CCEA GCSE Science Single Award Higher Tier: how the 280 marks split across Biology, Chemistry, Physics and two Practical Skills booklets, the precise wording examiners actually credit, and legal on-the-fly calculator techniques for kinetic energy and echo depth questions.
閱讀時間 3 分鐘更新於: 2026年9月3日
試卷概覽
卷數
5
總分
280
考試時間
6小時 15分鐘
題型
12
試卷
時間
分數
題數
比重
題型
Unit 1, Biology
1小時
60
8
25%
Structured recall and data analysis, 6-mark extended response (QWC)
Unit 2, Chemistry
1小時
60
9
25%
Structured chemistry recall and equations, 6-mark extended response (QWC)
Unit 3, Physics
1小時
60
9
25%
Calculations, circuit diagrams and force analysis, 6-mark extended response (QWC)
Practical Skills, Booklet A
2小時
30
2
8%
Hands-on practical investigation and graphing
Practical Skills, Booklet B
1小時 15分鐘
70
10
17%
Practical theory, data processing and analysis, 6-mark extended response (QWC)
評級
A*ABC*CDEFGU
計算機規定
Scientific calculators are expected and needed throughout, especially in Physics and the practical booklets for rate, energy and echo calculations. The standard JCQ rule applies: no computer algebra or symbolic manipulation function, no communication with another device, and no retrievable information of any kind, including formulae, notes or programs, stored in the calculator. Clear the calculator's memory before the exam or activate its exam mode; a manual reset alone does not clear stored data.
AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, and scientific techniques and procedures. (40%)
AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding of, and develop skills in, scientific ideas, and scientific enquiry, techniques and procedures. (40%)
AO3: Analyse scientific information and ideas to interpret and evaluate, make judgements and draw conclusions, and develop and improve experimental procedures. (20%)
用途: Avoid the common error of using grams instead of kilograms in the kinetic energy formula, which makes the final answer wrong by a factor of a thousand.
使用時機: Any Unit 3 Physics question asking for kinetic energy from a given mass and speed.
步驟
Convert the mass from grams to kilograms first, dividing by 1000, then calculate half multiplied by mass multiplied by speed squared as one continuous chain on the calculator before writing down the final answer.
考試提示: This is a live calculation performed during the exam on the calculator's ordinary arithmetic keys. CCEA and JCQ rules do not allow any formula, note or program to be stored in a calculator before the exam. If your calculator has an exam mode, activate it.
Echo depth in one chain
Casio fx-83/85 series (scientific)
用途: Avoid forgetting to halve the round-trip distance when finding a depth from an echo time.
使用時機: Physics questions that give a time for sound or ultrasound to travel to a surface and back, and ask for the depth or distance to that surface.
步驟
Multiply speed by time to get the total round-trip distance, then divide by 2 in the same calculation to get the one-way depth, rather than writing down the round-trip distance and dividing separately afterwards.
考試提示: This is an on-the-fly calculation using the calculator's normal keys during the exam. No formula or worked method may be stored in the calculator beforehand; clear the calculator's memory before the exam.
Rounding only the final answer
Casio fx-83/85 series (scientific)
用途: Avoid losing a mark for leaving a long decimal unrounded, or rounding an intermediate step too early and shifting the final answer.
使用時機: Any calculation question that specifies a number of decimal places or significant figures for the answer.
步驟
Complete the full calculation in one continuous sequence without rounding any intermediate step, then round only the number shown on the display at the end to the decimal places or significant figures the question specifies.
考試提示: This is standard live use of the calculator's display and rounding during the exam. No formula, conversion table or note may be stored in the calculator's memory beforehand.
常見錯誤
1medium涉及分數: 1Co-ordination and control
Candidates write spine when the biology of a reflex arc requires spinal cord, treating the two terms as interchangeable.
如何避免: Keep the terms separate: the spine is the bony column, the spinal cord is the nerve tissue running through it that a reflex arc actually uses.
2medium涉及分數: 1Rates of reaction
A line of best fit for a gas-producing reaction is drawn rising throughout, without showing the plateau where the reaction has finished and gas production has stopped.
如何避免: Identify the point where the readings stop changing and draw the line level from there, then state in words that the reaction is complete at that point.
3medium涉及分數: 1Practical skills
An anomalous reading is left out of a mean calculation without stating that it has been excluded or why.
如何避免: Write a short note identifying the anomalous value and stating that it has been excluded before giving the mean of the remaining readings.
4high涉及分數: 1Rates of reaction
Collision theory answers say there are more collisions rather than an increased frequency of successful collisions, missing the word successful that the mark scheme rewards.
如何避免: Use the full phrase: increased collision frequency, and increased frequency of successful collisions, when explaining why a rate of reaction changes.
5medium涉及分數: 2Energy calculations
Kinetic energy calculations use the mass in grams rather than converting to kilograms first, giving a final answer wrong by a factor of a thousand.
如何避免: Convert the mass to kilograms, dividing by 1000, before you substitute it into the kinetic energy formula, and do that conversion as the first step of your written working.
6medium涉及分數: 1Organic chemistry
Hydrocarbons are defined as containing carbon and hydrogen, without the word only, which leaves the definition technically incomplete.
如何避免: Always include the word only: a hydrocarbon is a compound containing carbon and hydrogen only.
7medium涉及分數: 1Waves
Echo depth calculations use the full round-trip distance from speed multiplied by time, without dividing by two to get the one-way distance to the surface.
如何避免: Calculate speed multiplied by time to get the round-trip distance, then divide by two in the same working to get the depth, every time an echo question is asked.
8medium涉及分數: 1Electrical circuits
Circuit diagrams place the ammeter in parallel and the voltmeter in series, the opposite of their correct positions.
如何避免: Fix the rule as a pair: an ammeter goes in series in the main circuit loop, a voltmeter goes in parallel across the component it is measuring.