This lesson has been designed to enable students to recognise the key stages in the formation of the early atmosphere and to also show how today’s atmosphere was formed. The lesson has been primarily designed for GCSE students but is suitable for higher ability younger students who perhaps are studying the Earth and its formation. The lesson begins by checking that the students know the percentages of the different gases found in the modern day atmosphere. Some time is taken to check on their mathematical skills by challenging them to produce a pie chart to represent these different percentages. Students are then asked to predict how they think the percentage of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour would have differed from now to the early atmosphere. The key steps in the formation are then introduced and critical points discussed. Students will learn about the volcanic activity, formation of the oceans and photosynthesis as crucial points in the change to the percentages of those three gases. A number of progress checks are written into the lesson, which check knowledge from this lesson and related topics such as the reaction of acids and gases.

This lesson has been designed for GCSE students and looks at the key details of two methods that are used to make ethanol, fermentation and the hydration of ethene. Some students may believe that the sole use of ethanol is for alcoholic drinks so the first part of the lesson uses a quick competition to introduce some additional uses. There are a number of these competitions that run during the lesson, in order to maintain engagement but also to introduce key terms and check on understanding in alternative forms. The details of each of the reactions are discussed and related topics are tested through questions and tasks, such as the students being challenged to write symbol equations and adding state symbols and to remember the identification test for carbon dioxide. The final part of the lesson plays one final competition, which is a battle between all of the students to spot which of the two reactions is being described by a clue.

This is an engaging and informative lesson that looks at the group of unsaturated hydrocarbons known as the alkenes and focuses on a few properties, their displayed and chemical formulae and identification. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students and works nicely with the “alkanes” lesson as students can use learning from both lessons. The lesson begins by ensuring that students recognise a key difference between the alkenes and the alkanes in terms of the carbon-carbon bond. This shows them that there is no such substance as methane. They are guided through the rules of drawing alkenes, with examples of ethene and propene used so that they can then apply this technique to draw butene. Working together with the teacher, they will be able to write the general formula that connects this group of substances. The rest of the lesson focuses on the term unsaturated and how this affects them in terms of the identification test with bromine water as well reactions with hydrogen. The lesson finishes by getting students to recognise a use of ethene in making the alcohol, ethanol.

This lesson looks at the homologous series of alcohols, focusing on the properties that they share and guiding students through naming and drawing displayed formula to represent them. It has been designed for GCSE students and time is taken to embed a few selected key details as dictated by the exam board specification. The lesson begins with students meeting the formula for ethanol. This substance will provide the backbone to their understanding as they are guided through drawing the displayed formula so they can visualise how it is done and use to draw diagrams for the others. Students are shown how the general formula for the alkanes and alkenes can be worked out and then challenged to use this to work out the general formula for the alcohols. There is a brief look at the reactions with oxygen and the products that can be made depending upon whether sufficient oxygen is available or not.

This lesson has been written for GCSE students, with the main focus being to introduce reversible reactions, show them how to represent them in both word and symbol equations, and to look at some well-known examples. Related topics such as the position of the equilibrium and endothermic and exothermic reactions are briefly mentioned so that students can recognise the potential crossover between topics. Some time is taken during the lesson to challenge the students to write a balanced symbol equation having been given a description of a reversible reaction. This task is differentiated with an assistance sheet so that all are able to access the learning. There are a number of these progress checks in this short lesson so that students can assess their understanding on a regular basis. Students will learn that the reaction in one direction will be exothermic and why this matters in terms of temperature and the equilibrium position. Increasing pressure and the number of moles is also discussed and an answer explained.

Alongside the “properties of waves” lesson, this lesson is also designed to be fast-paced with a focus on the key terminology of the waves topic as well as looking at the different calculations that can be carried out. It is written for GCSE students and challenges their mathematical skills throughout, by asking them to rearrange formulae, convert units and write in standard form. The lesson begins by recalling the definitions for wavelength, frequency and wave velocity and then introducing them to the equation that links them. The velocity of sound waves in three mediums is the initial focus, so that students can recognise that the velocity is higher in liquids and solids than in air. Moving forwards, the concept of an echo is discussed and again a calculation used to show them how distance could be worked out with the added extra of the final division by 2. There are progress checks such as these written throughout the lesson so that students have the opportunity to assess their understanding. A number of quick competitions are also included, in order to maintain engagement whilst check understanding in a different form.

This is a concise, fast-paced lesson designed to cover the key terminology associated with the waves topic at GCSE and ensure that students are able to recognise and use these terms in context. A number of terms, such a transverse, are known by students but rarely correctly used in written descriptions. Therefore, through a range of tasks and quick competitions, students will meet these terms, learn how to define them and then be asked to apply their knowledge to understanding check questions. This lesson has been written in conjuction with the lesson titled “Wave velocity” and students are challenged to keep an A - Z of key terms during both lessons so they can challenge themselves during revision points.

This is a concise, fast-paced lesson which guides students through the critical skills needed to calculate the atom economy of a chemical reaction. It has been designed for GCSE students and focuses on the calculation as well as interpreting the final value. In order to calculate the mass of the desired product and other products, students have to be able to calculate the relative formula mass - therefore time is taken to revisit these skills and worked examples are used with this and the actual calculations to enable the students to visualise how they should set their work out. The lesson finishes with some progress check questions where students are challenged to state which of four chemical reactions has the highest atom economy. This lesson could be taught in combination with the percentage yield topic and an accompanying lesson on that calculation is available on this site.

This lesson has been designed to guide GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) through the steps involved in gas calculations. As you can see in the cover image, this lesson uses a step by step guide format to go through each of the critical stages. Hints and tips are given along the way and worked examples are used so that students can visualise how to set out their working. Important terminology such as room temperature and pressure (RTP) and limiting reactant are explained so that these do not cause issues. Students are given the opportunity to test their skills against some gas calculation questions which have detailed mark schemes and explanations to enable them to fully self-assess.