S3 and S4 Chemistry

Learning Experiences:

• By the end of S4, pupils will have explored a variety of chemical concepts, developed skills in scientific inquiry investigation and analytical thinking. Pupils will also gain valuable transferrable skills such as numeracy, literacy and communication.

The course will cover the following broad areas:

Chemical changes and Structure

This unit covers some of the fundamental concepts in chemistry including; rates of reaction, atomic structure and bonding related to the properties or materials, formulae and reaction quantities, acids and bases.  Calculations will require an understanding of the mole concept and its application and the use of the formula of a straight line and gradient to determine reaction rates.

Nature’s Chemistry

In this unit, pupils will study chemicals obtained from a variety of natural resources such as hydrocarbons from crude oil. They will develop an understanding of associated products and how these are inter-related by different types of chemical reactions. Numeracy skills will be developed in the quantitative treatment of energy from different fuels. Problem solving and reasoning will be developed by applying the formalisations involved in straight chain and branched homologous series.

Chemistry in Society

This unit includes study of modern materials such as plastics and ceramics and more traditional materials such as metals. They will develop an understanding of the production and use of agrichemicals and explore various methods of chemical analysis. Nuclear chemistry will also be studied including nuclear equations and the calculation of decay products.

The nature of the work will include individual writing and problem solving, group tasks and discussions, practical activities such as experimentation and investigation, valuable transferable skills such as numeracy, literacy and communication.