Urgent a level chem help!!!
Hey guys,
I achieved a 9 in GCSE Chemistry with the help of an amazing teacher, however at A Level the teacher is SO BAD. He is skipping topics and not explaining things properly, which means that unexpected things are popping up in past topic questions that of course I can't answer (Eg: He taught us simple dot and cross diagrams only however the past papers are asking about expanded octets which we didn't learn). I am confused on some bits and I need help/advice on what to do (I do Edexcel Chemistry), as I really want to achieve an A* as I know my potential and don't want a rubbish teacher to hinder this. Honestly we don't even learn anything during his lessons, please help me!!
Thank you
I achieved a 9 in GCSE Chemistry with the help of an amazing teacher, however at A Level the teacher is SO BAD. He is skipping topics and not explaining things properly, which means that unexpected things are popping up in past topic questions that of course I can't answer (Eg: He taught us simple dot and cross diagrams only however the past papers are asking about expanded octets which we didn't learn). I am confused on some bits and I need help/advice on what to do (I do Edexcel Chemistry), as I really want to achieve an A* as I know my potential and don't want a rubbish teacher to hinder this. Honestly we don't even learn anything during his lessons, please help me!!
Thank you
Original post by cupcakeglorious6
Hey guys,
I achieved a 9 in GCSE Chemistry with the help of an amazing teacher, however at A Level the teacher is SO BAD. He is skipping topics and not explaining things properly, which means that unexpected things are popping up in past topic questions that of course I can't answer (Eg: He taught us simple dot and cross diagrams only however the past papers are asking about expanded octets which we didn't learn). I am confused on some bits and I need help/advice on what to do (I do Edexcel Chemistry), as I really want to achieve an A* as I know my potential and don't want a rubbish teacher to hinder this. Honestly we don't even learn anything during his lessons, please help me!!
Thank you
I achieved a 9 in GCSE Chemistry with the help of an amazing teacher, however at A Level the teacher is SO BAD. He is skipping topics and not explaining things properly, which means that unexpected things are popping up in past topic questions that of course I can't answer (Eg: He taught us simple dot and cross diagrams only however the past papers are asking about expanded octets which we didn't learn). I am confused on some bits and I need help/advice on what to do (I do Edexcel Chemistry), as I really want to achieve an A* as I know my potential and don't want a rubbish teacher to hinder this. Honestly we don't even learn anything during his lessons, please help me!!
Thank you
Have you spoken to the HOD?
https://mmerevise.co.uk/a-level-chemistry-revision/
Original post by Muttley79
Have you spoken to the HOD?
https://mmerevise.co.uk/a-level-chemistry-revision/
https://mmerevise.co.uk/a-level-chemistry-revision/
No, I am scared to, I wanted my old teacher but she is teaching Year 13, and when I go to Year 13 next year, she is going to teach the Year 12s. But it's not nice, like the teacher shouldn't leave out stuff just for the sake of making it seem like he is "on track" in front of other teachers.
Original post by cupcakeglorious6
Hey guys,
I achieved a 9 in GCSE Chemistry with the help of an amazing teacher, however at A Level the teacher is SO BAD. He is skipping topics and not explaining things properly, which means that unexpected things are popping up in past topic questions that of course I can't answer (Eg: He taught us simple dot and cross diagrams only however the past papers are asking about expanded octets which we didn't learn). I am confused on some bits and I need help/advice on what to do (I do Edexcel Chemistry), as I really want to achieve an A* as I know my potential and don't want a rubbish teacher to hinder this. Honestly we don't even learn anything during his lessons, please help me!!
Thank you
I achieved a 9 in GCSE Chemistry with the help of an amazing teacher, however at A Level the teacher is SO BAD. He is skipping topics and not explaining things properly, which means that unexpected things are popping up in past topic questions that of course I can't answer (Eg: He taught us simple dot and cross diagrams only however the past papers are asking about expanded octets which we didn't learn). I am confused on some bits and I need help/advice on what to do (I do Edexcel Chemistry), as I really want to achieve an A* as I know my potential and don't want a rubbish teacher to hinder this. Honestly we don't even learn anything during his lessons, please help me!!
Thank you
Edexcel A level chemistry was the course I did when I was doing my A levels. It has considerably fewer resources than other boards, but there are definitely others in addition to the (excellent) suggestion above. Physics and maths tutor, Davies A level chemistry and Allery Chemistry are probably your best bets for finding Edexcel-specific support.
I would strongly suggest making use of your TSR account and asking questions here if in doubt. Guided solutions are generally the best way to understand problems in chemistry if the mark schemes and examiner’s reports fail to elucidate the problematic aspects.
Expanded octets (e.g outer shells of atoms in molecules with more than 8 electrons) are honestly quite a small part of the course and I wouldn’t worry so much about them. All you need to know are two kinds of shapes of molecules that can arise when you have an expanded octet (trigonal bipyramidal if there are 5 bonded pairs of electrons and no lone pairs, octahedral if there are 6 bonded pairs of electrons and no lone pairs), how to draw them, the bond angles (90° and 120° in trigonal bipyramidal, 90° in octahedral) and that expanded octets are only possible from period 3 onwards due to the participation of unoccupied d-orbitals in bonding.
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by TypicalNerd
Edexcel A level chemistry was the course I did when I was doing my A levels. It has considerably fewer resources than other boards, but there are definitely others in addition to the (excellent) suggestion above. Physics and maths tutor, Davies A level chemistry and Allery Chemistry are probably your best bets for finding Edexcel-specific support.
I would strongly suggest making use of your TSR account and asking questions here if in doubt. Guided solutions are generally the best way to understand problems in chemistry if the mark schemes and examiner’s reports fail to elucidate the problematic aspects.
Expanded octets (e.g outer shells of atoms in molecules with more than 8 electrons) are honestly quite a small part of the course and I wouldn’t worry so much about them. All you need to know are two kinds of shapes of molecules that can arise when you have an expanded octet (trigonal bipyramidal if there are 5 bonded pairs of electrons and no lone pairs, octahedral if there are 6 bonded pairs of electrons and no lone pairs), how to draw them, the bond angles (90° and 120° in trigonal bipyramidal, 90° in octahedral) and that expanded octets are only possible from period 3 onwards due to the participation of unoccupied d-orbitals in bonding.
I would strongly suggest making use of your TSR account and asking questions here if in doubt. Guided solutions are generally the best way to understand problems in chemistry if the mark schemes and examiner’s reports fail to elucidate the problematic aspects.
Expanded octets (e.g outer shells of atoms in molecules with more than 8 electrons) are honestly quite a small part of the course and I wouldn’t worry so much about them. All you need to know are two kinds of shapes of molecules that can arise when you have an expanded octet (trigonal bipyramidal if there are 5 bonded pairs of electrons and no lone pairs, octahedral if there are 6 bonded pairs of electrons and no lone pairs), how to draw them, the bond angles (90° and 120° in trigonal bipyramidal, 90° in octahedral) and that expanded octets are only possible from period 3 onwards due to the participation of unoccupied d-orbitals in bonding.
Omg thank you so much for this!! Also you seem so experienced did you get an A*? Also can I come to you for help when I need it by PM please? I've seen Allery Chemistry but not the davies one I will check that out!!
Original post by cupcakeglorious6
Omg thank you so much for this!! Also you seem so experienced did you get an A*? Also can I come to you for help when I need it by PM please? I've seen Allery Chemistry but not the davies one I will check that out!!
Yes, I did indeed get an A*.
I’m not planning on remaining on TSR permanently (especially as I’m now a uni student and am expecting the workload to go mad next term), but by all means feel free to ask me chemistry questions either by PM or by starting a thread.
Davies A level chemistry is good because it gives you past paper walkthroughs for some of the first papers made for the current syllabus. It’s defo worth making use of them.
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMMuJwv83FqvyVfXKHPW7SFluji4kXNg
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMMuJwv83FqfdQxGnqowDQIJThwcoNF7
Original post by TypicalNerd
Yes, I did indeed get an A*.
I’m not planning on remaining on TSR permanently (especially as I’m now a uni student and am expecting the workload to go mad next term), but by all means feel free to ask me chemistry questions either by PM or by starting a thread.
Davies A level chemistry is good because it gives you past paper walkthroughs for some of the first papers made for the current syllabus. It’s defo worth making use of them.
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMMuJwv83FqvyVfXKHPW7SFluji4kXNg
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMMuJwv83FqfdQxGnqowDQIJThwcoNF7
I’m not planning on remaining on TSR permanently (especially as I’m now a uni student and am expecting the workload to go mad next term), but by all means feel free to ask me chemistry questions either by PM or by starting a thread.
Davies A level chemistry is good because it gives you past paper walkthroughs for some of the first papers made for the current syllabus. It’s defo worth making use of them.
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMMuJwv83FqvyVfXKHPW7SFluji4kXNg
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMMuJwv83FqfdQxGnqowDQIJThwcoNF7
Yes of course! Thanks again and hope uni goes well, lastly any tips/secrets to get an A* for edexcel chem? I am in Year 12 and finding topic 2 especially difficult
Original post by cupcakeglorious6
Yes of course! Thanks again and hope uni goes well, lastly any tips/secrets to get an A* for edexcel chem? I am in Year 12 and finding topic 2 especially difficult
I would say A level chemistry is more about teaching you to pass an exam than teaching you how to do chemistry, so your best shot at getting an A* is developing good exam technique.
I personally would say make use of past papers from both the old and new syllabi. The newer papers are best kept for mock revision and for when you revise for the actual exams (I’d also do these in one go in the specified amount of time they allow), but the old papers provide questions for most topics that are on the new syllabus that still come up routinely and some of these questions are simpler, so they are good to use whilst you are studying certain topics for the first time.
For topic 2, there are some very classic question types that come up - usually explaining melting/boiling points, shapes of molecules and drawing dot-and-cross diagrams. For the shapes of molecules and melting/boiling points questions, I’d say there are ideal structures to follow when writing out your answers. For example, if asked to explain the shape and bond angle of a given molecule:
In {insert name of molecule}, the {insert central atom} has {insert number} bonding electron pairs and {insert number} lone pairs. Electron pairs repel as far apart as possible (and lone pairs are more repulsive than bonding pairs - if there are any lone pairs). In order to minimise repulsion, it adopts the {insert molecular shape} shape and so the bond angle is {insert number}°.
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by TypicalNerd
I would say A level chemistry is more about teaching you to pass an exam than teaching you how to do chemistry, so your best shot at getting an A* is developing good exam technique.
I personally would say make use of past papers from both the old and new syllabi. The newer papers are best kept for mock revision and for when you revise for the actual exams (I’d also do these in one go in the specified amount of time they allow), but the old papers provide questions for most topics that are on the new syllabus that still come up routinely and some of these questions are simpler, so they are good to use whilst you are studying certain topics for the first time.
For topic 2, there are some very classic question types that come up - usually explaining melting/boiling points, shapes of molecules and drawing dot-and-cross diagrams. For the shapes of molecules and melting/boiling points questions, I’d say there are ideal structures to follow when writing out your answers. For example, if asked to explain the shape and bond angle of a given molecule:
In {insert name of molecule}, the {insert central atom} has {insert number} bonding electron pairs and {insert number} lone pairs. Electron pairs repel as far apart as possible (and lone pairs are more repulsive than bonding pairs - if there are any lone pairs). In order to minimise repulsion, it adopts the {insert molecular shape} shape and so the bond angle is {insert number}°.
I personally would say make use of past papers from both the old and new syllabi. The newer papers are best kept for mock revision and for when you revise for the actual exams (I’d also do these in one go in the specified amount of time they allow), but the old papers provide questions for most topics that are on the new syllabus that still come up routinely and some of these questions are simpler, so they are good to use whilst you are studying certain topics for the first time.
For topic 2, there are some very classic question types that come up - usually explaining melting/boiling points, shapes of molecules and drawing dot-and-cross diagrams. For the shapes of molecules and melting/boiling points questions, I’d say there are ideal structures to follow when writing out your answers. For example, if asked to explain the shape and bond angle of a given molecule:
In {insert name of molecule}, the {insert central atom} has {insert number} bonding electron pairs and {insert number} lone pairs. Electron pairs repel as far apart as possible (and lone pairs are more repulsive than bonding pairs - if there are any lone pairs). In order to minimise repulsion, it adopts the {insert molecular shape} shape and so the bond angle is {insert number}°.
Okayyy thank youu!!! I will keep that in mind!! Gosh you are so smart are you doing a chemistry degree since you remember so much? Also you reminded me one thing, the most repulsion is between a lone pair and a lone pair, but how does this affect the angles between the bonding pairs? Like I understand if its between one lone pair and a bonding pair, the repulsion is greater and so it moves the bonding pairs away and the angle decreases but i dont understand the lone-lone pair repulsion with bonding angles since they dont interact? Also we only need to know the angles between the bonding pairs right not between the lone pair and bonding pair
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by cupcakeglorious6
Okayyy thank youu!!! I will keep that in mind!! Gosh you are so smart are you doing a chemistry degree since you remember so much? Also you reminded me one thing, the most repulsion is between a lone pair and a lone pair, but how does this affect the angles between the bonding pairs? Like I understand if its between one lone pair and a bonding pair, the repulsion is greater and so it moves the bonding pairs away and the angle decreases but i dont understand the lone-lone pair repulsion with bonding angles since they dont interact? Also we only need to know the angles between the bonding pairs right not between the lone pair and bonding pair
I am indeed doing a chemistry degree. It’s pretty intense and honestly it really is a very different experience to A level (especially as there is more emphasis on understanding why something happens than memorising that it happens for the sake of an exam).
Lone pairs and bonding pairs do interact. Recall both involve pairs of negatively charged electrons and so forcing these (roughly) identically charged things close to each other results in them repelling against each other. The effect of the lone pairs repelling against each other a lot is that they need as much space apart as is possible and so they move quite far apart, but then the lone pairs in turn then push the bonding pairs away and more so than the bonding pairs would normally push each other away if there were no lone pairs, which results in a smaller bond angle than you would have in an equivalent molecule where you have all bonding pairs and no lone pairs.
You don’t need to know the lone pair-lone pair and lone pair-bonding pair angles as these aren’t especially useful to consider in practice.
(edited 1 month ago)
Because I don’t think my explanation was amazing, I’ll try illustrating it with a set of three molecules that each have central atoms with 4 electron pairs in their outer shells:
CH4 (4 bonded pairs, 0 lone pairs, angle = 109.5°)
NH3 (3 bonded pairs, 1 lone pair, angle = 107°)
H2O (2 bonded pairs, 2 lone pairs, angle = 104.5°)
Visibly, the replacement of one bonded pair with a lone pair causes a drop in the bond angle due to it repelling more than the bonding pairs, but the replacement of a second results in a further drop. This drop upon the second replacement is in large part caused by the lone pair-lone pair repulsion, since the lone pairs have to separate from each other more than they must separate from the bonding pairs. If the lone pair-lone pair repulsion had no effect, the decrease in bond angle wouldn’t be as significant.
CH4 (4 bonded pairs, 0 lone pairs, angle = 109.5°)
NH3 (3 bonded pairs, 1 lone pair, angle = 107°)
H2O (2 bonded pairs, 2 lone pairs, angle = 104.5°)
Visibly, the replacement of one bonded pair with a lone pair causes a drop in the bond angle due to it repelling more than the bonding pairs, but the replacement of a second results in a further drop. This drop upon the second replacement is in large part caused by the lone pair-lone pair repulsion, since the lone pairs have to separate from each other more than they must separate from the bonding pairs. If the lone pair-lone pair repulsion had no effect, the decrease in bond angle wouldn’t be as significant.
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