Six-mark questions
Six-mark questions will only appear in the Depth paper. There will be two six-mark questions in the Depth paper.
Six-mark questions are extended free-response questions, requiring the longest answers. It is wise to plan your answer rather than rushing straight into it. Without a plan it is easy to stray away from the key point and lose marks, get steps in a process in the wrong order or forget key bits of information.
To gain six marks, you will need to:
- use appropriate scientific words and terms
- write your answer in full sentences, not bullet points
- write clearly, linking ideas in a logical way
- maintain a sustained line of reasoning, rather than a random list of statements and sentences
- support explanations using scientific knowledge and understanding
Six-mark questions are marked using a levels-based mark scheme. An answer that is not clear and logically sequenced, and which does not give a coherent argument supported by evidence, will be limited to the lower levels. Similarly, if the question asks you to discuss both sides of an argument, or explain two observations, you will be limited to the lowest level if your answer only considers one of them (no matter how brilliantly written or comprehensively explained that one is).
Writing six-mark answers with Dr Alex Lathbridge
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How to write six-mark answers in your science GCSE exams.
Sample question 1 - Higher
Question
Describe the main features of our Solar System and explain how it evolved from a cloud of dust and gas to its present state. [6 marks]
OCR 21st Century Science, GCE Physics, Paper J259, 2016 - Higher.
Our Solar System contains the Sun, which is a star in the centre of it [1]. In our Solar System, there are eight planets orbiting the sun and some dwarf planets, asteroids and comets. Some planets, like our own, have moons orbiting them [1]. Gravity was key in creating both the Sun and the planets. Both the Sun and planets started as a cloud of gas and dust [1]. Gravity brought these together, and the collapse of dust and gas, due to gravity, formed planets [1]. In the case of stars, the pressure and temperature increased and the atoms were pulled close enough together and got hot enough for the nuclei to join in fusion. This fusion reaction releases energy [1]. The Sun's gravitational pull holds the planets in continued orbit [1].
To get into the five- to six-mark band for this question there needs to be a well-developed line of reasoning and you answer needs to be clear and logically structured. A good idea is to plan your response before writing it. Write down what you know about the Solar System and the part gravity played in its formation then plan the best order for your answer. When writing your answer, write in clear concise language and full sentences.
Sample question 2 - Foundation
Question
In the 1920s, astronomer Edwin Hubble made observations of light coming from many galaxies.
Hubble's observations made other scientists accept a new theory about how the Universe began.
Describe what galaxies are, and how Hubble's observations of red-shift led to the idea of an expanding Universe. [6 marks]
OCR 21st Century Science, GCE Physics, Paper J259, 2016.
A galaxy is a collection of a vast number of stars held together by gravity [1]. Hubble's observation was that the light from these galaxies was shifted towards the red end of the spectrum [1]. This meant that they were moving away [1]. He noted that the further away the galaxies were, the greater the red-shift [1], meaning that these galaxies were moving away faster than nearer galaxies [1]. He concluded that if all the galaxies are moving away from each other, they must have started at the same place at one particular time and they have been moving [1].
When answering this question there are three steps. Firstly you need to explain what galaxies are, then explain Hubble's observations of red-shift, and lastly link this back to how it is evidence for the Big Bang theory.