Overview Of Junior Cert Science Questions

The questions in the junior cert science exam are so varied; that it is difficult to specify certain topics you must study. There are no options to which questions you must do on this paper – you must do everything on the paper. The questions on the actual exam paper (65%) include three on biology, three on chemistry and three on physics – obviously each question has many parts to it.

• Short questions are obviously self-explanatory, in terms of how you would answer.
• Longer questions involve you showing a strong understanding of the topic being asked for. You must include key terms associated with the question, in your answer.
• Experiment questions involve you stating the method of doing the experiment, or the conclusion/result of the experiment. Here, you just need to know the experiment very well, in order to include all the steps you followed.
• You may also be asked to draw a diagram in the experiment questions, and you will need to label everything drawn in the diagram.
• Other questions, which may appear, are ones on graphs and equations.

The junior cert science experiment book with all the mandatory experiments (10%) follows a format of you stating the experiment, equipment used, method, results and conclusion, and drawing a diagram.

• You must complete every single experiment in this experiment book (not all experiments in your schoolbook are mandatory, but all the ones in the experiment book are mandatory and must be filled out).
• You must pay attention during class, and you will find the write-ups easy (if you missed something the JC-Learn notes will help you).

The junior cert science coursework B (25%) format is laid out in the JC-Learn notes section. The headings include introduction, method, diagram, evaluation, results and conclusion.

• All of the questions on the write-up must be answered, and you should fill out all the space offered to you in the answer booklet, in order to achieve highly in this section.
• The write-ups for the two experiments are quite straightforward as long as you participate constantly throughout your groups experiment (usually groups of four do experiment together).
• As long as you have studied the topic of the titles given, you will find this section very easy, as you will understand how to attempt the experiment in a logical manner.

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Exam timing and guidelines

Junior Cert Science Exam timing:

• The mandatory experiment book obviously has no time frame, as it is something you are completing throughout the junior cert course.
• The coursework B write-up of the two experiments has an unlimited time frame (your teacher will allocate a day which you complete it on), so you will not be under time pressure.
• The junior cert science paper itself is two hours long. This means you should be spending 40 minutes on each section (biology, chemistry and physics). Each section has three questions within it, meaning you should spend about 12/13 minutes on each question, which leaves at least 5 minutes at the end of the exam to look over it.

Order To Do Junior Cert Science Paper:

• You should just complete the paper in the order it is already in, unless you are a lot stronger in one of the areas (in that case you should do that area at the beginning).
• You do not know what topics may come up, so it is hard to set an order in which you will do the exam.

Junior Cert Science Exam layout & Marking Schemes:

• Biology (120 marks) has three questions. Question 1 is worth 52 marks, and it longer than the other two questions. Question 2 and 3 are both worth 39 marks.
• Chemistry (120 marks) has three questions. Question 1 is worth 52 marks, and it longer than the other two questions. Question 2 and 3 are both worth 39 marks.
• Physics (120 marks) has three questions. Question 1 is worth 52 marks, and it longer than the other two questions. Question 2 and 3 are both worth 39 marks.

There is no set marking scheme for the mandatory experiments.

The marking scheme for coursework B is as follows –

1. Introduction = 10 marks
2. Preparation and planning = 40 marks
3. Procedure, Apparatus, Safety, Data collection/Observations = 40 marks
4. Analysis = 40 marks
5. Comment = 20 marks

What To Do Before Exam?

• Revise over your condensed notes of every single chapter
• Single out chapters you find most difficult and quickly scan over all the details within the chapter.
• Stay calm, and remember that there will always be enough on this large exam to let you perform strongly.
• Be confident – if you have studied the notes, advice and exam answers on JC-Learn, know that you will achieve a very high grade.

What To Bring To The Exam:

• You obviously should bring a pen, but also a pencil, ruler and rubber (for your diagrams).
• You should also bring a log tables (if they do not give you one) as many formulas are in here.
• Bring colouring pencils to exam (for diagrams), but only colour diagrams if you have time to.

If you are still nervous about the junior cert science exam then we have the perfect solution for you. Just sign up to JC-Learn!