How to Prepare for the IB Chemistry Exam

AP & IB Exams

Jan 21

The IB Chemistry exam is a daunting test to prepare for! With two years of material covered, it’s definitely important to start studying well in advance of your exam. There are 21 units covered – ideally, you want to be studying about 2 units per week if starting now.

Here are some tips on how to break this massive task down and get the most out of your prep time.

Use the official IB Chemistry course guide to structure your review and preparation. In fact, some units can be grouped together. For instance, Units 2 and 12 both cover atomic structure (Unit 12 just goes into greater detail). So you may not want to study your notes linearly, depending on how your teacher structured your class, but instead combine similar topics together. Rewriting notes to consolidate information is also a great way to study, as it helps reinforce material and create new neural links between concepts.
To start, we recommend taking a full-length, previously administered IB paper (exam), or at least the multiple-choice section (so-called paper 1). This exercise will help you identify the areas you need to spend the most time studying and provide a structure for your time and practice, accordingly. Chemistry has lots of concepts and definitions to learn, but most of your time should be spent applying those concepts to practice problems. (Pro tip: Redo past assignments or utilize end-of-chapter practice problems to maximize your study materials!)
As you are practicing, be familiar with the information that’s going to be provided to you on test day. Don’t spend time memorizing formulas or data that will be provided; rather, focus on the application of these formulas in various contexts. Print out a copy of the data booklet and practice with it handy.
Be very comfortable with each of the command terms. (Page 190 of the IB Chemistry guide has a list and key definitions!) You want to practice answering questions and comparing your answers to the key to make sure you are following command terms correctly. There is nuance between a question that asks you to state something and one that asks you to explain something!
Speaking of practice, once you feel you have reviewed core content sufficiently, work problems from past papers, especially papers 2 and 3. This will give you more practice with command terms and integrating material from multliple units.
Take a full practice exam a couple of weeks before your test (May 18th, 2022). You should see definite improvement between this exam and the first one at the start of your preparation! It will also give you some last-minute study areas to polish off, if need be.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help! It can be a daunting challenge to prepare for such a lengthy exam alone. Forming a study group creates accountability and opportunities to learn from each other. Plus being able to explain how to do a problem to someone else is evidence that you really understand it yourself.

We would also be happy to help you with one-on-one tutoring for the IB Chemistry exam. Get in touch with our team to discuss your unique needs and allow us to connect you with a Chemistry expert.

Learn More About IB Tutoring

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