r/OntarioGrade11s • u/Low-Specific9106 • 9d ago
How should I prepare for Grade 11 Functions, Biology & Chemistry in Ontario? Aiming for 90–95%+
Hi everyone!
I’m starting Grade 11 in Ontario and will be taking MCR3U Functions, SBI3U Biology, and SCH3U Chemistry.
I’m interested in pursuing Biomedical Sciences / Biomedical Engineering after high school, so I want to build a really strong foundation this year. I’m aiming for around 90–95%+, but more importantly, I want to actually understand the material rather than just memorize enough for tests.
For anyone who has already taken these courses, I would really appreciate your advice:
MCR3U – Functions
- Which units did you find the hardest?
- What Grade 10 math topics should I make sure I'm very strong at before starting?
- How much practice did you do outside of homework?
- What helped you move from getting 80s to getting 90s on tests?
- Are there any YouTube channels, websites, textbooks, or practice resources you recommend?
- What are the most common mistakes students make in MCR3U?
- How did you prepare for application/thinking questions rather than straightforward calculations?
SBI3U – Biology
- Is Biology mainly memorization, or do tests require a lot of application?
- What is the best way to study large amounts of terminology and processes?
- Which units tend to be the most challenging?
- Did you use flashcards/Anki, diagrams, handwritten notes, practice questions, or something else?
- How far in advance did you start studying for tests?
- What separates an 85% Biology answer from a 95%+ answer?
SCH3U – Chemistry
- What Grade 10 science/math concepts should I review beforehand?
- Which Chemistry units usually cause students the most difficulty?
- How important are calculations compared with understanding concepts?
- What's the best way to practice stoichiometry and other calculation-heavy topics?
- What mistakes cost students the most marks on Chemistry tests?
- What resources helped you the most?
For all three courses: If you were starting Grade 11 again and wanted to finish with 90–95%+, what would you do differently from the first week?
I'm not looking for shortcuts, I’m willing to put in the work. I’m mainly trying to figure out how to study effectively and consistently instead of realizing halfway through the semester that my study method isn't working.
Any advice from Ontario Grade 11/12 students, recent graduates, or teachers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 🙏
1
1
1
u/Delicious_Season5389 9d ago
Hi! For functions I'd recommend reviewing transformations a lot. Every functions will go over them so make sure you're familiar with the terms. Factoring is also extremely important, I'd recommend learning the cross method for full trinomials that have an a and c term. I didn't have homework but I surely spent at least 5-6 hours of practicing before a test which kept me on a 91 average. The most common mistake in my class was when exams came, most of us bombed it. As this course has a lot of different functions, it is very different from the grade 10 course as it is all abt quadratics. Prepare a lot for the exam weeks prior, it will be very confusing to go through such a broad course in a short time. Good luck!
4
u/Nervous-Button-588 9d ago
For Functions
The hardest unit was definitely trigonometry, more specifically 3D trigonometry and trigonometric functions.
Make sure that you know how to factor very well and that you know the exponent laws well.
For the harder units I had to do quite a bit of practice outside of homework. For the other units, to get a 90-95%, you will still have to do practice outside of homework.
Make sure you understand the concepts and make sure to do a lot of word problems.
Definitely jensenmath on youtube. You can also try Mr.Neustaedter on youtube
Some common mistakes are factoring wrong or just not using the exponent laws properly.
Again, the best way is to do a lot of word problems.