Stage 8 Science: The Tests and How to Prepare

British & IGCSE › Checkpoint 8 › Checkpoint 8 Science — Complete Course

Written by Mohamed Abdelkriem for students in British and international schools, and for their parents. Read this page first: it explains the tests you will meet, how they are marked, and how to use the rest of the course.

Which test, and when?

The Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint Science test has the code 0893 (the same code as the curriculum framework) and two papers, 0893/01 and 0893/02. It is set and marked by Cambridge. Very important for Stage 8 students: the Checkpoint test is taken at the end of Stage 9, and since May 2023 it assesses Stage 9 only. (The older tests with code 1113 belonged to the previous curriculum, so do not worry if you see old papers with that code.)

So why study Stage 8 in Checkpoint style? Because Stage 9 builds on Stage 8: you cannot understand Stage 9 respiration, atoms or forces without the Stage 8 ideas. And in Stage 8 your school is likely to give you end-of-year tests in the same style as Checkpoint. Cambridge makes Lower Secondary Progression Tests for Stages 7, 8 and 9. They are marked by your teachers in school, and schools can use them at any time in the year. This course prepares you for those Stage 8 tests and builds the base for Checkpoint at the end of Stage 9.

The two papers

Questions on each strand can appear on both papers: there is biology in Paper 1 and in Paper 2, and the same for chemistry, physics, and Earth and space. Thinking and Working Scientifically skills appear all through both papers — a question about blood may ask you to name a variable, read a graph or spot an anomalous result.

The front cover of a Checkpoint paper tells you to answer all questions, to write in the space provided, to use a black or dark blue pen (an HB pencil is allowed for diagrams and graphs), not to use correction fluid or an erasable pen, and to show all your working. The number of marks for each part is shown in square brackets, for example [2].

How to use your 45 minutes

50 marks in 45 minutes gives you about 54 seconds per mark (45 × 60 = 2700 seconds; 2700 ÷ 50 = 54). Use the marks as a clock: by about 18 minutes you should have answered roughly 20 marks' worth.

1. Read the stem (the information at the start of each question). Later parts often depend on it.
2. Look at the marks. [1] = one fact or one word. [2] = two separate points, or a point and a reason. [3] = three points, or a calculation with formula, working and unit.
3. Underline the command word: name, state, describe, explain, suggest, calculate, predict, compare.
4. Answer every part. A blank space can never score; a sensible answer often can.
5. If you are stuck, mark the question, move on, and come back at the end.
6. Keep the last 3–5 minutes to check units, the number of ticks, and that each [2] answer has two points.

Question styles you will meet

Real Cambridge Lower Secondary science papers use the styles below. Every lesson page in this course practises them.

Understanding the mark scheme

Mark schemes have four columns: Question, Answer, Marks, Further information. These signs and words tell the examiner what to accept. Knowing them helps you write answers that get every mark.

Three more helpful rules: a science word spelled the way it sounds is usually given the mark ("haemoglobbin" is clearly haemoglobin); grammar is not marked, only the science; and marking points are independent — you can get the second mark even if you miss the first. "Show your working" means write the formula and the numbers you used: if the final answer is wrong, the working can still earn marks.

Worked examples: how marks are given

Worked example 1 — a 1-mark naming question Question: Name the part of the blood that carries oxygen. [1]

Worked example 2 — a 2-mark explanation Question: Explain why the knee needs two muscles to bend and straighten the leg. [2]

1. Count the marks: [2] means two separate points.
2. Point 1: muscles can only pull (contract); they cannot push.
3. Point 2: so one muscle pulls to bend the leg and the other pulls to straighten it — they are an antagonistic pair.
4. Full answer: "Muscles can only pull, not push, so one muscle (the hamstring) contracts to bend the knee and the other (the quadriceps) contracts to straighten it."

Common mistake: "One muscle pushes and one pulls." This is wrong science and scores 0.

Worked example 3 — a calculation and error carried forward Question: A cyclist travels 600 m in 120 s. (a) Calculate the speed. Give the unit. [2] (b) How far does she travel in 300 s at the same speed? [1]

1. (a) speed = distance ÷ time = 600 ÷ 120 = 5 m/s. One mark for the working or the number, one mark for the unit.
2. (b) distance = speed × time = 5 × 300 = 1500 m.
3. Suppose a student wrote 600 ÷ 120 = 6 m/s in (a) — the number is wrong. In (b) they write 6 × 300 = 1800 m. They used their own (a) answer correctly, so with ecf they still get the mark in (b). Never leave (b) blank because you doubt (a).

Worked example 4 — or reverse argument (ora) Question: Zinc reacts with dilute acid but copper does not. What does this tell you about the reactivity of zinc and copper? [1]

• "Zinc is more reactive than copper." — 1 mark.
• "Copper is less reactive than zinc." — also 1 mark (ora: the same idea said the other way round).
• "Zinc is reactive." — 0 marks: there is no comparison.

How results are reported

For Checkpoint, Cambridge marks the papers and changes the raw marks into a Checkpoint score from 0 to 50, for the whole subject and for each strand: Thinking and Working Scientifically, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth and Space. Results for smaller parts (sub-strands) and for each question are given as raw marks. Each score falls in a band:

For the Stage 8 Progression Tests, your teacher marks the papers. Cambridge gives minimum indicative percentages for each band on the 2023/2024 science Progression Tests:

Thinking and Working Scientifically (TWS)

TWS is the skills strand. It is reported as a strand of its own, and it is mixed into almost every question. At Stage 8 it has four parts. The page Thinking and Working Scientifically teaches all of them in detail; here is the big picture with one example of each.

How to use this course

The course follows the curriculum strand by strand. Each lesson page teaches one or two objectives with diagrams, key words in Arabic, worked examples, common mistakes, exam tips and an interactive quiz with full solutions.

1. Read the In the curriculum box so you know exactly what you must be able to do.
2. Learn the key words (English + Arabic). Science marks are lost on vocabulary more than anything else.
3. Cover the answer to each worked example, try it yourself, then compare line by line.
4. Read Common mistakes and How Checkpoint asks this before the quiz.
5. Do the Practice quiz with no notes. Read every solution, even for questions you got right.
6. One week later, do the quiz again. Write the topics you got wrong in a notebook and revise them before the practice tests.

Practice

All pages in this course

Start here

• Stage 8 Science: The Tests and How to Prepare
• Thinking and Working Scientifically: Models, Investigations and Analysing Results

Biology

• Joints and Antagonistic Muscles
• Blood and Its Components
• Breathing, Gas Exchange and Diffusion in the Lungs
• A Balanced Diet, Energy Stores and Lifestyle
• Aerobic Respiration
• Ecosystems, Bioaccumulation and Invasive Species

Chemistry

• The Structure of the Atom
• Purity, Concentration and Chromatography
• Word Equations, Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions
• The Reactivity of Metals
• Impure Products and Solubility of Salts

Physics

• Speed and Distance–Time Graphs
• Balanced and Unbalanced Forces, and Moments
• Pressure, Particles and Diffusion
• Reflection and Refraction
• Dispersion and Colour
• Magnetic Fields and Electromagnets

Earth and space

• The Earth's Magnetic Field and Earth's Resources
• Climate, Weather and Climate Change
• Galaxies and Asteroids

Practice tests

• Stage 8 Science — Practice Test 1
• Stage 8 Science — Practice Test 2
• Stage 8 Science — Practice Test 3