Transition guide

This resource is to help students make the transition from GCSE to AS or A-level
Chemistry.

Contents
You’re studying AS or A-level Chemistry, congratulations! 3
Why study A-level Chemistry? 3
Possible degree options 3
Which career appeals to you? 4
Specification at a glance 5
Should you study an AS or A-level? 6
The assessment for the AS consists of two exams 7
The assessment for the A-level consists of three exams 8
Places to go for help 9
Useful information and activities 11
Greek letters 11
SI units 13
Important vocabulary for practical work 16
Precise language 17
The periodic table 17
Relative atomic mass 20
Relative formula mass 21
Common ions 22
Diatomic molecules 25
Common compounds 25
Balancing equations 26
Moles 28
Empirical formula 29

1
The periodic table 31

2
You’re studying AS or A-level Chemistry, congratulations!
Studying chemistry after your GCSEs really develops your practical and
mathematical skills. If you enjoy experimenting in the lab, you’ll love it.
At first, you may find the jump in demand from GCSE a little daunting, but if you
follow the tips and advice in this guide, you’ll soon adapt.
We recommend you keep this somewhere safe, as you may like to refer to the
information inside throughout your studies.

Why study A-level Chemistry?

Chemistry students get to investigate a huge range of ideas: the big question
you’ll ask yourself is ‘what is the world made of?’ If you choose it as career, you
have the potential to help solve all sorts of problems. You could work on a cure
for cancer, or you might develop a new food: the possibilities are endless.

Even if you don’t decide to work in chemistry, studying it still develops useful and
transferable skills for other careers. You’ll develop research, problem solving and
analytical skills, alongside teamwork and communication. Universities and
businesses regard all of these very highly.

Possible degree options

According to [Link], the top five degree courses taken by students
who have A-level Chemistry are:

 Chemistry
 Biology

 Pre-clinical medicine
 Mathematics

 Pharmacology.
For more details, go to the [Link] website, or UCAS.

3
Which career appeals to you?
Studying Chemistry at A-level or degree opens up plenty of career opportunities,
such as:
 analytical chemist
 chemical engineer
 clinical biochemist
 pharmacologist
 doctor
 research scientist (physical sciences)
 toxicologist
 environmental consultant
 higher education lecturer or secondary school teacher
 patent attorney
 science writer.

4
Specification at a glance
AS and A-level
Physical chemistry Inorganic chemistry Organic chemistry
 Atomic structure  Periodicity  Introduction to
 
organic chemistry
Amount of substance Group 2, the alkaline


earth metals Alkanes
Bonding
 

Group 7 (17), the Halogenoalkanes
Energetics

halogens

Alkenes
Kinetics


Alcohols
Chemical equilibria,
Le Chatelier’s  Organic analysis
principle and Kc
 Oxidation, reduction
and redox equations

A-level only topics

Physical chemistry Inorganic chemistry Organic chemistry
 Thermodynamics  Properties of Period  Optical isomerism
 
3 elements and
Rate equations Aldehydes and
oxides

ketones

Equilibrium constant

Transition metals
Kp for homogeneous Carboxylic acids and
systems  Reactions of ions in derivatives
 
aqueous solution
Electrode potentials Aromatic chemistry

and electrochemical
Amines
cells


Polymers
Acids and bases
 Amino acids,
proteins and DNA
 Organic synthesis
 NMR spectroscopy
 Chromatography

5
Should you study AS or A-level?
AS and A-level are separate qualifications.
An AS lasts one year. Your exam results don’t count towards an A-level, but
they’re still valuable and AS UCAS points are accepted by higher education
institutions.
Despite being separate to an A-level, AS course content is the same as the first
year of A-level. If you want to switch from an AS to an A-level, you can. Your
teacher will help you decide whether it’s the right move for you.
All exams for the AS take place at the end of the one-year course. Exams for the
A-level take place at the end of the two-year course.

Year 12 Year 13 Sit AS exams at

the end of year
12. Continue to
year 13 and take
the full A-level.

Learn content
common to both
AS and A-level
Learn A-level only content

Do not sit AS
exams at the end
of year 12. Take
only full A-level
exams at the end
of year 13.
Sit AS exams at
the end of year
12. Decide to
stop here.

6
The assessment for the AS consists of two exams

Paper 1 + Paper 2
What's assessed What's assessed
 Relevant Physical chemistry topics  Relevant Physical chemistry topics
(sections 3.1.1 to 3.1.4, 3.1.6 and (sections 3.1.2 to 3.1.6)
3.1.7)  Organic chemistry (section 3.3.1 to
 Inorganic chemistry (section 3.2.1 3.3.6)
to 3.2.3)  Relevant practical skills
 Relevant practical skills

How it’s assessed How it’s assessed

 Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes  Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
 80 marks  80 marks
 50% of the AS  50% of the AS

Questions Questions
 65 marks of short and long answer  65 marks of short and long answer
questions questions
 15 marks of multiple choice  15 marks of multiple choice
questions questions

7
 The assessment for the A-level consists of three exams

Paper 1 + Paper 2 + Paper 3

What's assessed What's assessed What's assessed
 Relevant Physical  Relevant Physical  Any content
chemistry topics (sections chemistry topics (sections  Any practical skills
3.1.1 to 3.1.4, 3.1.6 to  3.1.2 to 3.1.6 and 3.1.9)
3.1.8 and 3.1.10 to  Organic chemistry (section
3.1.12) 3.3)
 Inorganic chemistry  Relevant practical skills
(section 3.2)
 Relevant practical skills

How it’s assessed How it’s assessed How it’s assessed

 Written exam: 2 hours  Written exam: 2 hours  Written exam: 2 hours
 105 marks  105 marks  90 marks
 35% of A-level  35% of A-level  30% of A-level

Questions Questions Questions

 105 marks of short and  105 marks of short and  40 marks of questions on
long answer questions long answer questions practical techniques and
data analysis
 20 marks of questions
testing across the
specification
 30 marks of multiple
choice questions

8
Places to go for help
1. Our website is a great place to start.
Our AS and A-level Chemistry webpages are aimed at teachers, but you may find
them useful too. Information includes:
 The specification – this explains exactly what you need to learn for your
exams.
 Practice exam papers.
 Lists of command words and subject specific vocabulary – so you understand
the words to use in exams.
 Practical handbooks explain the practical work you need to know.
 Past papers from the old specification. Some questions won’t be relevant to
the new AS and A-level so please check with your teacher.
 Maths skills support.
 Web resources page with many links to other resources to support study.

2. The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)

The RSC do everything from naming new elements and lobbying MPs, to
improving funding for research sciences in the UK.
You’ll find lots of handy resources on their website.

3. The student room

Join the A-level Chemistry forums and share thoughts and ideas with other
students if you’re stuck with your homework. Just be very careful not to share
any details about your assessments, there are serious consequences if you’re
caught cheating. Visit [Link]

4. Textbooks
Our approved textbooks are published by Collins, Hodder and Oxford University
Press. Textbooks from other publishers will also be suitable, but you’ll need to
double check that the content and formula symbols they use match our
specification.

5. Revision guides
These are great if you want a quick overview of the course when you’re revising
for your exams. Remember to use other tools as well, as these aren’t detailed
enough on their own.

9
6. YouTube
YouTube has thousands of Chemistry videos. Just be careful to look at who
produced the video and why, because some videos distort the facts. Check the
author, date and comments – these help indicate whether the clip is reliable. If in
doubt, ask your teacher.

7. Magazines
Focus, New Scientist or Philip Allan updates can help you put the chemistry
you’re learning in context.

10
Useful information and activities
There are a number of activities throughout this resource. The answers to some
of the activities are available on our secure website, e-AQA. Your teacher will be
able to provide you with these answers.

Greek letters
Greek letters are used often in science. They can be used as symbols for
numbers (such as π = 3.14…), as prefixes for units to make them smaller
(eg μm = 0.000 000 001 m) or as symbols for particular quantities (such as λ
which is used for wavelength).
The Greek alphabet is shown below.

Α α alpha Ν ν nu
Β β beta Ξ ξ ksi
Γ γ gamma Ο ο omicron
Δ δ delta Π π pi
Ε ε epsilon Ρ ρ rho
Ζ ζ zeta Σ ς or σ sigma

Η η eta Τ τ tau
Θ θ theta Υ υ upsilon
Ι ι iota Φ φ phi
Κ κ kappa Χ χ chi
Λ λ lambda Ψ ψ psi
Μ μ mu Ω ω omega

11
Activity 1
A lot of English words are derived from Greek ones, but it’s difficult to see as the
alphabet is so different.
Many of the Greek letters are pronounced like the start of their name. For example,
omega is pronounced “o”, sigma is pronounced “s” and lambda is pronounced “l”.
See if you can work out what the following Greek words mean by comparing the
phonetic spelling with similar English words.

Πυθαγόρας Name of a
mathematician
Ωκεανος Atlantic, Pacific or
Arctic…
μόνος Single
Τηλε Far or distant
Τρωγλοδύτης Cave dweller

12
SI units
Every measurement must have a size (eg 2.7) and a unit (eg metres or ºC).
Sometimes there are different units available for the same type of
measurement, for example ounces, pounds, kilograms and tonnes are all used as
units for mass.
To reduce confusion and to help with conversion between different units, there
is a standard system of units called the SI units which are used for most
scientific purposes.
These units have all been defined by experiment so that the size of, say, a metre
in the UK is the same as a metre in China.
The seven SI base units are:

Physical quantity Usual quantity symbol Unit Abbreviation

mass m kilogram kg

length l or x metre m

time t second s

electric current I ampere A

temperature T kelvin K

amount of N mole mol

substance
luminous (not used at A-level) candela cd
intensity

All other units can be derived from the SI base units.

For example, area is measured in square metres (written as m2) and speed is
measured in metres per second (written as ms–1).
It is not always appropriate to use a full unit. For example, measuring the width
of a hair or the distance from Manchester to London in metres would cause the
numbers to be difficult to work with.
Prefixes are used to multiply each of the units. You will be familiar with centi
(meaning 1/100), kilo (1000) and milli (1/1000) from centimetres, kilometres
and millimetres.
There is a wide range of prefixes. The majority of quantities in scientific contexts
will be quoted using the prefixes that are multiples of 1000. For example, a
distance of 33 000 m would be quoted as 33 km.

13
The most common prefixes you will encounter are:

Prefix Symbol Multiplication factor

Tera T 1012 1 000 000 000 000
Giga G 109 1 000 000 000
Mega M 106 1 000 000
kilo k 103 1000
deci d 10-1 0.1 1/10
centi c 10-2 0.01 1/100
milli m 10-3 0.001 1/1000
micro μ 10-6 0.000 001 1/1 000 000
nano n 10-9 0.000 000 001 1/1 000 000 000
pico p 10-12 0.000 000 000 001 1/1 000 000 000 000
femto f 10–15 0.000 000 000 000 001 1/1 000 000 000 000 000

Activity 2
Which SI unit and prefix would you use for the following quantities?

1. The mass of water in a test tube.

2. The time taken for a solution to change colour.

3. The radius of a gold atom.

4. The volume of water in a burette.

5. The amount of substance in a beaker of sugar.

6. The temperature of the blue flame from a Bunsen burner.

14
Sometimes, there are units that are used that are not combinations of SI units
and prefixes.
These are often multiples of units that are helpful to use. For example, one litre
is 0.001 m3.

Activity 3
Rewrite the following in SI units.

1. 5 minutes

2. 2 days

3. 5.5 tonnes

Activity 4
Rewrite the following quantities.

1. 0.00122 metres in millimetres

2. 104 micrograms in grams

3. 1.1202 kilometres in metres

4. 70 decilitres in millilitres

5. 70 decilitres in litres

6. 10 cm3 in litres

15
 Important vocabulary for practical work
There are many words used in practical work. You will have come across most of
these words in your GCSE studies. It is important you are using the right
definition for each word.

Activity 5
Join the boxes to link the word to its definition.

Accurate A statement suggesting what may happen in the future.

Data An experiment that gives the same results when a different

person carries it out, or a different technique or set of
equipment is used.

Precise A measurement that is close to the true value.

Prediction An experiment that gives the same results when the same
experimenter uses the same method and equipment.

Range Physical, chemical or biological quantities or characteristics.

Repeatable A variable that is kept constant during an experiment.

Reproducible A variable that is measured as the outcome of an

experiment.

Resolution This is the smallest change in the quantity being measured

(input) of a measuring instrument that gives a perceptible
change in the reading.

Uncertainty The interval within the true value can be expected to lie.

Variable The spread of data, showing the maximum and minimum

values of the data.

Control Measurements where repeated measurements show very

variable little spread.

Dependent Information, in any form, that has been collected.

variable

16
Precise language
It is essential at AS and A-level to use precise language when you write reports
and when you answer examination questions. You must always demonstrate that
you understand a topic by using the correct and appropriate terms.
For example, you should take care when discussing bonding to refer to the
correct particles and interactions between them.
Also, when discussing the interaction between particles in an ionic solid, you
would demonstrate a lack of understanding if you referred to the particles as
atoms or molecules instead of ions or the interaction between these ions as
intermolecular forces rather than electrostatic forces. In this case, use of the
incorrect terms would result in the loss of all the marks available for that part of
a question.
Take care also to use the word ‘chloride’ and not ‘chlorine’ when referring to the
ions in a compound such as sodium chloride. The word ‘chlorine’ should only be
used for atoms or molecules of the element.

The periodic table

The periodic table of elements is shown on the back page of this booklet. The
A-level course will build on what you’ve learned in your GCSE studies.

Activity 6
On the periodic table on the following page:

 Draw a line showing the metals and non-metals.

 Colour the transition metals blue.

 Colour the halogens yellow.

 Colour the alkali metals red.

 Colour the noble gases green.

 Draw a blue arrow showing the direction of periods.

 Draw a red arrow showing the direction of groups.

 Draw a blue ring around the symbols for all gases.

 Draw a red ring around the symbols for all liquids.

17
18
Activity 7
Use the periodic table to find the following:

1. The atomic number of: osmium, sodium, lead, chlorine.

2. The relative atomic mass of: helium, barium, europium, oxygen.

3. The number of protons in: mercury, iodine, calcium.

4. The symbol for: gold, lead, copper, iron.

5. The name of: Sr, Na, Ag, Hg.

6. THInK can be written using a combination of the symbols for Thorium, Indium
and Potassium (ThInK). Which combinations of element symbols could be used
to make the following words?

AMERICA, FUN, PIRATE, LIFESPAN, FRACTION, EROSION, DYNAMO

Activity 8: research activity

Research either:
The history of the periodic table
OR
The history of models of atomic structure.

Present your findings as a timeline. You should include the work of at least four
people. For each, explain what evidence or experiments they used and how this
changed the understanding of chemistry.

19
Relative atomic mass (Ar)
If there are several isotopes of an element, the relative atomic mass will take
into account the proportion of atoms in a sample of each isotope.

35
For example, chlorine gas is made up of 75% of chlorine-35 17C𝑙 and 25% of
chlorine-37 37
17C𝑙 .

The relative atomic mass of chlorine is therefore the mean atomic mass of the
atoms in a sample, and is calculated by:

75.0 25.0
𝐴𝑟 = ( × 35) + ( × 37) = 26.25 + 9.25 = 35.5
100 100

Activity 9
79
1. What is the relative atomic mass of Bromine, if the two isotopes, Br and 81Br,
exist in equal amounts?

2. Neon has three isotopes. 20Ne accounts for 90.9%, 21Ne accounts for 0.3% and
the last 8.8% of a sample is 22Ne. What is the relative atomic mass of neon?

3. Magnesium has the following isotope abundances: 24Mg: 79.0%; 25Mg: 10.0% and
26
Mg: 11.0%. What is the relative atomic mass of magnesium?

Harder:
4. Boron has two isotopes, 10B and 11B. The relative atomic mass of boron is 10.8.
What are the percentage abundances of the two isotopes?

5. Copper’s isotopes are 63Cu and 65Cu. If the relative atomic mass of copper is
63.5, what are the relative abundances of these isotopes?

20
Relative formula mass (Mr)
Carbon dioxide, CO2 has 1 carbon atom (Ar = 12.0) and two oxygen atoms
(Ar = 16.0). The relative formula mass is therefore
Mr = (12.0 × 1) + (16.0 × 2) = 44.0
Magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH)2 has one magnesium ion (Ar = 24.3) and two
hydroxide ions, each with one oxygen (Ar = 16.0) and one hydrogen (Ar = 1.0).

The relative formula mass is therefore:

(24.3 × 1) + (2 × (16.0 + 1.0)) = 58.3

Activity 10
Calculate the relative formula mass of the following compounds:

1. Magnesium oxide MgO

2. Sodium hydroxide NaOH

3. Copper sulfate CuSO4

4. Ammonium chloride NH4Cl

5. Ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4

21
 Common ions

Positive ions (cations) Negative ions (anions)

Name Symbol Name Symbol
Hydrogen H+ Hydroxide OH–
Sodium Na+ Chloride Cl–
Lithium Li+ Bromide Br–
Silver Ag+ Oxide O2–
Magnesium Mg2+ Hydrogencarbonate HCO3–
Calcium Ca2+ Nitrate NO3–
Zinc Zn2+ Sulfate SO42–
Aluminium Al3+ Carbonate CO32–
Ammonium NH4+ Phosphate PO43–

Some elements have more than one charge. For example, iron can form ions
with a charge of +2 or +3. Compounds containing these are named Iron(II) and
Iron(III) respectively.
Other common elements with more than one charge include:
Chromium(II) and chromium(III)
Copper(I) and copper(II)
Lead(II) and lead(IV)

Activity 11
On the periodic table on the following page, colour elements that form one atom ions (eg Na+
or O2–) according to the following key:

Charge Colour
+1 red
+2 yellow
+3 green
-1 blue
-2 brown

22
23
Ionic compounds must have an overall neutral charge. The ratio of cations to
anions must mean that there is as many positives as negatives.
For example:

NaCl MgO MgCl2

+ – 2+ 2– 2+
Cl–
Na Cl Mg O Mg
Cl–
+1 -1 +2 –2 +2 –2

Activity 12
Work out what the formulas for the following ionic compounds should be:
1. Magnesium bromide

2. Barium oxide

3. Zinc chloride

4. Ammonium chloride

5. Ammonium carbonate

6. Aluminium bromide

7. Iron(II) sulfate

8. Iron(III) sulfate

24
Diatomic molecules
A number of atoms exist in pairs as diatomic (two atom) molecules.
The common ones that you should remember are:
Hydrogen H2, Oxygen O2, Fluorine F2, Chlorine Cl2, Bromine Br2, Nitrogen N2 and
Iodine I2

Common compounds
There are several common compounds from your GCSE studies that have names
that do not help to work out their formulas. For example, water is H2O.

Activity 13: Research activity

What are the formulas of the following compounds?

1. Methane

2. Ammonia

3. Hydrochloric acid

4. Sulfuric acid

5. Sodium hydroxide

6. Potassium manganate(VII)

7. Hydrogen peroxide

25
Balancing equations
Chemical reactions never create or destroy atoms. They are only rearranged or
joined in different ways.
When hydrogen and oxygen react to make water:
hydrogen + oxygen  water
H2 + O 2  H2O
There are two hydrogen atoms on both sides of this equation, but two oxygen
atoms on the left and only one on the right. This is not balanced.
This can be balanced by writing:
2H2 + O2  2H2O

The reactants and products in this reaction are known and you can’t change
them. The compounds can’t be changed and neither can the subscripts because
that would change the compounds. So, to balance the equation, a number must
be added in front of the compound or element in the equation. This is a
coefficient. Coefficients show how many atoms or molecules there are.

26
Activity 14
Write balanced symbol equations for the following reactions. You’ll need to use the
information on the previous pages to work out the formulas of the compounds.
Remember some of the elements may be diatomic molecules.

1. Aluminium + oxygen  aluminium oxide

2. Methane + oxygen  carbon dioxide + water

3. Aluminium + bromine  aluminium bromide

4. Calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid  calcium chloride + water + carbon

dioxide

5. Aluminium sulfate + calcium hydroxide  aluminium hydroxide + calcium sulfate

Harder:

6. Silver nitrate + potassium phosphate  silver phosphate + potassium nitrate

More challenging:

7. Potassium manganate(VII) + hydrochloric acid 

potassium chloride + manganese(II) chloride + water + chlorine

27
Moles
A mole is the amount of a substance that contains 6.02 × 1023 particles.

The mass of 1 mole of any substance is the relative formula mass (Mr) in grams.

Examples:
One mole of carbon contains 6.02 × 1023 particles and has a mass of 12.0 g
Two moles of copper contains 12.04 × 1023 particles, and has a mass of 127 g
1 mole of water contains 6.02 × 1023 particles and has a mass of 18 g

The amount in moles of a substance can be found by using the formula:

mass of substance
Amount in moles of a substance =
relative formula mass

Activity 15
Fill in the table.

Number of
Substance Mass of substance Amount/moles
particles

Helium 18.12 × 1023

Chlorine 14.2

Methane 4

Sulfuric acid 4.905

28
Empirical formula
If you measure the mass of each reactant used in a reaction, you can work out
the ratio of atoms of each reactant in the product. This is known as the empirical
formula. This may give you the actual chemical formula, as the actual formula
may be a multiple of this. For example, hydrogen peroxide is H2O2 but would
have the empirical formula HO.

Use the following to find an empirical formula:

1. Write down reacting masses

2. Find the amount in moles of each element
3. Find the ratio of moles of each element

Example:

A compound contains 2.232 g of ion, 1.284 g of sulfur and 1.920 g of oxygen.

What is the empirical formula?

Element Iron Sulfur Oxygen

mass/relative atomic
2.232/55.8 1.284/32.1 1.920/16.0
mass
Amount in moles 0.040 0.040 0.120
Divide by smallest
0.040/0.040 0.040/0.040 0.120/0.040
value
Ratio 1 1 3

So the empirical formula is FeSO3.

If the question gives the percentage of each element instead of the mass,
replace mass with the percentage of an element present and follow the same
process.

29
Activity 16

Work out the following empirical formulas:

1. The smell of a pineapple is caused by ethyl butanoate. A sample is known to

contain only 0.180 g of carbon, 0.030 g of hydrogen and 0.080 g of oxygen.
What is the empirical formula of ethyl butanoate?

2. Find the empirical formula of a compound containing 0.0578 g of titanium,

0.288 g of carbon, 0.012 g of hydrogen and 0.384 g of oxygen.

3. 300 g of a substance are analysed and found to contain only carbon, hydrogen
and oxygen. The sample contains 145.9 g of carbon and 24.32 g of hydrogen.
What is the empirical formula of the compound?

4. Another 300 g sample is known to contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
The percentage of carbon is found to be exactly the same as the percentage of
oxygen. The percentage of hydrogen is known to be 5.99%. What is the empirical
formula of the compound?

30