Difficulty verdict

Taken together, the two Foundation papers are fairly gentle. A large share of the 180 marks is available through tick-box, true/false, matching and 'complete the sentence' items that reward secure recall. The real separation between grades comes from numerical questions and the two six-mark extended responses in Paper 2.

Where the marks are

  • Periodic Table, bonding and structure together carry the largest block of marks (covalent bonding, giant structures, ionic dot-and-cross diagrams, Group 1 and Group 7 trends).
  • Crude oil, life cycle assessment and end-of-life products are the next biggest topics, with plenty of data-reading marks.
  • Rates, energy changes and electrolysis each contribute around 8-11 marks and lean on practical reasoning.

Skills that decide the grade

Expect around 27 marks from calculations: percentage composition, Rf values, rate from a graph, mean, percentage increase, atom economy, relative formula mass and standard form. Mark schemes always say 'first check the answer on the answer line', so a correct final answer gets full credit, but working earns method marks when you slip. Watch rounding instructions: decimal places and significant figures are tested directly, and the final mark is withheld if the format is wrong.

The two 6-mark questions

Both are levels-of-response and both are about using data and planning rather than recalling facts: comparing two alloys using a table of effects, and designing a fair-test method for temperature change on dissolving. To reach the top level, state a method, name the control variables, and predict the pattern in results, linking each claim to the data given.

Strategy

  • Never leave tick or true/false items blank; they are the cheapest marks on the paper.
  • In 'explain' questions, give a comparative idea (for example more frequent collisions per second, not just more collisions).
  • In 'suggest why the student is wrong' questions, point to the limits of the data: one country, one disease, one time period.
  • Learn the standard practical vocabulary: burette, indicator, repeat for reliability, same volume and same starting temperature.

Looking ahead

Based on earlier series, polymers, calculating amounts of chemicals in solution and climate change evidence had large past weightings but were light or absent here, so they are good bets to return. Bonding and structure, and the Periodic Table, are near-certain every year, so they give the best revision return.