Chemistry

Assessment

Module One – Practical Skills Candidates must complete a wide range of practical experiments throughout the course. This module outlines how the skills are developed throughout the whole two-year course. They are assessed in two ways. Questions in all written papers examine candidates’ understanding of practical skills, while they must also achieve a 'practical endorsement' on their final A-level certificate to demonstrate a level of competency in a range of skills. Module Two – Foundations of Chemistry Much of the basic material that underpins all further study of this subject, including new ideas in atomic structure, electrons, bonding and redox, is covered here. Module Three – Periodic Table and Energy Here, the core ideas met at IGCSE are developed and extended. This includes enthalpy changes, reaction rates and equilibria, together with the chemistry of groups 2 and 7 and periodicity. Module Four – Core Organic Chemistry This major area of chemistry receives a much higher profile than it did at IGCSE. The subject is introduced through a study of hydrocarbons, leading to an expansion of knowledge into alcohols and haloalkanes. At this point, we introduce ideas about infrared (IR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry as tools to analyse molecular structure. Module Five – Physical Chemistry and Transition Elements Building on some ideas of reaction rates and equilibria from Module Three, they are placed on a more quantitative foundation. We also introduce the concept of pH as a measure of the concentration of H+(aq), buffer solutions and electrode potentials (important when considering new energy sources such as fuel cells). The module finishes with a study of the chemistry of the metals in the centre of the Periodic Table.