Chemistry

Assessment

This course will be examined at the end of 2 years of study. There will be three external written exams: two of these are 2 hours and 15 minutes long, and one will be 1 hour and 30 minutes long. The shortest exam will cover questions on ALL topics studied over the 2-year course. The exams will be in May or June of the second year. You will also have practical assessments throughout the course; you will receive a separate pass or fail mark in the practical endorsement part of the course. The course is split into 6 modules: Module 1 – Development of practical skills in chemistry • Practical skills assessed in written examinations (all 3 exams) • Practical skills assessed in the practical endorsement – throughout the course Module 2 – Foundations in Chemistry • Atoms, compounds, molecules, and equations (maths) • Amount of substance (the mole – maths) • Acid-base and redox reactions • Electrons, bonding, and structure Module 3 – Periodic table and energy • The periodic table and periodicity • Group 2 and Group 7 • Qualitative analysis • Enthalpy changes • Reaction rates and equilibrium (qualitative) Module 4 – Core organic chemistry • Basic concepts • Hydrocarbons • Alcohols and haloalkanes • Organic synthesis • Analytical techniques (IR and MS) Module 5 – Physical chemistry and transition elements • Reaction rates and equilibrium (quantitative – maths!) • pH and buffers (maths) • Enthalpy, entropy, and free energy (maths) • Redox and electrode potentials (maths) • Transition elements (maths) Module 6 – Organic chemistry and analysis • Aromatic compounds • Carbonyl compounds • Carboxylic acids and esters • Nitrogen compounds • Polymers • Organic synthesis • Chromatography and spectroscopy (NMR)