Leaving Certificate Chemistry

Joanna - Higher Level

I don't want to say cram, but I definitely did some intense revision this morning. It felt good, got a lot of higher level experiments refreshed and definitions that I knew but just needed to go over. I always get this good feeling going into chemistry exams and then I open the paper, realise that I can only do like 4 questions (we need to do at least 8) and then panic sets in. This afternoon, I decided not to look at the whole paper until I had the 3 experiment questions done to reduce the possible panic.Well, the experiments were predictable. Sodium thiosulfate titration, the new experiment on the course and water. Grand. I found question 4 really nice and loved question 5 which is always kinda about the history of chemistry and Bohrs atomic theory. I can't remember all the topics, but as I flicked through the rest of the paper and realised I could make a reasonable attempt at a total of 9 questions, I was chuffed.I went on, skipping the organic chemistry which I didn't like and I found the options in questions 10 and 11 really manageable, especially the atmospheric chemistry question which I was a little nervous about.Overall, I know I didn't ace this paper, but I don't need chemistry for points or as an entry requirement, so I'm looking for an alright pass in it. After today, I feel I will be happy enough with whatever comes out in August, so fingers crossed! :)

Dáire - Higher Level

I spent all morning revising, or at least attempting to revise. My concentration was broken by the thoughts of the post leaving cert celebrations. I got to revise a few key topics.The paper was rough enough. I wasn't really prepared very well for the experiments that came up, and the rest of the paper was dodgy enough to be honest. I had been anticipating an A2, but given how that exam went, I'll be lucky to scrape a B, I think.That being said, there were simple parts to every question that I enjoyed, but there were other parts that were rotten. I attempted every question out of desperation, I didn't feel comfortable doing just the bare minimum because I wasn't sure of any of them.Obviously I am delighted to be finished, but my happiness is kind of hindered by how badly the exam went. I'm looking forward to getting my results in August, and I hope that the exams went better than I feel they did, especially chemistry. As one of my 'strongest' subjects, I'm bitterly disappointed with it.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.