OCR
OCR GCSE Combined Science revision.
Ilmino organises GCSE Combined Science around the OCR GCSE Combined Science J250 specification, so every topic, every required piece of practical work and every mark scheme a student sees belongs to the board they are actually sitting.
OCR publishes two GCSE science suites. Ilmino follows Gateway Science A (J250); the alternative is Twenty First Century Science B: Combined Science (J260).
The exam, in short
How OCR examines GCSE Combined Science.
- Specification
- Gateway Science A: Combined Science (J250)
- Papers
- Six papers, two for each of biology, chemistry and physics.
- Tiers
- Foundation and Higher. A student is entered for one tier, and the same tier is sat for every paper in the subject.
- First exam series
- Summer 2018
Spec aligned
Every topic on the OCR specification.
The question bank is grouped by this board's specification, not by a generic topic list, so a student works through the same headings their teacher and their revision guide use.
Biology: cells and organisation
- Cell structure and division
- Tissues, organs and organ systems
- Diffusion, osmosis and active transport
Biology: infection, response and bioenergetics
- Pathogens and the immune system
- Photosynthesis and respiration
- Homeostasis and hormones
Biology: inheritance and ecology
- Inheritance and variation
- Natural selection and evolution
- Ecosystems and human impact
Chemistry: structure and change
- Atomic structure and the periodic table
- Bonding and structure
- Chemical changes and electrolysis
Chemistry: quantitative and rates
- Conservation of mass and moles
- Rate of reaction and equilibrium
- Energy changes
Chemistry: organic and the atmosphere
- Crude oil, hydrocarbons and polymers
- Chemical analysis
- The atmosphere and Earth's resources
Physics: energy and electricity
- Energy stores and transfers
- Circuits and domestic electricity
- Static electricity
Physics: particles and atomic structure
- Particle model of matter
- Atomic structure and radioactivity
Physics: forces, waves and magnetism
- Forces and motion
- Waves and the electromagnetic spectrum
- Magnetism and electromagnetism
Marking
How marking follows OCR.
Ilmino stores an examiner-style mark scheme for every question, written per board. An answer is marked against the wording OCR credits, not against a general idea of what is right.
- Each mark is awarded or withheld on its own, with the mark-scheme point it maps to shown beside the answer.
- Command words are read the way OCR uses them, so describe, explain, evaluate and calculate are each held to their own standard.
- The phrase an examiner is looking for has to appear. A right idea in the wrong words loses the mark here, exactly as it would in the exam.
- Handwritten working is photographed and marked line by line, so method marks survive an arithmetic slip.
- When a mark is lost, Lumi explains which mark-scheme point was missed and what would have earned it.
Other boards for GCSE Combined Science
Sitting a different board? The whole bank switches with your choice, and progress carries across because it is stored by skill.
OCR in other subjects
Questions
OCR GCSE Combined Science on Ilmino
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AQA, Pearson Edexcel and OCR are trademarks of their owners and do not endorse Ilmino.
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