Studying Why do I consistently receive low marks in basic science quizzes?

[gleem]

@DifferentialGalois I do not want to seem condescending but this conversation should be not only with you but also with a responsible adult. You are only 12 yrs. old. Sorry, you need an adult someone to oversee the solution to your problems. Have you been sharing this conversation with your parents? We should hear something from them or at least an adult you choose and whom you respect and trust.

 

[symbolipoint]

And if the subconscious doesn't naturally come to you, then what? I've seldom experienced times where my subconscious thought kicks in during a test, and I think, instead of trying to cultivate these 'out of the blue' insights, I might try work on my conscious thought (which what, constitutes 90 percent of thought, right?)

Basically the right idea. You do NOT force your subconscious. It is not in your control. If your subconscious mind is not or seems not too active for you now, this may change. When that occurs, you will know it. Even then, or later, you will not command your subconscious mind. It will kick at your conscious mind without your doing anything. Note, from my own experience with this, a great amount of study and review and lengthy effort at the conscious level IS STILL necessary, or else your subconscious mind will not have enough organized to kick at your conscious mind.

 

[Mark44]

And if I do comprehend the material? Test anxiety doesn't solely come from lack of knowledge of the subject.

Which contradicts what you said earlier, here...

If I were to make a judgement myself, I would venture to say my poor grades are caused by a lack of interest in studying the topics at school in depth, and perhaps anxiety to perform.

I would bet that the larger reason is your lack of interest in the classes you're not doing so well in, namely chemistry and biology. Lack of interest in the subject $\Rightarrow$ lower comprehension of subject $\Rightarrow$ lower grades in subject plus possible anxiety brought on by low interest and lower grades than desired. If you had put in the time studying, despite your disinterest, then maybe I would buy the excuse of test anxiety, but given what you have said, it seems to be just that, and excuse.

Physics isn't my issue, it's chemistry and biology that is tripping me up in these tests.

I will steer clear away from my interest in non classical physics, because it's scarcely improving my science knowledge.

Well, it's obviously not improving your knowledge of chemistry and biology.

On the brighter side, if it's physics you're really interested in, then less than stellar grades in biology at the eighth grade level, isn't worth all the angst you seem to be going through. But if your goal is to get a grade at or above the 80% level, then focus on those classes, and set aside things that don't matter to that goal.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Basically the right idea. You do NOT force your subconscious. It is not in your control. If your subconscious mind is not or seems not too active for you now, this may change. When that occurs, you will know it. Even then, or later, you will not command your subconscious mind. It will kick at your conscious mind without your doing anything. Note, from my own experience with this, a great amount of study and review and lengthy effort at the conscious level IS STILL necessary, or else your subconscious mind will not have enough organized to kick at your conscious mind.

Ok, thanks.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

I give up on all hope to improve in science. I abhor it in all its entity for what was once one of my damn favorite subjects, the passion of my school life. Now I realize how incompetent I am at it, I will resign from all efforts to get better at science. No matter how much effort I expend into the sciences, I am getting NOWHERE. Peace. /thread

 

[symbolipoint]

I give up on all hope to improve in science. I abhor it in all its entity for what was once one of my damn favorite subjects, the passion of my school life. Now I realize how incompetent I am at it, I will resign from all efforts to get better at science. No matter how much effort I expend into the sciences, I am getting NOWHERE. Peace. /thread

Fine. Drop away from it for now. You need more development, and digging into science right now may not work. MAYBE you would return to it later.

 

[vela]

Below is a link to list of characteristics of successful students and struggling students. I'm curious how you would assess yourself regarding these traits.

https://www.jccmi.edu/center-for-student-success/characteristics-of-successful-students/

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Below is a link to list of characteristics of successful students and struggling students. I'm curious how you would assess yourself regarding these traits.

https://www.jccmi.edu/center-for-student-success/characteristics-of-successful-students/

Looks like I fulfil all the characteristics of a struggling student, which is to be expected.

 

[symbolipoint]

Below is a link to list of characteristics of successful students and struggling students. I'm curious how you would assess yourself regarding these traits.

https://www.jccmi.edu/center-for-student-success/characteristics-of-successful-students/

Looks like I fulfil all the characteristics of a struggling student, which is to be expected.

So you have seen, maybe read, that list of characteristics. As a way of looking for how to use that list in order to change, ask yourself, what do you want to accomplish at the end of the next five or six years? If you cannot answer this well, then you need further experience, maturity, and development. The kind of "development" is not the kind that you can consciously make on your own. You must think and grow, over time. Then, maybe you will know what you want and what to do.

 

[sysprog]

From your apparent resolute disinclination to break your writing into paragraphs, I am guessing that your learning approaches may at times be insufficiently stepwise $-$ you may be trying to comprehend 'too much at a time'.

 

[Adesh]

Can we be a little soft to OP? If you think that he is acting baldy here, then I think the best way is to truncate this thread. I don’t see any need of showing dark practicality and harsh remarks to someone who is already broken down with practicality. Let not a dreamer drown and tortured by his own dreaming mind.

 

[vela]

Looks like I fulfil all the characteristics of a struggling student, which is to be expected.

The point is you choose to be one or the other.

 

[Lnewqban]

I give up on all hope to improve in science...

That may be a good thing.
You are learning to understand nature, you either understand or you don't.
Calm down, your failure is not fatal.
Strive to be rather than to become.

Modern life is full of people that became somebody and still live miserable lives.
The universe aligned many things for you to be here for a while and to be creative, productive and kind to others, it is only society what has made you believe that you should become something to be of value.

With time, knowledge and skills that passionately interest you will flow into your mind naturally, will remain in there for life and will be your tools to be creative.
You are a young man and life is vibrating around you, don't ignore it; there is much more out there than academic achievements.
The test of life is the only important one.

Please, read these quotes created by a man who adjusted poorly to the academic expectations of his time; who was immensely curious and intuitive; who accepted his limits and had the courage and persistence of going beyond them, just to deeply understand things and to produce work of tremendous value to humanity.

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/Albert-einstein-quotes

My very best!

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Do they give extra points for drama in your school?

No, but they do for science competitions. :/

 

[symbolipoint]

No, but they do for science competitions. :/

Should anyone comment on that? DifferentialGalois, that was not what he meant.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

I don’t see how it was an overly constructive post.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Well, to be frank, I don’t perform badly at science competitions - HD and D respectively at the ANCQ (Australian National Chemistry Quiz) and ICAS Science Comp. Yet, in schoolwork, my grades imply my understanding and application of knowledge are really lacking in science. Maybe I only do better in science comps because they’re ranked relative to the whole of NSW or Australia?

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Upon reading my above post, you will obviously come to the consideration that a credit is not much less than the grades I’ve received in these comps. The grading system in our school ascertains that those who are between the top 50 and bottom 20 percent of the cohort attain a credit in that respective subject. A HD and D, as I’ve mentioned before, constitute the top 20 and 50 percent respectively. Whereas in these comps, a HD is top one percent and D is top 1-10 percent of all students who partake in the test.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

We have provided you with some good ideas to consider. However, there is one more thing that has yet to be discussed and that is your age and level of maturity. You seem to be somewhat precocious in some of your statements but then again showing a lack of maturity that those statements would presuppose. You are over-analyzing yourself and undermining your confidence. Confidence is so important in one's success. You are at an age when things start to go wacky for a while. You may need the personal guidance of a mentor who can work with you for an extended time. A forum like this may not be the best way to solve your problems since you must take the advice to heart and act on it. A mentor can evaluate your remedial work provide guidance, encouragement, hold you accountable for effort, and help build the confidence that you will need to succeed.

Have you tried any of the recommendations that have been made so far? Keep in mind that they will take significant effort and time to show results. Like the journey of a thousand miles, you complete it by taking one step at a time.

If I displayed some, if any level of precocity, I wouldn’t have to be stressing about my academic achievement in science.

 

[etotheipi]

I've been trying to abstain from commenting because it's probably not my place, but here we go anyway. Like some others have said, I'm concerned that there is a general lack of action on your part to try and remedy the situation you have presented, and you seem to be more interested in venting than making changes.

What concrete things can you do this week, or this month, to improve? Could it be picking up a textbook pitched at the level of your schoolwork, and working through a certain number of problems at the end of each chapter to determine exactly what your weaker areas are? Maybe you would like some guidance on useful online resources or textbooks? Maybe there are certain topics that you know you don't fully understand, and you could benefit from asking a few specific questions about them somewhere on this website?

Exam anxiety is best countered by putting pen to paper and doing problems. I think you'd be better off actioning some of the advice given to you above, or otherwise being a little more specific in what advice you're actually after. Because this thread has been going in circles for about 70 posts now, and it doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere...

 

[Phys12]

This might help:

 

[symbolipoint]

People still going on and on and on about this? Something I already tried in post #59, but let's try it another way.

DifferentialGalois, you need to be attending either vocational training after these next 4 years OR attending a university after these next 4 years. One year after that, you need to be in a job and work! You have two weeks from today to decide: MAKE YOUR CHOICE WHERE TO GO , WHAT TO LEARN AND STAY WITH IT!EDIT: This post needs some editing for more accurate time accounting. The O.P. will have four more years of high school, and then another two to four years of voc. training OR university ed. and then may need to get a job.

 

[strangerep]

@DifferentialGalois,

Mate,... (yes I'm Australian too, so pardon me if I sound a bit harsh and tell you to stop whinging and be more practical -- see below)...

I don't see anywhere in this whole thread where you have reproduced a particular problem that you had trouble with in a quiz, and asked for help solving it properly (i.e., in one of the PF homework forums). Have you done this somewhere? If so, please give links.

If you're not doing well in quizzes, it's probably because you're not actually doing enough practice quiz questions beforehand. That's the only way to find out for sure whether you understand something well.

Even at University, I had friends who thought "studying in the library" meant just reading through the course notes, but were reluctant/lazy to work through past exam questions in detail, etc. I told them to expect poor results and regrettably I was right.

So,... concrete suggestion,... if you haven't done so already, start posting specific problems in the PF homework forums, and show your attempted answers/solutions.
Even after a quiz -- if you got a question wrong you can post it in a homework forum and ask for help to find a correct answer, or even just to check an answer if you're not sure it's correct.

 

[symbolipoint]

Participating members:
Some need to look again in post #1. O.P. is still fairly young. Much can change in the next two or three years, so then being up to middle of HIGH School. He would by then have figured some things like how to change, or what to do differently or better. He may also become more decisive about a career path. Do you know many eighth graders who are sure they know what job or career they want when they grow up? Maybe one or two but not many. What is the chance someone in eighth grade may "decide" what career he wants but change this later?

 

[DifferentialGalois]

@DifferentialGalois,

Mate,... (yes I'm Australian too, so pardon me if I sound a bit harsh and tell you to stop whinging and be more practical -- see below)...

I don't see anywhere in this whole thread where you have reproduced a particular problem that you had trouble with in a quiz, and asked for help solving it properly (i.e., in one of the PF homework forums). Have you done this somewhere? If so, please give links.

If you're not doing well in quizzes, it's probably because you're not actually doing enough practice quiz questions beforehand. That's the only way to find out for sure whether you understand something well.

Even at University, I had friends who thought "studying in the library" meant just reading through the course notes, but were reluctant/lazy to work through past exam questions in detail, etc. I told them to expect poor results and regrettably I was right.

So,... concrete suggestion,... if you haven't done so already, start posting specific problems in the PF homework forums, and show your attempted answers/solutions.
Even after a quiz -- if you got a question wrong you can post it in a homework forum and ask for help to find a correct answer, or even just to check an answer if you're not sure it's correct.

They don't give away past papers, so I can only speculate what they are to give in an exam. My best hopes currently seem to be revising the course notes and/or creating mock questions that I think could possibly appear in the given exam.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Regarding someone's request to provide a sample question:

What is the symbiotic relationship between fungus and algae in lichens?
A) Parasitism
B) Predation
C) Commensalism
D) Mutualism

Before answering the question, I would note to myself that:
Parasitism +/-
Commensalism +/? (No effect on other organism)
Mutualism +/+
Predation can be ruled out because it does not describe a symbiotic relationship.

Fungi receive carbon as a source of food from the algae, and conversely, the fungi provide optimal conditions for the algae to thrive. This is done in such a way that benefits both organisms - the algae and the fungi. Hence, because mutualism describes a symbiotic relationship where each species has a net benefit, the answer is D.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Which best describes the use of lanthanides in the real world?
A) neutralisation
B) technology
C) nuclear fuels
D) deterring chemical reactions

Well, Option D can be safely ruled out because it is the noble gases that mainly take part in this. IIRC, non metallic elements are used to neutralise acids and bases and what not? But lanthanides are certainly not well known for having application in neutralisation. Option A can thus be ruled out. Given a periodic table, we see that uranium and thorium are actinides, and it is well known that both are used in nuclear fuels. So Option C can be ruled out. Option B is only left.

 

[strangerep]

[Edit: While I was composing this post, I see you've posted some actual questions. Good. If you have more, then maybe think about posting them as separate threads in the relevant PF homework section -- but make sure you use the PF homework-help template.]

They don't give away past papers,

Oh heck, don't let that kind of nonsense stop you. E.g., University past exam papers are routinely available in their libraries. If your school won't provide them, then go around that blockade and look elsewhere. See below.

so I can only speculate what they are to give in an exam.

Well, you can actually do rather better than that. E.g., you could:

1) Check your textbooks to see if they have problem sets at the end of chapters, etc. Also check your library to find other textbooks on similar material. (I'm sure your librarian would help you to find parallel material.)

2) Do a bit of googling to find, e.g., "Year 8 Science Exam papers". I just tried that and found many potentially helpful resources. (Although the Australian year 8 curriculum might not match that of other countries, you could always vary the year of your search until you find something that roughly matches the material taught in class.)

I then tried a more specific google query: "Year 8 Science Exam papers Australia". The 1st hit was from kinrosscollege.wa.edu.au (Kinross College in WA). Plenty of past questions there.

My 2nd hit was qcaa.qld.edu.au, the Qld Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Again, lots of resources there.

My 3rd hit was at proprofs.com, a "Year 8 Science Exam Revision (for the Australian Curriculum)".

Further down was one from Irymple College: "Mr Hung's Science Homework".

(And there were plenty more after that.)

Summary: good, relevant practice questions are only a few clicks away via Google.

My best hopes currently seem to be revising the course notes and/or creating mock questions that I think could possibly appear in the given exam.

No, that is NOT your "best hope" -- it's the road to poor results.

Try the alternative suggestions above.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Outline one way to prevent the rusting of iron (1 mark).
Galvanisation is one method that could prevent the rusting of iron - the iron object is coated with a thin layer of zinc. The presence of the thin layer per se stops any water or oxygen from reacting with the iron.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

[Edit: While I was composing this post, I see you've posted some actual questions. Good. If you have more, then maybe think about posting them as separate threads in the relevant PF homework section -- but make sure you use the PF homework-help template.]

Oh heck, don't let that kind of nonsense stop you. E.g., University past exam papers are routinely available in their libraries. If your school won't provide them, then go around that blockade and look elsewhere. See below.

Well, you can actually do rather better than that. E.g., you could:

1) Check your textbooks to see if they have problem sets at the end of chapters, etc. Also check your library to find other textbooks on similar material. (I'm sure your librarian would help you to find parallel material.)

2) Do a bit of googling to find, e.g., "Year 8 Science Exam papers". I just tried that and found many potentially helpful resources. (Although the Australian year 8 curriculum might not match that of other countries, you could always vary the year of your search until you find something that roughly matches the material taught in class.)

I then tried a more specific google query: "Year 8 Science Exam papers Australia". The 1st hit was from kinrosscollege.wa.edu.au (Kinross College in WA). Plenty of past questions there.

My 2nd hit was qcaa.qld.edu.au, the Qld Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Again, lots of resources there.

My 3rd hit was at proprofs.com, a "Year 8 Science Exam Revision (for the Australian Curriculum)".

Further down was one from Irymple College: "Mr Hung's Science Homework".

(And there were plenty more after that.)

Summary: good, relevant practice questions are only a few clicks away via Google.

No, that is NOT your "best hope" -- it's the road to poor results.

Try the alternative suggestions above.

I browsed through some of the questions in the papers, but they seem to be easier than the tests we undertake at our school! Also, a lot of our questions have emphasis on application of theoretical knowledge, rather than rote memorisation of the topics if you will.

 

[strangerep]

Regarding the sample questions you've posted... are they ones that you're not currently sure of the answers? Or have you now done some googling to check your answers?

Btw, regarding Galvanisation is indeed a way to prevent rusting of iron, but your explanation is incomplete. There's a galvanic effect (cathodic or sacrificial protection) whereby zinc corrodes in preference to the iron.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Regarding the sample questions you've posted... are they ones that you're not currently sure of the answers? Or have you now done some googling to check your answers?

Btw, regarding Galvanisation is indeed a way to prevent rusting of iron, but your explanation is incomplete. There's a galvanic effect (cathodic or sacrificial protection) whereby zinc corrodes in preference to the iron.

Why do notifications seem not to show on my bell? *sighs*

And regarding the sample questions I've posted, I put them to shed some light on the nature and difficulty of some of the problems I encounter during the test. The answers I put are reflective of how I might've answered them during a test, and gone through the process prior of thinking it out.

 

[strangerep]

I browsed through some of the questions in the papers, but they seem to be easier than the tests we undertake at our school! Also, a lot of our questions have emphasis on application of theoretical knowledge, rather than rote memorisation of the topics if you will.

OK -- that's actually good. You can just bump your Google searches to higher years and stop when you find a level that's more difficult than your classes.

It's also very good that your school is placing an emphasis on application of technical knowledge. But don't stop searching for online resources -- you just need to find the right type and level.

Rote memorization is not necessarily a bad thing, provided you remember it's not the only thing. It won't hurt to make sure you can indeed do the "rote" style of tests. You can't apply basic facts if you don't know the basic facts.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

Regarding the sample questions you've posted... are they ones that you're not currently sure of the answers? Or have you now done some googling to check your answers?

Btw, regarding Galvanisation is indeed a way to prevent rusting of iron, but your explanation is incomplete. There's a galvanic effect (cathodic or sacrificial protection) whereby zinc corrodes in preference to the iron.

Yes, now that I look back on it, it is an incomplete explanation, but that's probably all my mind would have managed to think up of during the exam. :/

 

[strangerep]

Why do notifications seem not to show on my bell? *sighs*

Probably something not configured correctly in your profile. Ask in the PF Feedback forum if you can't figure it out.

And regarding the sample questions I've posted, I put them to shed some light on the nature and difficulty of some of the problems I encounter during the test. The answers I put are reflective of how I might've answered them during a test, and gone through the process prior of thinking it out.

OK, good.

 

[strangerep]

I wrote:

[...] regarding Galvanisation is indeed a way to prevent rusting of iron, but your explanation is incomplete. There's a galvanic effect (cathodic or sacrificial protection) whereby zinc corrodes in preference to the iron.

I'll add a bit more to my answer above, because it enables me to illustrate something else.

Another way to prevent rusting of iron is to add certain other elements. E.g., adding carbon to produce steel (which still rusts), but adding chromium and nickel (among other things) gives stainless steel, which is far more rust-resistant. Adding molybdenum gives "marine grade" stainless steel, which is better in salty environments.

Then there's "passivation" of the stainless steel, using an acid to remove free iron from the surface (so that the new surface is predominantly chromium and nickel). Also "pickling" which removes contaminants left when steel is welded.

Anyway, the reason I mention this is to illustrate how one's understanding of such things can become ever deeper the further one advances in science. In this "rust" case, a deeper knowledge of chemistry helps to show why galvanization works, and a still higher level will go into detail about electron shells around nuclei and how that structure facilitates preferential oxidation by the sacrificial zinc coating. Similarly, higher levels of knowledge reveal why adding small quantities of other elements (chromium, nickel, etc) to iron can prevent oxidation. Then there's the quantum theory all about energy bands in solids, and so on.

So what am I really trying to illustrate here? Science gradually becomes much more fascinating as one delves deeper. Don't let the (comparatively) boring low level treatments in early high school put you off pressing onward and upward.

 

[symbolipoint]

Aside from the main topic, the Notifications Failure is happening to other members too.

 

[symbolipoint]

Aside from the main topic, the Notifications Failure is happening to other members too.

And now, the notifications have restarted , at least for me.

 

[pbuk]

Btw, regarding Galvanisation is indeed a way to prevent rusting of iron, but your explanation is incomplete. There's a galvanic effect (cathodic or sacrificial protection) whereby zinc corrodes in preference to the iron.

The question is worth 1 mark and you have outlined (prompt word) 1 way in which galvanisation prevents rusting so you get the mark. If it was 2 marks and the prompt word was describe you might expect something more. Getting marks in exams is not about writing everything you know about a subject, it is about providing the examiner with an answer that fits the question.

 

[DifferentialGalois]

The question is worth 1 mark and you have outlined (prompt word) 1 way in which galvanisation prevents rusting so you get the mark. If it was 2 marks and the prompt word was describe you might expect something more. Getting marks in exams is not about writing everything you know about a subject, it is about providing the examiner with an answer that fits the question.

That was my primary reason for providing the short answer, but it slipped my mind when I was discussing it.