Revising IB chemistry

Know what you need to know  Starting point are the assessment statements in the IB subject guide  Ensure you know the meaning of the command terms in these statements – check your subject guide  Read teacher notes

Check each assessment statement  Select a manageable amount of statements within a topic or subtopic.  Write the heading of the topic/subtopic on a piece of paper.  From memory, check each statement whether you can ‘define’, ‘describe’, ‘calculate’, …. by:  Writing keywords, drawing, sketching, labeling, flowchart, making your own questions (own learning style).  Once you feel you have recalled all there is to recall or do…  Check with your textbook, notes,…. if what you have written/drawn/said is correct/detailed enough.

Check each statement  Once you feel you have the necessary understanding and can execute the command term to the expected standard in terms of accuracy and depth, move on to next statement (key decision).  Continue until end of selected topic/subtopic.

Check all statements  Place all what you have written out of sight and rewrite/redraw/relabel/redo exercise.  Whilst doing this link all ideas/skills to the heading of the topic subtopic.  When you finished check with assessment statements for completeness of recall and with notes/textbook for accuracy and detail.

Test all statements and make links  Do revision questions, ideally IB questions.  In your mind link each question with the assessment statement it is supposed to assess.  Once you finished the test, check your answers with the mark scheme.

Reflection  Identify statements which need revisiting  Internalize ideas/skills in a different manner e.g. table/diagram/memory aid

Let’s say you have forgotten  Read statement “ Explain how slow and fast twitch fibre types differ in structure and function”  “I have no clue what they are on about!!!”  Find and reread the notes, and process them following the above specification (2 minutes)

Endurance or speed  Slow twitch muscle fibres are good for endurance activities like long distance running. They work for a long time without getting tired.  Fast twitch muscles are good for rapid movements like jumping to catch a ball or sprinting. They contract quickly, but get tired fast, as they consume lots of energy. Slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibres make energy in different ways  Muscles that contain a lot of slow twitch fibres are red, because they contain lots of blood vessels. Slow twitch muscle fibres rely on a rich supply of oxygenated blood; they use oxygen to produce energy for muscle contraction.  Fast twitch muscle fibres don't use oxygen to make energy, so they don't need such a rich blood supply. This is why fast twitch muscles are lighter in colour than muscles that contain a lot of slow twitch muscle fibres.  Fast twitch muscle fibres can produce small amounts of energy very quickly whereas slow twitch muscles can produce large amounts of energy slowly.

Hopefully remember some of it  Write down what you remember.  Check with the statement to see if you have explained fully, if the statement shows you have not recalled enough, add more, if not..  Check with the notes; if happy…  Make up your own question  If happy…  Move onto next statement.

Techniques  Make up your own questions, e.g. mc, whilst checking each statement.  Make up a structured question when checking subtopic/topic.  Draw concept map of all statements or ideas in statements linked to topic.