Chemistry

TSC Learning Journey for Chemistry Y12 and Y13

Key Stage 5 Overview

The A Level course in Chemistry builds upon the ideas that have been learnt and understood at GCSE. The course aims to stimulate interest in and enjoyment of chemistry, to foster imaginative, logical and critical thinking and to demonstrate the wider application of chemical knowledge in the modern world. A level chemistry is very academic and highly theoretical, integrating experimental work and developing investigative and manipulative skills. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to develop their practical competency. Chemistry is a rewarding and fascinating subject that requires good organisation skills and the ability to work both within a team and as an individual.

At Thornleigh we follow the AQA specification which can be found by visiting www.aqa.org.uk

The A Level Chemistry qualification is linear. There will be three exam papers at the end of the course worth 35%, 35% and 30%. Each paper is 2 hours long. The types of questions will be short and long answer, questions on practical techniques and data analysis and multiple choice questions.

Three branches of chemistry will be taught and examined, namely Physical, Inorganic & Organic.

	Year 12	Year 13
Physical chemistry	Atomic structure Redox Bonding Amounts of substance Energetics Chemical equilibria Kinetics	Chemical equilibria Thermodynamics Electrode potentials Rate equations Acids and Bases
Inorganic chemistry	Group 2 Group 7 Periodicity	Period 3 Transition metal chemistry Reactions of ions in aqueous chemistry
Organic chemistry	Alkanes Alkenes Halogenoalkanes Isomerism Alcohols Aldehydes and Ketones Organic Analysis	Aromatic chemistry Isomerism Carboxylic acids and derivatives Amines Polymers Amino acids, Proteins and DNA Instrumental and Analytic techniques Organic synthesis

Practical work is at the heart of Chemistry. A series of 12 required practicals, over 2 years, will be supplemented with many opportunities to develop practical skills using new techniques and equipment required at this higher level. Practical chemistry will feature across each written examination. Students will achieve a separate teacher-assessed endorsement of practical skills alongside the A-level.

Chemistry

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