General Thoughts: Chemistry (3 Viewers)

[emilios]

Remember that the question was not entirely focused on the use, but the IMPACT of this use on society.

Going down the "ethanol can be dehydrated to ethene" path allowed you to talk extensively about impacts on society. Much moreso than linking to its use as a solvent (which is a valid point to discuss too tho). I think you could explain the ethanol --> ethene process in 2-3 sentences then spend most of your time talking about how this impacts society

 

[zhertec]

I'm a bit iffy on the AAS question, anyone else got nice answers for that one?

 

[ilostmypassword]

Pretty easy exam barring one question.

Last question of shipwrecks... I got shiprekt

Can so agree to that!

Generally, it was not as hard as i thought it was going to be! Still managed to wake up 4am and do some last minute study which im proud of! haha

 

[mysterymarkplz]

i defined what AAS was, briefly described how it can detect the concentration of [Ca2+] ions. I said if it shows an decrease in concentration of Ca2+, that in fact confirms that raising the temperature of the equillibrium reduces the hardness of H2O. It was a 4 marker tho so i felt my answer was a bit inadequate, i didnt know what else to talk about

 

[enigma_1]

I'm a bit iffy on the AAS question, anyone else got nice answers for that one?

yeah lol I explained the method :/ I didn't know what else to do.

What I freaking hated about this paper was that they gave you like 3 lines for a 5 mark question. It was so frustrating! I asked for like 9 extra booklets only to write 5 sentences in each (((((((((

 

[loong21]

will i lose marks for talking about how ethanol can be used to produce ethyl butanoate which is used as a banana flavour in foods? and i talked a huge amount of shit about how this helps society haha

 

[enigma_1]

will i lose marks for talking about how ethanol can be used to produce ethyl butanoate which is used as a banana flavour in foods? and i talked a huge amount of shit about how this helps society haha

whoa that thought process. But it sounds legit, you should get the marks. Let's see what other people think.

 

[SuchSmallHands]

Any use of ethanol is fine as long as you backed it up. If they only wanted you to talk about ethanol as a solvent or a fuel they'd have specified that. Do not listen to anyone who tells you otherwise because they are either confused or trying to make you feel bad for no reason.

 

[DL]

So is the consensus here that this was the easiest HSC Chem exam ever?

 

[mysterymarkplz]

i think last years was easier

 

[iStudent]

You don't know how easy it is until you actually get the results (imo).

 

[zhertec]

Pretty easy exam barring one question.

Last question of shipwrecks... I got shiprekt

LOL, can I sig this?

 

[iStudent]

i defined what AAS was, briefly described how it can detect the concentration of [Ca2+] ions. I said if it shows an decrease in concentration of Ca2+, that in fact confirms that raising the temperature of the equillibrium reduces the hardness of H2O. It was a 4 marker tho so i felt my answer was a bit inadequate, i didnt know what else to talk about

I talked that and about making standard solutions and calibration graph and about calcium lamp

 

[mysterymarkplz]

Thats true, I go to a decent selective school and all the top 5 kids that got 90+ in trials still struggled to get around a raw of 90 in the actual exam. I saw their test papers which they purchased from bos and the marking criteria got really pedantic towards 4,5,6 and 7 markers.

 

[zhertec]

Thats true, I go to a decent selective school and all the top 5 kids that got 90+ in trials still struggled to get around a raw of 90 in the actual exam. I saw their test papers which they purchased from bos and the marking criteria got really pedantic towards 4,5,6 and 7 markers.

Whelp, we're fucked.

 

[panakap]

I talked that and about making standard solutions and calibration graph and about calcium lamp

I also mentioned how absorbance is proportional to concentration and therefore [Ca2+] can be measured before and after heating.

In general, found the paper pretty straight forward. From what it seems to be the final answers for MC, 20/20 . The short answers in the moment I forgot the test for carbonates :/, and for the ethanol 7 marker hoping for a 5 or 6, knowing that the marking is always harsh. And for the 7 marker, it is valid to mention ethanol as a renewable resource when dehydrated to form ethylene; you can write more about what the question wanted as well (impact on society)

I do shipwrecks, great questions dealing with the easier stuff, but I didn't like the 7 marker. As others have mentioned, I got "shiprekt".

Despite the fact of harsh marking, predicting a raw between 88-92, but we'll see

 

[bhatman]

Thats true, I go to a decent selective school and all the top 5 kids that got 90+ in trials still struggled to get around a raw of 90 in the actual exam. I saw their test papers which they purchased from bos and the marking criteria got really pedantic towards 4,5,6 and 7 markers.

+1, our accelerants from last year who all got in the low 90s in their trials only managed mid to high 80s in the HSC, and a majority of their marks were lost in 6-7 marks questions

 

[emilios]

Whelp, we're fucked.

Oh you better believe it. Its why im lol'ing at anyone predicting a 95 raw.

Also why I was writing up until the last minute filling my answers with as much detail as possible while others sat there twiddling their thumbs for 30 minutes

 

[IR]

Dehydration of ethanol to Ethene and then polymerisation/alkylation/halogenation is a totally valid use of ethanol. Anyone who wrote that is going to read what you just said and stress because they think they've made a mistake. More people probably went with solvent/fuel (I know it's what I thought of right away so I wrote about it) but ethanol as a renewable source of polymers currently derived from the petrochemical industry is completely fine.

No.

 

[SuchSmallHands]

Oh you better believe it. Its why im lol'ing at anyone predicting a 95 raw.

Also why I was writing up until the last minute filling my answers with as much detail as possible while others sat there twiddling their thumbs for 30 minutes

Agreed. I thought the CSSA trial was pretty easy but then my teacher applied the marking criteria absolutely brutally. I think there will be a ridiculously anal marking criteria applied mercilessly. That scares me a little more than a hard paper to be honest because I find it so hard to predict what they're looking for.