AS General Studies Paper 2 (The Scientific Domain)- 30% of AS Grade- 1 hour long- 60 marks available- Two sections

Section A (30 Marks)You will be provided with focused resource material which you will use to answer a series of short, structured questions.

Section B (30 Marks)You will be required to write at greater length on one of three topics.

We’re going to focus on Section A. So what can you expect?

The questions will be divided into ones that involve actual Maths, e.g.

- adding, subtracting , dividing and multiplying

- drawing, labeling and interpreting graphs and other forms of data

- analysing number sequences

…and ones that involve applying basic scientific, mathematical and logic concepts.

(6 Marks)

AO4 = quality of written communication

This again reiterates the importance of giving examples and supporting your points

(2 Marks)

(2 Marks)

(3 Marks)

(3 Marks)

This reiterates the importance of reading the question thoroughly

(2 Marks)

Again, this reiterates the importance of developing your points

(3 Marks)

(3 Marks)

So…top tips:

- Remember a calculator, preferably a scientific one.

- Don’t fear the Maths, most questions just require you to apply basic skills of addition, subtraction, division or multiplication. But if you do, practise! There are past papers on Moodle and loads more available on the OCR website.

- Remember it’s a mark a minute (as with the other paper) Don’t spend a huge amount of time trying to crack a problem that will only give you 3 marks.

- If you find the Maths difficult, focus on the questions that are more based on logical reasoning and Section B, which requires an essay-style response. There are examples of past Section B questions on the next slides and an example plan for one question.

Type of energy Disadvantages

Coastal Nuclear Power - History of disasters- Expensive to build - Pollution of marine environment

Renewable Energy - Produce comparatively little power- Sources tend to be in remote locations- Technology still developing

Coal Fired Power - Very costly - Create pollution, global warming- Fuel source is finite

Coastal Nuclear Power Stations bring with them a number of disadvantages. One of the most obvious is linked to the history of notable disasters. Perhaps the most well-known of these is the one that occurred in 1986 in Chernobyl, when over 50 people were killed, with many more later diagnosed with cancer. This is obviously a huge downside of coastal nuclear power as, although safety measures have been improved, there continues to be incidents across the world. Nuclear power stations are also extremely expensive to build. Britain is still recovering from an economic crisis and the budget is stretched by the on-going strain on the NHS and pressures from various other sectors. Nuclear power stations that cost billions of pounds are therefore not a good economic fit for a society that is still battling back from recession. Coastal power stations also run the risk of polluting the marine environment. Over-fishing has already had a hugely detrimental effect on British waters, meaning that fish stocks are at an all-time low. Additionally, global warming continues to have an on-going impact, threatening all types of marine creatures. As such, coastal nuclear power seems to be an unnecessary risk, potentially destroying environments that have already been significantly damaged by human negligence.

Read the example paragraph below. Note how the explain, exemplify, elaborate structure has been used to answer this question.