3 Crucial Tips to Score Grade 7 in IB Diploma Chemistry
Dr Crystal Goh
Sep 25, 2022
4 min read
Updated: Oct 1, 2022
Many students think that Chemistry is extremely difficult and getting a Grade 7 is totally out of reach. In fact, Chemistry is one of the easiest subjects to score a Grade 7 in IB Diploma! By mastering the correct studying techniques, putting in the required efforts and getting the proper guidance on keywords and answering techniques, it is very easy to get a Grade 7 in Chemistry, regardless Standard Level (SL) or Higher Level (HL).
The following article summarizes the most common problems faced by IB Chemistry students, as well as the correct ways to deal with them.
Student #1 issue: IB Chemistry exam is approaching. The content is heavy, and I am completely lost where to start and how?
Tutor Crystal’s 1st Tip: Routine revision is crucial. Do not do last-minute study. After every Chemistry lesson, spend some time going through the content at home. If the school notes are too simplified or “complicated, make your own notes by writing out all the important keywords. The notes should also include the examples of questions and answers, which can be found from the IB revision book. These examples are crucial to guide you to the right keywords and answering techniques. Be as thorough as possible and make sure you understand the content during note making. If the notes are well done, you do not have to read the textbooks anymore and you can just review your notes during preparation for the exam. Students who have handwritten their own notes can generally remember better and more profoundly. It is worth mentioning that you must start reviewing your notes 2 to 3 weeks before the exam and not the day before. All you need to do the day before the exam is a quick "recap" of each page of your notes to make sure that every point is well recalled.
Student #2 issue: I managed to answer all the questions with long answers during exams, but the results are not as good as expected.
Tutor Crystal’s 2nd Tip: This is because the long-winded answers lack of the required keywords. It is important to note that the marks are given based on keywords. What you should do is to practice past-year questions and familiarize yourself with the marking schemes after learning each topic. Most students only do this when near to the exam, which is a big no-no. Through daily practice exercises, you will be able to master the keywords and techniques required to answer well in the exam. As some Chemistry questions include calculations, working through past-year questions and answers will give you an idea on how to apply the correct formula into the calculations. Finally, the answer must be written in the box. Any answers written outside the box will not be marked! Therefore, avoid long-winded answers, but writing the right keywords are extremely crucial!
Student #3 issue: Internal Assessment (IA) is very stressful. The experiment is very difficult to perform, and I do not know how to write the report.
Tutor Crystal’s 3rd Tip: IA accounts for 20% of the total score and it is very important to aid you to get a Grade 7. When choosing the IA topic, choose an experiment that can be completed in one or a few days. In this way, if the experiment is unsuccessful, you can still repeat the experiment easily. Prior to conducting the experiment, you must go through several research papers which are related to your topic. It is best to follow the steps in the papers or with slight modification to fit into your topic. Do not try to come out with your own steps without refencing to any research papers. Type out all the steps as detailed as possible, and ready the tables which to be filled with the data before the experiment. It’s important to have an idea of what type of data or chart will be presented in your report before you start your experiment.
When conducting experiments, take photos on experimental settings as much as possible. If changes are observed during the experiment, such as colour changes or gas production, take photos and document them well. These photos will then be presented in the IA report, under “Qualitative Data”. Finally, IA report must be written according to the formats provided.
Final notes
IB life is extremely hectic and coping with multiple subjects concurrently may be quite challenging for most students. Some students may find difficult to carry out all the useful tips above by their own, especially when time is very limited for every subject. If you have the same problem, feel free to contact Dr. Crystal IB tuition. By coaching the write keywords and answering techniques during each lesson, going through the well-organised topical past-year questions, guiding you through IA experiment and report writing, more than 95% of students scored Grade 6 or 7 under Crystal’s guidance.
If you are looking for a good and effective Chemistry tutor, send us your request here and get a free complimentary trial online lesson.
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