I am a Science and Chemistry teacher focused on Cambridge IGCSE and AS/A. I am also heavily involved in the National Chemistry Olympiad program.
By way of background I have a PhD in inorganic chemistry and entered teaching after 13 years in the food industry.
I guess I am a bit old fashioned - I don't use twitter and I have no idea what instagram or Pinterest are......but I love my subject and I love working with students.
I am a Science and Chemistry teacher focused on Cambridge IGCSE and AS/A. I am also heavily involved in the National Chemistry Olympiad program.
By way of background I have a PhD in inorganic chemistry and entered teaching after 13 years in the food industry.
I guess I am a bit old fashioned - I don't use twitter and I have no idea what instagram or Pinterest are......but I love my subject and I love working with students.
This test is about 1 hours long. It includes questions about calculating oxidation number, observations and balancing half and full REDOX equations. Answers are included.
This test would be useful for students doing IGCSE and AS chemistry.
With all the best intentions in the world, mistakes do get made. Please tell me if there is an error and I will correct it and organise to send you a corrected copy.
There are 2 worksheets (and answers) as well as notes and worked examples (ws2). The resources would suit students aged about 14-17 years old depending on the course. WS2 is for more advanced students.
WS1 has 2 pages of questions where the student has to choose whether a reaction is either endothermic or exothermic, draw and label an energy profile. There are also some simple calculations to determine the amount of energy given off from a known mass of an organic compound.
WS2 contains notes, worked examples and 10 problems (and answers) focused on the equation Using q = mCΔT and Hess's law. The problems will be useful for students enrolled in Honors, AP or those who would like to sit the National Chemistry Olympiad competition. The problems are of straight forward to moderate difficulty.
With all the best intentions in the world, mistakes do get made. Please tell me if there is an error and I will correct it and organise to send you a corrected copy.
Key words: Hess's law, thermochemistry, enthalpy, heat, thermodynamics, calculations.
This worksheet has 2 pages of problems (and answers) which require a Lewis structure and a molecular shape. Some of the questions ask students to compare molecule bond angles and explain why they differ.
A set of notes with examples is included.
This resource would be useful for students enrolled in Honors or AP.
This worksheet has bond enthalpy and lattice energy calculations and would be suitable for A level students.
Key words: Hess’s law, bond enthalpy, Lattice energy, calculations.
This experiment gets students to compare pH titration data collected using different indicators. It shows the importance of choosing the correct indicator.
The experiment(s) are easily carried out in 50 minutes and students can do up to 8 titrations during the class. Data is reported back to the teacher and the results shared with the wider class.
Student feedback suggests this is a very useful practical and the repetitive nature of the experiment allows them to fine-tune their experimental skills.
The practical will be useful for those studying acid-base chemistry and buffer systems. Students enrolled in AS-A2 Cambridge or A level courses would find this practical beneficial.
Notes for the teacher are also included
Key words: buffer, acid-base, equivalence point, buffer zone, practical, pKa, indicators.
This resource consists of 6 pages of problems (questions, mechanism and 'complete the reaction scheme' questions) targeting the A2 Cambridge program. Answers are provided.
The problems and answers have been checked but if there are any errors or questions, please get in touch with me and I will address them. If you would like a certain type of worksheet please contact me as I am working on other ones for my classes and I will reorder my efforts if I think it can be useful to others.
This resource contains a number of worksheets and activities that will help Korean students learn Chemistry in an English school environment. It includes:
* 3 page dictionary of key English chemistry science words (both Korean and English). Parts of this list have been broken down into smaller themed lists to act as worksheets for the students (eg periodic table; acids and bases).
* A Korean period table
* Metals/non metals worksheets (with pictures to describe properties and a practical activity)
* Equipment worksheet
* A funworder requiring the student to find the English element
* Some cloze style activities
* A crossword and other starters.
Instruction sentences are also included.
These resources have been used for 12 months and adjusted based on feedback from the students. Please leave feedback on how they can be improved or if you find any mistakes.
This resource consists of 4 problems in which the student has to work out the % of different compounds in a mixture.
They are challenging and would suit mathematically strong students who are enrolled in Honors, AP or who want to compete in the National Chemistry Olympiad competition.
This resource is two pages long and covers the following topics: atomic structure, balanced word and symbol equations, balancing a combustion reaction, interpreting electronic configuration, an electrolysis question (ZnBr2) and forming ionic compounds.
It could be used as either a test or a worksheet. Answers are included.
The level would be useful for entry level chemistry students
This resource consists of 3 worksheets: a 4-page and two 2-page worksheets (and answers). Students are asked to complete reaction schemes, draw and/or name molecules and short answer questions. The focus is on amides, esters and some of their organic reactions.
This resource would suit students doing AS, IB or organic chemistry to a high level.
This is the perfect topic to end the year on. It is fun and the students don't even realise there is a serious aspect to it: healthy eating, analysing food etc. You can adjust the depth and type of learning outcomes depending on the age group (eg. if it is an older group I always include a section on microbiology and we swab surfaces and check for cleanliness, learn about how factories manage food safety etc).
This topic encourages student-led learning and there is considerable enthusiasm in the classroom. You do not need to have an ice cream machine, although I did and there is often someone in the class who does have one). I have written up a rough guide on how the 1-2 weeks would go but I found that the students really enjoyed their own research and in some years this took longer than I originally had planned for.
This resource includes: notes for teacher, a base ice cream recipe, ice cream in a bag activity, taste testing template, energy calculation activity and some other ideas (eg poster design).
It is a lot of fun and will save you that painful end of year "now what do we do"?
This resource consists of a series of w/s with themed problems (and answers). There are 20 pages worth of material (2-4 page w/s) as well as the CIE learning objectives (2016) and the accompanying ppt slides (69 slides).
Problems include naming and drawing compounds, writing mechanisms (SN1 and SN2), elucidating reaction schemes, geometric isomers, unknowns and definitions etc.
updated 9 Nov (pptn was missing)
This resource consists of two worksheets.
The first work sheet is based on a series of unknowns (a-o) that are either a reagent or a product (about 30-50 min. to complete depending on ability of student). The reactions are limited to oxidation, reduction, nucleophilic substitution, chlorination, cyanation and addition reactions. The worksheet will suit students A-level chemistry or with an interest in the National Chemistry Olympiad competition.
The second worksheet (ws3) is 3 pages long and has 24 questions requiring either structures, short answers or descriptions for answers. Answers are included.
This resources contains 5 pages of problems (2 double-sided wrk sheets) that include
* Alkanes: name and / or draw isomers
* Alkenes: naming and/or draw isomers, organic transformations and geometric isomer problems. In the latter case students are asked to work out how many isomers are possible for a compound with multiple double bonds).
This worksheets will suit students studying for AS or IB organic chemistry. they can be sued as 2 sided w/s or as separate w/s as starters. Answers are provided.
This resource is a test that covers various aspects of periodicity: sub atomic numbers, electron configuration, assigning charge to ionic species, some electrolysis questions and a few word equations (eg. photosynthesis) requiring symbols equations.
The test takes about 1 hour.
This resource contains 9 pages of detailed notes and worked examples as well as a 2-page worksheet that contains some straight forward pH calculations as well as some very challenging calculations due to the weak acid not being so weak.
The detailed notes work though a variety of scenarios and some of the associated misconceptions. The notes would be useful for both new chemistry teachers and students.
This resource would be suitable for A level students. It will also be useful for those interested in continuing in chemistry or entering the National Chemistry Olympiad competition.
Key words: buffer, pH, calculation, acid, base
This resource consists of 9 pages of notes and calculation examples and a three 2-page worksheets to help the teacher or student grapple with buffer calculations. The target is A2 and IB students.
The wk/s 4 and 5 (and answers) are essentially a titration on paper where a specific weak acid (or base) is gradually titrated (each problem a new calculation) to show the student the effect the addition of OH ions has on the final pH. Itis a chance to repeat the same calculation multiple times. The format ensures students get to practice on the same system and therefore minimise cognitive overload. Students are encouraged to think about what species are in solution and what part of the titration curve each calculation relates to.
I also encourage a novel way of setting out the calculations, which I (and my students) believe minimises potential mistakes.
This resource consists of all of the material a teacher would need to teach a 3-4 week topic on this most delightful of topics: the Periodic table. Most of the focus is on the PT trends, how it can be used to predict a property of an element or charge on an ion. The activities have been tried in my class over the past few years and the students feedback and improved grades suggest they add value. My bug bear as a Chemist is that the PT is often taught as "first 20 by rote" with little time spent showing students how they can use the PT to help answer questions or solve problems.
The topic covers subatomic particles, electron configuration, formation of ions, compounds/molecules, reactions of group 1 and 2 metals with group 6 and 7 non-metals and the tests for H2, O2 and CO2.
Resources include worksheets, cloze activities, starters, projects, identifying equipment activity and short tests. The “notes for teachers” outlines how I teach this subject for both low and higher ability students along with ideas of the projects I set the students. Some documents contain more than 1 worksheet or activity and some worksheets are 2 pages long.
Additional slides have been included on balancing equations if the class is stronger. Either use them in this course or save for the following year.
Some of this material appears in other resources at Drogchem's shop (eg balancing equations and funworders).
Thank you to everyone that bought this resource. If you get a spare 2 minutes could you leave some feedback? It is the only way I will know whether it meets your needs or what I might need to do to develop it further.
This resource contains some worked calculations and notes and a 2-page w/s that contains weak acid or weak base problems. 2 misconception questions are also included to encourage students to be able to explain a concept without the need of a calculator. Answers are provided.
The detailed pH calculation notes are also found in the other pH calculation resources at Drog-chem’s shop.
This resource would suit those doing AS/A2 (Cambridge) or A-level chemistry. It would be useful for those wanting to compete in the National Chemistry Olympiad Competition…
This resource consists of 4 worksheets (some double sided) and answers.
* The first two are starter activities and take about 10-15 minutes to complete.
* The elements-compounds-molecules and mixtures worksheet has a variety of exercises.
* The states of matter worksheet largely focuses on a number of short answer questions based on every day scenarios. There are also some diagrams to complete.
The resources target students who are in year 8-10 (13-15 years old) depending on curriculum.