Big believer in the power of beautiful lesson plans to make learning easier. My resources cover the sciences and geography. My biochemistry degree and tuition work I do mean I create resources for a lot of courses as and when I need a resource-always feel free to comment and request something if you want something else or an adaptation. Oxford biochemistry graduate.
Big believer in the power of beautiful lesson plans to make learning easier. My resources cover the sciences and geography. My biochemistry degree and tuition work I do mean I create resources for a lot of courses as and when I need a resource-always feel free to comment and request something if you want something else or an adaptation. Oxford biochemistry graduate.
Notes on one page covering all the tests for cations for Edexcel iGCSE chemistry, including the precipitation equations, and links to videos of them being done. I’ve also included model equations, both complete and ionic, for the precipitation reactions, with examples for a +2 and +3 ion.
Versions included both in colour and in black and white for photocopying.
Revision notes for A-level chemistry on cracking for the AQA A-level specification in comparison table format, and the same table but empty for students to fill in themselves.
An example cracking equation is given for students to fill in and suggest names for the products and there is an emphasis on practicing the unit conversions and working out the formulas and names of products.
Update for 2023: expanded resource based on student feedback, with a link to a video demonstration and bullet-point list of products.
Notes on one page covering all the tests for cations for Edexcel GCSE chemistry, including the precipitation equations, and links to videos of them being done. I’ve also included model equations, both complete and ionic, for the precipitation reactions, with examples for a +2 and +3 ion, and the equation for the ammonium ion test.
Versions included both in colour and in black and white for photocopying.
Update: a missing 2 in a formula has been added. My apologies for the mistake.
Notes on the tests for anions for AQA GCSE chemistry courses on a single page. A lot of work went to squeezing everything in! There’s both a full and ionic equation for carbonate, sulfate and halide ion reactions to give students good models. To show the differences in formulas between compounds of metals that form +2 and +1 ions, there’s equations for both sodium and calcium carbonate too. There’s versions of the resource for colour and black and white printing.
This set of notes was particular written targeting the AQA GCSE chemistry course, but it’s suitable for most GCSE courses as well as recap for students coming in to A-level.
Revision notes of the negative ions for Edexcel GCSE chemistry on one page, including both complete and ionic equations for the reactions. Versions both in colour and for black and white printing.
There’s both a full and ionic equation for carbonate, sulfate and halide ion reactions to give students good models. To show the differences in formulas between compounds of metals that form +2 and +1 ions, there’s equations for both sodium and calcium carbonate too.
Diagram of Born-Haber hydration, solution and lattice enthalpy laid out at a large size with a lot of space for notes and comments. Two versions, one for AQA which uses the term lattice dissociation enthalpy, the other for OCR and Edexcel which just call it the reverse of the lattice enthalpy.
Specification targets include: AQA 3.1.8.1, OCR A 5.2.1, Edexcel 13.1
Changelog, September 2023: more detail on the calculations.
Some of the hardest questions for many GCSE chemistry students are the written questions, explaining things like why the rate of reaction increases when you increase the temperature, and how the position of equilibrium shifts. So I’ve written a one-page set of notes that covers all these questions, fitting them onto a single page.
These notes cover:
how temperature and concentration affect rate of reaction
melting point of ionic, molecular and giant covalent chemicals
equilibrium position
conductivity
It makes chemistry so much easier for students having everything on a single page.
Particularly intended for GCSE chemistry but I think it’s also pretty helpful for A-level students just starting the course who need to recap what they did last year, many will have forgotten these topics.
Purchase includes a “general” set of notes not written for any particular exam board, and specific versions for students taking Edexcel iGCSE and the AQA 9-1 GCSEs.
Changelog: a missing ‘no’ has been added in conduction. My apologies for the glitch.
Some of the hardest questions for many GCSE chemistry students are the long answer written questions, explaining things like why the rate of reaction increases when you increase the temperature, and how the position of equilibrium shifts. So I’ve written a one-page set of notes for AQA that covers all these questions, fitting them onto a single page.
These notes cover:
how temperature and concentration affect rate of reaction
melting point of ionic, molecular and giant covalent chemicals
equilibrium position
conductivity
It makes chemistry so much easier for students having everything on a single page. A version with colour pictures is included.
Particularly intended for GCSE chemistry but I think it’s also pretty helpful for A-level students just starting the course who need to recap what they did last year, many will have forgotten these topics.
This set of notes was written against the current AQA GCSE science specifications. Past paper mark schemes consulted include:
ionic bonding:
4.3 from 8464/C/2H, 2018, specification reference 5.2.2.3.
giant covalent bonding:
5.1 from 8464C1H 2018, specification reference 5.2.3.1
3.4 from 8465/3H 2019, specification 4.8.1.1
simple molecular bonding and intermolecular forces:
4.4 from 8464/C/1H 2019, 5.1.2.6 and 5.2.2.4
7.1 from 84644C2H specimen, 5.2.2.4
concentration and rate:
5.5 from 8464/C/2H 2019, specification reference 5.6.1.3
temperature and rate:
6.4 from 8465/3H 2019, reference 4.7.4.3
metallic conductivity:
2.6 from 84643C1H specimen paper, reference 5.2.1.5/5.2.2.8
equilibrium:
4.3 from 8465/3H 2019, 4.7.4.8 4.7.4.10
7.2 from 84644C2H specimen, 5.6.2.4
One-page resource on electronegativity, covering a bullet point definition of electronegativity, polar bonds, the effect of dipoles cancelling, and which elements are most electronegative. Links to other areas of the course are made by explaining that although electronegativity is what you see in covalent bonded molecules, it correlates with higher first ionisation energy. Suitable for all A-level specifications, but particularly ties into the AQA and OCR content. An extract of a table of electronegativity is included covering all the common non-metals.
One-page sets of notes on some of the most important written questions in GCSE chemistry and biology.
In chemistry, covers rate of reaction, temperature, equilibrium, types of bonding (ionic, covalent, metallic) and conducting electricity. There’s also my one-page introduction to chemistry that tries to put on one page as many definitions as possible so students can use it to decode the course’s content if they’re having problems holding everything in their head.
The GCSE biology notes cover respiration, with aerobic, anaerobic and what happens when you exercise. There’s versions of the biology and chemistry notes for general use, and specific versions of the chemistry notes for AQA and Edexcel iGCSE.
The two main types of Hess cycles shown on a poster: cycles with combustion enthalpy data and formation enthalpy data. There’s versions both in colour and black and white.
The diagram focuses on teaching them using a vector method which shows which arrow needs to be reversed. The answers of what to do are on the side of the poster.
One of the hardest questions the examiners can ask at A-level is how to predict the second and third ionisation energy. It’s not clearly labelled in the textbooks how to do this. So here’s a three-page set of notes on how to do this, working through some exam-style questions.
Specification references include: OCR A 3.1.1, AQA 3.1.1.3
Ready reference notes on the group 7 elements, covering their colour and state as elements, their colours dissolved in water and organic solvents, the precipitation reactions with silver nitrate, and their redox reactions with concentrated sulphuric acid. Both an attractive, colourful version showing all the colours and a version in black and white for photocopying. Suitable especially for the AQA exam board.
I’ve also added a version squeezing everything onto a single page. It looks very compact but won’t photocopy well as well as the text gets quite small.
Notes on the tests for gases and for water for Edexcel 9-1 chemistry GCSE on one page. The notes include an explanation of what the tests tell you about the properties of each chemical and links to recommended videos. Versions both in colour and in black and white for photocopying. Gases covered are tests for hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.
Poster naming some of the most common inorganic reactions at GCSE and A-level chemistry: metals reacting with water and acid, metal hydroxides, oxides, carbonates and ammonia reacting with acids. Clean, modern design highlighting similarities between the reactions e.g. water formed. There’s versions both in colour and in black and white. The formulas of the negative ions are given for nitrate, chloride and sulfate ions.
Suitable for all major GCSE exam boards (e.g. Edexcel, AQA, Cambridge), and I find it really helpful to help A-level students recap what they learned at GCSE and forgot over the summer!
One-page reference of the most common oxidation numbers for A-level with clear layout. Lists the elements which have particularly unpredictable oxidation numbers and gives case studies of them.
Also lists the most common oxidation numbers of transition metals, with half-equations for the reduction of manganate(VII) and dichromate(VI) ions.
Versions in colour and in black and white for photocopying.
Specification references include OCR A 2.1.5 and AQA 3.1.7.
Notes on the tests for gases and for water for Edexcel 9-1 chemistry iGCSE on one page. The notes include an explanation of what the tests tell you about the properties of each chemical and links to recommended videos. Versions both in colour and in black and white for photocopying. Gases covered are tests for hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.
Notes on the tests for gases and for water for Cambridge chemistry iGCSE on one page. The notes include an explanation of what the tests tell you about the properties of each chemical and links to recommended videos. Versions both in colour and in black and white for photocopying. Gases covered are tests for hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. The reaction of ammonia with hydrogen chloride is also covered.
Simple worksheet on two pages covering electrolysis of aluminium for students to fill in. Covers the equations at the cathode, anode, redox, why the process is environmentally damaging and why recycling aluminium is a good thing to do. There’s also links to recommended YouTube videos from Fuse School and the RSC. This plan targets the AQA 9-1 chemistry GCSE course. Versions both in colour and black and white.
This lesson plan is given away for free in order to encourage recycling! But if you like it please check out my lesson plan on metallic bonding, my worksheet on AQA solution electrolysis equations and on extracting metals using carbon and other lesson plans. I also have versions for Edexcel GCSE and Edexcel iGCSE.
Update: 13/3/24: added clarification that the cathodes are graphite and added a link to a video showing bauxite mining to show the amount of land needed.
