Collins - Concise Revision Course - CSE® Integrated Science

  • William Collins' dream of knowledge for all began with the publication of his first book in 1819. He was a self-educated mill worker, enriched millions of lives, and founded publishing house, Collins. Now, Collins books are packed with inspiration, innovation and practical expertise.
  • Collins Concise Revision Course: CSEC® Integrated Science is an independent publication and has not been authorised, sponsored or otherwise approved by CXC®. CSEC® is a registered trademark of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®).
  • Authors: Anne Tindale and Peter DeFreitas. Reviewer: Shaun deSouza. Publisher: Dr Elaine Higgleton. Commissioning editor: Tom Hardy Product developer: Natasha Paul Copy editor: Aidan Gill Proofreader: Mitch Fitton Illustrator: Ann Paganuzzi Production controller: Sarah Burke Typesetter: Ken Vail Graphic Design Ltd. Cover designers: Kevin Robbins and Gordon MacGilp Cover photo: Yurchanka Siarhei/Shutterstock
  • Shaun deSouza has 20 years’ experience teaching science subjects at CSEC® and CAPE® levels, producing excellent results. Assistant examiner for CSEC® Human and Social Biology and CAPE® Environmental Science

The pathway to success

  • This book has been written primarily as a revision course for students studying for the CSEC® Integrated Science examination.
  • Key words are highlighted in bold type and important definitions which should be learned are written in italics and highlighted in colour.
  • Annotated diagrams and tables have been used wherever possible and worked examples have been given where appropriate.
  • Questions to help test knowledge and understanding, and to provide practice for the actual examination, are included throughout the book.
  • Each chapter in this book covers a particular topic in the syllabus. Chapters 1 to 8 cover topics in Section A, The Organism and its Environment . Chapters 9 to 14 cover topics in Section B, The Home and Workplace. Chapters 15 to 19 cover topics in Section C, Earth’s Place in the Universe.
  • At the end of each chapter, or section within a chapter, you will find a selection of revision questions. At the end Chapters 8, 14 and 19 you will find a selection of exam-style questions. The answers to all these questions online at www.collins.co.uk/caribbeanschools.
  • The examination consists of two papers and your performance is evaluated using the following three profiles: Knowledge and comprehension, Use of knowledge, Experimental skills

Paper 01 (1¼ hours)

  • Paper 01 consists of 60 multiple choice questions. Each question is worth 1 mark. Four choices of answer are provided for each question of which one is correct.
  • Make sure you use a B or a 2B pencil when answering multiple choice items.

Paper 02 (2½ hours)

  • Paper 02 is divided into Sections A and B, and consists of six compulsory questions. Each question is divided into several parts and the answers are to be written in particular spaces provided in the answer booklet.
    • Section A consists of four compulsory structured questions whose parts require short answers, usually a word, a sentence or a short paragraph. Question 1 will be a practical/investigative type question which is worth 25 marks. Questions 2, 3 and 4 are each worth 15 marks.
    • Section B consists of two compulsory essay type questions, each worth 15 marks.
  • A total of 100 marks is available for Paper 02 and the time allowed is 150 minutes. You should allow about 35 minutes for Question 1 and about 20 minutes for each of the other questions.

Successful revision

  • Begin your revision early. You should start your revision at least two months before the examination and should plan a revision timetable to cover this period.
  • When you have a full day available for revision, consider the day as three sessions of about three to four hours each, morning, afternoon and evening. Study during two of these sessions only, do something non-academic and relaxing during the third.
  • Try to understand and learn one topic in each revision session, more if topics are short and fewer if topics are long.
  • Revise every topic in the syllabus. Do not pick and choose topics since all questions on your exam paper are compulsory.
  • Learn the topics in order. When you have learned all topics once, go back to the first topic and begin again. Try to cover each topic several times.
  • Revise in a quiet location without any form of distraction.
  • Obtain copies of past CSEC® Integrated Science examination papers and use them to practise answering exam-style questions, starting with the most recent papers.
  • You can use a variety of different methods to learn your work. Chose which ones work best for you
    • Read the topic several times, then close the book and try to write down the main points. Do not try to memorise your work word for word since work learned by heart is not usually understood, and questions test understanding as well as the ability to repeat facts.
    • Underline or highlight key points, and important definitions, examples and concepts.
    • Summarise the main points of each topic on flash cards and use these to help you study.
    • Draw simple diagrams with annotations, spider diagrams and flow charts to summarise topics in visual ways which are easy to learn. Practise labelling diagrams that you have been given. You may be asked to do this in your exam.
    • Use memory aids such as:
      • acronyms, e.g. Roy G Biv for the seven colours of the visible spectrum of light; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
      • mnemonics, e.g. ‘all zoos in Thailand contain snakes’ for the order of reactivity of the metals; aluminium, zinc, iron, tin, copper, silver.
      • associations between words, e.g. tricuspid - right (therefore the bicuspid valve must be on the left side of the heart), arteries - away (therefore veins must take blood towards the heart).
    • Test yourself using the questions throughout this book and others from past CSEC® examination papers.

Successful examination technique

  • Read the instructions at the start of each paper very carefully and do precisely what they require.
  • Read through the entire paper before you begin to answer any of the questions.
  • Read each question at least twice before beginning your answer to ensure you clearly understand what it asks.
  • Underline the important words in each question to help you answer precisely what the question is asking.
  • Reread the question when you are part way through your answer to check that you are answering what it asks.
  • Give precise and factual answers. You will not get marks for information which is ‘padded out’ or irrelevant. The number of marks awarded for each answer indicates how long and detailed it should be.
  • Restrict your answers to the lines or spaces provided in your answer booklet. Do not write in the margins because your scripts will be scanned and marked online and any work in the margins will be lost in the scanning process.
  • Use correct scientific terminology throughout your answers.
  • Give any numerical answer the appropriate unit using the proper abbreviation/symbol e.g. cm3, g, oC.
  • If a question asks you to give a specific number of points, use bullet points to make each separate point clear.
  • If you are asked to give similarities and differences, you must make it clear which points you are proposing as similarities and which points as differences. The same applies if you are asked to give advantages and disadvantages.
  • Watch the time as you work. Know the time available for each question and stick to it.
  • Check over your answers when you have completed all the questions.
  • Remain in the examination room until the end of the examination and recheck your answers again if you have time to ensure you have done your very best. Never leave the examination room early.