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March 29, 2024, 10:01:36 am

Author Topic: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?  (Read 5656 times)  Share 

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Stormbreaker-X

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How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« on: November 15, 2019, 02:26:51 pm »
0
I am an average science student  :(
But I have very high ambitions and feel like I want a 50 in some of my subjects (I know its hard, but I am willing to put in the work).
No one at my school ever got a 50 in chemistry either  :(
So how hard is it for me to get a 50 in that subject?

brothanathan

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2019, 02:34:41 pm »
0
I am an average science student  :(
But I have very high ambitions and feel like I want a 50 in some of my subjects (I know its hard, but I am willing to put in the work).
No one at my school ever got a 50 in chemistry either  :(
So how hard is it for me to get a 50 in that subject?

Time is your greatest cornerstone. If you don't have any examinations coming up or when you've finished them start preparing for VCE Chemistry. Revise and extended yourself frequently from now to October next year. I don't do Chem, but 3 hours a day would be ideal, just don't burn yourself out.

Here's a a thread with tips I've compiled https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=188891.msg1144567;topicseen#msg1144567
« Last Edit: November 15, 2019, 02:44:59 pm by brothanathan »

Stormbreaker-X

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2019, 02:41:16 pm »
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Arhhhhh the biggest challenge of my life yet  :)
Getting a 50 in any subject would be massive and yes I will try to make the absolute most of all my resources as well as time  :D
Do you guys know anyone that got a 50 in chemistry? Cuz my school rarely gets high 40's in chemistry, I say low-mid 40's would be there max.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2019, 02:42:56 pm by Stormbreaker-X »

brothanathan

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2019, 02:47:17 pm »
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Arhhhhh the biggest challenge of my life yet  :)
Getting a 50 in any subject would be massive and yes I will try to make the absolute most of all my resources as well as time  :D
Do you guys know anyone that got a 50 in chemistry? Cuz my school rarely gets high 40's in chemistry, I say low-mid 40's would be there max.

Search up 50 scorers from last year or wait until results are released in December. There's usually a list or honorary roll of those who got premiers in chemistry. You should try contacting them and get some insight to how they prepared themselves for the hefty task.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2019, 02:50:26 pm by brothanathan »

sweetiepi

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #4 on: November 15, 2019, 02:50:59 pm »
+10
You could try searching up the 50 scorers from last year or wait until results are released in December. There's usually a list or honorary roll of those who got premiers in chemistry. You could try contact them and get some insight to how they prepared themselves for the hefty task.
To add on to this statement, I would not stalk these people out- everyone deserves their privacy. Only contact people who make themselves available for such questions through the proper channels. :)
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brothanathan

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2019, 02:53:02 pm »
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To add on to this statement, I would not stalk these people out- everyone deserves their privacy. Only contact people who make themselves available for such questions through the proper channels. :)

I got this tip from a VCAA Examiner.. Oh well, I guess not everyone is morally just.

+ Definitely, don't stalk them. If they don't reply back just leave them.

(I won't disclose his name, as this would truly be an invasion of privacy).
« Last Edit: November 15, 2019, 03:01:01 pm by brothanathan »

Bri MT

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2019, 03:01:39 pm »
+9
I got this tip from a VCAA Examiner.. Oh well, I guess not everyone is morally just.

Yeah I'm a bit concerned that an examiner would be giving out that advice :/

I've been contacted through fb due to my scores & it definitely felt creepy. I didn't mind it when it was people who knew me through school or a mutual friend but obvious randoms searching me up on social media was not great. 

brothanathan

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2019, 03:02:26 pm »
-2
Yeah I'm a bit concerned that an examiner would be giving out that advice :/

I've been contacted through fb due to my scores & it definitely felt creepy. I didn't mind it when it was people who knew me through school or a mutual friend but obvious randoms searching me up on social media was not great.

Lucky I won't be getting a 50 in my 3/4  :-X <-  Would this be shitposting?

Edit: Guess it is (confirmed by Poet's downvote, which is t he reasoning of this edit). This is an example of a cheap comment. Learn from me kids, just keep it in.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2019, 04:56:55 pm by brothanathan »

Bri MT

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #8 on: November 15, 2019, 03:27:46 pm »
+7
Lucky I won't be getting a 50 in my 3/4  :-X <-  Would this be shitposting?

Edit: Guess it is. This is an example of a cheap comment. Learn from me kids, just keep it in.

Your post was fine. I suspect the edit asking if it was ok may have been seen as mocking.

For the record, I didn't get any 50s either so who knows, maybe you won't be safe from random people searching you up. We're starting to go a little off track here so if you want to continue that convo I'm going to ask you do so in another thread.


Getting back on track to the post, getting a 50 in anything is hard. You can increase your chances of doing it through various strategies but at the end of the day there is some luck involved too (just like any academic score).

If you're an average student now I would say that a big priority should be figuring out why you're an average student. What are you losing marks on? Do you have the foundational understandings for next year?

I would also encourage you to focus and reward yourself for progress as you learn these things rather than rewarding yourself for grades or test scores. SACs etc. can vary in difficulty and you don't have control over that but you do have control over your actions and the new habits you acquire - so focus on what you can control.

Good luck :)

Edit: fixed typo

brothanathan

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #9 on: November 15, 2019, 03:32:03 pm »
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Your post was fine. I suspect the edit asking if it was ok may have been seen as mocking.

Edit: fixed typo

Wouldn't that be mocking as well? Because I practice forgiveness, I'll leave it there.

(Hi Sine!)

DrDusk

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #10 on: November 15, 2019, 04:08:39 pm »
+5
No one at my school ever got a 50 in chemistry either  :(
So how hard is it for me to get a 50 in that subject?
Doesn't matter, you can always be the first one. Your school does not define your ability. Don't let the fact that no one else has done it before hinder your ability to do it. Just focus on improving yourself and I'm sure you'll reach your goal if not at least get close to it(which is still amazing).
Also usually the things that are worth achieving are hard. If it was easy then everybody would get it. So I say go for it!
« Last Edit: November 15, 2019, 04:11:20 pm by DrDusk »

Stormbreaker-X

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #11 on: November 15, 2019, 07:43:49 pm »
0

Getting back on track to the post, getting a 50 in anything is hard. You can increase your chances of doing it through various strategies but at the end of the day there is some luck involved too (just like any academic score).

If you're an average student now I would say that a big priority should be figuring out why you're an average student. What are you losing marks on? Do you have the foundational understandings for next year?

I would also encourage you to focus and reward yourself for progress as you learn these things rather than rewarding yourself for grades or test scores. SACs etc. can vary in difficulty and you don't have control over that but you do have control over your actions and the new habits you acquire - so focus on what you can control.

Good luck :)

Edit: fixed typo
[/quote]
That is correct 50's is very hard to obtain in any subject (Chemistry is probably one of the hardest to get a 50 in). It is true, I am deadset average, but I know I can do better than what I am now. Well, my school is doing average (median study score is 30) so in order to get a high study score I gotta be able to see a massive gap between me and all my other classmates.

Stormbreaker-X

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #12 on: November 15, 2019, 07:45:37 pm »
+2
Doesn't matter, you can always be the first one. Your school does not define your ability. Don't let the fact that no one else has done it before hinder your ability to do it. Just focus on improving yourself and I'm sure you'll reach your goal if not at least get close to it(which is still amazing).
Also usually the things that are worth achieving are hard. If it was easy then everybody would get it. So I say go for it!
I am sure I have a chance to come over 40+ with a lot of brute force and hard work, but 50 will come down to a lot of things. I will 100% aim high and will try to break my schools record, I need to make some history.

Sine

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #13 on: November 15, 2019, 07:56:07 pm »
+3
A lot of stuff has been covered by others but I wanted to add that there are so many factors required to get a 50 with only 1 of them being actually knowing the content to 50 study score level. Unless you are those people on the very high extreme of the scale (which is probably only a few students in the past decade who get 50's in a large number of subjects) you will need luck to get a 50. That will include how your teacher marks your sacs, which assessors you get, which questions actually come up on the exam, your own mindset on the day of the exam and just normal random variation that occurs when taking any test/exam.

imo anyone who scores something like 46-50 could potentially score a 50 if everything goes right for them on a given day.

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Re: How hard is it to get a 50 in chemistry?
« Reply #14 on: November 15, 2019, 08:30:01 pm »
+2
Some great advice has been given above. I definitely agree that everything 'going right' that day is a factor.

I have the opinion that, in terms of factual knowledge, a 50 scoring student is unlikely to have many more facts memorised than a 45 scoring student. The same goes for level of competency and ability to avoid 'silly mistakes'.

I think the difference is 50 scoring student not only know facts but have a thorough understanding rather than just memory. It is immensely useful to not only know that x is a fact but also why it is and the context to it. Too many students rely on getting those repeated, basic questions that you can memorise an answer to (for example, using a 'perfect' paragraph with all the buzzwords to explain why increasing temp moves the equilibrium a certain direction).

VCAA has time and time again shown that you need to be able to apply your knowledge to new and unfamiliar contexts. This is especially true for those 'separator' questions. If you simply tried to memorise your way through VCE Chem, you would have a very hard time trying to apply your knowledge. However, if you had a thorough understanding of the concepts it is much easier. A great example of one of these unfamiliar questions which require understanding is the 2017 Mars question.

This is not unique to chemistry either and is also relevant to something such as Methods where understanding the roots of formulas can be very helpful in answering separator questions as opposed to just having the formula memorised.

To give a quick summary, a person aiming genuinely for a 50 should 1. Go above the facts in the textbooks and try to get an in-depth understanding of concepts they learn and 2. Get comfortable with uncertainty and unfamiliar contexts by doing many VCAA practice exams which actually provide these sort of questions rather than commercial exams which rely on questions you can simply regurgitate answers to.
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