The importance of basics
As a science teacher, I see time and again how a lack of basic knowledge prevents students from accessing good marks. Yes, the student is intelligent and has the ability to think logically (important in science), however if the student does not know the fundamentals behind the question, they are immediately in trouble.
For example a physics question asks: “A girl drops a ball from her bedroom window. How much kinetic energy does the ball have as it hits the ground?” (mass of ball, height of window and value for g provided).
In order to answer this question, the student needs to know that an object at height has gravitational potential energy (GPE). This is fundamental to the question, and without that knowledge, the student is stuck. Ok, the student may trawl through the equation sheet to find an equation with the data given and use that, but that has its own risks. A subsequent part of the question relying on part 1 will also be a barrier to the student’s further progress with the question.
For that reason, prelim revision should target knowledge gaps initially, e.g. from a basic review of a chapter in a textbook. Students should then attempt questions on that topic to test their knowledge (and also their skill at answering questions).
By the way, keywords are especially important in science and these should be used wherever they are relevant to a question. I would consider this to be basic knowledge also.
Our Science retrieval apps are perfect at testing this basic knowledge – it’s what they are best at. Whichever science you are studying, the apps will keep asking you the questions until you get them right – a great way to fill in those knowledge gaps. Download the free science retrieval apps today, and get those solid foundations of knowledge built and ready for exam day.
