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Outstanding GCSE and A level chemistry resources

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Having taught GCSE and A level chemistry for 6 years and being an examiner I have developed a solid understanding of what makes a lesson outstanding and seek to share this with other teachers.

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Having taught GCSE and A level chemistry for 6 years and being an examiner I have developed a solid understanding of what makes a lesson outstanding and seek to share this with other teachers.
MRI and fMRI - A level chemistry and psychology - stages, comparison of MRI and fMRI, ethical issues
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MRI and fMRI - A level chemistry and psychology - stages, comparison of MRI and fMRI, ethical issues

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This is a set of resources for one or two lessons (depending on the length of the lesson) on MRI and fMRI. This forms part of a scheme of work that includes NMR. The lesson starts with an ethical question of whether criminals are responsible for their actions - whether they are born criminals. The name of the criminal can be changed to suit local news reports or film characters. The lesson then considers the famous story of the railway worker Phineas Gage whose behaviour changed suddenly after an accident that damaged his pre-frontal cortex. Thus this brain region has been discovered to be responsible for higher level thinking and control. The lesson then considers how the brain can be imaged - beginning with anatomy then considering MRI and fMRI. Students then watch a 5 minute YouTube video on MRI and make their own notes. There is then a loop game plenary to check understanding. The second half of the lesson considers fMRI and its application in the law courts. Students consider the case of the murderer Brian Dugan who used fMRI scans as part of his defense to show diminished responsibility - he showed a lack of activity in some brain regions associated with emotion. They produce a presentation and then present this to the class. A markscheme for the presentation is included. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
Atomic structure GCSE lesson 1 - Elements, compounds and formulae
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Atomic structure GCSE lesson 1 - Elements, compounds and formulae

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This is is a lesson for GCSE chemistry that matches the AQA new 2016 specification section 4.1 - atomic structure and the periodic table. The lesson begins with a fun film characters starter. There is then a discussion on how elements are made in supernovae. Students then consider rules for naming compounds and how to write formulae. They then then write the formulae for 12 substances. The challenge is to write empirical formulae. The lesson concludes with a consideration of how some of the chemicals are harmful to fish such as Nemo. Titanium dioxide in suntan cream causes water and oxygen in seawater to react to form hydrogen peroxide that is toixc to fish. Answers are included. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
Film character elements differentiated
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Film character elements differentiated

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This is a fun activity that be used as a lesson starter or for revision. Students replace element names with symbols to find the names of film characters (easier) or use the clues to work out the symbols (challenging). Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
An introduction to electrochemical cells - A level - includes writing half cells
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An introduction to electrochemical cells - A level - includes writing half cells

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This is a lesson for A level chemistry on electrochemical cells. It starts with students constructing a fruit cell and combing four of these cells to make a battery that powers a light bulb . These are made from a whole lemon, piece of clean copper, piece of clean zinc, electrical wires, crocodile clips and light bulb. This could be shown as a demo if there is not much time. Students offer explanations as to how this works. They are introduced to the theory behind how batteries work, what a half cell is and notation for writing half cells and E-cell. The hydrogen / H+ / platinum reference electrode is then introduced as a standard that is used to compare the voltage different half cells. Reinforce the idea that platinum is used because it a very unreactive electrical conductor. Students then use the electrode potentials table (go through this) to write the voltage and reactions for different combinations of half cells. This could be set as homework instead. The lesson finishes with an exam question plenary. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
Balancing equations GCSE
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Balancing equations GCSE

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This covers balancing equations skills for GCSE. This is lesson 2 in the atomic structure scheme of work for the AQA 2016 specification. The lesson starts with a recap of elements, compounds and formulae (lesson 1 in the AQA atomic structure scheme of work). The lesson then has a demo of the sodium and chlorine reaction. Students are then introduced to the rules for balancing equations. They can balance equations using the particle diagrams method that is included in the main lesson. Alternatively students could use the column method or use boiled sweets that are included separately. The challenge is to balance equations that use brackets and to balance half equations. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
History of the periodic table GCSE - includes Mendeleev, Newlands and noble gases
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History of the periodic table GCSE - includes Mendeleev, Newlands and noble gases

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This lesson forms part of the chemistry GCSE atomic structure scheme of work for the new 2016 AQA specification. The starter is a fun kinsthetic activity where students put element cards into groups. These cards are available to buy from Royal Society for Chemistry. A link is included on the slide. Alternatively students could make a pack of element fact cards for homework and bring them to lesson for the starter activity. Students are then introduced to Dobereiner and Newlands. They watch a 3 minute YouTube video about Mendeleev and answer the questions provided. Students then consider that Mendeleev missed group 8/0 elements and swapped iodine / tellurium so that the group 7 elements are all non-metals (i.e. why de not always put elements in order of increasing atomic weight). There is an activity where students consider the good and bad things about each scientists methodology and write an explanation for why we now use Mendeleevs table. Finally there is an exam question plenary. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
GCSE Chemistry assessment, markscheme and detailed feedback sheet - atoms, ions, flame tests
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GCSE Chemistry assessment, markscheme and detailed feedback sheet - atoms, ions, flame tests

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This is an end of topic test that I have put together for GCSE Chemistry. I have created my own exam questions and resources as well as using freely available exam questions from past papers available online. I have created a detailed feedback sheet that students use to peer assess their work or the teacher can do this. It covers atomic structure and flame tests. A revision homework with questions and two model answers is provided.
Halogens GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Halogens GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of the halogens. There are 16 triangles with 18 pairs of questions and answers that make a parallelogram. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: state of the halogens at room temperature (astatine is unstable), uses of the halogens, trend for melting point and reactivity with group 1 metals, charge of group 1 metal and halogen ions. The tarsia software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.
Transition metals GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Transition metals GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun GCSE Chemistry tarsia for revision of transition metals and is suitable for more able students. There are 16 triangles with 18 pairs of questions and answers that make a parallelogram. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: transition metal uses, transition metal properties, magnetic metals, catalysts, aqueous copper ion colour, pH of iron hydroxide vs iron nitrate. The tarsia software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.
Distillation GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Distillation GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of rates of distillation. There are 16 triangles with 18 pairs of questions and answers that make a parallelogram. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: apparatus, bonds between particles, order of evaporation, pure vs impure substances, naming fractional distillation, naming steam distillation, change of state. The tarsia software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.
Polymerisation GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Polymerisation GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of polymerisation. There are 16 triangles with 18 pairs of questions and answers that make a parallelogram. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: catalyst, thermal decomposition, formula of ethene and methane, elements in ethene, natural polymer, synthetic polymer, cross links, addition polymerisation. The tarsia software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.
Cracking GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Cracking GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of cracking hydrocarbons. There are 16 triangles with 18 pairs of questions and answers that make a parallelogram. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: state of ethene, octane and polyethene at room temperature, supply vs demand, formulae of ethene, decane and pentane, bromine water test. The software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.
Acids and alkalis GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Acids and alkalis GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of acids and alkalis. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: H+, OH-, ionic and symbol equations for neutralisation, state symbols of acids alkalis and water, ammonia. The 'fjsw' file can be opened and modified with tarsia software. The software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.
Atomic structure GCSE complete scheme of work (9 hours, 9 lessons) with outstanding lessons, demonstrations, exam skills and peer assessment
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Atomic structure GCSE complete scheme of work (9 hours, 9 lessons) with outstanding lessons, demonstrations, exam skills and peer assessment

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This is a complete set of GCSE Atomic structure lessons and fully differentiated resources. The lessons are suggested to be taught in this order: elements and compounds, balancing equations, separating mixtures, isotopes and structure, models of the atom, history of periodic table and noble gases, alkali metals, halogens, transition metals. The suggested teaching time is 1 hour per lesson and so this scheme of work requires 9 hours of teaching time. There are a variety of fun demos included such as sodium reacting with chlorine. For each demo there is a link to Royal Society of Chemistry explanations for how to safely carry out the demo. Please note that a fume cupboard is required for some demonstrations. The lesson starters recap prior learning and the lessons conclude with plenaries that develop exam technique. There are challenge tasks included in every lesson to stretch more able students. The aim is that each of these lessons is an outstanding lesson that provides the opportunity for all pupils to make excellent progress. Please rate these resources and leave feedback.
Enthalpy change graphical method and calculating excess - AS Chemistry
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Enthalpy change graphical method and calculating excess - AS Chemistry

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This is an AS Chemistry lesson on calculating which chemical is in excess in a reaction. Also students calculate an enthalpy change using a graphical method for reactions that happen slowly and therefore heat is lost to the surroundings when recording the temperature rise. The graphical method involves estimating the actual temperature increase. There is opportunity to use hand warmers for the starter activity and reacting magnesium with oxygen (i.e. in air) as a main activity. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
Paper chromatography GCSE Chemistry tarsia - use as starter, plenary or revision
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Paper chromatography GCSE Chemistry tarsia - use as starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun yet challenging GCSE Chemistry tarsia for revision of the paper chromatography. There are 16 triangles with 18 pairs of questions and answers that make a parallelogram. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: Rf value, adsorb, solvent, soluble and uses of chromatography. The 'fjsw' file can be opened and modified with tarsia software. The tarsia software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.
Atomic structure GCSE tarsia - for lower ability students - use as starter, plenary or revision
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Atomic structure GCSE tarsia - for lower ability students - use as starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of atomic structure. There are 16 triangles with 18 pairs of questions and answers that make a parallelogram. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: subatomic particles, using the periodic table to work out the number of subatomic particles. The software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.
Fractional distillation of crude oil GCSE Chemistry tarsia - use as starter, plenary or revision
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Fractional distillation of crude oil GCSE Chemistry tarsia - use as starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun GCSE Chemistry tarsia for comparing different theories of atomic structure. There are 16 triangles with 18 pairs of questions and answers that make an equilateral triangle shape. I suggest that the A4 tarsia is printed on card and then the outline is cut out. Students can then quickly cut out the individual triangles. Included are the following topics: names and uses of different fractions, size of alkanes and flammability, alkanes vs alkenes and fractional distillation apparatus. The 'fjsw' file can be opened and modified with tarsia software. The tarsia software is free to download but there is not currently a version for Mac computers.