STUDY HINTS FOR SCIENCE TESTS AND EXAMS
Science exams will cover the whole year’s work, four units at each grade level, weighed as follows:
Grade 7
Unit 1 Ecosystems: 30%
Unit 2 Heat: 25%
Unit 3 Substances: 25%
Unit 4 Earth’s Crust: 20%
Grade 8
Unit 1 Water Systems: 25%
Unit 2 Fluids: 25%
Unit 3 Optics: 30%
Unit 4 Cells: 20%
The weight of the final exam towards the course average depends on the grade level:
Grade 7: 10%
Grade 8: 15%
Science exams will be two hours in length. All students must stay the full two hours, and are encouraged to bring a novel to read in case they finish early. Any student who needs a little extra time can have up to 20 minutes at the end. Students who receive testing accommodations will have access to them for the exam.
All students will be allowed calculators, and French Immersion students will be allowed a French-English dictionary.
EXAM FORMAT
The format of the exam will be the same for all grades and consist of four parts.
Part A: Objective questions - 50%
a variety of question types such as multiple choice, matching, label the diagram, complete the table)
Part B: Short Answer Questions - 25%
Part C: Data Analysis - 15%
Students are given a short description of an experiment and a table of results, and asked to graph results and answer related questions including identifying variables, inter/extrapolating from data, and relating results of experiment to concepts studied in unit.
Part D: Case Study - 10%
A short case relating to one of the units is described, then students are asked a series of questions applying the concepts of a unit to this case.
- Assemble your review booklet and the completed booklets or other study notes for each unit. If you are missing any, you can download the completed notes from this website or your own teacher's.
- Break down the work, by unit or by booklet.
- Start by re-doing the definitions, using your notes for reference. Make sure you clearly understand the definitions, don't just copy words in the right blanks. Ask your teacher if you have forgotten and don't understand something.
- Next complete the review questions, still using your notes for reference.
- Check your answers using the answer keys posted above. If you don't understand the answers, ASK YOUR TEACHER! If you understand it will be easy to study and remember, but if you try to memorize answers that you don't really understand it will not be so effective.
- Practice skills like calculations or ray diagrams until you are sure you know how to do them correctly.
- The LAST THING is to study/memorize the definitions, diagrams, and other facts questions. This is when the Quizlets will help you!
- Repeat with the next unit!
- The evening before the exam, re-read everything one last time, then make a little time to do something fun and relaxing and get a good night's sleep. Be proud of yourself for your organized review work!
Science exams will cover the whole year’s work, four units at each grade level, weighed as follows:
Grade 7
Unit 1 Ecosystems: 30%
Unit 2 Heat: 25%
Unit 3 Substances: 25%
Unit 4 Earth’s Crust: 20%
Grade 8
Unit 1 Water Systems: 25%
Unit 2 Fluids: 25%
Unit 3 Optics: 30%
Unit 4 Cells: 20%
The weight of the final exam towards the course average depends on the grade level:
Grade 7: 10%
Grade 8: 15%
Science exams will be two hours in length. All students must stay the full two hours, and are encouraged to bring a novel to read in case they finish early. Any student who needs a little extra time can have up to 20 minutes at the end. Students who receive testing accommodations will have access to them for the exam.
All students will be allowed calculators, and French Immersion students will be allowed a French-English dictionary.
EXAM FORMAT
The format of the exam will be the same for all grades and consist of four parts.
Part A: Objective questions - 50%
a variety of question types such as multiple choice, matching, label the diagram, complete the table)
Part B: Short Answer Questions - 25%
Part C: Data Analysis - 15%
Students are given a short description of an experiment and a table of results, and asked to graph results and answer related questions including identifying variables, inter/extrapolating from data, and relating results of experiment to concepts studied in unit.
Part D: Case Study - 10%
A short case relating to one of the units is described, then students are asked a series of questions applying the concepts of a unit to this case.