Chemistry

Chemistry — A Level

British Curriculum · Pearson · Years 12-13 · Ages 16-18

Pearson Edexcel International A Level Chemistry (YCH11) is unit-based across six units, with practical skills assessed through written practical papers rather than a laboratory examination.

Content covers structure, bonding and introduction to organic chemistry; energetics, group chemistry, halogenoalkanes and alcohols; practical skills; rates, equilibria and further organic chemistry; transition metals and organic nitrogen chemistry; and a second practical unit.

The unit structure means content is assessed in stages rather than entirely at the end, which suits students who benefit from consolidating one area before moving on, and it allows individual units to be resat.

Key topics covered

• Structure & Bonding — Atomic structure, bonding, shapes of molecules and intermolecular forces.
• Energetics — Enthalpy changes, Hess's law, lattice energy, entropy and free energy.
• Equilibria & Kinetics — Kc, Kp, acid-base equilibria, buffers, rate equations and mechanisms.
• Redox & Transition Metals — Electrode potentials, redox titrations, complexes and coloured ions.
• Organic Chemistry — Halogenoalkanes, alcohols, carbonyls, carboxylic acids, arenes and amines.
• Organic Synthesis — Multi-step synthetic routes, mechanisms and isomerism.
• Analysis & Practical Skills — Spectroscopy, chromatography, technique, error analysis and evaluation.