There are lots of ways to study for your VCE Chemistry exams, but one of the most effective, and the one we'll focus on today, is by using past papers and practice exams.
The VCE Chemistry Study Design is changing this year for Units 1 and 2, but the changes to Units 3 and 4 and the exam won't come into effect until next year so keep in mind that everything we put here is based mostly on the older format and that more information on next year's exam will likely become available throughout the year.
The VCE Chemistry Exam Format
Before we go through the VCE Chemistry Exam format, we need to stress again that this is for the accreditation period 2017-2023 so students currently in Year 11 and doing Units 1 and 2 of VCE Chemistry won't be taking an exam of this format.
While the exam format isn't completely changing, keep in mind that some of the information here won't be relevant to those taking the exam according to the new study design.
Anyway, the current format for the exam is as follows.
The exam has 15 minutes of reading time and 2 hours and 30 minutes of writing time and focuses on the topics covered in Units 3 and 4 of VCE Chemistry, which are usually taught to students in Year 12.
The exam is split into two sections: Section A and Section B.
Section A
Section A includes 30 multiple-choice questions that are all worth a mark each. As you can guess, this makes the whole section worth 30 marks.
Section B
Section B is longer and more heavily weighted than Section A. This section includes both short and long answer sections with a total of 90 marks available to students.
The number of questions in this section can vary, but the overall number of marks is always 90.
This means that Section B is worth three times as many marks as Section A, something you should keep in mind when allocating time to each section.
All the questions in the exam are compulsory, which means that you should attempt all of them. Sometimes, in exams, students only need to answer some of the questions in a given section. In the VCE Chemistry exam, this isn't the case. Attempt every question that you can!
The whole VCE Chemistry exam in its current format accounts for 60% of the student's overall study score. The newer format, which comes into effect in 2024, only accounts for 50%.
Get help studying with an online chemistry tutor here on Superprof!
What Is on the VCE Chemistry Exam?
As we mentioned, the VCE Chemistry exam covers Units 3 and 4 as well as the “cross-study specifications” from pages 10 and 11 of the applicable study design.
Units 1 and 2 are assessed internally by your school and you'll only be given an S (satisfactory) or N (not satisfactory) for your work. Your school can give you a score for these units if they want, but it won't be counted towards your study score at the end of VCE Chemistry.
For the VCE Chemistry exam in 2023, please refer to the study design for the accreditation period 2017-2023 (for units 3 and 4). The sections for Units 1 and 2 in this study design are no longer valid, but they've been marked “expired” by VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) so there shouldn't be any confusion. Plus, if you're in Year 12, you should have already finished Units 1 and 2 last year.
Unit 3: How Can Chemical Processes Be Designed to Optimise Efficiency?
Without going too much into each unit (you can always refer to the relevant study design for this), the VCE Chemistry exam features both units 3 and 4.
Unit 3 covers chemical processes and efficiency and includes two Areas of Study (AOS) and a school-based assessment.
Area of Study 1 is titled “What are the options for energy production” and covers analysing energy resources and technologies such as biofuels, galvanic cells, and fuel cells.
Refer to the “key knowledge” section to find out exactly what you need to know for your assessments and exams.
Area of Study 2 is called “How can the yield of a chemical product be optimised” and it covers the factors that can increase the efficiency and yield of chemical manufacturing processes.
Again, look at the “key knowledge” section for exactly what you need to know for your exam.
Unit 4: How are organic compounds categorised, analysed and used?
In Unit 4, there are three AOS. Area of Study 1, or “How can the diversity of carbon compounds be explained and categorised?”, focuses on why so many carbon compounds exist by looking at their structures.
AOS 2 is called “What is the chemistry of food?” and looks at food and raw materials that make up food and how they act chemically. Students will look at how the structures and properties of chemicals make them function within the human body and also see how glucose acts in cellular respiration.
Finally, AOS 3 is a “Practical investigation” where students design a practical investigation focusing on either energy or food. Though this AOS is outlined in Unit 4 of the study design, it can actually be taken in Unit 3, Unit 4, or across the two units.
How to Prepare for the VCE Chemistry Exam
There are several ways to prepare for your VCE Chemistry exam, but the one we want to really focus on today is by using past exams or past papers.
While the study design outlines what you need to know and the exam specification says this is what you'll be tested on, you're really being tested on your ability to pass the specific exam that you sit.
What this means is that you have to know how the key knowledge from the study design is used in the exam and what the examiners are looking for in your answers.
You can know everything from the study design inside out, but if you don't know how to perform to the best of your ability in the exam, your study score won't be reflective of your knowledge in chemistry.
Here are just a few of the advantages of using past papers as part of your revision schedule.
Familiarise Yourself with the Exam Format
The last thing you want on the day of your exam is to be surprised by how many questions there are, the type of questions being asked, and the kinds of answers required of you.
The more you practise with relevant past exams, the more you'll see that the exams tend to follow a pattern and that there's the structure we outlined earlier.
By the time you've seen a few past exams and done them, you'll know what to expect.
Practise Time Management
Nearly 3 hours may seem like a long time until you actually sit the exam and try to answer the questions.
Not only is it important to get everything done within the allotted time, but it's also imperative that you adequately divide your time across the sections and the different questions.
For example, since Section A only accounts for a quarter of the available marks, it would be silly to spend half of the writing time answering these questions.
While you won't have to split your time exactly according to the marks available, especially if you completely finish a section ahead of schedule, it can help to keep in mind how much time you intend to spend doing each section.
Practise Under Exam Conditions
While you don't have to do every past exam in exam conditions, it can help to get into the habit of sitting down and doing the exam exactly as you would on the day.
This means keeping away from your mobile phone, only using the resources permitted by the exam and remaining silent throughout.
All this practice will help you stay focused during the exam, too!
A chemistry tutor can administer practise tests and help you prepare to perform under exam conditions.
Where You Can Find Past Exams
There are a lot of sites hosting past exams and practice exams that you can download, print out, and use as part of your revision and exam practice.
One of the best places to find exams and resources is the VCAA website. There's an entire page dedicated to the exam specifications and past papers and you can also find the study design on their site.
Don't forget to familiarise yourself with the data book, too!
Just remember that the study design and exam format is changing next year so compare any resources you use to the relevant study design for you and your cohort!
If you need more help, don't forget that you can always find private chemistry tutors to help you with chemistry and, more specifically, VCE Chemistry! Find VCE chemistry tutors near me easily on Superprof.
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