Chemistry Practice Questions Routine

Knowing chemistry content and being able to produce it under exam conditions are different skills. Content knowledge comes from studying. Exam performance comes from practising questions. The students who score highest on 0620 are not always the ones who study the most — they are the ones who practise the most questions, mark them properly, and learn from their errors.

A practice question routine is a structured habit of doing, marking, and reviewing questions on a daily and weekly basis. It turns passive knowledge into active, deployable skill.

The daily routine (15-25 minutes)

What to do

Pick three to five questions related to your current revision focus. If today’s revision topic is acids and bases, the questions should be on acids and bases. If yesterday’s topic was organic chemistry, include one organic question as a spaced review.

Where to find questions

• Past paper questions, sorted by topic (build your own bank or use teacher-provided sets)
• Textbook end-of-chapter questions
• Questions from your study group partners

How to do them

1. Timer on. Allow roughly 1 minute per mark (a 4-mark question gets 4 minutes).
2. Closed-book. No notes, no textbook, no phone.
3. Write full answers, including working for calculations.
4. If stuck, write your best attempt rather than leaving a blank.

How to mark

Use the real mark scheme for past paper questions. For textbook questions, use the answer key provided or check against the textbook content. For each question:

• Award marks exactly as the scheme specifies.
• Note the precise reason for any lost marks: wrong term, missing unit, incomplete explanation, wrong method.
• Write the correct answer next to your error so you can see the gap.

The error log

Keep a running log (a notebook or spreadsheet) with columns for: date, question reference, mark achieved, mark available, reason for lost marks. Review this log weekly. Patterns emerge: repeated errors on equations, on observations, on calculation steps. Each pattern tells you what to study next.

The weekly routine (60-90 minutes)

Timed question set (30-45 minutes)

Once per week, do a longer set of 8-12 questions covering multiple topics, under strict time conditions. This simulates the variety and time pressure of a real exam. Include questions from your weak topics, your average topics, and one or two from your strong topics.

Mark the set immediately after finishing. A marked question set done on Saturday is more useful than an unmarked one sitting until next week.

Past paper section (30-45 minutes)

Once per week, sit a complete section of a past paper (e.g., questions 1-4 of a Paper 4) under timed conditions. This trains you to handle the transition between different topics and question types within a single exam. The Paper 4 time management guide covers pacing strategies.

Error review (15 minutes)

At the end of the week, review your error log. Identify the top three error categories. These become next week’s revision priorities. If “forgetting state symbols in equations” appears three times, next week’s daily routine should include two equations per day where you must include state symbols.

Choosing the right difficulty

Early in the course (Year 10)

Use textbook questions and simple past paper questions. Focus on one concept per question. The goal is to build confidence and check understanding.

Mid-course (early Year 11)

Move to full past paper questions, including those with 4-6 marks and multi-step calculations. The goal is to practise structuring answers correctly.

Revision period (final 8-12 weeks)

Use complete past paper sections and full papers. The goal is speed, accuracy, and consistency under pressure. By this stage, your flashcard deck should hold the factual content; the practice questions test whether you can apply it.

Question types and how to practise each

Multiple choice (Paper 2)

These test breadth of knowledge and the ability to eliminate wrong answers. Do sets of 10-15 MCQs under timed conditions (about 1 minute per question). For every question you get wrong, write a brief note explaining why the correct answer is correct and why your choice was wrong. Common MCQ pitfalls: not reading all four options before answering, second-guessing a correct first instinct, and confusing similar terms.

Short answer (Paper 4, 1-3 marks)

These test precise recall: definitions, names, formulae, observations. The key skill is answering in the exact format the mark scheme expects. “State” means give the fact. “Name” means give the name. Do not write a paragraph when a single word or phrase is needed.

Structured questions (Paper 4, 4-8 marks)

These build through several parts, often starting with recall and building to application or explanation. Read all parts before answering the first, because later parts sometimes give clues about earlier ones. Practise these by writing full answers, then marking each part separately against the scheme.

Calculations (Papers 2 and 4)

Always show full working: formula, substitution, intermediate answer, final answer with units. Practise the five-step method until it is automatic. Common errors: wrong units, wrong Mr, wrong mole ratio. Log every calculation error specifically.

Extended response (Paper 4, 6 marks)

These require a structured, logical answer that addresses every part of the question. Practise by planning the answer (bullet points for each mark) before writing. See the 6-mark technique guide.

Making the routine stick

Anchor it to an existing habit

Do your daily questions at the same time every day, linked to something you already do. After dinner. Before tuition class. On the bus home. The anchor makes the routine automatic rather than requiring a daily decision.

Keep the barrier low

Three questions. Fifteen minutes. That is all. On days when motivation is low, three questions is still manageable. On days when motivation is high, do five or six. The non-negotiable minimum is three, properly marked.

Track your progress

Review your error log at the end of every week. Watch the error rate drop over time. Seeing measurable improvement is the most sustainable form of motivation.

Forgive missed days

If you miss a day, do not try to make up the questions the next day. Just resume the routine. Consistency over weeks matters more than perfection on any single day. A routine that runs 5 days out of 7 is still a routine. A routine abandoned after one missed day is not.