Year 12 chemistry moves quickly, and much of it builds on what came before: atomic structure explains bonding, and bonding explains properties. Small habits started in the first few weeks make the later topics easier to learn.
1. Close the book and recall
Reading your notes again feels useful, but mostly it is recognising them. Instead, close the book and write down everything you can remember about a topic: definitions, equations and diagrams. Then check what you missed. Recall takes more effort than rereading, and that effort is what makes it stick.
2. Come back to it later
Go back to each topic a few days later, then again a week or two after that. Ten minutes on last week's topic before you start this week's is enough.
3. Do questions from the first week
Do not save exam-style questions for revision. Try some as soon as you have covered a topic. They show you how the topic is asked about, and what a full answer looks like. How to learn from a mark scheme explains how to get the most from marking them.
4. Learn definitions word for word
Some definitions, such as first ionisation energy or relative atomic mass, have key words that each carry a mark. Learn them exactly, then practise writing them from memory.
5. Say it in sentences
Labelling a diagram is not the same as explaining it. Practise explaining a topic out loud or on paper, in full sentences, as if to a friend who missed the lesson.
Rich's tip: Think in bullet points, write in sentences.
6. Keep a mistakes list
Each time you lose a mark, write one line: what went wrong and the correct point. It might be a missing unit, two terms mixed up or a step left out. Read the list before every test. Most people make the same few mistakes again and again, and the list helps you spot yours.
None of this needs extra hours. It is mostly about how you use the time you already spend on chemistry.