What to Do the Night Before Your Chemistry Exam
Practical advice for the evening before your IGCSE Chemistry 0620 exam. What to review, when to stop and how to set yourself up for exam day.
Published by IGCSEChemistry.com.my
Chemistry teaching team: K. S. Tan (15+ years teaching IGCSE Chemistry) and Ms Yash (10+ years teaching IGCSE Chemistry) and Ms Kartini (15+ years teaching IGCSE Chemistry).
Mapped to Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry 0620 (2026–2028). Last updated 2026-08-19.
The night before the exam is not the night to learn chemistry. It is the night to protect what you already know and prepare your body and mind for the next morning. Everything below is practical and specific to IGCSE Chemistry.
The evening schedule
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.: final light review (maximum 45 minutes)
Choose two of the following based on which paper you sit tomorrow:
If Paper 2 (MCQ) is tomorrow:
- Review your flashcards for qualitative analysis tests (10 minutes).
- Scan the common MCQ traps you have noted in your error log (10 minutes).
- Re-read the list of command words quickly (5 minutes).
If Paper 4 (theory) is tomorrow:
- Review your error log: read the top 5 recurring errors (10 minutes).
- Write out the mole calculation method once from memory (5 minutes).
- Flashcard sprint on the reactivity series and organic reactions (15 minutes).
If Paper 6 (alternative to practical) is tomorrow:
- Review the rules for drawing tables (heading + unit, not units in cells) (5 minutes).
- Review the rules for drawing graphs (labelled axes, line of best fit) (5 minutes).
- Re-read one Paper 6 mark scheme to remind yourself of the expected level of detail (10 minutes).
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.: eat a proper dinner
Your brain uses glucose. A balanced meal with carbohydrates, protein and some fat keeps blood sugar stable through the evening and supports memory consolidation overnight. Avoid heavy, unfamiliar food that might cause discomfort.
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.: relax
Do something you enjoy that is not chemistry. Watch a programme, play a game, talk to family, go for a walk. The goal is to lower cortisol (the stress hormone), which interferes with memory retrieval. You are not being lazy; you are optimising your brain for tomorrow.
8:30 - 9:00 p.m.: prepare for tomorrow
Pack your bag:
- Black pen (and a spare).
- Sharp pencil and eraser.
- Ruler.
- Scientific calculator (check the batteries now, not tomorrow morning).
- Clear water bottle.
- Exam entry documentation (candidate number, centre details).
- Watch or clock if phones are banned in the exam hall.
Lay out your clothes.
9:00 - 9:30 p.m.: wind down
No screens if possible (the blue light suppresses melatonin and delays sleep). Read something light, listen to calm music, or do gentle stretching.
9:30 - 10:00 p.m.: sleep
For a 9 a.m. exam, you need to wake at 7:00-7:30 a.m. to eat breakfast and travel. That means 8-9 hours of sleep starting around 10 p.m. Teenagers need more sleep than they typically get; tonight is not the night to cut it short.
What NOT to do tonight
Do not do a full past paper
If it goes well, you gain nothing you did not already have. If it goes badly, you lose confidence and sleep. There is no upside.
Do not try to learn a new topic
If you have not studied energetics or environmental chemistry by now, one evening will not fix it. Spending that time on a topic you know well (sharpening it from 70% to 85%) gains more marks than spending it on a topic you do not know (moving it from 0% to 20%).
Do not read other students’ revision notes online
Other people’s summaries may use different terminology, cover different points or include errors. This introduces confusion at the worst possible time.
Do not set multiple alarms for the middle of the night to “study more”
Interrupted sleep is worse than no extra revision. Your brain consolidates memories during deep sleep. Waking at 3 a.m. to re-read your notes actively harms your exam performance.
Do not discuss the syllabus with anxious friends
Conversations like “Did you revise redox?” or “I heard the exam will focus on organic this year” create false urgency. You have already decided what to focus on. Stick to your plan.
The morning of the exam
- Wake at your planned time. Do not hit snooze.
- Eat breakfast: cereal, toast, eggs — whatever you normally eat. Avoid trying new foods.
- Travel with time to spare. Aim to arrive 30 minutes before the exam starts.
- Avoid last-minute group revision sessions outside the exam hall. If you want a final glance, bring your flashcards and look at them alone.
- Use the bathroom before the exam begins.
- When you sit down, take three slow breaths. Read the front cover of the paper. Begin.
A note on exam anxiety
Feeling nervous before an exam is normal and, in moderate amounts, helpful — adrenaline sharpens focus and speeds recall. The techniques above (early stop, relaxation, sleep, preparation) keep anxiety at a useful level rather than letting it spiral.
If anxiety is severe enough to affect your ability to sit the exam, speak to your school’s exam officer. Special arrangements exist for students with exam anxiety, and they must be applied for in advance, not on the day.
More on managing exam stress is in managing IGCSE exam stress. If the night-before anxiety is driven by a specific topic you feel unprepared for, a last-session intervention can still help — our trial lesson can be scheduled at short notice for targeted revision.