Chemistry

Course summary

The course aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and ethical minds. Through studying Chemistry pupils gain a thorough understanding of a wide range of aspects of Chemistry and also become aware of how scientists work and communicate with each other. Wherever possible the course draws upon environmental and technological contexts and identifies the social, moral and economic effects of science. Both the Standard and Higher Level courses cover: atomic structure and bonding, quantitative chemistry and errors, periodicity; energetics, kinetics, equilibrium; organic chemistry, acids and bases, oxidation and reduction. Coursework (20%) is made up of a 10 hour individual investigation taken in class time and written up during prep sessions. The topics are the same across SL and HL, but the more challenging parts of each course are omitted at standard level and so this means the SL course provides a good general grounding in Chemistry which is accessible to a wide range of students, including those who do not study another science.