A-level Chemistry/OCR (Salters)/The Elements of Life



The Elements of Life is the first unit in the Salters Advanced Chemistry course. It reviews essential topics from GCSE-level chemistry and introduces new content, including:


 * the structure, properties, and behaviour of individual atoms
 * the interaction of atoms with electromagnetic radiation
 * the three main types of chemical bonding
 * chemical patterns in the periodic table
 * the shapes of molecules

Chemical Storylines sections

 * EL1: What are we made of?
 * EL2: Take two elements...
 * EL3: Where do the chemical elements come from?
 * EL4: Looking for patterns in elements
 * EL5: The molecules of life
 * EL6: Summary

Chemical Ideas sections

 * 1.1 Amount of substance
 * 1.2 Balanced equations
 * 2.1 A simple model of the atom
 * 2.2 Nuclear reactions
 * 2.3 Electronic structure: shells
 * 3.1 Chemical bonding
 * 3.3 The shapes of molecules
 * 6.1 Light and electrons
 * 11.1 Periodicity
 * 11.2 The s block: Groups 1 and 2

Activities

 * EL1 How do we know the formula of a compound?
 * EL2.1 ''How much iron is in a sample of an iron compound?
 * EL2.2 ''Making the most of your study of chemistry
 * EL3.1 ''Investigating the chemistry of Group 1 and Group 2 elements
 * EL3.2 ''How do the physical properties of elements change across a row in the Periodic Table?
 * EL3.3 ''Check your notes on The Elements of Life : Part 1
 * EL4.1 ''How do we know about atoms?
 * EL4.2 ''Isotopic abundance and relative atomic mass
 * EL4.3 ''Investigating a spectroscopic technique
 * EL4.4 ''Radon in the rocks
 * EL5 ''Balloon molecules
 * EL6 ''Check your notes on The Elements of Life : Part 2