for this subject, it is an excellent resource to see if there are any gaps in your knowledge or areas that need strengthening. For this assessment, you need to have a firm grasp of your alkaline and acid bases as it is assumed that you know all of all L2 Organic and you need to draw optical isomers correctly.
When revising past papers, think of them as learning experiences. When you are working through the problems working through the process of elimination to find the best way to answer them. For example, if you are working through a question that involves carboxylic acid and you notice that there are more than 5 carbon atoms attached to the main C chain. What is the issue with that?
That’s right, generally, it is water soluble but when an organic molecule has a long carbon chain they generally become not water-soluble. Another useful skill is learning how to break down the question. Sometimes questions contain a lot of information and it is your job to find the keywords. Our guide on tackling chemistry exam questions covers this skill in more detail.
Demonstrate understanding of equilibrium principles in aqueous systems
When you are revising for this assessment, the use of flashcards is vital. The assessment provides a periodic table and that is it. It is up to you to remember all the relevant formulae you need in order to demonstrate your level of understanding of this topic.
Past papers should be used at the end of your revision sessions to see how much you remember and how well you can dissect the problems. They are finite resources so be picky when you use one. The goal is not to memorise the paper but to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses in this subject.
While no formulas will be given there may be opportunities for you to use the information provided to your advantage. For example, the values of Kb or pKb will not be provided but you can work them out from the Ka or pKa values that NZQA provides. This is why it is important to read the questions carefully so you don’t miss any important information.
Where else can you get help?
Past papers can only be used a certain number of times as there is a limited number of exams to revise with. If you are looking for more help in regards to practising how to work through chemistry equations and how to remember all the formulas, theories and vocabulary, a tutor might be a good option for you. Superprof gives you access to a variety of tutors who can help you work through a range of problems step by step.
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