Paddy Pole - King Chem

🎯Some of the BIGGEST marks on Paper 2… come from required practicals 🔥

And students still lose them on the same mistake…

They describe the method…
but forget variables.

Lock this in:

👉 Independent = what you change
👉 Dependent = what you measure
👉 Control = what stays the same

🔥 Then hit them with this line:
“Repeat the experiment to improve reliability.”

Want top marks on 6-markers?

✔ Repeat trials
✔ Calculate a mean
✔ Remove anomalies

Do that… and you’re collecting EASY marks 💰

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🎯If you write “pollution” in your exam… you’re probably dropping marks 😬

It’s too vague.

Examiners want specific science:

❌ “Gases cause pollution”
✅ CO₂ → climate change
✅ SO₂ → acid rain
✅ CO → toxic/poisonous

Paper 2 LOVES this.

👉 Name the gas.
👉 State the effect.

That’s how you secure the marks 💰

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🎯This mix-up costs marks EVERY year 😬

Students confuse fractional distillation and cracking…

Here’s the difference:

👉 Distillation = separating (no chemical change)
👉 Cracking = breaking molecules

Think:
🧪 Distillation = divide
💥 Cracking = smash

🔥 If molecules are being broken… it’s ALWAYS cracking

Lock this in = easy marks on Paper 1 💰

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🎯One tiny bond… BIG mark loss every year 😬

Students mix up alkanes vs alkenes all the time.

Let’s lock it in:

👉 Alkanes = single bonds only
👉 Alkenes = at least ONE double bond

Now the examiner favourite…

🧪 Bromine water test:

❌ Stays orange → alkane
✅ Turns colourless → alkene

👉 Double bond = reacts = colour disappears

🔥 Keyword trigger:
If you see “unsaturated” → think ALKENE instantly

Easy marks… if you don’t panic.

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🎯Most students lose marks on equilibrium… for ONE simple mistake 😬

They think nothing is happening.

Wrong.

👉 Forward reaction = happening
👉 Backward reaction = happening
👉 Same rate = equilibrium

And don’t forget the BIG mark-winner:

🔥 Closed system = MUST include it

No closed system → no equilibrium → no marks ❌

Temperature change?

If it’s exothermic and you increase temperature…
👉 equilibrium shifts backwards

🔥 Examiner phrase:
“The position of equilibrium shifts…”

Use that… and you’re collecting easy marks 💰

🔥
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🎯This is one of the BIGGEST Paper 2 mark-losers… and it’s not even chemistry knowledge 😬

🏆It’s graphs.

Students see a curve… and panic.

👉 Steep = fast reaction
👉 Flat = reaction complete (NOT “stopped” ❌)

That one word can cost you marks.

And don’t fall for this trap…

🚫 Highest line ≠ fastest reaction
✅ Steepest gradient at the start = fastest

🔥 Use the right words:
gradient • rate • completion

That’s how top students turn graphs into easy marks.

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🏆Students don’t fail calculations… they panic.

And panic kills method ❌

🎯Use this calm-down system every time:

1️⃣ Balanced equation
2️⃣ Convert to moles
3️⃣ Use the ratio
4️⃣ Convert back

Skip steps → lose marks
Follow structure → print marks 💰

🔥 Even if your final answer is wrong…
you can STILL pick up method marks.

🔥
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✈️This topic = free marks on Paper 1 🔥

🎯Reactivity series controls EVERYTHING:
Extraction ✔️ Displacement ✔️ Corrosion ✔️

👉 Above carbon → electrolysis
👉 Below carbon → carbon reduction

Learn it once… use it everywhere.

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