Higher Chemistry Crasher
I've decided to bite the bullet and crash higher chemistry. Could anyone tell me the parts of N5 I need to have a good grasp of in order to achieve a good grade at higher?
Reply 1
Do you have any kind of basic chem knowledge? Higher chem is different from Nat5 and tbh there is not a huge amount of overlap as there is stuff you study at N5 and don’t do at higher and stuff which you are introduced to at higher for the first time. but it is a good idea to have an understanding of the N5 course. However if you want to hone in on specific stuff which is more essential I’d say that the stuff to focus on mostly would be unit 1: structure and bonding eg.covalent and ionic bonds etc…, the basic calculations (n=m/gfm, n=cv), chemical formulae, basic info about the periodic table and rules about energy levels. From unit 2: much of this is studied in more detail at higher. In particular alcohols and carboxylic acids as you study them lots and make sure to understand basic definitions and trends in this unit about the different homologous series. Also look at addition reactions. For unit 3: I’d say have an understanding of the reactivity series and oxidation/ reduction/ redox reactions. Also look at the stuff to do with experiments and lab work. Honestly you dodged a bullet not doing N5 chemistry - I absolutely hated it! I found the higher course much more enjoyable and I’m sure you will do great 
Also I may have missed out some I’m not 100% sure but I think that’s it.
Also I may have missed out some I’m not 100% sure but I think that’s it.Reply 2
For context, I sat the Higher Chemistry exam this year and sat Nat5 Chemistry the year before.
I wouldn't say there's a huge amount of overlap between the Nat 5 course and the Higher course - a lot of it is new content that isn't visited in Nat 5. But I would recommend looking over bonding (covalent, ionic, etc) and how the different versions arise, REDOX reactions, some carbon chemistry like alcohols and carboxylic acids, and your very basics like figuring out the chemical formula for a compound, mole calculations, balancing equations, etc. Going over the calculations/maths-y sort of stuff is a must-do for crashing Higher Chem.
I wouldn't say there's a huge amount of overlap between the Nat 5 course and the Higher course - a lot of it is new content that isn't visited in Nat 5. But I would recommend looking over bonding (covalent, ionic, etc) and how the different versions arise, REDOX reactions, some carbon chemistry like alcohols and carboxylic acids, and your very basics like figuring out the chemical formula for a compound, mole calculations, balancing equations, etc. Going over the calculations/maths-y sort of stuff is a must-do for crashing Higher Chem.
Reply 3
Only skills transfer not topics themselves
Original post
by rooneyemilyI've decided to bite the bullet and crash higher chemistry. Could anyone tell me the parts of N5 I need to have a good grasp of in order to achieve a good grade at higher?
Hi there!
I didnt crash higher chemistry myself, however I crashed higher physics in S6 - I had done both biology and chemistry beforehand and found although the content was all very new that a lot of the exam techniques & the papers structures were very similar and the skills from these other subjects translated well! (:
If you've done another science already you'll probably find this too! (unless its drastically changed since I did my higher in 2022 lol)
When crashing physics, I hadn't looked over any of the N5 content beforehand, my teacher was great though at highlighting anything key from N5 that transferred over to higher and I found it still fairly okay to follow along and any extra support/questions I had I would ask!
I'd recommend also if you have any friends who have previously taken the higher asking if they have any notes/sumaries on topics which could help you to understand concepts!
The projects were taken out of the course when I did my highers/N5's due to covid so cant advise too much on this part but if you explain to your teacher I'm sure they can highlight to you anything key that you may be missing!
Hope this helps you feel a little less nervous about crashing! - good luck (:
Emily
Year 3, Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep
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