The AS Level Marine Science exam assesses students’ 1) knowledge and understanding of topics in water, earth processes, interactions in marine ecosystems, classification and biodiversity, and examples of marine ecosystems, 2) handling and applying information in familiar and unfamiliar contexts in words or other forms of presentation, and 3) experimental skills and investigations. Paper 1 is assessing theory and composed of both structured (non-multiple choice) and free-response questions over 1 hour and 45 minutes. Paper 2 is assessing data-handling and investigative skills and composed of structured questions answered over 1 hour and 45 minutes.
The A Level Marine Science exam requires two additional components. In addition to the materials covered at the AS Level, students also study the physiology of marine organisms, energy, fisheries for the future, and human impacts on marine ecosystems. Paper 3 is composed of structured and free-response questions over 1 hour and 45 minutes, while Paper 4 requires structured and extended response questions over 1 hour and 45 minutes. Marks from Papers 1 and 2 from the AS Level are carried forward and combined with Papers 3 and 4 to comprise the complete assessment at the A Level.
The exam covers three assessment objectives, requiring students to 1) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific phenomena, facts, definitions, concepts and theories, scientific vocabulary, terminology and conventions (including symbols, quantities and units), scientific and technological applications, with their social, economic, ethical and environmental implications; 2) apply knowledge in familiar and unfamiliar contexts in words or using other forms of presentation (e.g. drawings, symbols, graphical and numerical) to locate, select, organise and communicate relevant information from a variety of sources, manipulate numerical, graphical and other data, analyse and interpret observations and data to identify patterns, report trends and reach conclusions and give reasoned explanations for phenomena, patterns and relationships; and 3) make estimates, predictions and propose hypotheses from given scenarios, information or data, describe how to ethically and safely use techniques, apparatus and materials in an investigative context, plan experiments and investigations, present and display data and observations in suitable formats, and evaluate given experimental methods and the quality of data and suggest possible improvements.