Notes on gas chromatography for the OCR A-level chemistry A specification on a single page. It particularly emphasises knowing how separation is achieved, a common topic for tough questions where getting the phrasing right is absolutely essential. There’s pictures and diagrams, explanation of a calibration curve and links to three top recommended videos. Questions looked at to prepare these notes (and recommended for revision) included: October 2020 paper 1, question 13 (MCQ) June 2015 paper 4, question 1 June 2012 paper 4, question 5 June 2018 unit 2, question 21 c i)

Worksheet as a reminder of how the ideal gas law works, showing all the unit conversions and with a model calculation. Also includes a diagram of why a cubic metre = 1 million cubic centimetres, something students often have trouble with. Suitable for all A-level chemistry and 16+ exam boards e.g. AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Cambridge. The assumptions the ideal gas law makes are also explained.

Worksheet and worked examples with two intuitive stories of how people could need to use a reciprocal to find a whole quantity when they only know a fraction of it. Could be suitable for KS2, KS3 or advanced KS1 students. There’s versions in poster form, a problem sheet and (probably most useful for students) a version with notes and worksheet merged onto one page. (The answers are 30 minutes and 12 minutes.) To make it approachable for students in a range of countries I have versions where the money is UK pounds, the Euro or dollars-with appropriate Emoji images! Comment if you’d like a version in a different currency, I’ll add it.

Colourful revision notes in checklist form of all the bond angles for the AQA course over two pages. It’s very helpful to be able to run quickly down a list of all the bond angles and check you remember them-this is very common in foreign languages where you have to learn lots of vocabulary: you cover the answers and run through them one by one. Lists of both the standard case study chemicals from the textbooks, and also others students may run into e.g. organic chemicals, which the textbook doesn’t link to this topic but exam questions may do. There’s also an explanation of the key points to make in explaining why bond angles exist based on past paper questions. There’s versions both in colour and black and white.

Two-page worksheet on plant hormones for the Edexcel 9-1 biology GCSE. Covers phototropism, geotropism, gibberellins and their industrial uses, ethene and an experiment design questions. Versions in colour and for black and white printing. There’s an in-depth mark scheme. Doing AQA GCSE? I have a separate version. Doing Edexcel iGCSE? This pack isn’t needed, the course doesn’t go into so much detail.

Flow diagram showing the menstrual cycle on one page. Suitable for AQA 9-1 GCSE, Edexcel 9-1 GCSE, Edexcel iGCSE and Cambridge iGCSE exam boards, among others. Clean modern design, easy to follow. Explains roles of follicle stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, oestrogen and progesterone, the pituitary gland, ovaries and corpus luteum. I have a separate version for OCR Gateway GCSE science-that course has slightly different content.

Teaching AQA 9-1 GCSE photosynthesis is difficult: with its emphasis on the inverse square law and light intensity data, it’s different to other courses and standard worksheets that haven’t been targeted don’t cover these points. Two-page worksheet with answers targeted at AQA specifically, covering a range of common questions and problems. Questions consulted for research include 8464B1H 2018 Q3 and 2021 Q1 and 84652H 2021 Q7, which would make great follow-ups.

Worksheet covering wave speed, frequency, and wavelength, on two pages, targeted for OCR 21st century science 9-1 GCSE physics. Intended to provide a graduated scheme of work from definitions to calculations of wavelength, frequency, wave speed, period, longitudinal and transverse waves and taking in unit conversion. There’s diagrams and power triangles for the two core equations for the student to practice using and a mark scheme.

Worksheet covering the types of radioactivity over two pages. Questions on alpha, beta and gamma radiation, nuclear decay, neutron emission and half-life. There’s a wide range of pictures and diagrams to jog students’ memory and the mark scheme includes links to videos of emitters from the IOP. This worksheet is especially targeted for the Edexcel 9-1 physics iGCSE, although it could also be used for any other physics GCSE or secondary-level course. A version converted to black and white is included.

Worksheet covering the types of radioactivity over two pages. Questions on alpha, beta and gamma radiation, nuclear decay, neutron emission and half-life. Based on review of past paper questions, I’ve found knowing exactly what blocks different types of radiation is a key topic for practice and there’s a lot of questions on this. There’s a wide range of pictures and diagrams to jog students’ memory, and I mention alternative ways of writing the decay equations. This worksheet is especially targeted for the AQA 9-1 physics GCSE, although it could also be used for any other physics GCSE or secondary-level course. A version converted to black and white is included. Model answers are based on collation of many past paper questions, giving extensive exam tips. Want to know exactly what definition of gamma radiation AQA want? It’s on page 2 of the mark scheme. 2024 updates: links to videos of emitters from the IOP and using beta particles are included on the mark scheme and a wrong number for charge has been corrected.

Worksheet covering the types of radioactivity over two pages. Questions on alpha, beta and gamma radiation, nuclear decay and equations and half-life. There’s a wide range of pictures and diagrams to jog students’ memory and the mark scheme includes links to videos of emitters from the IOP. This worksheet is especially targeted for the Edexcel 9-1 science physics GCSE, although it could also be used for most other physics GCSE or secondary-level courses (I have versions for other exam boards). A version converted to black and white is included.

Two-page link-up-the-boxes worksheet and two-page written worksheet recapping definitions of community, habitat, ecosystem and biotic/abiotic factors, along with case study questions. For the OCR 9-1 biology twenty-first century science GCSE. The link-up-the-boxes worksheet is deliberately written to be very easy for students with low knowledge and confidence with ecology. The written worksheet covers biotic factors, quadrats, transects and competition, along with a calculation question and practice identifying types of habitat. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a mark scheme are included. Could also be suitable as a quick recap exercise for A-level students. These worksheets are very similar to my set for AQA, if you tutor multiple courses you don’t really need the other version.

Notes on gas chromatography and GC-MS for the current AQA A-level specification. There’s pictures and diagrams, explanation of a calibration curve and links to three top recommended videos in this one-page resource. In preparing this set of notes, I found question 6 from the specimen paper 2 (set 2) especially useful for knowing what the current examiners are looking for, so I really recommend this for exam practice of this topic.

Poster showing all the most common ions students need to know about and their charges, and a reminder that negative ions have gained electrons and positive ions have lost them. Clean modern design, great for GCSE and A-level students for all courses. Most courses don’t have phosphate on the list of ions to know, so I’ve left it off the main list. But in case your course does need it, I’ve added a second version of the sheet with the phosphate ion added. If you like this resource, you might want my exercises working out formulas of ionic chemicals. Update, April 2024: added zinc and some hints about iron(II) vs. iron(III)

A-level osmosis required practical notes, targeting courses including AQA 3.2.3 and required practicals 3 and 4 and OCR A 2.1.5. The notes include diagrams on how to plot a graph of the data and some exam technique practice on how to answer questions on getting valid data, and links to good videos. The notes are bullet point style and easy to read. This set of notes is particularly targeted towards revising the practical come exam time and doesn’t include a detailed practical methodology. NOTE: my apologies, the original uploaded version had some words missing explaining the effect of evaporation on water potential, this has now been corrected.

Revision notes on the Arrhenius equation for the AQA A-level chemistry specification on two pages. Includes a lot of model calculations, recap of straight line graphs and explanation of the confusing units, including a detailed explanation of the 2018 paper with T and t and how 1/t is proportional to k. A lot of students by the second year of A-level have forgotten how to do GCSE maths problems like understanding a straight line graph, so this set of notes has a lot of recap of straight line graphs. There’s also a lot of detailed breakdown of the log equation and how it’s a straight line graph. Model calculations are given for log and power of e so students can check they’re using their calculator right.

Revision notes on the Arrhenius equation for the OCR A A-level chemistry specification on two pages. A lot of students by the second year of A-level have forgotten how to do things like find the equation and intercept of a straight line graph, so this set of notes has a lot of recap. There’s also a lot of detailed breakdown of the log equation and how it’s a straight line graph. I explain what ln(A) is and how to calculate it. Includes a lot of model calculations, recap of straight line graphs and explanation of the confusing units of the H432/01 2018 paper’s graph. Update, 13/05/24: a missing 0 in the explanation of the 2018 paper’s units has been corrected, my apologies for the glitch.

Two posters for education use covering what climate change is, why it’s important, and how people can stop and slow down climate change using vivid photos from around the world. As four answers, I’ve chosen four things that children can realistically do themselves: avoiding using cars, using energy less like heating and air conditioning, recycling and eating less meat and dairy products. Could be useful for biology, geography, chemistry, other sciences and general citizenship lessons. There’s worksheet versions with blank spaces for students to fill in. If your teaching prefers the wording “global warming” rather than “climate change”, I also have teaching materials with this, content is otherwise identical.

Image on how people can stop and slow down climate change using vivid photos from around the world. As four answers, I’ve chosen four things that children can realistically do themselves: avoiding using cars, using energy less like heating and air conditioning, recycling and eating less meat and dairy products. There’s also a version with blank spaces for students to fill in their answers. Useful for geography, chemistry and science, plenary and general citizenship lessons. If your teaching prefers the wording “climate change” rather than “global warming”, I also have a poster saying this, content is otherwise identical.

You get a much better response explaining cyclic AMP when you draw it as a hat that makes enzymes happy when they wear it! One-page revision notes on cAMP for the AQA specification, with links to YouTube videos of some of the processes discussed. I am thinking of expanding this into a more full set of notes including details of the adrenaline receptor and with more diagrams-please comment if that’s something you’d want. It’s offered for free in the meantime.