Title
Course Resource - Provincial Exam Prep: Science 10
Content

Exam Overview

The Science 10 provincial exam is an 80 question multiple choice test. There are three sections on the exam pertaining to the topics explored in this course. They appear in the following order: Life Science (Ecosystems), Physical Science (Chemistry, Radioactivity and Motion) and Earth Science (Plate Tectonics and Energy Transfers).

Students will have 2 hours to complete the exam, though an extra hour will be given if needed. There is the option to take either a paper or electronic exam. Electronic exams are more readily available and offered at more times. If you desire a paper exam it must be requested ahead of time so please alert you rteacher well in advance.

Certain calculators are allowed on the exam. To make sure your calculator is one of these see the Calculator Policy. Be sure that the calculator you take into the exam is one you are familiar working with.

Test Taking Strategies

It is important to manage your time effectively on a multiple choice test. Ideally you want to leave the test having answered EVERY question to the best of your ability. The best way to accomplish this is to work through the test answering all the questions you are familiar with first. Skip the others. Then once you have reached the end of the test go back and look at the more difficult problems. This is a fairly straightforward process on paper exams but is a bit more tricky on the electronic exams. In the exam preparation assignments below you will be directed to try this strategy in a practice electronic exam.

On the exam you will have access to data pages containing a wealth of information, formulas, graphs and maps you can use during the exam. Become familiar with the content of these pages and how to use them in an eExam.

Problem Solving Tip

In multiple choice tests, remember that one of the answers listed is the correct one. On difficult problems you can often eliminate obviously wrong answers and then choose the best one from those that remain. If you are really stuck on a problem you can work backwards, checking each supposed solution till you find the correct one. It is best to use these strategies at the end of an exam on any problems you find really difficult. Also note that some questions may seem silly or confusing. Do your best to pick the most logical answer. Remember you want to leave the test having answered every question. You won't be marked down for wrong answers. Every answered problem, even guesses, is a possible point in your favor.

Preparation Assignments

Give yourself 2-4 weeks to complete these preparation assignments after you have completed the course work for this course. Example, if you aim to take an exam on June 20th, plan to finish working through your Science resources by mid to late May.

ScorePreparation Activities
  Practice Exams
 

First access a practice provincial exam. Select and download one practice exam and key.

  • Glance over the exam, becoming familiar with the layout and content.
  • Next give yourself 2 hours to take the exam.
  • Finally mark your answers and analyze the results using the following chart.

Make a chart to present the questions you missed. List what mistake caused you to make that error.

Example:

question #Analysis
1 I mixed up abiotic and biotic.
8 I don't know what adaptive radiation is.
23 I didn't read the choices carefully and chose an option that was partially incorrect.
24 I forgot the difference between
55 I calculated the velocity wrong.

Submit this chart to your teacher and discuss strategies for further study. (Many may be addressed below.)
 

Next go the practice exam site and try out an eExam. Logging into the exam requires a PEN number and session number. Do not be confused. Simply click on one of the blue options for Sample A or B or Release A or B and the computer will enter these fields for you. Then click submit.

Once the e-Exam loads explore the format and the content. Play around till you are able to:

  • Read the instruction page
  • Locate the data pages
  • Answer questions
  • Review questions answered
  • Skip questions and return to them (by clicking on the box next to the question you will flag it in the review/index tab, or if you just skip to the next question a question mark will remain by that number in the review/index tab.)
  Further Study
 

After you have taken one or two practice exams and analyzed your results, identify areas you need to review. Use the resources you explored this term and your SNAP or KEY study guides to review material.

In addition review the vocabulary list for Science 10.

Use the school glossary and your Science books to review terms.

Compile a list of terms you are not familiar with. Send your compiled list along with a paragraph explaining your strategy for learning these terms to your teacher.
  Once you have reviewed try a practice exam again and note your improvement. If you are not satisfied with your mark discuss strategies with your teacher for further review.

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