Required practicals

The set experiments every student must do. Exam questions are written about them.

What it is

Each science specification names a set of practicals that must be carried out. The exams then ask about the method, the variables, the errors and the results — not just the theory.

Where it applies

GCSE biology, chemistry and physics, separate and combined.

How it works

You are examined on them in the written papers. There is no separate practical exam, which means the marks come from remembering what you actually did: the apparatus, the control variables, why each step was done that way.

How to use it in your work

Keep your practical write-ups and revise them like a topic. Students revise the theory and lose the practical marks.

For each one know: the independent, dependent and control variables, one source of error and how you reduced it, and what the results should have shown.

Questions often describe a flawed method and ask what is wrong. Practise that.

Where to get help

Your teacher, your board's specification for the depth required at your tier, and Bitesize for the diagrams. The subject song runs the topics in order.