Chemistry paper proves a perplexing mix

MANY questions on yesterday’s ordinary level Leaving Certificate chemistry paper were very difficult in the opinion of one teacher.

Pauline Nagle, Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) chemistry spokesperson, said some parts were very hard for average ordinary level students. She referred to examples of a photograph of a scientist who they were asked to identify and write about, but who she felt most students would not have recognised.

Elsewhere, Ms Nagle said, another tough question asked students to match scientists with descriptions of their work, although there were nice questions such as one about LPG gas.

She said students who had worked hard for the higher level paper could expect to do well on yesterday’s exam, even though some experiment questions needed a lot of detail.

Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) subject representative Camille King said the higher level chemistry exam was a comprehensive test of the course. She was very pleased with a topical question about drinking water quality, featuring a quote from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ms King said the ordinary level paper was well laid out and featured a number of helpful diagrams, as well as some multiple choice questions which students like.

Earlier yesterday, students of Leaving Certificate Spanish were tested and ASTI’s Máire Ní Chiarba said the higher level paper opened with an interesting journalistic text about single-sex and co-educational schools. She felt that questions on a passage about young people drinking alcohol on the streets were challenging, but that students were happy with the dialogue construction.

Ms Ní Chiarba said parts of the listening test for higher level students were difficult, although the questions for ordinary level candidates were appropriate to their standard.

She said the written ordinary level exam featured a challenging written passage about water safety but also included a nice diary entry in which students only had to use the present tense.

While the ordinary level Junior Certificate Spanish exam contained no major problems, Ms Ní Chiarba said there was a mixed reaction from students to the higher level paper. There was nothing unexpected in the listening test common to both levels, but the written higher level exam had two difficult passages about Valencia’s cultural science centre and a Madrid zoo, while some students might have had difficulty with a letter to a penpal in which they needed to know the Spanish word for a scarf.

Junior Certificate metalwork students already had most of their marks earned before yesterday afternoon’s written exams, which ASTI subject representative Phelim O’Doherty said were both well laid out and covered the entire syllabus.

TUI’s metalwork representative Joe O’Donnell found no difficulties either.