GCSE pupils 'devastated' after AQA Chemistry paper was 'basically Maths'

GCSE pupils up and down the country have shared their despair after sitting the first AQA Chemistry exam of the summer 2023 exam season. The hour and 45-minute exam took place this morning (Monday, May 22).

A torrent of unhappy students took to social media to express their displeasure and sadness over the tough exam, claiming the paper was 'mostly maths'. Pupils shared their thoughts and a selection of memes on Twitter, complaining about their ordeal.

One person jokingly wrote: “Whoever made the chemistry paper 1 foundation paper sleep with one eye open.”

READ MORE: Are you smarter than a 16-year-old? The ridiculously hard GCSE questions that leave parents stumped

Another said: “IT WAS MOSTLY ALL MATHS AND I WAS DOING GOOD BUT THEN QUESTION 5 AND 6 PULL UP AND I F****** LOSE IT.”

A third commented, “Me when I opened the chemistry paper and IT WAS ALL MATHS #gcse2023,” while a fourth wrote, “Me to AQA after making half of the chemistry paper maths related #aqa #gcse2023 #gcse #chemistry”.

Another addressed their potential examiner directly, writing: “Wrote the examiner a full message on the chemistry 6 marker maths question explaining that I knew the method but couldn’t figure out how u actually do the molar ratio part, then apologised for breaking the 4th wall and asked if i would be able to get marks for it #gcses2023.”

A sixth said: "Me when that chem paper started to seem like a maths paper and kept asking me to work out the masses #gcsememes2023 #gcse #aqa #GCSEChemistry #gcse2023."

Another wrote: "How AQA feels after making all the combined science papers maths papers #gcse #gcse2023 #chemistrygcse #chemistry #aqa #aqasucksd***."

Others said they were super pleased with the paper, one person wrote: 'I love AQA, that was the easiest chemistry exam ever." Another added: "Higher chemistry AQA was beautiful."

The AQA Chemistry Paper 1 included topics one to five of the GCSE syllabus, featuring Atomic structure and the periodic table; Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter; Quantitative chemistry, Chemical changes; and Energy changes. Paper 2 is scheduled to be sat on Tuesday, June 13.

This will feature topics six to ten, including the rate and extent of chemical change; Organic chemistry; Chemical analysis, Chemistry of the atmosphere; and Using resources.

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