How To Take Notes For A Science Exam

Preparing for a science exam is not easy. It requires time and focus. Fortunately there are strategies for taking adequate notes that will help prepare students of any age to take and pass a science exam with flying colors.

1 – Find the Main Points of the Chapter(s)

Most of the questions that are going to be covered in a science exam are going to be related to the main points of the chapter or chapters being covered in the exam. Most textbooks outline the main points at the beginning of the chapter. You can use these outlines to focus your note taking.

2 – Define Important Terms

Definitions of important terms in a chapter are important to take note of. These definitions will not only help you to answer questions related directly to the meaning of terms, but they will also help you to understand concept questions and problems on the test. Important terms are usually bolded in a text and definitions are offered in the textbook’s glossary or side bar.

3 – Identify Formulas

In science, formulas are commonly used to study relationships between various things or concepts. Formulas will almost always be covered in an exam if they are discussed in a chapter. You will need to take notes on both the formula itself and the measurements and units of measure used for calculating the formulas. Make sure you understand conversions of units of measures that relate to the formula as well.

4 – Take Notes on Important People

Scientists that are mentioned in your textbook will also be covered in most exams. You will want to take notes on who the scientist was, what their main accomplishments were and what made their theories or models different from previous models or theories. Also remember to include important dates related to the scientist in your notes.

5 – Focus on Science Theories

If a science theory is introduced in a chapter it is important to take notes on. You will want to identify who developed the theory, how it was developed and what it is related to. You will also want to write down the actual theory and any related formulas.

6 – Common Questions

Common questions that relate to the concepts being studied need to also be answered in your notes. For example, if you are studying light wavelengths and their relationship to colors, then you will need to write down the explanation of why the sky is blue. In this case it is because of the way that red and blue light waves are scattered by the Earth’s atmosphere.

7 – Review Questions

One of the best resources for focusing your note taking is the review questions found at the end of each chapter. These questions will help you to identify the most important concepts and ideas in the chapter. Also many teachers create test questions from the review questions that are found in the textbook.

8 – Lecture Notes

If your teacher hands out lecture notes then you are very lucky. These notes can supplement the notes that you created based on the reading material you just covered. If your teacher does not hand out lecture notes then you will need to take your own. As your teacher presents a lecture take notes on important terms, concepts, formulas, people and anything that they write up on the board.

custom ringtones