Chemistry

Course summary

Chemistry is the study of substances - from plastics to painkillers, metals to microchips, the air you breathe, the food you eat, the clothes you wear and the complex chemicals in living organisms. It will be challenging, interesting, rewarding and hard work. You will use computers for information retrieval and data logging. Practical work is important and will include synthesising dyes, analysing aspirin, calculating enthalpy changes and determining the rate of a reaction. Chemistry is quite a demanding A-level. You will need to have good grades for Science and Mathematics at GCSE. You will need to be well-organised and prepared to work hard. If you have enjoyed Chemistry at GCSE level then you will probably continue to enjoy it at A-level but you do need to bear in mind that A-level Chemistry is more mathematical.