Assessment in the Diploma Program Assessment is by means of examination and practical WORK for both higher and standard level chemistry courses. Examination weighting - 76% Practical work weighting - 24%

Examination (higher level) There are three papers: Paper 1 Multiple choice - 20% Paper 2 Structured questions - 36% Paper 3 Options questions - 20% Total - 76%

Examination (higher level) Paper 1 (high): 1 hour consists of 40 multiple choice questions. Calculators are not allowed. A periodic table is provided Paper 2 (high): 2 hours 15 minutes consists of five structured questions and a choice of two from four longer answer questions. Calculators are allowed and a data booklet is provided Paper 3 (high): 1 hour 15 minutes consists of three questions form each of two selected options. The paper presents eight option choices. Calculators are allowed and data booklets are provided.

Examination Timing Paper 1: multiple choice - 1 hour There are 40 questions and you are given 60 minutes to complete them. This works out to an average of 1 minute and 30 seconds per question. This is obviously simplistic as the questions assess different skills, some of which require very little time and some require working out. The best approach is to read through the questions one at a time answering as you go. There is usually more than enough time to complete the paper and go back to check any questions that you had difficulty with.

Examination Timing Paper 2: structured questions - 2 hours 15 minutes This paper consists of two sections, section A and section B, with a relative weighting of 40 marks and 50 marks respectively. Section A: Answer all questions There are 40 marks given for this section making 4/9 of the total. The overall time available is 135 minutes. This equates to 60 minutes for section A. There are usually 5 questions making 12 minutes per question. Section B: Answer two questions from the choices given. There are 50 marks awarded for section B making 5/9 of the total. The overall time available is 135 minutes, equating to 75 minutes for section B, or 37 minutes 30 seconds per question.

Examination Timing Paper 3: Options - 1 hour The paper consists of six options of which the student must answer two complete. There are 50 marks available, equating to 25 marks per option. Timing should be shared equally between the two options - 30 minutes per option.

Examination (standard level) There are three papers: Paper 1 Multiple choice - 20% Paper 2 Structured questions - 32% Paper 3 Options questions - 24% Total - 76%

Examination (standard level) Paper 1 (standard): 45 minutes consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Calculators are not allowed. A periodic table is provided Paper 2 (standard): 1 hours 15 minutes consists of some structured questions and a choice of one from three longer answer questions. Calculators are allowed and a data booklet is provided Paper 3 (standard): 1 hour consists of two questions from each of two selected options. The paper presents eight option choices. Calculators are allowed and data booklets are provided.

Examination Timing Paper 1: multiple choice - 40 minutes There are 30 questions and you are given 40 minutes to complete them. This works out to an average of 1 minute and 20 seconds per question. Again this is simplistic as the questions assess different skills, some of which require very little time and some require working out. The best approach is to read through the questions one at a time answering as you go. There is usually more than enough time to complete the paper and go back to check the questions that you had difficulty with.

Examination Timing Paper 2: structured questions - 1 hours 15 minutes This paper consists of two sections, section A and section B, with a relative weighting of 40 marks and 50 marks respectively. Section A: Answer all questions There are 30 marks given for this section making 3/5 of the total. The overall time available is 75 minutes. This equates to 45 minutes for section A. There are usually 5 questions making 9 minutes per question. Section B: Answer one question from the choices given. There are 20 possible marks awarded for section B making 2/5 of the total. The overall time available is 75 minutes, equating to 30 minutes for the section B question.

Examination Timing Paper 3: Options - 1 hour The paper consists of six options of which the student must answer two complete. There are 40 marks available, equating to 20 marks per option. Timing should be shared equally between the two options - 30 minutes per option.

Examination action verbs As with all examinations, it is important to know what the examiners require. The IBO releases a list of key words and what they mean when referring to exam questions. For example the word "Draw" is taken to mean "represent by a series of pencil lines and labels (unless specifically told not to do so)" This leaves the students clear as to the actual requirements of the questions. A full list of these so-called action verbs can be found herehere

REFERENCES B-TSM/chemistry/files/howToUse_en.htmlhttp://arastirma.tedankara.k12.tr:2052/IB/I B-TSM/chemistry/files/howToUse_en.html