JUST PLAIN WRONG
Let’s start with the stuff that’s simply WRONG.
Q The products of photosynthesis are:
carbon dioxide and water (right according to Beeb!)
glucose and oxygen
light and dark
Initially Callum thought he had learnt this the wrong way round, but no, the Beeb clearly have no idea what the ‘products’ of photosynthesis are – right answer is ‘glucose and oxygen’.
OK, to err is human, we all make mistakes, but it doesn’t get much better in chemistry.
Q A liquid has a pH of 1 – what does this mean?
it must be sodium hydroxide solution
it is strongly acidic
it is weakly acidic (right according to Beeb!)
Wrong again, the right answer is that ‘it is strongly acidic’.
Q Which state is shown in this diagram?
Diagram shows particles all touching each other in a beaker.
solid
liquid (right according to Beeb!)
gas
Completely wrong, ‘solid’ should be the right answer. The particles are tightly packed and all touching each other.
Q Which ammeter will have the biggest reading
Series circuit showing: ammeter – bulb - bulb – ammeter.
ammeter 1
ammeter 2 (right according to Beeb!)
they will read the same
To quote the Beeb’s own words in the revision section, “It doesn't matter whether you connect the ammeter on the left or right of the lamp, it will still give the same reading".
Q The diagram shows the waveform of two notes played on a musical instrument.
Which sound is louder, A or B?
Two waves (A & B) are shown. A has a higher amplitude but same frequency as B.
A
B (right according to Beeb!)
WRONG – it is A.
TWO RIGHT ANSWERS
Then there’s the questions with two possible right answers.
Q What natural process breaks large rocks into smaller ones?
erosion
sedimentation
metamorphosis
crystallisation
weathering (right according to Beeb!)
Erosion involves movement, and often results in the breaking down of large rocks into smaller ones, e.g. in river beds, cliff erosion etc.
Q Which of the following is NOT an effect of burning fossil fuels?
global warming
ozone depletion
acid rain
smog
fog (right according to Beeb!)
Ozone depletion is also correct as the result of CFCs which are completely artificial (they did not exist in nature prior to synthesis by humans). They were used in air conditioning/cooling units, as aersol spray propellants prior to the 1980s, and in the cleaning processes of delicate electronic equipment. They are not the result of burning fossil fuels.
Q What needs to be done to this circuit so that the lamp lights up?
Series circuit shown open switch and a bulb.
close the switch
add another lamp
add a cell (right according to Beeb!)
Again the first answer is also correct, and as it appears first, many choose it before reading on.
SPELLING, CAPITALISATION and MISSING WORDS
Q Which part of the skelton protects the lungs? Skelton?
Q What is the main reason why need protein in our diet? Missing word.
Q influenza, flu, is caused by? No capital at start of sentence.
Q Which of the following is not a use of artificial satellites?? Double punctuation.
Q Click the diagram that shows correctly how light beams and is reflected by a convex mirror. Sentence doesn’t make sense.
STUPID OPTIONS
This one is annoying as it makes the already awful tests invalid by giving the learner stupid and obviously wrong options.
Q Which of the following is not a fossil fuel?
velociraptor (STUPID OPTION)
coal
oi
l
Q What is magma?
a chocolate ice cream (STUPID OPTION)
molten rock
bubbles of gas
Q What can happen to a plant growing in soil without minerals?
it grows really well
it grows poorly if at all
it leaves to find somewhere else to grow (STUPID OPTION)
Q What are the tiny air sacs in the lungs called?
ravioli (STUPID OPTION)
bronchioles
alveoli
Then there’s one that is so stupid you can’t get it wrong.
Q What does the hazard symbol mean?
Sign with word ‘CORROSIVE’ on it!
corrosive (IMPOSSIBLE TO GET WRONG)
irritant
harmful
TOO ADVANCED OR JUST CONFUSING
To give KS3 kids questions that are too advanced or plain confusing is another all-too-common fault. Then there’s the downright confusing.
Q Which of the following is not a way that we can reduce the use of fossil fuels?
leaving the TV on standby all night
walking instead of going in a car,
turning the lights off when we leave a room
This becomes an exercise in logic for the learner with its double negative in the question and, in option 3, a triple negative!
Q What does the heat energy supplied to an ice cube do when the ice is melting?
it warms it up
it makes the ice particles expand
it breaks some of the bonds in the ice *
The first option is arguably correct, it does warm it up, and as it is the first option, many go for it.
Q Which contains more heat energy,
100 grams of water at 0 degrees C
or
100 grams of ice at the same temperature?
Strange question – absolutely designed to confuse at this level. They claim the water but a curious learner may question whether water can be water at 0 degrees C.
Can it get any worse? Yes it does. This question is actually impossible to answer:
Q What is the value of the clockwise moment on the wooden bar in N/cm, if each coin
As half the question is missing, it is impossible! I kid you not.
I could go on, as there’s lots of other errors, but I’ve already shown that the content is full of wrong answers, confusing (at times impossible) questions and poor English.
The writers show a lack of basic science, as well as a lack of assessment design skills. Should these people be allowed near our children? You can go through the BBC learning content and find this slapdash approach in almost everything they do. Forget the idea that BBC=QUALITY. As a licence payer it makes me mildly annoyed, as an educator it makes me furious.
148 comments:
What's the argument for seawater not being a mixture? Surely its water and lots of different salts dissolved in it? And isn't vinegar acetic acid diluted with water (i.e. a mixture of water and acetic acid)?
Come on Paul. Is this stuff badly produced or not? Having a 'proper' job doesn't mean suspending all critical faculties. Note that I was also commenting like this when I had a 'proper' job. See you soon.
I'm 15 and i am about to do my mocks in january. I use BBC bitesize all the time because it has a GCSE section! I find it useful but i have found some errors. I won't go through them all now because i can't remember them all now but just to say that the Bitesize website is not very good at all and has many mistakes.
I am in the middle of my mock GCSEs now and am at a loss after revising from the BBC GCSE section, and finding little of the stuff I revised is actually of any use to me!
well i think that BBC bitesize is good, and quite helpfull. Obviously all fo the things on it are not going to be of any use to some , as there are different exam boards which cover different aspects. I did my GCSE with the help of BBC bitesize and recieved an A* IN Geography and a double AA for Biology, Chemistry and Physics. As well as an A in media, B for Language, A for english lit, C for maths, A* for art and art history, B for geology, C foprdesign tech and B for Geology. So, as you can see BBc bitesize is not all bad!!
You took 11 gcse's? You are meant to take 8, or maybe even 9, normal children take 8. You weird mate.
lol duuude that's crazy 11 GCSE's you mentioned geology twice and i don't know how you got your B for langugage because you can't spell either! Definately not a normal person... O.o
Yup your right he can't spell...HELPFULL??? (helpful) .......FOPRDESIGN (dont have a clue what thats supposed to say) I don't know how he got a B for language either pal....
dont be silly bitesize is ace!! i have my mock exams coming up in december and quite frankly i've learnt more from this website than in school and so far what im learning is correct so........whats your point?????
wow there
can't this get a little misleading (especially your blog title there)? you're just talking about ks3 bitesize and just because ks3 bitesize is as bad as you say it, doesnt mean all the bitesize sites are that 'damaging to a childs brain'. i find gcse revision bites quite useful and it does help. everybody in my school uses that site and they all get at least B's in their unit tests and so on. also ive used ks3 revison bites before and they seem okay.
lmao, people that are "special" and need extra help to get 5 A*-C may do 8 or 9 but most normal people should at leas take 11 with RE and ICT both 1/2 GCSE's btw im not overly intellegent but still managed to get all 11 A-C grades that doesent mean that I got 11 C's only got 4 C grades, the rest higher.
"i don't know how you got your B for langugage because you can't spell either!"
Neither can you mate. language not langugage
I got 8 As using bitesize, i think its up to every individaul how they choose to revise!!
I'm in Year 9, and I use Bitesize mainly for topic tests in Geography, Maths and Chemistry to go over various things such as mathematical methods. I'm an A* student but I refer to my textbooks for most tests. The CGP ones are fantastic. Only if I can't find the particular subject in my textbook, or it isn't explained very well, do I go online. Bitesize is good for going over the basics but I probably won't use it much next year.
As for the person who isn't "overly intellegent" and got 11 A-C grades, it's intelligent not intellegent, and I do hope that you didn't get an A in English - unless the examiner was either mentally unstable, intoxicated or drugged. Even a bribe couldn't case him to give you an A....or a B for that matter. For the person who got 8 A's, i hope that wasn't in English as you don't know how to spell individual.
I am in year 8 and find bitesize very use ful however it sucks for right answers because questions that i already know and are revising on bitesize are wrong
Is this true? cuz im going thru my mocks right now and im revising from bytesize. the only thing thats confusing me is the number of electrons outer shells of an atom can hold. is it 2,8,8...? or 2,8,16, like bytesize says?
(dont comment on my typos)
I'm sorry but I find that when using bitesize, these 'errors' that you speak of are non-existent.
Why?
Because I have been using bitesize revision for 4 years and my brothers use it.
In actual fact, one of my brothers is using the 11-14 bitesize revision now and he seems to get the answer right.
Therefore, I feel it is unreasonable to say that bbc bitesize may damage your child’s mind because if it did, bbc would have been sued by now or have changed it.
One more thing; we are all human.
I bet you know as well as I do that no one gets things right all the time.
Just remember; 3/4 of the countries schools use this website as most state schools use bitesize all the time
Noob
It seems like you need a dictionary to post comments on this blog. Bitesize is a great site and I regulary use it for revision.
why does everyone have an obsession with other peoples spelling errors ?? I use bitesize all the time and it's so much easier than text books.
ﻭﻞﻇﻔﻧﻩﻯﻴﻡﻒﻈﻼﻺﻬﻭﻬﻺﻩﻩﻩﻨﻖ
I think bbc biesize is really good to be honest, i took my mock sats recently and i got all sevens and my targets were sixes. For my revision i used this site and it helped me alot, yeah there may be a few mistakes on it, but from what i have been learning it has done me a favour seens as i did really well in my mocks and i am now using it for my real ones.
I find it difficult revising from books and quite boring and bbc bitesize is a break from that and also you dont have to do much writing at all becuase it is on the computer.
So all in all i think bbc bitesize is an extremely good website and great help with revision.
bitesize is silly!!!
deary me.
how sad
That really is appaling. I've found the gcse revison on bitesize to be quite helpful fortunatley. Perhaps we should have more people like you helping to write bitesize.
BBC bitesize is a bag of wank ive been using it since year 7 and im still only going into my gcses for d's and c's which is worse than i was when i started using bitesize.
from ripley dark hair, tanned, blu eyes,9 inch ;) boy seeking girl :P
Hey I posted a comment and it hasn't appeared that's soo unfair!
And my comment was way better than 'noob'! lol ;D
I'm about to take my SATS and I've been using bitesive. Your website has got me totaly confused! :o! I've noticed that some of the questions repeat them selves but nothing serious...hhmmmm...
*I hope I'm not mentaly damaged*
PS
im about to take my sats next week, yep bbc's pretty rubbish sam lernings better
I total agree i was just playing on a game and i got io 37:40 when te game just went off!! to get on the leader board i neede 38:00!!!
I think i may go and jump off a cliff somewhere.
I just wasted 37 minutes of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SOOOOOOO ANGRY!!!!!!
:0!! :#!!
hi there thanks for warning me about the site i was just about to go on it for revision. i didn't know what the website was called so i typed bitesize on google and this came up! i'm going to have to find another way to revise now!!!! x x x
Lol, you English people are so funny. I love it. I used Bitesize to revise for my prelims in November, we use numbers up here and I got all 1's in english, maths, german, RE, modern studies, computing studies and drama. That was using bitesize alone, so clearly the maker of bitesize is a rajing Scot who doesn't want English people to pass their exams:) Im sitting my Computing exam tomorrow so wish me luck =]
Oh i forgot Biology aswell..1 =]
The Standard Grade bitesize tests are wonderful, I don't know about the GCSE ones however. I'm 15 and I am currently using SG Geography Bitesize to help me revise. I'm saddened to hear that some of the site is of shoddy quality, as it's never failed me beforehand.
Good luck to anyone doing exams right now, and people in the comments; please stop bitching, it's the internet and people make typos; GET OVER IT.
how is writing this going to help anyone,
i have been using bitesize and i got an a+ in my gcse's.
i'm 13 and i think you should complain to the BBC. whats the point if you just post them onto your website? a few mistakesare okay but if they really bother you then complain to the BBC!
Beth
Complaining to the BBC doesn't work. I have and they never reply.
Q A liquid has a pH of 1 – what does this mean?
it must be sodium hydroxide solution
it is strongly acidic
it is weakly acidic (right according to Beeb!)
Wtf is that you stupid idiot, a pH of 1 is STRONGLY acidic you complete idiot. Your posting up crap that is putting wrong ideas into kids heads who are doing their GCSE's. Everyone just so you know this is all crap, i wouldnt listen to a word he says
Oh and as for the spelling errors, every exam paper in the world will have spelling and grammar error's if you look close enough, even official edexcel and cambridge exams, seriously get a life you loser and get your facts right, idiot.
:O OMGGGGG, i didn't know bbc bite size was bad 4 you, iv gt my sats 2mro! and its my only hope to get revision done!
Oh don't worry about your SATs- bbc bitesize is fine to use and i've never had any problems with it.
SATs don't befit you anyway- there just set by the goverment to look how well schools are doing and thats why the teachers get so stressed about them. Your GCSEs are the important ones cuz NO employer looks at your SATs results and you don't even get them back.
i think bbc bitesize is a really good way of revising and i have bought some revision books, but i find it a lot easier to revise off bbc bitesoze rather than these expensive books which dont actually help you at all.
your all mad
that is so neeky
this is stupid i have my science SAT's TOMORROW and i have been using this and shouting at the computor for them getting the questions wrong and i have them right!?! what is up with this?
NOT LNG LEFT TILL TOMORA!!!! ARGHHH, HW AM I GOING TO DO THIS! I HAV SCIENCE SATS FIRST THING IN THE MORNIN, I DNT KNO ANYTHING! HELPPPPPP!
sorry ur completly weird and who cares if a word is spelt wrong i did my science sats today and found it a breeeze thanks to bbc bitesize and bitesize have fixed it now. also erosion isnt natural and the answer to the thing is fog not ozone depletion u think u know it all dnt u dickhead
Sorry..... if Bitesize is so bad, why don't you make a better one? I've found Bitesize fine; if you don't like it for your child, then fine. But don't force your opinions onto everyone else.
(im the same anonymous at 9:58pm) WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! i done my SATs today (SCIENCE). THEY WER TOOOOOOOOOO EASY! and ukno wat...i didnt evn need bbc bitesize, bcuz anything i learnt off that didnt come up, all the questions where wat i alredy knew, off by heart! :D now thats off my mind im so much happier! BUT NW I GT MATHS TOMORA, AND IM NT VERY GOOD, SO IN NEED BBC BITESIZE, id lyk to kno weva its okay to learn maths off der! :O :O :O IM WORRIED ABOUT MATHS! I 4GET EVRYTHING! :| :(
i found sum mistakes lyk these on bitesize, a 8 year old could make betta answers thn these!!lol. i hav jst finished mi science SAT papers 2day and i found samlearning.com useful but when you read the question, dnt answer it rite away cos it givs u da answer further dwn da pge!! bt apart frm dat the practise SATs papers useful!!
Hi, I am currently in the middle of doing my sats and this morning i have completed my Science test's.I spent the whole of the previous night studing(on the bcc KS3 bitesize) and i got a lot of different answers to what my teacher has taught me, i thought my teacher had got it wrong so in the test i wrote the answer which i can remember from the website. Hopefully its paid off.
.......... A hard working KS3 Student.
..... CONTINUED!!!! Samlearning is really rubbish aswell i went onto the web site to try it out and it went on to a page about buying some test books i was like i don't want to but anything i just wanna revise if you know what i mean. I think if people/teachers or whoever think sats are important they should help us as students put more effort in studying and revising. On my first science paper i knew most of it but on my second i knew barely any of it. If everyone wants us to do better they need to do better by teaching us ways to revise and stuff thanks by the way for letting me express my feelings.........A hard working student.
You are a sad man donald.
Get over yourself.
your all pathetic.
I did my science SATs today, i did most my revision on bitesize & i didn't notice any of mistakes but now you've pointed them out i can cearly see that it did't help at all! I things i revised didnt even ome up on my test!!!! well... thanks anyway ! xxxx
it's not really that cool to write about this kinda stuff. And it's not funny so i don't have the foggiest idea why that dude calumn found those questions absoloutley frikkin HILARIOUS cos it's not even funny.
HEEZ LOUIZ
Ok bitsize is not perfect but their books, videos and yes, even their website have helped me to study well for my standard grades. It was partly thanks to them that my prelim marks were all the top grade. I have noticed a couple of mistakes in the Biology section but at the same time their moving diagrams and even their webtests proved useful in bringing what felt like a boring subject to life. My main criticisim of bitesize is that there is not more of it!
Ok bitsize is not perfect but their books, videos and yes, even their website have helped me to study well for my standard grades. It was partly thanks to them that my prelim marks were all the top grade. I have noticed a couple of mistakes in the Biology section but at the same time their moving diagrams and even their webtests proved useful in bringing what felt like a boring subject to life. My main criticisim of bitesize is that there is not more of it!
Hey, im the person hu wrote abou being scared abou maths y-day! and "hard wrking student" I TOTALY AGREE WITH U! y'day the first science test was better, and ABOUT TEACHERS(!) I REAALLLYYYY AGREE WITH DAT! today i dne my maths test and my maths teacher dnt kno how to teach, she didnt help us revise at all! and evn wen she did, she gave us the rng tier papers to practis, wen we wer doin 5-7 she gve us 3-6 CGP paks and evry1 in my set found it hard today, bcuz our teacher didnt push us to revise and we've been practising easia stuff! but my science teacher helpd us revise monthssssss b4 the SATs wher as maths teacher onli started helpin us revise last week! and in science i found it a whole lot easia cuz i had practis and i knew how to answer questions! U ARE SOOOO RIGHT! i think the same AND TEACHERS SHOULD TEACH BETA!
and by the way if u wna kno i realy REALY BADLY FAILED MATHS!
i got 92% in my maths test on friday
i got 92% for my maths
This is all rubbish , who even cares what DONALD Thinks,and dont even bother with Bitesize coz its pretty useless and unproductive anyway just revise school books and its piss easy. 3A*, 5A and two B's so forget BBC alright!
end of the day, youre all being really picky!
(excuse my grammar because im on msn)
but im not studying A-levels and i used BBC bitesize for ALL my revision and i got 2 A* 5A 1B, i found it really useful so it just depends on your style of learning.
But i do not think a 'TYPO' should make you think that the site is rubbish. Two question marks doesn't really matter because you still understand the question.
The fact that some questions have wrong answers has a good argument but look on the upside, if you notice it is wrong on the site, it shows that you are confident and properly prepared for that type of question on your exam.
Some of the people on here saying they got A* English etc. and they are not even using remotely correct grammar on here, please dont claim to have achieved something which you have not.
My younger brother is also sitting his GCSE's in a few days now and he has revised using bitesize, i have helped him, and so have our parents and his predicted grades are all passed except for spanish which heis on a 'B' for his coursework thanks to BBC bitesize.
Thank you BBC bitesize for your free help, even if it is not perfect. I think everyone should acknowledge and appreciate the help that we have been provided with.
Joe
^ ^ ^ Am studying A-levels at sheffield.
I think that you need to check your facts. I took some of the tests to see if you got your facts right and all of the questions that I tested were different to the answers that you said bitesize made out the answers to be. i think that this website is great and i used in for my ks3 revision and i got two level 7s and a level 8 in my SATs so it cant be that bad!!!
to be honest bitesize is not that good, I use it to study for my gcses and to be honest you're better learning from a website such as "learnpremium.co.uk
good revies ^^
wow - i used the bitesize for parts of my separate sciences grades - and i got A*.
but its Very wrong for the religious studies - i answered all the question right on their test bites, but it kept saying "Hard Luck - you said _____ and the right answer is ______"
Ok, BBC Bitesize isn't the best revision tool ever, but it's still pretty decent, as far as I can tell from the GCSE areas. Although test bites are a bag of shit, 'cos they just don't help at all. And you can't say Bitesize is good/bad because of the grades you got. That's just fuckin' retarded. Bitesize isn't really gonna change the grades you'll get dramatically, but the revision sections are pretty solid. Either way, if you pay attention, work a little and actually listen in class, then ANYONE ought to be able to get a B with no revision whatsoever. You'll only get C or less if
a) you are a serious dumbarse
b) you had an utter shite teacher
c) you didn't listen at all or do any work over the years
d) your class wasn't interesting in doing work and spent the entire time fucking around or trying to break down the teacher
GOOD GRIEF will you get a grip. I'm about to sit my GCSEs and I can tell you that most of Bitesize is good.... and ok there are some errors, but why do you feel the need to list all the errors you can find?... It is obvious that they really shouldn't matter if you are anyway capable of sitting the exams!
Well... i don't think bitesize is ALL bad, but i have found that they don't even inculde all the topics i'm studying for GCSE history! Also - i don't really think it's the best way to revise anyway, even if all the answers were correct etc.
That is bang out of order, yes they have mistakes and also most sites do. Yes it may not help with those kinds for questions but BBC bite size is an extremely good site and for somebody who uses bite size and is expected C's and B's and is achieving A*'s in most topics proves its not all bad, and I’m sure that if you made your own website it would definitely have plenty of mistakes, so if you cant do better don’t comment
Also those who comment on peoples spelling is actually the most petty and ridiculous thing some people do find spelling difficult to master you do no, and I’m sure not everybody is as perfect as you (think you) are. And not being able to spell on a computer properly has nothing to do with being able to spell because most people type fast and occasionally double press or press the wrong button, so what’s wrong with that... you can still read it cant you? If not I think you should be worrying about your reading problems rather than others spelling troubles
I'm 14 and I am in the middle of my Stardard Grade [Scottish equivialent of GCSE] and Intermediate 2 [the corse that you'd normaly do if you take up a subject that you didn't to for standard grade. when you are doing highers in other subjects, but in my school there's an odd mix of subject corses..] exams and when i was revising for my Prelims in Feb. and March, i didn't find BBC bitesize all that helpful, but it wasn't hopeless.
I use Bitesize Standard Grade Biology text books in school for homework and revision and the given answers are right [only the OCCASIONAL error]! I do not think it is terrible. It's website's questions are not challenging enough, i think, because they do not presnt them the way exam papers do [the papers are not exactly filled with 3 - 5 possible answers where you have to simply tick the box] but i am not saying it's hopeless.
And for who ever said they got As in art [practical drawing exam] because they used BiteSize, a website and a text book can't tell you how to draw.
Please do not comment on my typing skills, I know they are CARP [i say that, habbit from classroom envioments with a teacher walking roud the classroom] *it's a fish ^^* because i don't do ICT or any computer related subjects because i didn't choose them for my standard grades.
well, well, well isnt this an interesting little blog , firstly to the certified geniuses correcting everyones gramma and spelling ......GET OVER IT !AND GET OUT MORE ! Also i think bitesize has its ups and downs , im sitting my math gcse's a year early and using bitesize isnt really helping much at all , the explanations are over complicated , however when it ocmes to the sciences its great , ive found that everything is set out really well and its easy to understand . However i would say this to Donald Clark , yes i understand your anger at the site that is supposedly feeding your sons brain loads of shovelled up crap, but can more than half the countries schools be lying when they say that bitesize is a godsend? and is it really justifiable to say that bitesize is ruining you childs mind , because of a few mistakes which may not even be there anymore?
Im doing my CEA GCSE's at the minute (It's compulsory to do 11 in my school)in Northern Ireland. I agree that there are some really stupid mistakes in Bitesize but overall I find it really helpful!
bitesize may not be perfect. but how many people use it at ks3? i havent found anything wrong at gcse and find it a good break from books! some of the questions are a bit...you get what i mean!
STRESS! i did my GCSE's last year and got a C in English! i no my spelling isnt great at all so i was lucky, but recently i have sat a really easy exam to get onto a electrician apprenticeship. but i aced the maths but dramatically failed on my spelling and the ruit of the problem is the rubbish school i went too. because for 3 years 7,8 and 9 i had the same teacher who was neather their because he was ill apparrently i never learnt the bassics but i did get a C in my GCSE exam because i had a different teacher who new his job, but now im a 17 yr old who cant do the basics, so i luck real dumb! and cant get a propper job! i no i have gone way off topic but im pretty p*ssed about it. Thank you.
I think Bitesize has both it's pros and cons, but some of the posters above who claim Bitesize is the reason they 'achieved' C and D grades at GCSE are clearly unable to take responsibility for their own stupidity in lack of revising and keen to shift the blame for aforementioned stupidity on Bitesize. It is important to remember that the various textbooks, guides, websites and other revision material are for ASSISTANCE. Just staring aimlessly at a screen and believing by some miracle you will get an A* is idiotic!
Although, point taken, Bitesize has it's moments of sheer stupidity itself. For example it asked me in the Modern World History quiz if the Russians are berries during Stalin's regime. Boy, I'd better drop that fact into my exam essay for the A*...
I'm in the middle of my GCSEs at the moment. I'm taking 13 GCSEs and I've found Bitesize to be great! It's a HUGE help to my studies and without it I don't know how I'd compensate for the bad quality teaching of some of the staff at school. Although there are some errors in the website, there are a lot of pages, so the changes of typing errors are increased. If you feel so strongly about it you should set up your own site- see how hard it is for yourself.
It worries me that the majority of the people commenting on this post are talking about how they're doing their exams at the moment, and yet are seriously lacking basic literacy skills. I think the BBC's blatant mistakes are the least of our problems!
lol u got a bunch of kids laughing at typos, and i completely agree bitesize is not for the smartest, maybe if you are aiming at a 'D' or if you are lucky a 'C'. And an average kid takes 10 GCSE's, you people who took 8 are probably special needs.
bbc bitesize is good but the tests never change. it is better if you get revision books or get past SATS papers. this is better as it gives you more idea of what the tests going to be like. the best site ive been on is probably School wise its a good site and the tests change every month. This helps you more so your not revising the same thing over and over again.
Yes, BBC Bitesize has its mistakes, but some parts are good. I am 15 and I'm taking my 10 GCSEs (alongside an ECDL course) right now, and it would be silly to obtain your knowledge from BBC bitesize alone anyway. Its only good for topic tests and Languages.Plus, if you want to achieve a higher grade A or A*, use the textbooks and subject syllabus...its much easier.
Yes BBC Bitesize has its mistakes, but some parts are good. I am 15 and I'm taking my 10 GCSEs right now, and it would be silly to obtain your knowledge from BBC bitesize alone anyway. Its only good for topic tests and Languages. Use the textbooks and subject syllabus...its much easier.
(i have been trying to post the same comment for a while now, so if there are multiple versions of this...sorry in advance).
Yeah, you're so right. I go to a Private school and BBC bitesize GCSE is no where near the standard of work we do. Yes, it is admittedly fun to look at but they keep making mistakes, and I found that every time I solely relied on Bitesize for a test, I didn't do that great.
After reading your section on truly moronic answers, I checked through BBC Bitesize questions and here is one of the questions:
The Himalayas were formed on what kind of plate boundary?
a) Labour (Referencing the Labour party)
b) Constructive
c) Liberal (Also referencing another political party)
d) Destructive
e) Conservative (The source of that heinous punning joke)
Dear God people, stop snarking at each other! In the end, it doesn't matter how many GCSEs you do or whatever, just as long as you get the best grades YOU can possibly achieve, not your great Aunt Nora or whatever. If an A* is the best you can get aim for A*. If a C is the best you can get , aim for a C.
Sure, Bitesize DOES have some mistakes, but the GCSE section can be pretty good. Oh, and as for all you grammer Nazis, it's normal to make typos when you're using a keyboard, especially if you're typing quickly! Stop hyperventilating over a small spelling mistake! It isn't big or clever!
Oh, and for the record, I'm doing 11 GCSEs plus an ICT 1/2 GCSE. Since you all seem to think that's so important. ^__~
im in the middle of doing my gcses at the moment and have used bitesize as a revsion tool.
i must say i aint the smartest of people and most of my grades are c/d boarderline.
ive used the site to help me with key facts ect, but ive also used books and that aswell. i wudnt just relie on this to help me through them.
i agree with what people say its not really aimed at a/a* pupils but with just going on it every now and then its really helped
hmmm.. shouldn't they be getting all this info from a book?!?!?! they cant just write down something to the rest of the uk and say its right! some kids might be getting lowers grades than they should be which doesnt which makes them even more confused!
sorry Donnie boi but this is just plain weird! u shuld no half your stuff becus youve done it all ready!! i used the info for my history exam from what he had taught us in class and i aced my exam 100% nd did i use bbc whatever??
no.
I have just sat my mock GCSE's and for my revision I didn't use BBC bitesize once. My class was all given some revision guides about 3 weeks before the exam and these were much better than using bitesize. If you want to use them they are the Collins easy learning, GCSE higher science revision guides for OCR gateway B.
im doing my GCSE's and i think its really useful for science, although it doesnt explain maths very good, but i havent noticed many mistakes, so i think its useful and i wouldnt be getting an A* for science (yay!) without it- bitesize has probably changed the mistakes by now anyway so its still better than nothing (soz if i cant spell, im no good at english!)
Oh em gee!!! Bitesize is great!! You blatantly can’t only use bitesize to revise, but I find it’s a great help.
Tbh I haven’t really come across any errors when using it before.
And I doubt teaches would recommend it if it was going to 'damages our brains'
I’m doing my GCSE and I’ve used it and it’s been excellent.
And who the hell takes 6 GCSE's... your meant to do about 11 with English, maths, welsh, RE etc.
Also of course not every thing you revise of bitesize is going to come up. When you revise from your class note etc not all of it comes up. It would be one hell of an exam if it did.
I think you’ve taken it a bit far and if you don’t like bitesize you shouldn’t use it or allow your children to use it.
But the point is that it’s all a mater of opinion and you shouldn’t criticise bitesize when it seem to be helping so many children. I doubt that you could do any better. Make your own if you’re so distort about it.
Oh em gee!!! Bitesize is great!! You blatantly can’t only use bitesize to revise, but I find it’s a great help.
Tbh I haven’t really come across any errors when using it before.
And I doubt teaches would recommend it if it was going to 'damages our brains'
I’m doing my GCSE and I’ve used it and it’s been excellent.
And who the hell takes 6 GCSE's... your meant to do about 11 with English, maths, welsh, RE etc.
Also of course not every thing you revise of bitesize is going to come up. When you revise from your class note etc not all of it comes up. It would be one hell of an exam if it did.
I think you’ve taken it a bit far and if you don’t like bitesize you shouldn’t use it or allow your children to use it.
But the point is that it’s all a mater of opinion and you shouldn’t criticise bitesize when it seem to be helping so many children. I doubt that you could do any better. Make your own if you’re so distort about it.
oh em gee this is one hell of a website!!
I'm doing my Standard Grade prelims after the summer, and was told to begin my revision during the holidays. I'm a tad confused as to which books to buy for my revision, and would appreciate anyone willing to advise me as to which books I should buy.
As for the author of the blog....maybe you should give people links to good websites on which you can buy reliable books, as that would be more apriciated(?)
than all of your whinging and complaining.
I admit that I find the Chemistry Revision on the bitesize website, however, the page on business managment is a load of bull.
Ciao for now x
I am in year 8 and I have correctly answered all of the questions in every section-but only after many attampts to guess what they thought was the right answer. I can guarantee to you that all of is just as bad as the above.
im takin 11 GCSEs, english, spanish, english lit, spanish lit, home ec, art, history, maths, and SINGLE science which should give me 3 grades. my teachers always tell me to use BBC bitesize, but its just confusing. when i take the tests i know the right answers, even if it says they are wrong, but later, in the exams i sometimes doubt which IS the right answer.
i'm in yr 11,
um.. thank you 4 letting me know that bbc bitesize is not a reliable website. i was actually going to use it for my studies but now i'd rather use sam learning. i believe it is a better website.
Thank you for poining out all the mistakes. However, I still find Bitesize a very useful revision website - especially for Resistant Materials, Physics, Chemistry and Geography. I'm doing my year 11 mocks now and the website has really helped me. I think the warning "may damage your child's mind", is a rather drastic accusation to make! If you see your child making an error, you can correct them, apart from the fact that there really aren't that many mistakes in proportion to the amount of questions.
By the way, the people at the top of this page, (if you ever read this) should stop being so critical about the whole "B" in English discussion. It's quite immature really to make a whole fuss about a "typo" error.
hi, i'm doing 12 GCSEs, and that's what everyone at my school does. I have to agree that bitesize is not as good as the standard of my schoolwork, but it's still fun to browse through.
good luck for everyone who's doing exams this year!!!
yeah i'm in yr 10 and i found quite a few mistakes on bitesize!!! i hav decided not to use it now, and am gonna go by the plain method-using books!!!
Tutti
well actually i think its about what kind of learner you are?
I find bbc bite size pretty good for revision - I'm just not the kind of person who finds it easy to revise from the computer. ok - it has a couple of mistakes but people are highly unlikely to fail because of them! We are all human - give the bbc room to breathe! some of you are way too judgmental! take a chill pill!
Omg. I don't know if you are wrong in the head or if you just want to go hyping off about a kids revision site - or both! BBC Bitesize is extremely good for revising, and yeah, it might have maybe only A FEW mistakes but when I revise on it I actually understand the question then when it says some kind of impossible question that uses huge and unexplainable words. So just shut your fucking mouth. It certainly doesn't look big trying to make a revision site look bad. (Just because you analyzed the site for EVERY SINGLE MISTAKE.) I'm 13 and I think you are a very sad dickhead. ^^
If bbc Bitesize isn't good enough what other revision website do you expect us to use?
Please RSVP... I need to know...
By the way.. Thanks for picking out the mistakes of BBC Bitesize but I do agree with that person just before me...
Hi =) i am in Yr 9 and i find bitesize quite helpful for my S.A.T's revision. To be honest, i think a lot of people on this website are only posting to brag about their grades. Why are people criticising spelling mistakes for? It is easy to make a mistake while typing, so really what is the point?
By doing this website you are not helping me or anyone else. So if you are really that concerned about us getting good grades, then why not create your own revision website? At least some people try to help us where our teachers are failing.
Hey, I'm Elisabeth :)i'm a gal in y8 n use bitsize, and to be honest i think what you're doing is stupid. I went on bitesize just a second ago and tried the test about alkali, and you lied! There's no point of this website, just a waste of space. And come on it's not ggonna help you in life is it. How do you feel now, r u happy about da sit you created. Do yourself a favour and me and u and everyone else.
It's INSANE!!
DISSING OUT BITESIZE
Nonesense ;[
Hey, I'm Elisabeth :)I'm in y8 and use bitesize, and to be honest i think what you're doing is stupid. I went on bitesize just a second ago and tried the test about alkali, and you lied! There's no point of this website, just a waste of space. And come on it's not ggonna help you in life is it. How do you feel now, r u happy about da sit you created. Do yourself a favour and me and u and everyone else.
It's INSANE!!
DISSING OUT BITESIZE
Nonesense ;[
"You took 11 gcse's? You are meant to take 8, or maybe even 9, normal children take 8. You weird mate."
My brother took his GCSEs last year, and he got 13.5 (although DiDA is 4 GCSEs for 2 option blocks) and so did a couple of other people in his year.
Also, I am now in Year 9, choosing my options, and I will be able to achieve at least 11 GCSEs when I take them.
So I fail to understand how that is 'weird'...
Also, I use bitesize for some aspects of revision. One of the main errors I found was that some of the questions didn't appear on the Maths section, therefore making it impossible to answer correctly, except by a pure guess.
it is quite helpful but misleading at times :}
some of this stuff is a bit hard for me and i think it is unfair, but sadly its the only way that i can revise properly :) oh and get over the spelling stuff xx
While trying to cut through some of the moronic comments that have been left here, I as a science teacher have no hesitations in recommending that pupils studying Science at 11-14 SHOULD NOT use Bitesize. As Donald pointed out, it is full of errors, vague terminology and contradictions.
Ok so we understand that BBCbitesize has made some mistakes and donald has obviously took time out to try and warn young people and to try and help them so can we just credit him for that. He didnt have to do that, he didnt have to warn young people and try and help them get higher marks. If BBCbitesize wants to recognised for being a good, reliable site then it needs to shape up its act and get the website properly done or else hundreds of kids could lose valued marks for their exams. I am about to do my SAT's and i am using books and SAMLearning to help me and it is working,however i turned to BBCBitesize and found that it was really poorly laid out and a bit crappy compared to SAMLearning. Just all of you be thankfull that someone cares enough to warn you all. X
BBC bitesize is full of crap it should be reilable and right!!!!
If it isnt going to be then what s the point of having it there ???
Thankyou Donald you have made it clear that not all "reliable, Free " websites are all right.
If i was going to choose then it defintley would be SAMLearning.
Very easy to use and reliable. ]
Thankyou x x
Girl who said that donald a "Dock head"
Who the hell do you think you are???
Dont you ever say that to someone who is trying to help you!!!!!!!
You should have a lot more respect for a thriteen yyear old girl.
I would hate it if a 13 year old girl talked to me like that.
Bitesize is crap, face ti love, all he did was point that out.
So get a grip !!!!!
Thankyou donald.
who called him a dickhead OMG you are a little bitch and you deserve to get gobbed at love.
He is trying to help you and is that what he'll get in return??
Do you really think that you can say what ever you want cos you know that you wont meet him ??
Well if you did that to me god help ya love, cos i would have summat to say.
Back off ya pathetic little brat !!!!!!
OK ?
Thankyou for helping me.
It is very much appreciated!
X
cheers mate for pointing them out.
At least someone thinks it's important.
Cheers x
Cheers donald your a top bloke.
thanks for warning us on this ridiculous site that obviously needs sorting out.
Even though it is for revising and people are commenting saying that it doesnt matter on the spelling mistakes well it does, because a child is going to read and memorise that and it really does need to be as accurate as possile.
I would warn as many people as i can not to use BBc Bitesize because basically it is shockingly crap!!!!!!!!!
Thankyou x x x
Donald, it is most upsetting to see that you have failed to use the Oxford comma in your "About me" section. It would read better as "Finally have enough time to attend, read, listen, watch, and comment on anything I want to." Now please stop criticising other people. Some of your so-called correct answers are wrong, so you are not as clever as you think you are.
The Oxford comma is an affectation, loved only by pedants. get off your Lynn Truss high horse and say something sensible (and not anonymously).
Oh dear, you're all getting rather heated aren't you? Surely, as educators you should be setting a good example to the younger members of this forum and not trading veiled insults?
The main notion you all should be concentrating on is that good revision (the kind that gets you the A*s) requires a plethora of various techniques, including internet resources, however, as with all secondary literature, there will be errors and inaccuracies. Good practice requires you to use the information that your teachers give you, along with revision guides and Bitesize. Grades never fall into anyone's lap, no matter what anyone might say... Hard work and sacrifice will always pay off in the end.
Your friendly neighbourhood Science teacher.
I am also a student under going mounds of pressure to do well, i thought i couldn't get anymore confused, this seriously doesn't help when i am at the end of my holiday, what the hell are people in my position supposed to think now? is this holiday wasted or is it worth risking low grades because of either BBC Bitesize being wrong or Mr Donald Clark...Gosh, it's infuriating!!!
Don't worry. Most of BBC Bitesize is fine. I was merely pointing out some obvious errors. These are statistically small. You sound as though you'll do well.
By The Way If You Look On The Bitesize Tests, Some Of The Mistakes You Have Shown Are Not Real.
A Few Examples:
Q The products of photosynthesis are:
carbon dioxide and water (right according to Beeb!)
glucose and oxygen
light and dark
BBC Actually Gives You The Mark For Glucose + Oxygen! It's Correct!
Q A liquid has a pH of 1 – what does this mean?
it must be sodium hydroxide solution
it is strongly acidic
it is weakly acidic (right according to Beeb!)
BBC Says The Correct Answer Is Strongly Acidic. Again, BBC Is Right!
Q Which part of the skelton protects the lungs? Skelton?
If You Look On BBC, They Spell Skeleton Correctly!
I Agree That There Are Some Stupid Options But Most Of The Mistakes You Have Pointed Out Do Not Actually Exist!
Hi,
I'm 16 years old and few weeks from my standard grade finals. (The Scottish equivelant of GCSE's.)
I use Bitesize to revise, have not come across more than 5 mistakes (like in total - ever!) although I do think it's not very advanced and the tests could be harder. I'd also like it if they covered other subjects too - for me, namely music!
However "Will damage your childs' mind!"? COME ON!!! Stop being so melodramatic, if it were that bad then people would have stopped using it by now! Get a grip, Donald!
Bitesize got me the top results in my school in my SATs. Yeah, maybe some mistakes have been made but it still is a really good website. Hopefully Bitesize will allow me to get the A*'s that I have been predicted for GCSE! :)
hi hhihhihihiiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiihhihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihhi i hate bitesize i woz revisin spanish and i clicked on i am bad at spanish it gave me a level stuff i not even in y9 yet!!
you should all stop the bitchin about bitesize. what it basically comes down to is that its a FREE site. you get what you pay for, simple as that. you want a site without errors then sign up for a site like samlearning.com
What a load of bull! I used bitesize to rivise for my mock exams and I did well. It's great
omg get over it its just a website if you dont like dont go on and i think you put alot of time in to a stupid comment whats wrong with people these days you find a fault with everything
I for one don't see what's wrong with Bitesize.
It is a free website, if you want perfect accuracy and punctuation then buy a Leckie and Leckie book for £7.99.
I for one can put up with having two question marks at the end of a sentence or failure to capitalise the start of a sentence.
I'm studying for my highers and though there are a few mistakes I don't think it's worth writing an entire article about.
Good to see you've found something interesting to do though.
i've just been on bitesize and revised the sine and cosine rule. Is it me or where they talking so much bull? The calculations for some of the examples where incorrect. I mean waht the fuck! (Excuse me for my Language, but i need to swear to empathise my disgust) The bbc must know about this but don't seem to give two fucks about the kids of the future. Haterz. Were gonna cure HIV, destroy poverty and share wealth equaally. lol. we will.
bitesize is rubbish!!! I use samlearning
and normal people do 11 gcses: english lit, english lang, maths, physics, biology, chemistry, Religious education, and 4 options
so don't comment on stuff you don't know about
Hi, i use bitesize revision website nearly everyday after school. i think at first it was really good and useful but now it is a waste of space. All the science, english and maths tests, i know pretty much all the answers to them. It is so easy!
I think once every week of something they should have diffrent questions in the test, because with my sats coming up in less then a week i am revising all the same stuff!
Help .. i need to find other good revision websites except from bitesize! Its so useless and boring! AHHH! x
ouch, everyone seems to be taking this a bit too far!
big deal, there are mistakes on a website - i know, shocking i mean wow thats a first, its not like any other websites make mistakes!
Dont belive everything you hear! Somethings arent true
get over it!
At the moment im using bitesize GCSE revision for my end of year exams (my school is ahead of others) and im happy to use it! Mabye you were just looking for problems that werent there or you were just bored. But this site really isnt going to help anyone who is using the bc site, al its going to do is confuse them and waste thier revision time looking for other equally bad sites!
(p.s. i forgot to ay im 13)
Whomever typed the comment above is clearly moronic. I have taken the time to highlight the mistakes in an attempt to educate you. ( An almost impossible task I'm sure). The mistakes are listed below:
- ouch (words at the start of a sentence should begin with a capital letter- primary school work.)
-Dont (don't is a contracted word, specifically derived from "do not", again primary school work.)
-arent (aren't is a contracted word, specifically derived from "are not", can you guess? PRIMARY WORK).
-im (I'm should have a capital letter as it describes oneself, also it is derived from "I am").
P.M!
-werent ( weren't is a contracted word derived from "were not", amazingly this is Primary work).
There were many other mistakes that I acknowledged, however, I feel you'll be unable to comprehend and fully utilise the educational criticism I am giving you.
P.S.
Perhaps you could look over some reception work, to increase you're basic knowledge.
As a graduate of the University of Foot-in-mouth-observation, allow me to follow up that previous post:
"Whomever" - This is not a word. Perhaps you mean 'whomsoever'.
"An almost impossible task I'm sure" - ...but not almost impossible to use a comma to separate your clauses.
"aren't is a contracted word, specifically derived from "are not", can you guess" - Primary school punctuation would normally dictate a comma there.
"I'm should have a capital letter as it describes oneself" - that would be "one's self", would it?
"...it describes oneself, also it is..." - you'll be wanting a semi-colon, there.
"...from "were not", amazingly this is..." - ditto.
"...many other mistakes that I acknowledged, however..." - ditto
"...to increase you're basic knowledge." - A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I can recommend a good oral shoe-remover if YOU'RE in need of one.
I haven't checked through all the comments so it's likely that someone has already said this. The blog was written in 2006: in the time between when the complaints were made and now, alterations could well have been made. I know at a number of points there were mix-ups with html or the selection of the right answer. Recently, however, they have revamped the whole site and most likely fixed most of the glaring errors.
Bitesize is pretty good for checking up on basic knowledge and doing quick revision. Textbooks specific to your exam board will obviously be more helpful.
Good luck.
BluuDDzz... hedz left bree commentz on dis s*** ting [ent gna use propa language cuz of yung readazz!!]
I ddnt read evryting buh wen i waz scrollin dwn i saw bree commentz...
Cnt blieve evrywunz dis bovvad!!!
Nd as foh dis bitesize debate, evrywun has an opinion, sum pplz lyk bitesize sum pplz dnt, wah can ya do!
Nd b4 yuu all say bout y am i readin dis ting if iss so s***; iss foh ma ict crswrk nd reviewin a multimedia ting iss part of it...
Newayz keep postin nd stuff,take cre, laterz! =D
Hows this:
Which is likely to have the most thermal energy?
a) A red hot horse shoe
b) A firework spark
c) An ice cube (!!!!!)
YOU GUYS SERIOUSLY JUST CHILL FOR GOD'S SAKE.
THERE'S TONS OF OTHER SITES YOU CAN USE FOR YOUR STUDIES JUST STOP COMPLAINING LIFE'S TOO SHORT AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR SHIT.
GOOD LUCK
haaaaaaaaaaaa. The people commenting crap on here are total idiots. Bitesize is completely shit and the ridiculous multi choice options don't help with exam technique whatsoever :L And spelling is important. It's not typos being pointed out you freaks, it's genuine spelling mistakes. This blog is fabulous and I wholeheartedly agree. Anyway, I'm just going to go an take my Textiles GCSE (I'm not a retard, I just like Textiles) :)
I just stumbled across an absolute blinder in the 'Energy changes and Reversible reactions' test section.
in the revision section it tells you that if a reversible reaction is exothermic one way, it is endothermic the other way, and vice versa.
then in the test you are asked;
'7. If a certain reversible reaction is endothermic in the forward direction:'
to which the correct answer is 'it will be exothermic in the reverse direction', however bitesize says it is 'it will be endothermic in the reverse direction', despite providing the correct information in the revision section.
And to think ive been using bitesize in blind faith for so long :\
on the bitesize website for the additional science ocr 21st century they have completely missed out the P6 bit as in the CGP revision guide its called the wave model of radiation but on bitesize its radioactive materials and the work i have been doing at school has all the stuff in the revision guide i got but the physics bit on bitesize has nothing to do with what i have learnt mabye i have been taught wrong and the revision guides wrong or the bitesize bit for physics in ocr 21st century is completely wrong ?
Nothing is perfect! I'm really thankful for having such a brilliant website like BBC Bitesize to revise and learn, anyway!
I read the first part of this blog and I checked the website and the questions that you have got from the test, some of the questions you thought you knew the answers to, were wrong, for example, the image you talked about at the beginning of your blog shows particles that are close together but have gaps between and are not packed tightly together so this clearly shows that it is a liquid and not a solid. Also, I think that BBC Bitesize is good for homework help as it contains all the topics that are studied in most school curriculum's.
The blog post was writen 7 years ago - they changed lots, in response to this blog!
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