Chemistry

Course summary

Chemistry is an interesting subject requiring and developing a range of skills including mathematical, practical, and logical reasoning skills. Qualifications in chemistry are highly valued and lead to a wide variety of careers. If you are undecided, more options are kept open by studying chemistry than many other subjects. In the first year of the course, you will study the units ‘Elements of Life’, ‘Developing Fuels’, ‘Elements from the Sea’, ‘The Ozone Story’, and ‘What’s in a Medicine’. In these topics, you will learn a range of skills, and learn about how the multi-billion pound industry of oil works; where all the elements in the universe came from; and produce your own samples of aspirin from willow bark. The topics are designed to give you a firm set of foundations from the fundamental principles of the 3 main branches of chemistry – organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry. The course is taught in a way that will enable you to appreciate the applications of the chemistry you are learning so that you can see where people use this work in real life. In the second year of the course, you will build upon your foundations gained in year 12, and you will study 5 further units – ‘The Chemical Industry’, ‘Polymers and Life’, ‘Oceans’, ‘Developing Metals’, and ‘Colour by Design’. In these topics, you will learn about the chemical composition of DNA, and how it works in the human body; how chemists can restore paintings that are thousands of years old – and be certain that they are using the same paints as the original artist; and how to design your own chemicals from various starting points.