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PE exam technique and data skills

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Lesson notes

Command words

  • Read the exact command alongside scenario, scope and mark allocation. State expresses a brief clear fact; describe sets out relevant features; explain gives reasons; analyse examines components and relationships; compare gives relevant similarities and/or differences; justify supports a choice; evaluate judges from evidence. Board wording may differ slightly.
  • The same command can appear at different mark allocations, so it does not set a fixed paragraph count or guarantee marks for a repeated phrase. Answer the requested number of points and use the supplied context or data. Discuss and evaluate can overlap but should follow the board’s definition and question rather than being assumed identical in every case.

Match the response to the command

Match the response to the commandCommandWhat the answer doesState /describeBrief fact / relevant featuresExplain /analyseReasons / components and relationshipsCompareDirect relevant similarities ordifferencesJustifySupport a choice with reasons/evidenceEvaluateJudge from evidence and limitations

Applying to practical examples

  • Application means explaining how a concept operates in the specific performer, action or situation. A sport name alone does not create a link. For example, explain why a rapid force-producing action uses fast-twitch properties while recognising that several fibre types and other factors still contribute.
  • Use only examples relevant to the question; a pure definition may not need a named sport. Avoid a rehearsed answer that ignores the scenario or a broad label that assigns every movement in a sport to one energy system, plane or muscle action.

Turn a concept into an applied link

Turn a concept into an applied linkPartPurposeAction orperformerUse the actual named contextConceptState the relevant accurate ideaLinkExplain the effect in thissituationLimitAvoid an exclusive whole-sportclaim

Six-mark answers

  • Plan an extended response from the command, context and available marks. A point-example-explanation sequence can help organise reasoning but is not a universal six-mark formula. Develop the relevant relationship or argument and use evidence where asked instead of listing disconnected facts.
  • Compare with direct paired points and evaluate with a supported judgement that follows from the evidence and limitations. Balanced reasoning does not require identical space for every view. Assessment formats and mark schemes vary by board, so the task’s requirements guide the structure.

Extended answers need relevant development

Extended answers need relevant developmentTaskUseful approachExplainDevelop a valid reason and effectComparePair the two sides directlyEvaluateUse evidence, limits and a judgementSix marksNo universal paragraph formula

Data skills

  • Cardiac output equals heart rate times stroke volume: 60 beats/min times 100 mL/beat is 6,000 mL/min, or 6 L/min. BMI is mass in kg divided by squared height in m: fictional adult values 60 kg and 1.5 m give 60 divided by 2.25, about 26.7 kg/m². BMI is not a direct fat or muscle measure, and adult categories must not classify children. No self-measurement or health judgement is required.
  • When supplied, 220 minus age is a rough maximum-heart-rate prediction; it is not a measurement or individual training instruction. Given maximum 200, a stated 60–80% band calculates as 120–160 beats/min. The boundaries are simplified bands, not exclusive energy-system switches. Show formula, substitution, units and appropriate rounding.

Formula and unit checks

Formula and unit checksQuantityCalculation relationshipCardiac outputHR × SV; mL/min or L/minBMIMass kg divided by height msquaredPredicted maximum HR220 minus age, when suppliedPercentage of a givenvalueDecimal percentage × statedvalue

Interpreting graphs

  • Read the variables, units, key and scale before quoting values, peaks or trends. Compare like quantities and notice truncated axes or uneven spacing. The fictional recovery observations decrease from 150 to 90 beats/min over four minutes, a fall of 60 beats/min; joining lines only connect the stated observations.
  • A graph describes evidence rather than proving a cause. One recovery trace does not diagnose health, establish a fitness ranking or show every instant between measurements. Use the question’s wording and any limitations when explaining the pattern rather than asserting that every visual difference is meaningful.

Fictional post-exercise observations

Fictional post-exercise observationsO3060901201501801234Time after exercise (min)Heart rate (beats/min)

Using test results

  • Compare a test with a suitable personal baseline or valid reference. Match protocol, equipment, units, conditions and, for norms, the relevant population and test version. An unsuitable norm can misclassify a result, and a reference is not always required or available.
  • Test change can reflect familiarity, measurement variation, health, effort and other activity as well as training. A better score does not guarantee match success or identify a single cause. State direction and size of change, link to the sporting demand and recognise the evidence’s limits.

Check a comparison before judging it

Check a comparison before judging itCheckWhy it mattersProtocol and unitsResults must measure comparablequantitiesBaselinePersonal change under suitableconditionsNorm populationReference must suit the comparisonAlternativeexplanationsFamiliarity, measurement, health orcontext

Time management

  • Plan from the actual paper duration and mark total, allowing suitable time for reading and checking. Fictional 90-minute paper, 80 marks and a 10-minute reserve leaves an average of one working minute per mark; this is arithmetic for that example, not a universal examination rule.
  • Rehearse a suitable plan with the real paper instructions and adapt to tasks requiring different amounts of reading, calculation or writing. Do not spend an unlimited time on one item; check formula, units and relevance when reviewing. Follow the exam’s stated rules and access arrangements.

Fictional timing calculation

Fictional timing calculationQuantityGiven value or resultPaper duration90 minutesReading/checking reserve10 minutesWorking time80 minutesTotal marks80Average in this example1 working minute per mark

Common errors

  • Common conceptual confusions include tendon/ligament and strength/power. Tendons transmit muscle force to bone; ligaments connect bones. Strength concerns force capacity, while mechanical power is work per time and, in a linear case, force times velocity. Precise language makes the intended relationship clear.
  • Other errors include ignoring a command, omitting a numerical unit, reversing a comparison or inserting a sport name without explanation. Check that a conclusion follows from the data and does not overstate causation. Correct terminology supports reasoning rather than replacing it.

Distinguish terms that change the meaning

Distinguish terms that change the meaningTerm pairKey distinctionTendon / ligamentMuscle–bone / bone–boneStrength / powerForce capacity / work per timemL / L1,000 mL = 1 LRate / countA rate needs its reference quantity

Percentages, change and means

  • Fictional success rates 60% and 75% differ by 15 percentage points. Relative increase uses the original 60 as denominator: 15 divided by 60 times 100 equals 25%. A time dropping from 10.0 s to 9.5 s decreases by 0.5 s, or 5%; lower times can be better even though the number falls.
  • For fictional times 10.2 s, 10.4 s and 10.6 s, the sum 31.2 s divided by three gives a mean of 10.4 s. A mean hides spread and does not prove stable ability. Keep units, compare suitable conditions and round at the requested stage rather than discarding precision too early.

Fictional success-rate change

Fictional success-rate changeQuantityCorrect interpretationOriginal / new rate60% / 75%Difference15 percentage pointsRelative increase15 divided by 60 × 100 = 25%Time example10.0 to 9.5 s: decrease of 5%

Slides

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Practice questions

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  1. 1.What does state mean?

    Easy
    • Agive a brief answer
    • Bwrite an essay
    • Cevaluate
    • Djustify

  2. 2.What does describe mean?

    Easy
    • Agive a judgement
    • Blist only
    • Cguess
    • Dsay what something is like

  3. 3.What does explain mean?

    Easy
    • Acopy
    • Bguess
    • Cgive reasons
    • Dlist only

  4. 4.What does analyse mean?

    Easy
    • Acopy
    • Bbreak down and link ideas
    • Clist
    • Dguess

  5. 5.What does justify mean?

    Easy
    • Agive reasons to support a choice
    • Blist
    • Cguess
    • Dcopy

  6. 6.What does evaluate mean?

    Easy
    • Alist
    • Bstate
    • Ccopy
    • Dweigh up strengths and weaknesses and reach a judgement

  7. 7.What does compare mean?

    Easy
    • Alist
    • Bguess
    • Cgive similarities and differences
    • Dgive one side

  8. 8.Using the supplied rough prediction 220 minus age, what estimate is obtained for a fictional 15-year-old?

    Easy
    • A220
    • B205
    • C235
    • D15

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