A Level Chemistry

Our chemistry staff at the college are a highly experienced team who focus on delivery of chemistry-based content in the 16-19 curriculum. We help to engage students and nurture their enthusiasm of the subject whilst also giving all learners the support they need to achieve on the course. We are also very keen to offer students to opportunity to engage in stretch and challenge activities, such as olympiad competitions, and to support our students to make rewarding progression to higher education, work-based training or employment. Students benefit from access to five modern chemistry laboratories, as well as a staff team with substantial expertise within the teaching of chemistry at this level.

You will study all six modules over the two years which will be assessed at the end of the two-year linear course. In addition, students are required to successfully complete the Development of Practical Skills in Chemistry (Module 1) which prepares you for examinations and also higher education and future careers.

Module 1 Development of Practical Skills in Chemistry Chemistry is a practical subject and the development of practical skills is fundamental to you understanding the nature of Chemistry. You will build practical skills throughout the A Level course which will lead to a practical endorsement. You will be required to undertake 12 core practical investigations, but you will experience many more throughout the course as practical work reinforces the theory studied. The practical skills developed throughout the A Level programme will be assessed by your lecturers and will be based on direct observation of your competency in a range of skills that are not assessable in written exams. Evidence to support the practical endorsement is gained over the course of the two years and is assessed on a pass or fail basis. You will be assessed on your conceptual and theoretical understanding of experimental method in the written exams at the end of your A Level studies.

In Year 1 you will study 3 modules in addition to Development of Practical Skills:

Module 2 Foundations in Chemistry This module builds on your studies of GCSE Chemistry and provides you with knowledge and understanding of the important chemical ideas that underpin the study of A Level Chemistry including atomic structure, quantitative chemistry, reactions of acids, oxidation numbers and reduction and chemical bonding.

Module 3 Periodic Table and Energy In this module you will develop your understanding of inorganic and physical chemistry. Topic areas studied allow you to consider the application of energy use to everyday life and industrial processes and current environmental concerns associated with sustainability. Key topics are the periodic table and patterns in properties, enthalpy changes and their determination, rates of reaction, reversible reactions and chemical equilibrium and consideration of energy and yield in improving sustainability.

Module 4 Core Organic Chemistry This module introduces you to organic chemistry and its important applications to everyday life. It enables you to understand how key reactions take place and how the structure of molecules are determined. This is a fundamental area of chemistry; in addition to developing your organic practical skills you will study naming and formulae representation, organic reactions and isomerism, alcohols and haloalkanes, organic synthesis and instrumental analytical techniques to provide evidence of structural features in molecules.

In Year 2 you will study two further modules in addition to Development of Practical Skills:

Module 5 Physical Chemistry and Transition Elements This module extends your understanding of energy, reaction rates, equilibria and the periodic table. It focuses on the study of reactions and how chemists use experimental data to alter reaction conditions. The main areas studied are rate, equilibrium, acids, bases and buffers, lattice enthalpy, entropy and free energy, electrochemistry and transition elements.

Module 6 Organic Chemistry and Analysis This module introduces you to several new types of molecules and emphasizes the importance of organic synthesis. It also adds NMR spectroscopy to your range of instrumental techniques used in organic and forensic analysis. The main areas studied are aromatic compounds, carbonyls including carboxylic acids, esters, amines, polymers and organic synthesis.