Chemistry

Course summary

Many people think of chemists as being white-coated scientists mixing strange liquids in a laboratory, but the truth is we are all chemists and an understanding of basic chemistry concepts is important for almost every profession. Chemistry in today’s society has far-reaching applications; chemists are responsible for the development and manufacture of medicines, vaccines, plastics and textiles to name but a few. The battle against pollution is being fought by chemists and they are developing nanotechnology that could change our lives forever. Chemists can think logically and have strong problem-solving skills. You will need well-developed practical skills and must pay meticulous attention to detail. Furthermore, you will need good communication skills as well as a high level of numeracy. Most of all, you need the ability to see beyond a set of facts and figures and apply what you have learned to a multitude of novel situations, showing how you have worked things out through logic and step-by-step reasoning. Chemistry at A level is divided into 3 broad areas of study; physical, inorganic and organic chemistry and builds on the foundations laid at GCSE. Physical chemistry is the most mathematical of the disciplines and covers topics such as atomic structure, bonding, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, kinetics and equilibria. Inorganic chemistry is the study of the elements of the periodic table, their trends and the explanations for them. At A level we study the reactions of Group 2, Group 7 and the Transition metals in detail as well as the trends and reactions of the elements in Period 3. Organic chemistry is the study of carbon chemistry. It includes the hydrocarbons, alcohols and carboxylic acids you are already familiar with along with a wide range of new functional groups including aromatic compounds, amines, and naturally occurring organic compounds such as proteins and DNA. We look at routes of organic synthesis and structural determination.