A Level Chemistry

Many of the resources for Advanced Higher Chemistry will be useful for A Level Chemistry. I have listed these useful resources below:

Unit 1 - Inorganic / Physical Chemistry

Good links for Unit 1 from SSERC  : http://www.sserc.org.uk/index.php/advanced-higher-revised/inorganic-and-physical-chemistry

Print-able Electromagnetic Spectrum
http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/Databook/data/print/electromagnetic_spectrum.pdf

Dual nature of electromagnetic radiation -

Electromagnetic Radiation - Revision of Basics
An entertaining presentation and revision of the basics of Electromagnetic Radiation (is that Matt Baker speaking ?!?) :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel/electromagnetic_spectrum/electromagneticspectrumact.shtml

In case you come across Wavenumber
here is a wavenumber/wavelenght converter
http://www.impublications.com/wavenumber-wavelength-converter

Dual Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation :Is it like a wave or particle or both ?
Some Nobel Prizes which were based on this are discussed here :
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/themes/physics/ekspong/

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase - some interesting resources, particularly for some background reading - http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000280/spectroscopy-in-a-suitcase-students-resource?cmpid=CMP00000320

Interactive Hydrogen Spectrum
Click on the various electron transitions (the Arrows!!) between energy levels and see which line on the spectrum corresponds to that transition :
http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/resources/databook/int_electron_energy_hydrogen.htm

Emission and Absorption spectra of Hydrogen Helium Lithium and Beryllium :
http://scisyn.com/umuc/astro/ASTR100Notes/spectra-examples.html

Using/Making a simple CD Spectroscope 
You can make a very simple spectroscope from a CD (or even just hold one up to the light), to analyse emissions from lights such as neon / sodium vapour streetlight, candle light etc.  Details of making one are here and examples of what you might see :
https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~zhuxj/astro/html/spectrometer.html
or http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel/waves_universe/exploring_spacerev6.shtml

So many words !!  Spectroscope vs Spectrometers vs Spectrophotometer
You may come across all these words but essentially they all allow you to view emission or absorption spectra and some allow you to measure and graph the results as well.

Wavenumber - you might need to know this too https://www2.chemistry.msu.edu/faculty/harrison/cem483/wavenumbers.pdf

Flame Tests
Group 1 Elements - video of flame tests
http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00001120/ri-christmas-lectures-2012-group-1-flame-tests?cmpid=CMP00002100#!cmpid=CMP00002276
In the colours seen, we see energy emitted at a discrete energy level as electrons move from a high energy level to a lower energy level, emitting a discrete (definite) amount of energy which we perceive as a particular colour. Can also be viewed through a spectroscope to see the discrete levels.

Another flame test video :
.....and some more !
(I love flame tests !!)
Energy levels and flame tests experiment in a lecture (Recommend to watch this)
Slightly hesitant explanation but nice to see the different colours from the lamps and flame tests of alkali metals. Only 3 mins long ! http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00001248/the-alkali-metals-part-1#!cmpid=CMP00002461

Emission and Absorption Spectra :
"What is Spectroscopy" 
This page shows a Hydrogen Absorption and Emission Spectrum in Visible light.
http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/outreach/Edu/Spectra/spec.html and further nice details here :
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/absorption.html

Sodium Lamps - arc lamps
A sodium street lamp is an arc lamp which is an electric lamp in which a current travels through a gas between two incandescent electrodes and generates an arc that produces light. Also called arc light. The commonly seen Sodium street lamp actually also contains Neon which glows red as the lamp is starting up. Once the lamp has been on for about 10 minutes or so, you will see the orange-yellow glow of the Sodium emission. Find out more from this video about how this lamp works. Interesting to listen to - http://www.edisontechcenter.org/SodiumLamps.html
Lighting - Lots about different types of lamps and lighting- just if you are interested - not really Adv Higher Chemistry except for the sodium Arc lamps perhaps!
http://www.edisontechcenter.org/ArcLamps.html

Quantum Numbers
Each electron in an atom can be defined by its own set of quantum numbers - each electron has a different position ....
n = the principal quantum number = the shell
l = the angular momentum quantum number = the type of orbital eg 0 = s, 1 = p, 2 = d ....
m = magnetic quantum number = which orbital... eg -1, 0 , 1 for p orbitals...
s = spin quantum number = which electron in the orbital - 0.5 or + 0.5
etc.

Periodic Table
An interactive periodic table which allows you to select different elements to see if their outer orbital is an s, p or d orbital. Its useful to work through from the beginning and remember that its the outer layers that you are seeing :
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/
Also you can use this table to check the spectroscopic notation for each element.

Colorimetry - Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
www.docbrown.info/page07/appendixtrans09.htm
If your school doesnt have a colorimeter then here is a method using simple electronics which could easily be bought and your school will surely have some of these parts. All you need to buy are some LED light bulb emitters and receivers and find some LEGO bricks would you believe! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgiIxqBmt1E (from the CLEAPSS website)

Determining Manganese Content in Steel using Colorimetry (was in old Adv H ...is it still relevant ?)
http://www.outreach.canterbury.ac.nz/chemistry/documents/manganese_steel_colorimeter.pdf

and ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoFGd8tWXAc - Spectrophotometric determination of Iron -may still be worth watching ... as you don't know what may come up in the Open Questions !

A bit about Colour !
In chemistry and pigments, the following happens ...
  • Black object absorbs all the colors of the visible spectrum and reflects none of them to the eyes.
  • White reflects all the colours of the visible light spectrum to the eyes (their atomic bonds do not absorb any frequencies). 
  • Colourless objects do not reflect the light, they are transparent to light, letting all frequencies pass 
If you want to read more about colour - and pigments - dyes and art etc then there is loads to read here - but its mostly just for interest - mostly not in the Adv H Chem course -
http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resources/art/colour#/ff3300

Bonding - some resonance structures :  (Not sure if these are definitely in the course but probably worth looking at, even if just for some general knowledge)
Lewis dot diagrams :
http://www.mikeblaber.org/oldwine/chm1045/notes/Bonding/Resonan/Bond07.htm

Interesting film about Forensic Science
Physics solving Crimes ! Using an Ion beam of X-rays and Gamma rays to obtain a spectrum of gunshot residue :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgbdaQWfjDk

Transition Metal compounds
Colourful manganese and vanadium compounds - colour varies depending on oxidation state of the compounds they are involved in :
  • Colour changing in Manganese - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKlXe2mrnHQ  - where we are seeing the following happen -  Firstly the glucose reduces the purple manganate (VII) ion (MnO4-) with the aid of sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. Manganese undergoes the following reduction stages: MnO4- + e- ---> MnO4 2- (+6)  then MnO4 2- + 2 e- ---> MnO2 (+4) + O2  then   MnO2 + 2e- ---> Mn 2+ (+2) + O2
  • Vanadium colour changes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymNLgH0mLQ8
The Colours of Complex Metal Ions
This is worth printing out to keep and read : http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/complexions/colour.html

Colour Chart
Here is a nice chart of the colours of the different transiation metals, depending on oxidation states - you don't need to know all these colours but its something colourful to hang on your wall and remind you that they do change colour depending on what ligands surround them http://www.compoundchem.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Transition-Metal-Ion-Colours-Aqueous-Complexes.png
Coloured Glass - another nice picture to print out : http://www.compoundchem.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/The-Chemistry-of-Coloured-Glass.png
- a video about colouring glass - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ4PGwDtSMs
    Transition Metal and Ligand Complexes + Naming them :
    EDTA - a hexadentate ligand with all sorts of uses - an interesting page from the Royal Society of Chemistry's excellent online magazine The Mole (PRINT THIS OUT TO KEEP !)
    http://www.rsc.org/images/TM0313%20Magnificent%20Molecules%20-%20EDTA_tcm18-230873.pdf

    Drawing Lewis Structures - electrons to create molecular structure (not sure if this is in CfE course...)
    http://www.chem.ucla.edu/harding/lewisdots.html

    Splitting of D orbitals - nice example at the bottom here :
    https://www.wou.edu/las/physci/ch462/tmcolors.htm

    Here is a very good resource about ligands, colour and splitting of D Orbitals :
    http://alevelchem.com/aqa_a_level_chemistry/unit3.5/s354/04.htm

    Quiz about Ligands at the bottom of this page - 
    http://www.a-levelchemistry.co.uk/AQA%20A2%20Chemistry/Unit%205/5.4%20Transition%20Metals/5.4%20Transition%20metals%20home.htm
    Try 5.4 part 1 and can check answers
    Do not try 5.4 part 2 at this stage as it is not all relevant

    Text Book - Transition Metals / Ligands etc - a nice book - nice illustrations - and a test at the end to try - use as an extra for wider reading .... it has roughly the same content but does not mention splitting of d orbitals etc so does not replace the Bright Red text book or Scholar etc
    http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/assetslibrary/sectors/secondary/pdfs/science/heinemannscience/ocralevelsamplelessons/ocra2chemistry_studentbook9780435691981_unit2module3.pdf

    UV/Vis Spectroscopy Video
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O39avevqndU

    Shapes of Molecules
    Discover which molecules take up certain typical shapes :
    http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/resources/databook/int_shapes_molecules_ions.htm

    Catalysis
    Fabulous video explaining the Cobalt 2+ to Cobalt 3+ being used as a catalyst as featured in Bright Red book page 25 - well explained video - watch it even if you already think you know about it !
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5neq2HVajoA

    Questions - You might want to start revising the earlier work - in which case there are questions here - Questions 1 - 15 are relevant so far ... answers can be obtained by emailing me your answers and I can check them.
    http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/images/questions_tcm4-121203.pdf

    Equilibrium, Le Chatelier and Equilibrium Constant K
    http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/equilibria/change.html

    Partition coefficient
    To explain this further I have worked through an exam question on this .. hope this helps you to clarify it a little ...


    Working out pH of Acids and Alkalis At Higher you need to know how to work out the pH from the concentration of Hydrogen ions, however the answer is usually a round number such as pH3. Or you may have to estimate pH within a range from a concentration so the answer might be for example - "between pH3 and pH 4" 
    Just out of interest (so will not come up at Higher) if you wanted to work out an exact pH (such as pH 3.5) or an exact concentration from a pH such as 3.5 then you need to use the "Log" button on your calculator which helps you work out values that are on a logarithmic (or exponential) scale. For some details read here :
    http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryquickreview/a/phreview.htm

    Ionic Product of Water KW and also temperature effects on pH of water
    http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/acidbaseeqia/kw.html

    A nice demo - watch when doing topic on Acids / Bases and Indicators - second half of video tells you how it was done ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arNyofkuBxM

    An Indicator- Phenolphthalein :
    http://www.chempage.de/lexi/phenolphth.jpg

    Buffer - Diagram of an Acid Buffer
    You can create an acid buffer to whatever pH you want, depending on the proportions of salt and acid you add in. And here is how an acid buffer would deal with keeping a steady pH when Hydrochloric acid is added :

    Working out Logs etc - this might help if you dont know which buttons to press on your calculator to work out logs etc for buffer calculations :



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    Delta G Delta S - Entropy - Free Energy in a system / reaction
    Visit Website with Explanation

    Ellingham diagrams
    Diagrams plotting delta G vs Temperature for a reaction
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellingham_diagram

    Reaction Rates - First Order Reactions etc ...
    The first three pages of this section are useful, but page 4 I think is not in Adv H Chem and page 5 will become more understandable once you have completed Unit 2 Organic Chemistry :
    http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/AssetsLibrary/SECTORS/Secondary/PDFs/Science/EdexcelScience/ALevelRevisionGuides/EdexcelA2ChemistryRG_9781846905964_pg8-17_web.pdf

    Rate Determining Step and working out Reaction Mechanisms
    Very good video ! Listen to all 14 minutes of it - it goes past very quickly and is very clear !
    Thanks to excellent Hartlepool Sixth Form College teacher !
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPFZR0Ut4Gk

    (Extra bits I need to double check are not in the CfE course but I think they are not !
    Ionic Crystal Lattice Structures (not in Revised for 2014....)
    You can rotate and examine the CsCl (8:8 ratio) and NaCl (6:6 ratio) typical crystalline structures here :http://www.neubert.net/Crystals/CRYStruc.html
    Chlorides (not in Revised....)
    http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/period3/chlorides.html  )


    Unit 2 - Organic Chemistry

    Sigma and Pi bonds - a bit of an explanation - although really you will hopefully only need to know about Carbon's hybrid orbitals hopefully :
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKyobMewXBw
    and a good explanation of bonding with sigma bonds formed in methane etc.
    http://www.chemguide.co.uk/basicorg/bonding/methane.html
    possible worksheet examples to work though if you want to do a little extra, but I suspect you will only need to know about carbon and hydrogen bonds at advanced higher level:
    http://www.chem.sc.edu/faculty/shimizu/333/Chem_333/1d.iii.html

    Chromophore Experiment
    Really easy chromophore experiment using the chromophore lycopene which gives the red colour in tomatoes - and adding Bromine water to get a rainbow of colour (watch out its a noisy video!) http://chemicalsareyourfriends.com/sliders/tomato-juice-rainbow-explained/

    Chromophores and Bleach 
    http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resources/chemistry-in-your-cupboard/vanish/3
    (I guess in this link they are talking about Oxygen from bleach being added across the double bonds - oxidation occurring)

    Chromophores - a tricky explanation
    The explanation here about how Chromophores absorb light etc. is probably more advanced than you need for Advanced Higher but it makes for quite interesting reading if you don't worry too much about trying to learn it ! It also talks about indicators for acids and alkalis which is quite interesting .. and also how the Colour Wheel is not always quite as simple as it seems ...
    http://www.chemguide.co.uk/analysis/uvvisible/theory.html

    Chromophores with some interesting examples and graphs (I like this link)
    http://www2.chemistry.msu.edu/faculty/reusch/virttxtjml/spectrpy/uv-vis/spectrum.htm

    another chromophore link : https://people.chem.umass.edu/samal/269/color.pdf

    Good links from SSERC http://www.sserc.org.uk/index.php/advanced-higher-revised/organic-chemistry-and-instrumental-analysis

    Dyes - see page 5 of this Mole magazine from Royal Society of Chemistry - v interesting - https://issuu.com/rsc_eic/docs/the-mole-november-2016

    Enantiomers
    http://www.oit.edu/docs/default-source/library-documents/library-publishing/che102-intro-organic-chemistry/chapter-2-4.pdf?sfvrsn=2

    Optical Isomers
    Limonene, which is the oil extracted from oranges, has an orange smell but its optical isomer smells of pine ! See the two isomers here :

    Stereo-isomers
    Link to a chemwiki that is quite useful

    There is a picture of plane polarised light on this link - and also what two enantiomers do to this-
    http://www.wiredchemist.com/chemistry/instructional/an-introduction-to-chemistry/structure/geometric-and-optical-isomers

    Limonene - an optical stereo-isomer - one optical isomer has a lemon smell, the other has a pine smell :
    http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/limonene/limoneneh.htm

    Explaining about amino acids being stereo-isomers - this is a little beyond Adv H level but if you are doing biology as well then you might be interested in the fact that all amino acids in the body are of one type of enantiomer - L-amino acids http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/aminoacids/background.html

    Understanding the curly arrows used in Organic chemistry reaction diagrams :
    http://www.masterorganicchemistry.com/2012/02/29/curved-arrows-2-initial-tails-and-final-heads/

    Amines
    Determining how Basic they are - eg methylamine, phenylamine etc. - are they good bases ?
    http://www.chemguide.co.uk/basicorg/acidbase/bases.html

    Reaction Pathways
    This is an interesting website with the reaction pathways we need to know. I haven't completely examined the site yet but it pretty much seems to cover what is in Advanced Higher Chemistry :
    http://www.reactionpathways.chemistry-teaching-resources.com/New_Reaction_Pathways.html

    Alcohols vs Ethers
    Discussing hydrogen bonding (or lack of !), boiling points, behaviour of these two molecules which can have same molecular formulas but quite different behaviours.
    http://www.4college.co.uk/as/df/alcohols.php

    Alcohols - Ethers - Esters - Alkanes
    Comparing boiling points -
    Useful table in green, yellow, blue and orange colour half way down this page.
    http://www.masterorganicchemistry.com/2010/10/25/3-trends-that-affect-boiling-points/

    Esters
    Some information about Esters, including which smells/flavours you can get from different esters -
    http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/introduction-to-chemistry-general-organic-and-biological/s18-07-physical-properties-of-esters.html

    Haloalkanes
    Naming rules - http://www.ausetute.com.au/namhaloa.html - this hopefully goes a little beyond the types of compounds you might have to name so don't panic ! ...
    rules also here : http://www.docbrown.info/page06/halogenoalkanes1.htm
    and a quiz to try :
    http://www.docbrown.info/page06/Ahaloalkanes/haloalkaneQsa.htm

    Forcing Benzene to Undergo Nucleophillic Substitution reactions ...
    An explanation of why we need to use FeBr3 to encourage Br-Br to react with benzene ...


    Also more details at:
    http://www.chemguide.co.uk/mechanisms/elsub/whatis.html
    and http://www.chemguide.co.uk/mechanisms/elsub/halogenation.html

    Mass Spectrometry
    Really good animation / explanation
    http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/collections/spectroscopy/introduction#MassSpectrometry

    Gas Chromatography
    Quite a nice 5 minute video about Gas Chromatography :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08YWhLTjlfo&list=PLbNovFNl4Fxj25YJ8LvufVC8k8SO142gP
    Nice explanation of Gas Chromatography - I would say you just need general ideas about this so DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE DETAILS here !! But there is some interesting information :
    http://chemguide.co.uk/analysis/chromatography/gas.html

    Extra of interest :
    IR Spectroscopy
    The lower parts of this page are not relevant but the top half is very readable and has good examples which we will use during tutoring.
    http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/collections/spectroscopy/introduction#IRSpectroscopy

    NMR - Here is quite a nice resource - I think pages 1,4, 6,7 and 8 are the most useful, and basically you do not need to know all this detail but read the first bit and then have a look at all the graphs on pages 6,7 and 8 to get an idea how to interpret them.
    http://www.chem.ucalgary.ca/courses/350/Carey5th/Ch13/ch13-nmr-1.html

    NMR animation from Royal Society of Chemistry  :  http://sod-a.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/Collections/spectroscopy/Content/FileRepository/NMR/NMR%20002.swf

    Here are some more examples of NMR spectra :
    http://legacy.chemgym.net/as_a2/topics/nmr_intro/introduction.html

    Drugs and Medicines
    The design of drugs and medicines are considered. Whether they are agonists, which mimic the body's own biological molecules or ant-agonists which block the body's receptors to get their effect are all considered.
    Beta blockers is one group of medicines which were originally designed to block the β receptors in the heart. They were designed by a Scot, James Black who received a Nobel Prize.
    http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1988/black-bio.html
    Propanolol is the drug he discovered :
    You do not appear to need to memorise these structures but you may have to compare them with other structures to look for similarites or you may be expected to recognise groups within them such as amine groups etc.
    Affects of Adrenaline and a small animation : 

    Robots helping us to discover/design new medicines - very interesting video from the Royal Society of Chemistry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7uS9bm3Zk

    Medicines that affect neurotransmitters :

    Drug design - some interesting reading about "The Rule of Five" and other considerations when designing drugs - http://www.rsc.org/images/Breaking%20the%20rules_tcm18-121442.pdf
    and


    This is quite interesting - a short video from "Periodic Videos" about the chemical structure of various painkillers - and the associated illegal drug as well - morphine, diamorphine, codeine, etc 
    - interesting to read this as well after watching this video - about Andanamide - the natural "bliss" molecule - (mentioned in Course and Unit Support notes) -http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/features/anandamide.shtml

    Andanamide - the Bliss molecule (also this article links to the medicine and drug section below)
    http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/features/anandamide.shtml (this is probably really just background reading - it will make more sense too if you are studying Biology as well so don't panic if you are not - just have a bit of a read of it and see what you pick up)

    Medicines - structures
    There are a few interesting bits about medicines and drugs on the first few pages of this reference: https://courses.edx.org/c4x/DavidsonX/001x/asset/Week_1__DavidsonX_001x_Medicinal_Chemistry_Weekly_Summary_.pdf

    Organic Chemistry and Instrumental Analysis -

    Experimental Determination of Structure :
    Elemental Microanalysis - lots of calculations to try on this technique that is mentioned in Bright Red book p72  :
    http://www.chemteam.info/Mole/CombustionAnalysis.html
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    Experimental Techniques

    Interactive Lab primer 
    Has various experimental techniques mentioned : http://chem-ilp.net/index.htm

    A lot about preparation of aspirin, use of re-crystallisation, melting point, and thin layer chromatography http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/content/filerepository/CMP/00/000/045/Aspirin.pdf
    Synthesis of Aspirin : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4NMpO1xI8U

    Recrystallisation and Vacuum Filtration to purify a compound - aspirin
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNTtTzR8lrg
    and more about recrystallisation - ignore the actual experiment here but there is some nice info and  a nice diagram : http://www.users.miamioh.edu/gungbw/CHM244/pdfs/expt_3_2012.pdf

    Analytical Balance
    from Thinkwell - v good videos
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNeNBx8nAyQ

    Titrations
    Worth watching to get finer points of doing these at Adv Higher Level
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    ONLY FOR REVISED Advanced Higher Chemistry Students :
    Making an azo dye from
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND-zmjVubsYif doing revised could watch this too ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb-sKMXPxM0
    Instructions for Azo dye experiment :
    http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/dl/112d84b9dfa862bcbdfc80e75ff785ed39ded93d/28780-Microscale56.pdf

    Probably more for A Level
    very good
    for gas law and pressure v volume animation - and PV=nRT
    http://highered.mheducation.com/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=swf::100%::100%::/sites/dl/free/0023654666/117354/Ideal_Nav.swf::Ideal%20Gas%20Law%20Simulation

    To check later :

    Another one to check - currently i cant get Java past my virus checker on the computer but this site looks very interesting for lots of parts of the course :
    http://www.chemtube3d.com/ALevel.html