What It Is

Timed practice means answering exam-style questions under realistic time pressure. OCR Combined Science papers give you 1 hour 10 minutes each for 60 marks each. That works out to roughly one minute per mark. Practising under timed conditions builds the stamina and pacing you need to finish every paper.

How to Do It

1. 1
   Start with single questions — Pick a 6-mark question and give yourself 8 minutes. Use a timer.
2. 2
   Build up to half-papers — Do 30 minutes of questions from one paper. Mark them using the mark scheme.
3. 3
   Full past papers — In the final weeks, complete full papers under exam conditions. No notes, no phone, strict timing.
4. 4
   Review and learn — After each timed session, mark your work and identify areas where you lost marks. These become your next revision topics.
5. 5
   Track your progress — Record your scores. You should see improvement as you practise more papers.

Time Management Tips

• Spend roughly 1 minute per mark. A 6-mark question gets 6–8 minutes.
• If you’re stuck on a question, leave a gap and come back. Don’t let one question eat into time for others.
• Answer every question — even a guess can pick up 1 mark.
• For extended response questions, spend 1–2 minutes planning before writing.