Course Objective:

This course provides students with essential practical experience in chemistry, believing that students enjoy and learn more effectively by conducting their own experiments.
This hands-on approach helps students understand chemical reactions, enabling them to achieve high grades in the iGCSE exam and progress to A level.
The two-year course structure allows ample time for practical work, learning theory, and practicing necessary calculations to meet the iGCSE standard for examination in 2026.

Course Content:

Throughout the course, students will be taught how to perform calculations and use experimental data to analyze and demonstrate experimental results.
The course modules are listed below. During the first year emphasis will be placed on modules 1-7
Solids & liquids, mixtures & compounds
Investigate the composition of air
Investigate solvents and solutions
Students will carry out separation experiments using
filtration
crystallisation
chromatography
Distillation using a fractionating column and condenser
Atomic structure and the periodic table
Students will learn how to use the periodic table as an effective tool for deriving atomic structure
Developing chemical formula and equations
Students will learn how to construct and balance chemical equations
They will learn how to calculate Relative Atomic Mass and Relative Formula Mass
This will enable them to carry out molar equations with ease and derive empirical formula
Experiment with combustible metals to show oxidation and verify empirical formula
Experiment with metal oxides and carbonates to show reduction and decomposition
Work through examples in order to thoroughly master chemical formula
Working with gasses and liquids
Calculate gas volume
Calculate liquid concentrations
Work through examples in order to thoroughly master inorganic reactions.
Ionic bonding
Learn dot-cross diagrams for ionic compounds
Construct ionic equations
Covalent and metallic bonding
Learn dot-cross diagrams for covalent compounds
Students will be shown the use of models to demonstrate bonding
Discover the difference between simple molecular and giant covalent bonds
Electrolysis
Investigate the reactivity series
Students will make electrolytic cells
Experiment with metal plating
Discover displacement reactions
The Alkali metals and Halogens
Students will experiment with the reactions of Alkali metals and halogens
Produce REDOX reactions
Perform displacement reactions e.g. zinc and copper sulphate, copper and silver nitrate, magnesium and copper oxide
Reactions of metals with water, steam & acid.
Metal extraction
Iron & Aluminium
Alloys
Acids, Bases and Salts
Experiments include
Metals with sulphuric acid
Metals with hydrochloric acid
Metals with alkali e.g.
Aluminium with sodium hydroxide
Bases with acids e.g.
Copper oxide with sulphuric acid
The solubility of ionic compounds
Creation of ionic compounds e.g.
Copper sulphate and magnesium sulphate
Calcium carbonate with different acids
Silver nitrate and sodium chloride
Neutralising acids and alkalis (Titration)
Use of PH indicators
Testing
Students carry out tests for gases
Students carry out flame tests for metals
Precipitate reactions
Students carry out tests for negative ions (anions)
Students carry out tests for positive ions (cations)
Theory of acids and bases
Brønsted-Lowrey theory
Physical chemistry
Students will experiment with exothermic and endothermic reactions
Measure enthalpy changes in combustion reactions
Measure enthalpy reactions in displacement reactions
Measure enthalpy changes during neutralisation
Measure enthalpy changes when salts dissolve in water
Calculate enthalpy changes using bond energy
Rates of reaction
Measure rate of gas production e.g. carbon dioxide
Experiment with catalysts e.g. manganese dioxide & lead oxide
Learn about activation energy
Reversible reactions
Study position of equilibrium
Organic chemistry
Learn about
homologous series and functional groups
Alkanes, Alkenes, Alcohols, Carboxylic acids, Esters
Displayed formula and structural formula
Coding the chain length
Structural isomers
Crude oil & fractional distillation
Cracking
Experimentation
Create molecular models
build long chain molecules
Demonstrate oxidisation of ethanal
make and test esters
Synthetic polymers
Polymerisation
Monomers
Forming a polyester
Required Materials:
A4 Notebook
Pens
Graphite pencils
Maths set
Scientific Calculator

Total Course Cost: £405 {27 one and a quarter hour lessons at £15 each}