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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.
Combustion GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Combustion GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of combustion. 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: formulae, complete combustion, incomplete combustion, carbon neutral, products of combustion. The 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.
Acids and alkalis KS3 tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Acids and alkalis KS3 tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a fun KS3 chemistry tarsia for acids and alkalis. 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: indicator, pH meter, pH of different substances, formula of HCl and water. 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.
History of the periodic table GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision
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History of the periodic table GCSE tarsia - use as lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of history of the periodic table. 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: nationality of Dobereiner, Newlands and Mendeleev, law of triads, law of octaves, atomic number, gallium, number of natural elements and number of elements known to Mendeleev, grouping of the elements. The 'fjsw' file can be opened and modified with tarsia software that is free to download. Please note that the software does not work on Mac computers.
Elements and compounds KS3 tarsia - use as a lesson starter, plenary or revision
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Elements and compounds KS3 tarsia - use as a lesson starter, plenary or revision

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This is a KS3 chemistry tarsia for revision of elements and compounds. 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: number of atoms in a molecule, number of elements in a compound, definition of elements and compounds.
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.
Rate of reaction GCSE tarsia
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Rate of reaction GCSE tarsia

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This is a GCSE chemistry tarsia for revision of rates of reaction. 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: symbol equations, factors affecting rate and rate graphs. The 'fjsw' file can be opened and modified with tarsia software.
Group 1 metals GCSE tarsia - differentiated - covers ions, protons, flame colours, reactivity
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Group 1 metals GCSE tarsia - differentiated - covers ions, protons, flame colours, reactivity

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This is a fully differentiated tarsia puzzle for GCSE alkali metals. It is a fun kinesthetic way of revising the alkali metals. This sort of revision activity is particularly useful for boys. Answers are provided as well an 'easy start' that provides 4 of the 16 triangles as a starting point for weaker students. The 'group 1 metals A4 2 page' is an A4 tarsia that has 8 triangles per page. I suggest that these are printed on card and students cut them out. They are great for AFL. end of lesson plenary or plenary. If the writing of the A4 tarsia is too small then use the medium version. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
Fossil fuels lessons GCSE - outstanding lessons that provide support and challenge, recap prior learning, demonstrate progress
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Fossil fuels lessons GCSE - outstanding lessons that provide support and challenge, recap prior learning, demonstrate progress

13 Resources
This is a set of 10 lessons including a revision lesson on fossil fuels. Included are lessons on combustion, formation of crude oil, fractional distillation, fermentation, alkanes, alkenes, calorimetry, bond enthalpy (advanced lesson for more able students) and alternatives to crude oil. Please take the opportunity to look at each of these lessons to find out more information and comment on them.
Chemistry science club for KS4 and A level - Ethanol as an alternative fuel source
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Chemistry science club for KS4 and A level - Ethanol as an alternative fuel source

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This is a planned lesson sequence for delivering an 18 lesson science club for older students. They investigate ethanol as an alternative fuel source to petrol. The lessons cover: the ethanol rocket demo, making ethanol by fermentation from sucrose (sugar) then filtration and distillation, making ethanol from glucose produced by cellulase digestion of cellulose (mashed up filter paper) then filtration and distillation. basic titration, advanced titration of ethanol to calculate concentration, calorimetry, comparison of the different methods of ethanol production. Links to RSC practicals are provided for all of the demo and practicals and a total of 8 risk assessments have been written for all of the practicals with links to CLEAPPS. Calorimetry lessons are available from my other resources. Please rate these resources and leave feedback.
Conservation of mass, formula mass and percentage composition GCSE Chemistry
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Conservation of mass, formula mass and percentage composition GCSE Chemistry

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This is a thoroughly differentiated lesson that begins by introducing students to conservation of mass and why this law makes sense. This is then related to balancing equations and there is the opportunity for students to practice this skill. Students then calculate the formula mass of the compounds around the room. More able students have some percentage mass questions to work through. Answers are provided for all questions. The lesson finishes with GCSE exam questions. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
Equilibrium A level chemistry - rate and yield
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Equilibrium A level chemistry - rate and yield

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This lesson forms part of an AS chemistry equilibrium scheme of work and follows on from two lessons on equilibrium reactions and writing expressions for Kc. The lesson starts with a recap of Kc. Students then learn how to work out the units for Kc. Please note that from experience I have found that weaker students (grade C downwards) struggle with this so please take a lot of time to check that students feel comfortable and confident. A GSCE indices questions worksheet has been provided to support weaker students. The lesson then moves on to explaining the compromise conditions used to make ammonia in the Haber process. I show the Daniel D Dulek TED talk video here. It is absolutely excellent and stretches the students. Video questions are provided. The lesson concludes with students calculating Kc. The video is YouTube embedded so please download this video before the lesson as many schools do not allow staff access to YouTube from a school computer. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
Equilibrium -  A level chemistry - writing an expression for Kc - 2016 specification onwards
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Equilibrium - A level chemistry - writing an expression for Kc - 2016 specification onwards

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This is a thoroughly planned A level lesson writing an expression for the equilibrium constant Kc. The 2016 specification DOES NOT include Kp - partial pressures and thus students must ALWAYS write their expressions using SQUARE brackets (Kp uses curved brackets). The lesson starts with a recap of equilibrium then moves on to heterogeneous and homogeneous reaction systems. The lesson then moves to students writing expressions for Kc for a variety of reactions. Note that solids are left out of the expression for Kc as their concentration hardly changes during at equilibrium (they occupy a small volume). Answers are provided. Please rate this resource and leave feedback.
Organic Chemistry GCSE complete scheme of work - 2016 Specification - includes carboxylic acids, alcohols, condensation polymers, biological molecules -
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Organic Chemistry GCSE complete scheme of work - 2016 Specification - includes carboxylic acids, alcohols, condensation polymers, biological molecules -

17 Resources
This is a very comprehensive set of resources that has been planned specifically for the 2016 specification - AQA topic 4.7 organic chemistry. The teaching sequence is: crude oil, alternatives to crude oil (includes combustion), fraction properties (practical + homework set), alkanes, fractional distillation (practical + homework due), cracking (demo), alkenes, addition polymerisation, alcohols, carboxylic acids, condensation polymerisation (practical) and biological polymers (practical). There is thorough differentiation and the varied starter activities recap prior learning. There are lots of exam questions to check progress.
Biological polymers - GCSE chemistry
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Biological polymers - GCSE chemistry

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This GCSE chemistry lesson has been designed for the 2016 specification for AQA. The lesson begins with a recap of addition and condensation polymers. It then moves on to covering the key biochemical points that students need to know for GCSE chemistry and deliberately leaves out GCSE biology content. The lesson then moves on to students comparing the strength of their own bioplastics from the previous lesson with nylon. If students make the bioplastics in this lesson then allow at least 2 days for the bioplastic to dry before testing it. The lesson concludes with students analysing their data. Please rate this resource leave feedback.