Paper 3: The School-Based Assessment (031) and the Alternative (032)
How Paper 03 works: the SBA skills and their marks, the eight required practicals, the investigation, and the alternative Paper 032 for private candidates.
Papers 1, 2 and 3Paper 031Paper 032≈ 35 min
Before you start
By the end of this lesson you can…
describe how the SBA is assessed and weighted
list the four SBA skills and the eight required practicals
describe the investigation (plan and design, and analysis and interpretation)
5 narrated scenes. Press play, listen and read along — the points appear as they are explained. Use ‹ Prev / Next › or the scene bar to jump to any scene.
LESSON X3 · EXPLAINER
Paper 3: The School-Based Assessment (031) and the Alternative (032)
One fifth of your CSEC Chemistry grade comes from practical work. The skills are learned, not memorised, so start early and keep your lab book in order.
Narration uses your device’s built-in voice. No sound? Switch to “Captions only” — the captions advance on their own.
Step 2 · Read
Key notes
Copy these into your notebook in your own words — that is how they stick.
Paper 03/1
SBA marked by the teacher and moderated by CXC; 130 raw → 40; 20%.
Paper 03/2
Paper 032 for private candidates: 40 marks, 2 h 10 min.
Skills
MM 30, ORR 30, PD 30, AI 40.
Practicals
Eight required topics; at least 16 practicals in two years; each skill assessed at least 3 times.
Investigation
Proposal (PD) and implementation (AI).
Lab book
Neat, dated, complete entries.
Paper 032 profiles
Experimental Skills 30; Use of Knowledge 10.
Weighting
Paper 3 is 20% of the grade.
EXAM TIPS & COMMON MISTAKES
Keep your lab book neat, dated and complete: it is moderated.
Record observations at the time, not afterwards.
Learn the safety rules for acids, alkalis and heating.
Private candidates: practise full written practicals under timed conditions.
Step 3 · Practise
Paper 1 practice — multiple choice
8 items modelled on real CSEC Paper 1 questions. Choose one answer for each, then check. Aim for 80% or better. Work each item on paper first.
Step 4 · Apply
Mock paper — self-marked
Write full answers, then reveal the mark scheme and tick the points you earned (11 marks in total). Show all your working — method marks count. Your answers are saved on this device.
Practice · Planning your SBA
Question 1 [11 marks]
A student is planning her practical work for the two years.
(a) (a) Name the four skills assessed in the SBA. [4]
MARK SCHEME — (a) (max 4)
(b) (b) State the number of required practicals and give two examples. [3]
MARK SCHEME — (b) (max 3)
(c) (c) Explain why it is important to record observations at the time of the practical. [2]
MARK SCHEME — (c) (max 2)
(d) (d) State two differences between Paper 031 and Paper 032. [2]
MARK SCHEME — (d) (max 2)
Your progress
Lesson readiness
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Sources
Syllabus sources and past papers
Everything in this lesson is based on these parts of the CXC syllabus and papers.
CSEC Chemistry syllabus (CXC 21/G/SYLL 13): Guidelines for the School-Based Assessment — SBA skills (MM 30, ORR 30, PD 30, AI 40; total 130 weighted to 40) and Paper 032
Syllabus: the eight required practical topics (see L1); sixteen practicals minimum over two years
Next: X4 technique, then X5 and X6 practice papers