Sample exam questions - chemicals of the natural environment

You will sit two exam papers at the end of your GCSE Chemistry course. Paper 1 is called Breadth in Chemistry, and paper 2 is called Depth in Chemistry.

The Breadth paper will contain questions worth 1, 2 and 3 marks. The Depth paper will contain questions worth 1 to 5 marks, plus two 6-mark extended writing questions.

1. Each exam paper will contain questions that require you to recall what you've learnt.

You will need to remember, select and clearly communicate facts and explanations that you have learnt from studying.

2. Each exam paper will contain questions that require you to apply what you’ve learnt to an unfamiliar context.

These questions may, at first, appear to be about things you haven’t learnt. But the question will give you all the information you need to answer it when combined with your own knowledge and understanding.

When you see an unfamiliar situation in a question:

3. Each exam paper will contain questions that require you to analyse evidence or data and then make your own decision or conclusion

To get full marks on this type of question, you will usually have to do more than just processing data (eg doing calculations or plotting a graph) or describing it (eg describing the pattern in the results or the shape of the graph) - you will have to come up with your own conclusion or decision based on the evidence you have been given.

Sometimes, you may be asked whether you agree with a statement or a conclusion. You may not get any marks for simply stating that you agree or disagree - most or all of the marks will be given for explaining and justifying your decision. Your answer must make it clear that your decision is based on the evidence you have been given in the question and your own knowledge and understanding of chemistry.

NextGen Bar Exam MC Questions Only Require Takers To Spot Issues, And Not Apply the Rules

In law schools, generations of students have been taught the IRAC model to answer legal questions. First, students must spot the issue–what legal doctrine do the facts implicate? Second, students must state the rule–what particular legal precedent, statute, or principle governs this conflict? Third, students must then apply the rule to these facts–under a particular legal standard, how should the court rule? Fourth, students must state the conclusion–who wins, the plaintiff or the defendant?

Of course, there are many variations of IRAC, and invariably, many students stop using it rigidly at some point during the second year. But the basic process–applying a rule to particular facts is a cornerstone of legal education.

That background brings me to the NextGen bar exam. I have written about this new formulation of the multistate bar exam, which will launch in some states in 2026. Justice Jay Mitchell of the Alabama Supreme Court already expressed a concern that the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) is placing DEI concerns over competence. (Critics contend that the bar exam is racist, and should be eliminated). I have another concern, which may be related–the NCBE seems to be making the exam substantially easier.

The NCBE released a batch of questions to demonstrate how the NextGen exam will function. The multiple choice questions reflect a new approach. Rather than forcing students to memorize particular rules, and then apply them, the new questions only ask students to spot the issue. The thinking is that practicing attorneys do not actually have to memorize particular rules, or even know how to apply them. So long as they can recognize what doctrine is implicated, a quick query on WestLaw, Lexis, and (lord help us) ChatGPT can locate the particular rule, and then the lawyer can figure out how to apply that rule to the facts (or just ask ChatGPT to do it). In short, bar examinees will not have to know the rule, apply the rule, or conclude the case. They only have to spot the issue. Only I, not RAC.

Consider this Criminal Procedure question:

You are a criminal defense lawyer representing a client who has been charged with fentanyl possession. The police found the fentanyl in the guest bedroom of the client's uncle's house when responding to a noise complaint at the house. Before entering the house, the officers knocked on the door. When the uncle answered the door, the officers asked if they could look inside the house, and the uncle agreed. The client did not live in the house and was not there at the time of the search. The client had stayed in the guest bedroom of the house two nights prior to the search. The uncle told the officers that the client was the last person to have slept in that room.

You are considering filing a motion to suppress the fentanyl under the Fourth Amendment.

Which of the following legal topics are the most important for you to research to determine the likelihood of success on a motion to suppress? Select two.

A. Consent search.B. Exigent circumstances.C. Hot pursuit.D. Probable cause.E.Reasonable suspicion.F. Standing.

The correct answer here is A (Consent Search) and F (Standing). Those are the legal topics that are "most important" to research. First, would the Uncle have authority to consent to the search? Second, would the criminal defendant have standing to challenge the Uncle's consent? Now the examinee does not actually have to answer whether the motion to suppress would be granted. Who cares if the Uncle could consent to the search? It doesn't matter if the defendant has standing. The test taker doesn't even have to know the relevant rules for consent searches and standing. All she has to do is spot the issue. I suppose the NCBE thinks that a first-year lawyer can simply enter "consent search" and "standing" into ChatGPT, knowing nothing more, and download the answer. I am not confident anyone can figure out these doctrines on the fly.

Let's try a Property question.

You are representing a client in a dispute with a neighbor. The client owns a single-family home with several acres of surrounding land. Recently, the client noticed that his neighbor had built a fence that extends onto the client's land. The client is unsure when the fence was built because that part of the client's land is obscured by large trees. When the client contacted the neighbor about the fence, the neighbor claimed that she did not know the location of the property line. The client has shown you a recent survey of the property that confirms the encroachment and has asked you whether he has a claim against the neighbor.

Which of the following legal topics are the most important for you to research before advising the client? Select two.

A. Adverse possession.B. Conversion.C. Implied easement.D. License.E. Negligence.F. Trespass.

The answers here are, once again, A (Adverse Possession) and F (Trespass). The question presented is whether the neighbor's fence encroaches (trespasses) on the client's property, and if there is an encroachment, has the neighbor acquired the right to do so through adverse possession. This question is complicated, because trees obscure the boundary (affecting the open and notorious prong), and the neighbor may not have even known if he was obtaining land through adverse possession (in the lingo, did he have the right claim of right?). I could see a student struggling with applying the rules to this question. But on the bar, an applicant only needs to spot the relevant doctrine, and pray they can figure stuff out when in practice.

I worry that these questions are far too simple. If the states end up adopting the NextGen exam, they should increase the cut score (the relevant percentage needed to pass the exam). Finally, I worry how this exam will trickle down to law school pedagogy. Will professors shift their coverage to no longer require memorizing and applying the rules–only spotting issues? It's true that all lawyers have sophisticated tools at their disposal to research different topics. This new format seems to be a surrender to this technology–don't require students to do what they don't have to. I, for one, do not plan to change how I teach for this exam. And state supreme court justices should take a very long pause before adopting this new exam.

'Unsolvable' exam question meant for 11-year-old leaves adults defeated

A baffling exam question meant to test 11-year-old students has been leaving adults defeated - and the 'unsolvable puzzle will make you glad you're no longer in school

Image: Getty Images)

A mind-bending maths question designed for school children has left adults stumped - with some saying the puzzle is completely 'unsolvable'.

Do you remember sitting your maths exams at school and scratching your head at the strange real-life quiz questions you'd be presented with? The questions are designed to encourage students to use logic to pick out the important parts of the often long-winded story and then figure out which maths discipline they need to use to find the correct answer.

They're not always easy and for many of us, they will have been the least favourite part of any exam. And it's no different for kids today either, as one maths question designed for 11-year-old students has been leaving children and adults alike baffled as they struggle to find the answer.

The question came from a Chinese exam paper that was designed for schoolchildren aged 11 in 2018. According to the BBC, a translation of the question asks: "If a ship had 26 sheep and 10 goats onboard, how old is the ship's captain?"

That's it. That's all the information you're given for this question - so try and answer it. Surely there must be some way to work it out, even though it certainly feels like you haven't been given enough details about the imaginary ship and its captain to truly reach a solution.

Other people who tried to work out the correct answer thought the same, and thanks to the South China Morning Post, we can even see some of the answers that clever students gave. One pupil argued: "The captain is 36 years old. He is quite narcissistic, so the number of animals corresponds to his age."

Another defied the question writers and refused to answer, as they said: "The number of the sheep and goats is irrelevant to the captain's age," and a third dejected student simply wrote: "The captain's age is ... I don't know. I can't solve this."

One answer from an adult on social media also tried to work the puzzle out using very sound logic, as they said: "In China, if you're driving a ship that cargo you need to have possessed a boat license for five years. The minimum age for getting a boat's license is 23, so he's at least 28."

But what is the correct answer? Well, there isn't one. Yep, that's right. Unfortunately, when we said this puzzle was "unsolvable", we meant it. As infuriating as it is, apparently the whole point of the question is that there's no way to work out the answer, and students will get the question right on their exam if they explain they don't have enough information to give a solution.

In a statement, Shunqing Education Department confirmed there was no answer, as they said: "The role of education is not to produce standardised spare parts ... Each answer can reflect a different personality. A question that can have different answers is a good question."

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