GCSE Science, numerical questions

[TeenTimesTwo]

DD2, y9 is struggling with numerical based GCSE science questions.

Not only the select correct equation, check units, plug in numbers and solve ones.

But also the random ones where they give you tables of data or whatever and ask you to draw conclusions etc.

Can anyone recommend anywhere I can go for a good collection of these questions for her to practice technique on? I know I could trawl past papers, but I'm hoping there might be a work book, or a collation somewhere, online or print.

Some is basic maths skill. But other issues are just understanding the question, knowing what to look for etc. I can explain, but I can't make up the right type of questions.

Hi

I'm a trainee science teacher so hopefully I can help a bit.

There are lots of questions like this on the new science exams. Part of it is being really clear about the language being used eg does she know what repeatable/reliable/valid etc means? I know aqa are very specific about what each term means- they have a list of definitions on their website.

Does she know how to calculate the mean/range and what uncertainty and confidence mean?

Does she understand how to work out the trend from a data set?

These skills will be practised throughout her gcse course and she will hopefully be a lot more comfortable with them by the time her actual gcses come around!

I'd also check that she is reading the questions carefully and checking her answers. It sounds basic but a lot of y9/Y10 do lose marks on tests this way.

I hope this helps a bit and if you can work out what it is she struggles with specifically then I can try to offer some more advice!

Also physicsandmathstutor is great website with questions organised by topic for all science gcse papers, so you can pick out questions from the topics she has covered!

Thank you. That website looks really helpful.

She can't do a number of the things you list yet (only just grasping simpler things like line of best fit), but her problem at the moment is more just on the reading and processing the info given, before she gets into the technical stuff. I can help with the maths and the exam technique, but I need more of a handle on realistic questions to practice with. With those topic based questions I can pick ones I know she has covered and use them.

How different are the styles of questions across the exam boards? She is doing AQA, so I'm wondering whether I should use Edexcel so I don't accidentally use questions she will be given later by school?

CGP do an essential maths for science book. DD has it and from what I can remember it has lots of examples to work through. I would go and look but then I’d feel obliged to start nagging about the mess in her room again!

dontletme Thanks I'll have a look in Smiths.

Shamelessly place marking as I'm retaking my science gcse after 10 years

@TeenTimesTwo try my-gcsescience.com. The sign up for year 9 is free and there are lots of tips about numerical prob,ems and how to do,vectgem. In year 10 it becomes a paid service but is marvellous for the content at around 25 GBP for combined science and 50 GBP for triple. My friend subscribed to it and reported a significant improvement in her dc grades. Try the free part and see if that works before you subscribe.