Dr Ayesha Khan
Dr Ayesha Khan writes our science and maths explainers, breaking difficult topics into the small steps that classroom teaching often skips.
50 articles by Dr Ayesha Khan
Exam PrepWhat to Do the Night Before an Exam
The night before is for consolidating and sleeping, not learning. A practical checklist for the evening, and what to avoid.
For ParentsScreen Time and Studying: What Parents Should Know
The phone doesn't have to be in use to cost attention. What the evidence suggests, and rules that are actually enforceable.
Study TipsLearning Styles: What the Evidence Actually Says
The idea that students are visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learners is one of education's most persistent myths. Here's what research finds, and what to do instead.
GuidesHow to Write a Literature Review That Argues Something
A literature review isn't a summary of everything you read. It's an argument that builds towards the gap your research fills.
Study TipsHow to Write a Good Lab Report
Lab reports follow a clear structure for a reason. What each section is for, how to write it well, and the common mistakes that lose marks.
GuidesHow to Use AI for Studying Without Cheating
AI tools can genuinely help you learn or quietly prevent you learning. Where the line sits, and how to use them so they build understanding.
Study TipsHow to Understand Waves in Physics
Waves carry energy without carrying matter. The key quantities, the difference between transverse and longitudinal, and how the wave equation ties them together.
Study TipsHow to Understand and Perform Titrations
Titration is a precise technique with predictable exam questions. What it's for, how to do it accurately, and how the calculations work.
Study TipsHow to Read and Understand the Periodic Table
The periodic table is organised so that position predicts behaviour. What groups and periods tell you, and how to use patterns instead of memorising.
Study TipsHow to Understand the Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle looks intimidating with its many stages. How to follow the flow, what each process does, and how to remember it.
Study TipsHow to Understand the Nervous System
The nervous system carries signals around the body. How it is organised, how neurons transmit, and how reflexes work — explained clearly.
Study TipsHow to Understand the Human Heart and Circulation
The heart and circulatory system confuse students with their detail. How the double circulation works, what each part does, and how to remember it.
Study TipsHow to Understand the Carbon Cycle
The carbon cycle moves carbon through air, life and earth. The key processes, how they balance, and why human activity disturbs it.
Study TipsHow to Understand Statistical Significance
Statistical significance is widely used and widely misunderstood. What it actually means, what it does not, and how to interpret a p-value honestly.
Study TipsWhat Standard Deviation Actually Measures
Standard deviation is spread, not average. What it tells you, how to read it, and why it matters more than the mean alone.
Study TipsHow to Understand Respiration
Respiration releases the energy in food — and it isn't breathing. Aerobic versus anaerobic, the equations, and why every cell depends on it.
Study TipsHow to Understand Research Methods in Psychology
Research methods underpin every psychology topic and appear throughout the exam. The key concepts, why they matter, and how to evaluate a study.
Study TipsHow to Understand Rates of Reaction
Reaction rates depend on a few key factors, all explained by one idea. What controls how fast reactions go, and why collision theory ties it together.
Study TipsHow to Understand Radioactivity
Radioactivity is unstable atoms releasing radiation. The types, what half-life means, and how to handle the calculations without fear.
Study TipsHow to Understand Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is how plants make food from light. The equation, what each part does, and the factors that limit the rate.
Study TipsHow to Understand Osmosis and Diffusion
These two transport processes confuse students constantly. What each moves, which direction, and the one distinction that keeps them straight.
Study TipsHow to Understand the Normal Distribution
The bell curve appears everywhere in statistics. What it represents, why so much data fits it, and how to read it without fear.
Study TipsHow to Understand Newton's Three Laws of Motion
Newton's laws sound simple and hide subtleties. What each law really says, the everyday examples that make them click, and the common misreadings.
Study TipsMoles in Chemistry: The Idea Everything Else Rests On
If moles never clicked, every calculation topic afterwards feels impossible. What a mole actually is, and how to use it without panic.
Study TipsHow to Understand Memory in Psychology
Memory is a core psychology topic with competing models. The main models, key studies, and how to evaluate them for exams.
Study TipsHow to Understand Le Chatelier's Principle
This principle predicts how reversible reactions respond to change. What it says, how to apply it to conditions, and why it matters industrially.
Study TipsHow to Understand Homeostasis
Homeostasis keeps the body's internal conditions stable. The general principle, how negative feedback works, and the key examples to know.
Study TipsHow to Understand Genetics and Inheritance
Genetics has its own vocabulary that trips students up. The key terms, how inheritance works, and how to handle genetic cross questions.
Study TipsHow to Understand Forces in Equilibrium
Equilibrium means balanced forces, but the details trip students up. What equilibrium really requires, and how to solve balance problems.
Study TipsHow to Understand Evolution by Natural Selection
Natural selection is often misunderstood. The actual mechanism, the common misconceptions, and how to explain it clearly for exams.
Study TipsHow to Understand Energy, Work and Power
Energy, work and power are related but distinct. What each means, how they connect, and why energy is never actually lost.
Study TipsHow to Understand Electromagnetism
Electricity and magnetism are deeply linked. How a current makes a magnetic field, how that drives motors, and how to picture the invisible.
Study TipsHow to Understand Electricity and Circuits
Current, voltage and resistance confuse students because they're invisible. A water analogy that works, plus the rules for series and parallel.
Study TipsHow to Understand Ecosystems and Food Chains
Ecosystems link living things and their environment. How energy flows, what food chains and webs show, and why disruption spreads.
Study TipsHow to Understand Chemical Bonding
Ionic, covalent and metallic bonding all come from one idea: atoms seeking full outer shells. How each works, and how bonding explains properties.
Study TipsHow to Understand Cell Biology
Cells are the foundation of biology. What the key structures do, how animal and plant cells differ, and why the detail matters later.
Study TipsHow to Understand Atomic Structure
Protons, neutrons and electrons — where they sit, what they do, and how electron arrangement drives every reaction you'll study.
Study TipsHow to Understand Acids, Bases and pH
Acids and bases are a core chemistry topic. What the pH scale means, how neutralisation works, and the reactions you need to know.
GuidesHow to Take Notes in Lectures
Lectures move too fast to transcribe. What to capture, what to ignore, and the ten minutes afterwards that make the difference.
Exam PrepHow to Revise for GCSE Science
GCSE science is content-heavy across three subjects. How to structure revision, master the required practicals, and handle maths-in-science.
GuidesHow to Reference Correctly (Harvard, APA and the Rest)
Referencing is a set of mechanical rules that costs students easy marks. What to cite, how the main styles differ, and how to stop losing marks for it.
Exam PrepHow to Prepare for A-Level Physics
A-Level physics rewards problem-solving and strong maths over memorising. How to build the skills that the hardest questions actually test.
Exam PrepHow to Prepare for A-Level Chemistry
A-Level chemistry combines heavy content with demanding calculations. How to keep the three strands together and stop the maths costing you.
Exam PrepHow to Prepare for A-Level Biology
A-Level biology is a big step up in depth and volume. How to handle the content, the application questions, and the required practicals.
For ParentsWhy Praising Effort Beats Praising Cleverness
Telling a child they're clever sounds encouraging and can quietly make them avoid difficulty. What to say instead, and why the wording matters.
Study TipsHow to Concentrate for Longer While Studying
Why your attention keeps breaking, how long focus realistically lasts, and the environment and habits that let you work for longer without forcing it.
Study TipsHow to Stop Procrastinating (Without Relying on Willpower)
Procrastination is usually about avoiding a feeling, not laziness. Here's what actually reduces it, from a two-minute start rule to removing the friction.
Study TipsHow to Balance Chemical Equations (A Reliable Method)
Balancing equations is a systematic process, not trial and error. A method that works every time, and the rules students break without noticing.
GuidesHow to Avoid Plagiarism (Including the Accidental Kind)
Most academic misconduct cases aren't deliberate cheating — they're poor note-taking and weak paraphrasing. How to stay clearly on the right side.
Mental Health & WellbeingHow Much Sleep Do Students Actually Need?
Sleep is when memory consolidates, which makes it part of studying rather than time taken away from it. How much students need, and why all-nighters backfire.