Doc Brown's Chemistry

Edexcel GCE A2 CHEMISTRY 9CH01 Edexcel GCE AS advanced subsidiary chemistry course

My unofficial support for this Edexcel GCE A2 chemistry syllabus. Scroll down and each module, topic or unit of the specification is linked to potentially useful sections on this site.

EDEXCEL GCE AS chemistry * Edexcel 360 GCSE science-CHEMISTRY

 READ CAREFULLY  My 'A level' chemistry notes are far from complete BUT by clicking on the links for [ORGANIC], [INORGANIC], [PHYSICAL-THEORETICAL] and [useful UK based GCSE/IGCSE revision notes] you should find things to help on a particular topic.  By following a link you will find some useful information and use the sub-indexes of key words or headings at the top of each page. To return to this page click on the <== back on the browser link bar. All the syllabus-topic-unit titles are taken from the official syllabus. I do not have time to deliver extended responses to email questions and do NOT ask for past papers. * EMAIL query?comment

Summary of Edexcel GCE A2 CHEMISTRY Units and Contents Links

A2 Unit 4: General Principles of Chemistry I — Rates, Equilibria and Further Organic Chemistry

Rates * Entropy * Equilibria * Applications of Rates and Equilibrium

Acid/Base Equilibria * Chirality * Carbonyl Compounds * Carboxylic Acids

Carboxylic Acid Derivatives * Spectroscopy and Chromatography

A2 Unit 5: General Principles of Chemistry II — Transition Metals and Organic Nitrogen Chemistry

Application of Redox Equilibria * Transition Metals and their Chemistry

Arenes: Benzene * Organic nitrogen compounds: amines, amides, amino acids, proteins

Organic Synthesis

A2 Unit 6: Chemistry Laboratory Skills II

A2 Unit 4: General Principles of Chemistry I — Rates, Equilibria and Further Organic Chemistry

Rates * Entropy * Equilibria * Applications of Rates and Equilibrium * Acid/Base Equilibria * Chirality * Carbonyl Compounds * Carboxylic Acids * Carboxylic Acid Derivatives * Spectroscopy and Chromatography

Rates

1. KINETICS - advanced rates of reactions revision notes: temperature effect and activation energy, homogeneous catalysts and heterogeneous catalysts, obtaining data, rate expressions and orders of reaction, deducing orders of reaction See also computer simulation of Maxwell-Boltzman distribution of kinetic energies

2. KINETICS - advanced rates of reactions revision notes: Selected case studies of kinetics and rate expressions and calculations, deriving the activation energy E_a from kinetics-rates data and Kinetic versus thermodynamic

Entropy

1. Thermodynamics Part 3 ΔS Entropy and ΔG Free Energy Changes

Equilibria

1. Equilibria Part 1. Dynamic molecular equilibrium and Le Chatelier's principle

2. Equilibria Part 2 K_c and K_p equilibrium expressions and calculations

Applications of Rates and Equilibrium

1. Equilibria Part 3 equilibrium and industrial processes (can ignore the Kp/Kc equilibrium expressions and concentrate on the application of Le Chatelier's Principle to industrial processes if don't need know about them) See also computer simulation of ammonia equilibrium composition

Acid/Base Equilibria

1. Equilibria Part 5 pH, weak-strong acid-base theory (Lewis and Bronsted-Lowry) and K_a, k_b and K_w equilibrium calculations

2. Equilibria Part 6 Salt hydrolysis, Acid-base titrations-indicators, pH curves and buffers

Chirality

1.  Organic Chemistry (2) STEREOISOMERISM general definition (use sub-index at top of page)

2.  Organic Chemistry (2a) Geometrical Isomerism (E/Z) was called cis/trans) (use sub-index at top of page)

3.  Organic Chemistry (2b) Optical Isomerism (R/S isomerism) (use sub-index at top of page)

4. Spotting optical isomers Q (hand written!) (answers)

Carbonyl Compounds

1. Revision notes on the Structure and Naming of Carbonyl Compounds Aldehydes and Ketones

2. Multiple choice on the structure and naming (nomenclature) of Aldehydes and Ketones

3. Type in name Quiz on the nomenclature of Aldehydes and Ketones

4. Ex. 4. Matching pair Quiz on aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acid and ester structure

5. Qualitative Analysis: Tests for organic functional groups notes (use alphabetical index for homologous series, reagents etc.) (alphabetical keyword index at top of page)

6.  Mechanism: Carbonyl compounds - aldehydes/ketones nucleophilic addition of hydrogen cyanide to give a hydroxynitrile (includes reagents, reaction conditions and exemplar balanced equations showing product formation)

Carboxylic Acids

1. Revision notes on the structure and naming of CARBOXYLIC ACIDS and DERIVATIVES, including nomenclature of isomers

2. Multiple choice Quiz on the Structure and naming of CARBOXYLIC ACIDS & DERIVATIVES

3. Type in name Quiz on the nomenclature of CARBOXYLIC ACIDS & DERIVATIVES

4. Ex. 4. Matching pair Quiz on aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acid and ester structure

5. Ex. 5 Matching pair quiz on organic molecular structure (combination of Ex. 1., 2. and 4.)

6. Organic synthesis redox reactions - including oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes/ketones/carboxylic acids, reduction of aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids to alcohols (use top summary table index and links)

7. Extra GCSE Organic Chemistry Notes - preparation of an ester

Carboxylic Acid Derivatives

1. Revision notes on the structure and naming of CARBOXYLIC ACIDS and DERIVATIVES, including nomenclature of isomers

2.  Mechanism: Acid chlorides/acyl chlorides - nucleophilic addition-elimination reactions - hydrolysis with water to give a carboxylic acid (general equations and reaction conditions quoted too) MECHANISMs NOT NEEDED

3.  Mechanism: Acid chlorides/acyl chlorides - nucleophilic addition-elimination reactions - esterification with alcohols (general equations and reaction conditions quoted too) MECHANISMs NOT NEEDED

4.  Mechanism: Acid chlorides/acyl chlorides - nucleophilic addition-elimination reactions - amide formation with ammonia or primary amines (general equations and reaction conditions quoted too) MECHANISMs NOT NEEDED

Spectroscopy and Chromatography

1. Extra GCSE Industrial Chemistry Notes includes section on glc gas-liquid chromatography (section 6.)

A2 Unit 5: General Principles of Chemistry II — Transition Metals and Organic Nitrogen Chemistry

Application of Redox Equilibria * Transition Metals and their Chemistry * Arenes: Benzene * Organic nitrogen compounds: amines, amides, amino acids, proteins * Organic Synthesis

Application of Redox Equilibria

1. Revision notes on Inorganic redox reactions - Part 1 includes introduction to electronegativity, explaining oxidation and reduction reactions and oxidation state/oxidation number changes

2. Revision notes on Inorganic redox reactions - Part 2 analysing and constructing full redox equations from half-cell reactions

3. Equilibrium Part 7 Redox equilibria, half-cell electrode potentials, predicting feasibility of a reaction (use top index)

4. Kinetic versus thermodynamic stability - includes example of free energy-entropy feasibility calculation

5. redox titration calculation questions (all with worked out answers)

6. Experimental style - redox titration (ans) based on Q1 of above

Transition Metals and their Chemistry

1. INORGANIC Part 10 3d block TRANSITION METALS sub-index: 10.1-10.2 Introduction 3d-block Transition Metals * 10.3 Scandium * 10.4 Titanium * 10.5 Vanadium * 10.6 Chromium * 10.7 Manganese * 10.8 Iron * 10.9  Cobalt * 10.10 Nickel * 10.11 Copper * 10.12 Zinc * 10.13 Other Transition Metals e.g. Ag and Pt

2. TRANSITION METALS continued: Appendix 1. Hydrated salts, acidity of hexa-aqua ions * Appendix 2. Complexes & ligands * Appendix 3. Complexes and isomerism * Appendix 4. Electron configuration & colour theory * Appendix 5. Redox equations, feasibility, E^ø * Appendix 6. Catalysis * Appendix 7. Redox equations * Appendix 8. Stability Constants and entropy changes * Appendix 9. Colorimetric analysis and complex ion formula * Appendix 10 3d block - extended data * Appendix 11 Some 3d-block compounds, complexes, oxidation states & electrode potential chart * Appendix 12 Hydroxide complex precipitate 'pictures', formulae and equations

Arenes: Benzene

1. Notes on the Structure and Naming of Aromatic Compounds, including nomenclature of isomers

2. Type in name Quiz on the nomenclature of Aromatic Compounds

3. Ex. 1. Matching pair Quiz on hydrocarbon structure

4. Enthalpies of hydrogenation as evidence for benzene ring structure in section 1.4d

5.  MECHANISMS AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS - introduction to arene electrophilic substitution mechanisms links to various reactions including equation and reaction conditions

6.  Mechanism: Aromatic hydrocarbons - arene introduction to electrophilic substitution and nitration to form nitro-aromatic compounds (basic equation, reagents and reaction conditions given)

7.  Mechanism: Aromatic hydrocarbons - arene electrophilic substitution chlorination to give halogenoarenes  (similar for bromine, just swap Cl with Br) (basic equation, reagents and reaction conditions given)

8.  Mechanism: Aromatic hydrocarbons - arene electrophilic substitution alkylation [Friedel-Crafts reaction] (basic equation, reagents and reaction conditions given)

9.  Mechanism: Aromatic hydrocarbons - arene electrophilic substitution acylation [Friedel-Crafts reaction] (basic equation, reagents and reaction conditions given)

10.  Mechanism: Aromatic hydrocarbons - arene electrophilic substitution aromatic sulphonation/sulfonation to give sulphonic/sulfonic acids (basic equation, reagents and reaction conditions given) MECHANISM NOT NEEDED

Organic nitrogen compounds: amines, amides, amino acids and proteins

1. Revision notes on the Structure, Classification and Naming of Organic Nitrogen Compounds, including nomenclature of isomers

2. Reduction of nitro-aromatic compounds to aromatic amines for dyestuffs industry in section 8.5

3.  Amino acids-proteins-polypeptides-enzymes

Organic Synthesis

1. A summary of homologous series, functional group names and structure in Organic Chemistry (look for 'general formulae' and links to organic molecular structure and nomenclature/naming pages)

2. General QUIZ on type of Organic Molecule Recognition based on examples of structure and recognition of functional groups, including isomers, so the quiz is mainly on recognition of types of molecules and their structural features and classification

3. section 8. Using moles to deduce empirical/molecular formula of a compound/molecule starting with reacting masses or % composition by mass

4. A set of jumbled of molecules and reagents to arrange as a viable synthesis route (a little 'experimental Q'!)

5. Simple NMR problem solving with % composition and infra-red absorption data

A2 Unit 6: Chemistry Laboratory Skills II