Hi,
I have a practical process task for mod 6 for both chemistry and physics so what are possible things they may ask us to do. Additionally, how would you guys recommend I study for these sort of tasks, and what is the best approach to maximise marks?
Also if anyone has any past papers of their practical process tasks, can they please send them to me, as it is quite difficult to find any of these sort of assesment papers.
Thanks in advance.
Don't know for Physics but for Chemistry, most likely you might have to carry out a titration (this is at least what I did...), so I'll try and give you tips based on this. Module 6 is about Acids and Bases from memory, which, part of it involves learning about the process of titrations and performing calculations based on results (it's been a while since I've done Chem so I don't remember much at all).
I guess a tip for practical assessments I could give is understanding the difference between
accuracy, validity, and
reliability, and being able to assess the limitations of an experiment you are doing. These are concepts which are part of Working Scientifically outcomes, which are assessed during both practical tasks and other exams. Since you are most likely to do titrations in this practical, you should understand the steps required to perform one, including what specific indicator to use (depending on the strength of acid and base) to figure out your end point for your titration. Additionally, you will probably need to draw a titration graph.
One other tip I cannot
stress enough is try to regulate your
stress (no pun intended) if you are someone that can easily break down during a prac. I share this from personal experience, since when I did my titration practical it was already quite intimidating having the teacher directly watch over me. A single question in the paper also stumped me (which happened to be forming a chemical equation from the scenario given - I think I didn't remember the chemical formula for a particular compound involved). What mainly helped for me is rather than stressing out about one question for too long, I simply moved on and did what I could do, whilst bringing my awareness back to the task. It's definitely hard to think about a question properly when your mind is in a mess so maintaining a fresh and happy mindset can always go far in exams.
I don't have past papers unfortunately - it may help to ask your teacher if they are willing to give you your school's paper from the previous year/s.
Hope this helped.
