Calculations in AS / A Level Chemistry

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Quite a lot of our students were aiming to be doctors, dentists, vets, physiotherapists and so on. I remember a very able girl saying to me “I’m going to be a doctor. Why do I need to know the conditions for manufacturing polythene?” There is no good answer to that!

An introductory look at the oil industry and some simple organic compounds (alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and a brief look at esters). Structural isomerism is explained where it arises. Periodic Table: including some history, the structure of the table, the noble gases, Groups 1 and 7, and an introduction to transition metalsBut it wasn’t only the outstanding students that we were successful with – there were plenty of ‘average’ students who achieved more than they ever expected.

I have removed the Google search box because it was giving problems. Follow this link to find out how you can still search Chemguide using keywords. In those days, as well as A-Levels there were harder S-Level papers available, and most years you might have two or three chemistry students doing S-Level exams. When that cohort reached their A-Level year, I remember sitting around a bench in the lab with (I think) 13 of them doing S-Level – that was completely unprecedented. A discussion started between them, and I realised that I had no idea what they were talking about (In fairness to myself, it had drifted into atomic physics!). That was actually a joyous moment. They had essentially outgrown school and were moving on. I realised, as a school, we had done a brilliant job with them. This book covers the Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry syllabus. It replaces Longman Chemistry for IGCSE co-authored by Jim Clark and Ray Oliver. I am the sole author of the new version, and the old book is not appropriate for the present syllabus.

This covers an introduction to atomic structure and bonding (including metallic bonding and intermolecular forces) and the relationship between the structures of elements and compounds and their physical properties. If you are working in another examination system, you still need to know exactly what is expected of you, but will have to find that information for yourself. This started with A-Level groups and then moved down to GCSE groups and even occasionally to a third form group. Chamber music worked best because it is clearer; large orchestral pieces echoing around in a big lab just sound ‘muddy’. You mightn’t expect this to appeal to teenagers, but it did, and if I forgot to put it on, they invariably reminded me. What it did was make the whole lab experience feel calm and civilised. Somewhere around the same time, I decided that I needed some music in the lab. Supervising class practical sessions needs total concentration so that you know everything that is going on in every corner of the lab, but if the practical is all running smoothly, this can get quite boring, particularly if what they are doing is rather routine. So, I spent some spare money on a tape player, amplifier and speakers and started playing classical music from my collection at home. Occasionally a senior member of staff would show parents and potential students around the school, and they would be ushered into the lab with me in my pink lab coat, music playing, and everyone absorbed in the music and what they were doing. One parent told me later that it was this experience that decided them on sending their daughter to the school.

Before Truro School became fully independent in the 1970s it was a Direct Grant Scheme school and took 11+ students from the Truro area because there was no boys’ grammar school in the city. The last year of 11+ (which uniquely included some 10+ students as well that year – my son, Paul was one) generated one of the best years ever. Covers basic atomic properties (electronic structures, ionisation energies, electron affinities, atomic and ionic radii, and the atomic hydrogen emission spectrum), bonding (including intermolecular bonding) and structures (ionic, molecular, giant covalent and metallic). is joint author (with Ray Oliver) of Longman Chemistry for CXC (published Jan 2004). The second edition is called Longman Chemistry for CSEC. Both editions were adapted by Ray Oliver from my GCSE book.Don't be misled by the book's title! It was written to cover the calculations in UK AS and A level chemistry syllabuses (roughly for ages 16 - 18 years), but chemistry calculations are just the same wherever in the world you are working.

Obviously, that helped them, but it also had an enormous influence on my future, because it gave me real insight as to where their difficulties lay, and to sense immediately when students were finding my approach unclear.A retitled version of the book will also cover the new Edexcel Certificate in Chemistry which will be taught from September 2012. The two syllabuses will be identical from that point, with only tiny changes to the present International GCSE syllabus. Potassium dichromate(VI) solution turns green as it reacts with the iron(II) ions, and there is no way you could possibly detect the color change when you have one drop of excess orange solution in a strongly colored green solution. With potassium dichromate(VI) solution you have to use a separate indicator, known as a redox indicator. These change color in the presence of an oxidizing agent. There are several such indicators - such as diphenylamine sulfonate. This gives a violet-blue color in the presence of excess potassium dichromate(VI) solution. is the author of Calculations in AS/A Level Chemistry published by Longman (September 2000). Follow the link to find out more about the book.