A scenario question gives you a situation and asks for one specific thing. Read it in four steps: command word, given facts, relevant science, and where to stop.
This lesson closes emergency-response concepts. It uses the purpose frame from recognising the purpose of emergency-response procedures.
What are the four reading steps?
- Circle the command word: state, explain, suggest or compare.
- Underline the facts the scenario gives, such as a substance, a place or a time.
- Decide which science idea connects them.
- Write the number of points that the marks ask for, then stop.
Worked example: a gas smell in the lab
An invented scenario reads: “During a practical at 10:15, Aina notices a sharp smell near a bottle of ammonia solution that has been left open. The teacher asks everyone to move to the corridor and opens the windows. Explain why the windows are opened. [2 marks]”
Step 1. The command word is “explain”, and the marks are 2, so the answer needs a point and a reason.
Step 2. Given facts: a sharp smell, an open bottle of ammonia solution, windows opened.
Step 3. Ammonia gas escapes from the solution and spreads by diffusion. Fresh air dilutes it and carries it out.
Step 4. Answer: “Ammonia gas spreads through the room by diffusion. Opening the windows lets fresh air dilute the gas and move it out, so less of it is breathed in.”
The time 10:15 and the name Aina were context only and were not used.
The mistake that costs marks
The slip is to add facts the scenario does not give. A student writes, “The teacher probably called the fire brigade, and students with asthma used their inhalers.” None of this is in the scenario.
| Answer | Uses the scenario? | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Ammonia spreads by diffusion, fresh air dilutes it | Yes | Full marks |
| The teacher called the fire brigade | No | No marks |
| Windows are opened because it is a rule | Partly | One mark at most |
The fix is to highlight every noun in your answer and check it appears in the scenario or in the science.
Check yourself
A scenario says, “A small amount of dilute hydrochloric acid is spilled on the bench. The teacher places a notice over it and asks the class to stay away. Explain why the class is asked to stay away. [2 marks]”
Answer
“Hydrochloric acid can irritate skin and damage clothes. Staying away prevents anyone touching the spill before a trained person deals with it.”
Each sentence uses the scenario. The answer does not describe clean-up steps, because the question did not ask for them.
What to study next
Test the routine on new scenarios in the emergency-response practice set. Log any reading slips in the mistake log and paper-error review.
If you want a teacher to go through scenario questions with you, see online one-to-one Science tuition.