Tips for starting AS chemistry
I am picking up AS chemistry when I go back to sixth form in a couple of weeks time and have been set some work for the summer to just memorise some elements, ions, etc.
Is there anyone who has just finished AS chemistry who could give me any advice on what to read up on/practise before going back?! Is there anything a lot of people seem to struggle with that I could look at now?
I am picking it up along with doing A2s, so have not had to do much chem since GCSE except the minor a mount in biology.
Thanks in advance
Is there anyone who has just finished AS chemistry who could give me any advice on what to read up on/practise before going back?! Is there anything a lot of people seem to struggle with that I could look at now?
I am picking it up along with doing A2s, so have not had to do much chem since GCSE except the minor a mount in biology.
Thanks in advance
Chemistry AS was the most difficult of the AS subjects I took this year. It needs a LOT of memorization and a lot of understanding to do. Its like you need the half a brain of a biologist to commit things fast into memory and a half a brain of a physicist to understand things fast. And unlike Physics and Biology you NEED to order your notes and the more you dig in the more interconnections you see.
I would advise you to practice some calculations for starters. 90% of the calculations in AS is from GCSE. You can get questions from the textbook, pastpapers or even practice your GCSE calculations over again. It'll definitely help. Some topics that come to my mind are energetics (enthalpy changes), calculating concentrations, and number of moles.
IMO many struggle with organic chemistry which comes at the end of both unit 1 and 2… (don't forget that the chemistry papers are synoptic). One good idea to tackle the problem of information overload is to write the stuff about each type of reactions in an orderly fashion into tables. For example I can remember that in unit 2 you have loads of reactions where you need to know the equation , the conditions, the reaction mechanism etc. You can do it in a chart and hang it in your bedroom or somewhere, and remember to refresh your memory often because if you don't do then it becomes all muddled up.
Make sure that throughout the year you have all the notes, the correct notes only and nothing more. The textbook is mostly distracting, cut off the HSW parts out of it and paste them into a separate scrap book or something. How Science Work is important.
Chemistry is a practical subject so make sure you are present or you have observed all the reactions being taught for yourself. There are some brilliant YouTube channels if you miss anything.
You'll notice after sometime that some stuff is very easy but others are much more difficult to understand. Concentrate more on those stuff, and redo pastpaper questions that you have scored badly in after sometime.
And finally before the exams make sure you have gone through the examiners' reports. They give vital tips.
Good luck. All that starts well also ends well.
Posted from TSR Mobile
I would advise you to practice some calculations for starters. 90% of the calculations in AS is from GCSE. You can get questions from the textbook, pastpapers or even practice your GCSE calculations over again. It'll definitely help. Some topics that come to my mind are energetics (enthalpy changes), calculating concentrations, and number of moles.
IMO many struggle with organic chemistry which comes at the end of both unit 1 and 2… (don't forget that the chemistry papers are synoptic). One good idea to tackle the problem of information overload is to write the stuff about each type of reactions in an orderly fashion into tables. For example I can remember that in unit 2 you have loads of reactions where you need to know the equation , the conditions, the reaction mechanism etc. You can do it in a chart and hang it in your bedroom or somewhere, and remember to refresh your memory often because if you don't do then it becomes all muddled up.
Make sure that throughout the year you have all the notes, the correct notes only and nothing more. The textbook is mostly distracting, cut off the HSW parts out of it and paste them into a separate scrap book or something. How Science Work is important.
Chemistry is a practical subject so make sure you are present or you have observed all the reactions being taught for yourself. There are some brilliant YouTube channels if you miss anything.
You'll notice after sometime that some stuff is very easy but others are much more difficult to understand. Concentrate more on those stuff, and redo pastpaper questions that you have scored badly in after sometime.
And finally before the exams make sure you have gone through the examiners' reports. They give vital tips.
Good luck. All that starts well also ends well.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by StUdEnTIGCSE
Chemistry AS was the most difficult of the AS subjects I took this year. It needs a LOT of memorization and a lot of understanding to do. Its like you need the half a brain of a biologist to commit things fast into memory and a half a brain of a physicist to understand things fast. And unlike Physics and Biology you NEED to order your notes and the more you dig in the more interconnections you see.
I would advise you to practice some calculations for starters. 90% of the calculations in AS is from GCSE. You can get questions from the textbook, pastpapers or even practice your GCSE calculations over again. It'll definitely help. Some topics that come to my mind are energetics (enthalpy changes), calculating concentrations, and number of moles.
IMO many struggle with organic chemistry which comes at the end of both unit 1 and 2… (don't forget that the chemistry papers are synoptic). One good idea to tackle the problem of information overload is to write the stuff about each type of reactions in an orderly fashion into tables. For example I can remember that in unit 2 you have loads of reactions where you need to know the equation , the conditions, the reaction mechanism etc. You can do it in a chart and hang it in your bedroom or somewhere, and remember to refresh your memory often because if you don't do then it becomes all muddled up.
Make sure that throughout the year you have all the notes, the correct notes only and nothing more. The textbook is mostly distracting, cut off the HSW parts out of it and paste them into a separate scrap book or something. How Science Work is important.
Chemistry is a practical subject so make sure you are present or you have observed all the reactions being taught for yourself. There are some brilliant YouTube channels if you miss anything.
You'll notice after sometime that some stuff is very easy but others are much more difficult to understand. Concentrate more on those stuff, and redo pastpaper questions that you have scored badly in after sometime.
And finally before the exams make sure you have gone through the examiners' reports. They give vital tips.
Good luck. All that starts well also ends well.
Posted from TSR Mobile
I would advise you to practice some calculations for starters. 90% of the calculations in AS is from GCSE. You can get questions from the textbook, pastpapers or even practice your GCSE calculations over again. It'll definitely help. Some topics that come to my mind are energetics (enthalpy changes), calculating concentrations, and number of moles.
IMO many struggle with organic chemistry which comes at the end of both unit 1 and 2… (don't forget that the chemistry papers are synoptic). One good idea to tackle the problem of information overload is to write the stuff about each type of reactions in an orderly fashion into tables. For example I can remember that in unit 2 you have loads of reactions where you need to know the equation , the conditions, the reaction mechanism etc. You can do it in a chart and hang it in your bedroom or somewhere, and remember to refresh your memory often because if you don't do then it becomes all muddled up.
Make sure that throughout the year you have all the notes, the correct notes only and nothing more. The textbook is mostly distracting, cut off the HSW parts out of it and paste them into a separate scrap book or something. How Science Work is important.
Chemistry is a practical subject so make sure you are present or you have observed all the reactions being taught for yourself. There are some brilliant YouTube channels if you miss anything.
You'll notice after sometime that some stuff is very easy but others are much more difficult to understand. Concentrate more on those stuff, and redo pastpaper questions that you have scored badly in after sometime.
And finally before the exams make sure you have gone through the examiners' reports. They give vital tips.
Good luck. All that starts well also ends well.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Thank you, I think I will definitely revisit balancing equations and mole calculations from GCSE. As for organisation, folders, dividers and highlighters are at the ready!
Make sure you understand everything and revise consistently. http://a-levelchemistry.co.uk/ is a good website if you do AQA or OCR. It has some quite good questions and prepares you for exam questions.
The content at the start of AS Chemistry is GCSE standard with no new concepts so you should consider revising over the basics of GCSE like atomic structure, bonding, redox (depending on your syllabus) you will be surprised how frequent those simples concepts are used. I would 100% recommend getting hold of a copy of 'Calculations in AS/A Level Chemistry' by Jim Clark (the guy who wrote chemguide) which is the bible for a-level chemistry calculations because it basically starts from scratch and gives you background, worked examples, questions and answers!
I actually found it the easiest AS Level I studied, just do every past paper possible once you understand topics.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
Memorizing, whilst important, is not enough to be successful. You need to understand everything inside out which requires hard work and practising questions, this is even more relevant at A2.
Don't forget things either. What you learnt in your previous modules will be used throughout the entire course in a lot of cases. It will be presumed knowledge and you will be expected to build on it later. If you forget it then you will need to relearn it again which wastes time. My advice is to review all of the previous modules regularly to make sure that you still remember it all.
Good luck
Don't forget things either. What you learnt in your previous modules will be used throughout the entire course in a lot of cases. It will be presumed knowledge and you will be expected to build on it later. If you forget it then you will need to relearn it again which wastes time. My advice is to review all of the previous modules regularly to make sure that you still remember it all.
Good luck
Original post by UnknownError
The above is really good advice. I have just finished AS chemistry and during study leave I realised that doing past papers when you don't know any content is a complete waste of time.
My advice is work throughout the year like you are studying for an exam, this way when it come to the exams all you have to do is past papers!
Good luck
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