Never let it be said that students aren't clever. Clever in the sense that they command vast stores of knowledge for ones so young, and clever that they can find shortcuts around their studies. They're also clever enough to realise that, for the most part, standardised testing is just a rote memory exercise.
The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) has responded to student concerns. In 2018, they overhauled their High School Certificate (HSC) Chemistry and Physics exams such that students with poor memories aren't penalised. The new exam's content is more theoretical, so there is an element of memorisation involved in earning good marks. B
ut the paper is also more mathematical, meaning the students get to flex their science knowledge.
In some ways, the newly-revamped course and exam are more challenging. But NESA provides you with resources so you can get an idea of what your upcoming exam will be like. You likely already know you can access past papers and marking schemes but you might not be sure where to start with them.
We want to go over these papers with you and show you how to use them for effective test preparation. And then, we'll point you to NESA resources most students overlook.
HSC Chemistry Past Papers
A web search will turn up lots of sites offering past papers, those for HSC Chemistry among them. But you're much better off going straight to the source - the NESA website, where you'll find 20 years of past papers available for download. If you take a moment to click on different years, you'll notice there are no HSC Chemistry past papers available until 2019. Thanks to the exam change, the heritage paper was scrubbed from the system to distinguish it from the new edition.
Thumbing through the paper, the HSC Chemistry exam looks hard but it's no more difficult than any other HSC exam you might sit. The first 20 questions are multiple-choice but this content isn't quite the same as the standard questions of that type. You'll find no 'obviously wrong' answers to discount straightaway.
For most of these questions, you will have to do some type of maths or reasoning to find the right answer.
The second paper calls for you to apply your chemistry knowledge. Each question lays out a situation or condition and asks you to explain or identify an aspect of what the question describes. In some cases, you will have to do the maths and show your work. In others, you only need to describe, step by step, how the given chemical reaction might unfold.
Some questions have more than one part to them. For instance, You might first have to give a general assessment or description of a condition or reaction.
The next part might present added variables or change a condition; you will then have to base your answer on that new information.
You're allowed 35 minutes to answer the multiple-choice questions. Section II time is capped at two hours and 25 minutes. The test booklet's second paper shows the number of possible points for each question.
Correct answers throughout the first section will net you 20 points. Acing the second part will add a further 80 points.
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Marking Schemes for HSC Chemistry Past Papers
After downloading the HSC exam pack, savvy students set aside the exam paper to focus on the marking paper. These papers don't just show the right answers, they point to the Section II responses examiners are looking for. The answer key for the multiple-choice questions is a table with no extra guidelines given.
You'll earn the most points from your work on the second paper so we'll focus our attention there.
You know the difference between a standard response and one loaded with details, right? HSC marking schemes make those distinctions clear by listing the content that makes up top answers and what they consider less advanced responses. You'll find these guidelines in an easy-to-read table, one per question.
Beneath each table, the examiners give additional content like answers they would also find acceptable. Some questions guide students toward what to include in their answers.
The way this HSC exam is structured, it would be hard to find any shortcuts to high marks. Some students might be tempted to simply memorise the sample answers. That's an impractical solution as the exams change slightly every year. And besides, students will have a chemistry data sheet to rely on during their exam; there's no need to burden your memory with facts you'll have at your disposal while you test.
Using the guidelines these papers give to get a sense of what examiners expect is a much better idea.
Feedback on the Written Examination
The NSW Education Standards website HSC Chemistry exam pack page has links to download past papers and marking schemes. Toward the bottom of the page, you'll find three more links; they lead you to an exam pack for each year since the heritage exam was retired. Between those sets of links, you'll find feedback on written examination.
There's no link or download prompt; you have to click on the 'down' arrow to the right of the grey bar for that guide.
This content includes a series of bulleted statements advising students on how they could improve their marks. At the top of the list are standard HSC exam guidelines and advanced test-taking strategies. The rest of the page talks about past students' performances and what they could have done better.
It seems unfortunate that these resources only cover some exam content but that might not be such a bad thing. It might just be that that content posed the most trouble so the examiners felt exam candidates should study them more.
If that's the case, every student should consider this report their introduction to HSC Chemistry revision.
Pro tip: highlight and then copy-paste these guidelines into a document and print it out. Then, as you go through your exam pack marking scheme, cross-check this paper with the feedback report, making notes as needed. That way, you'll get the most advanced information available to you.
You can then distil it into resources that will advance your revision.
HSC Chemistry Tips for Success
Your HSC Chemistry course syllabus includes guidelines for study and exam preparation. It advises you to look for patterns in the questions, from one year's past paper to the next. You won't necessarily find similarly-worded questions but you'll find similarities in content. What topics do these exams test students on most consistently and what type of answers do examiners prefer to see?
As long as you know you can expect certain content to come up in your HSC exam, you should pay special attention to that content as you study. When you scan for patterns, also look for formulae and equations that repeat from one paper to the next. Earlier, we mentioned the HSC Chemistry exam data sheet; now, we caution that you won't find every equation or formula you'll need to ace your exam.
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Here again, spotting which content features on the exam that isn't listed on the data sheet will save your marks.
That data sheet draws its information from specific study modules. So memorising your syllabus flow will help you 'keep your place' when you sit your HSC Chemistry exam.
For instance, if you can remember that Module 8 covered solutes studies, that's likely to trigger your memory of what else that module taught you.
Here's another nifty pattern-spotting exercise: what verb does each question use? For questions that ask you to identify something, that's a clue that you should name something specific. If the question uses 'analyse', you need to interpret and/or explain something. As you comb through the resources you downloaded and printed, you'll note that 'explain', 'identify' and 'analyse' are frequently used.
Once you've thoroughly analysed content on the HSC Chemistry past papers, marking schemes and feedback guidelines, it's time to pick up the exam. Going over the HSC exam paper from your informed perspective will help you figure out your exam strategy.
You'll already know you'll need more time to answer 'explain/analyse' and 'calculate' questions. By contrast, you should be able to answer 'identify' questions rather quickly.
Some students prefer to answer standard questions - ones that don't take a lot of time, before tackling the more advanced ones. Others prefer to get the advanced ones out of the way first so they can breathe easy for the rest of the exam.
When you set up your mock exams, try both methods. You might find that one way offers you more time to go over your exam answers before testing time is up.
As you go over your mock exam paper, try not to second-guess yourself. Instead, focus on your words, mathematics and diagrams. Did you use Chemistry vocabulary and proper English? Are your answers relevant to the question - did you 'explain' when you should have 'identified'?
Are your diagrams clearly labelled and maths easy to read? You'll find these and other guidelines throughout your past papers.
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