How to Read Chemistry Exam Command Words

Marks are lost far more often to the wrong kind of answer than to the wrong Chemistry.

'State' expects a short factual response with no justification. 'Explain' requires cause and effect. 'Suggest' signals an unfamiliar context where you apply known principles to something you have not seen.

Match the number of distinct points in your answer to the number of marks, and check that each point is chemically distinct rather than a rephrasing of the previous one.