Bridging the Gap

GCSE to A Level

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 CONTENTS

Welcome ............................................................................................................................... 2

Ionic Bonding ....................................................................................................................... 3

Covalent Bonding .................................................................................................................. 5

Balancing Equations ............................................................................................................. 7

................................................................................. 8

.......................................................................... 9

.................................................................................................................. 11

Further Reading and Useful Websites ........................................................................... 13

Answers .................................................................................................................................. 14

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Welcome to AS-Level Chemistry! This work is designed to help you revise your GCSE
Chemistry over the summer to prepare you for starting AS-Level Chemistry in
September. You may find it easy, not-so-easy, tricky or really tricky. There may be
The aim is for you to practise
your Chemistry and identify your strengths and weaknesses in the subject. If you
would like further work, or an insight into the wonderful world of AS-Level Chemistry
and beyond, there are some further reading suggestions at the end. There is also a
list of websites you will undoubtedly find useful throughout the course and may need
to use to complete this task.

Good luck and happy Chemis-trying!

From the Chemistry Team

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 IONIC BONDING

Table salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) is our most common ionic compound. It is also
an excellent exemplar of how ionic substances behave. Under a microscope, or
even on your kitchen table, you can see the beautiful crystalline lattice
structure. Whilst it adds flavour to
fish and chips. However, it dissolves readily in water, providing an ideal habitat
for crocodiles and other marine organisms which rely on a salty aqueous
environment. Brine conducts electricity and the products of its electrolysis
provide us with vital chemical ingredients for our everyday life.

1) Complete the passage below using the following words:-

loses ions ionic protons negative electrons positive gains

Atoms are neutral because they hav

When a metal reacts with a non-

the non-

2) Describe the structure of sodium chloride.

3) a) Explain why ionic substances have high melting and boiling points.

b) Explain why ionic substances can conduct electricity when molten or

dissolved.

c) Explain why ionic substances cannot conduct electricity when solid.

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4) Name the three products from the electrolysis of brine and give one example
of how each is useful to us in everyday life.

Product Use

5) Deduce the chemical formulae of the following ionic compounds:-

a) calcium chloride d) aluminium hydroxide

b) sodium oxide e) potassium carbonate

c) magnesium sulfide f) calcium nitrate

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 COVALENT BONDING

Covalently bonded molecules are everywhere! In fact, you are breathing some in
(and out) as you read this. Their simple molecular structure is crucial to your
survival. When you use your pencil to answer these questions you are relying on

graphite. At the Brit Awards, Adele and other starlets adorn themselves with
d. Which, as
it just so happens, was also instrumental in the Hatten Garden robberies as a
consequence of this very property!

Simple covalent molecules

1) Circle the correct answer.

Covalent bonding occurs between:-

Metal - Non-metal ; Metal Metal ; Non-metal - Non-metal

2) How does a covalent bond form?

...........................................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................................

3) What are the properties of simple covalent substances such as chlorine or oxygen?

Melting point and boiling point High/Low

Solubility in water Soluble/Insoluble
Conduct electricity? Conductors/Insulators
Bonding between molecules Weak/strong
(intermolecular bonding)?

4) Draw dot-and-cross diagrams of the following simple molecules:-

Methane Water

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5) Describe and explain the difference in the boiling point of water compared to
chlorine and oxygen.

.................................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

Giant covalent structures

Structure

Name
Type of atoms?
e.g.
carbon/oxygen
Properties
High or low bp
and mp?
Conductor or
insulator?
Hard or soft?
Solubility in
H2O
Uses

SUMMARY
1) Giant covalent structures tend to have low melting and boiling points. True/false
2) Most intermolecular forces are strong and make it difficult to separate the
molecules. True/false
3) Most covalent substances do not conduct electricity. True/false
4) Graphite conducts electricity. True/false
5) Graphite is slippery because the intramolecular bonds are weak covalent bonds.
True/false

Now explain your answer to each of the above statements.

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 BALANCING EQUATIONS

struggling, get it sorted.

Balance the following equations:-

1) Mg(s) + O2(g) MgO(s)

2) H2(g) + 02(g) H2O(l)

3) Fe(s) + HCl(aq) FeCl2(aq) + H2(g)

4) CuO(s) + HNO3(aq) Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + H2O(l)

5) Ca(OH)2(aq) + HCl(aq) CaCl2(aq) + H2O(l)

6) KHCO3(s) + H2SO4(aq) K2SO4(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

7) Al(s) + Cl2(g) AlCl3(s)

Useful websites

Khan Academy

Khan Academy produce lovely on-line tutorials. Brief, clear and informative. If you
are struggling with equation balancing, this tutorial is well worth watching.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chemical-reactions-
stoichiome/balancing-chemical-equations/v/balancing-chemical-equations-introduction

A chemical equation balancing game.

http://education.jlab.org/elementbalancing/

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 Acids and Alkalis

Acids and alkalis play a crucial part in our everyday lives. Indigestion is caused
by excess stomach acid. Gaviscon contains an alkali to neutralise the excess
acid. Our breathing is controlled by the pH of our blood. Bee stings hurt thanks
to formic acid. The effects can be neutralised by bicarbonate of soda. Chemists
often carry out titrations to determine unknown concentrations of acids or alkali,
particularly when quality checking products. A good example is checking the
concentration of alkali in fertilisers before they go on shop shelves for us to
buy; too much alkali can be just as bad (if not worse) than too much acid
(caused by acid rain).

1)

2) Acid + Metal

Acid + Metal Oxide

Acid + Metal Hydroxide

Acid + Metal Carbonate

3) Mr Withers needs to know how acidic the soil is in the school grounds. He decides
to ask the chemistry A Level students to find out by doing a titration. They
decide to use sodium hydroxide as their alkali of known concentration.

a) Fill in the boxes to balance the equation for this reaction.

NaOH + H2SO4 Na2SO4 + H2O

b) The chemistry students use 24.2 cm3 of sulfuric acid, extracted from the soil,
to neutralise 25.0 cm3 of 0.010 moldm -3 sodium hydroxide. Determine the
concentration of sulfuric acid in the school soil.

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 REDOX

Without redo
less essential level, batteries and hydrogen fuel cells rely on redox to switch on

electrons have got t

1) What is

...........................................................................................................................................................

2) Give two examples of useful redox reactions in everday life excluding those

mentioned above (there are millions!).

1)

2)

3) What does oxidation mean?

...........................................................................................................................................................

4) What does reduction mean?

...........................................................................................................................................................

5) Which element is oxidised and which is reduced in the reaction below?

Oxidised .......................................................

Reduced .......................................................

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6) Many elements have variable oxidation states. What does this mean and how is it
useful to us?

................................................................................................................................................................

7) The ore haematite contains iron(III) oxide. Iron is extracted from this ore by
reduction with carbon.

The products of this reaction are iron and carbon dioxide.

(a) Finish this symbol equation for the reaction.

2O3

(b) A haematite ore contains 80% by mass of iron(III) oxide.

Calculate the maximum mass of iron that can be extracted from each tonne of this
ore.

Show each step of your calculation as indicated below.

HINTS: 1 tonne = 1000 kg; relative atomic mass (Ar) Fe = 56, O = 16

mass of iron(III

formula mass of iron(III

mass of iron in 1 to

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 CALCULATIONS

They are sometimes something

that A Level students find tricky but you can do it! The key is to sort out

confidence. These calculations build up in difficulty to those found on AS Level

papers. Give them a shot; you may be surprised by how much you can do.

1) Magnesium sulfate is one of the chemicals in detergent powder.

Ana makes some magnesium sulfate using this reaction.

magnesium carbonate + sulfuric acid magnesium sulfate + water + carbon dioxide

MgCO3 + H2SO4 MgSO4 + H2O + CO2

a) The theoretical yield for Ana

Ana dries and weighs the magnesium sulfate she makes. This is her actual yield.

Actual yield = 10.8 g.

Work out the percentage yield for Ana

percentage yield = .........................................................

b) The relative formula mass of magnesium carbonate is 84.

The relative formula mass of magnesium sulfate is 120.

Calculate the mass of magnesium carbonate that must react with sulfuric acid to
produce 12.0 g of magnesium sulfate.

mass of magnesium carbonate = ................................................ g

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2) A compound containing magnesium, silicon and oxygen is also present in rock
types in Italy. A sample of this compound weighing 5.27 g was found to have
the following composition by mass:

Mg 1.82 g; Si 1.05 g; O 2.40 g

Calculate the empirical formula of the compound.

Show your working.

3) A student heats 12.41 g of hydrated sodium thiosulfate, Na2S2O3.5H2O, to

remove the water of crystallisation. A white powder called anhydrous sodium
thiosulfate forms.

a)

b) What is the relative formula mass of Na2S2O3.5H2O?

c) Calculate the expected mass of anhydrous sodium thiosulfate that forms.

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 FURTHER READING

These are some textbooks which you may find interesting and useful before and
during your AS-Level Chemistry course.

*
Essential Maths Skills for AS/A-Level Chemistry
By Nora Henry
Published by Philip Allan for Hodder Education
ISBN 978 1 4718 6349 3

*A-Level Year 1, Chemistry, OCR A

Complete Revision and Practice
Published by CGP
ISBN 9781782943402

*
A-Level Year 1, Chemistry, OCR A
Complete Revision and Practice
Published by CGP
ISBN 978 1 78294 340 2

*Aspirin. The Story of a Wonder Drug

By D.Jeffreys
Published by Bloomsbury
ISBN 9781582346007

*Periodic Tales, The Curious Lives of the Elements

By Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Published by Penguin
ISBN 978-0141041452

USEFUL WEBSITES

Chemguide www.chemguide.co.uk

http://rod.beavon.org.uk/index.htm

Knockhardy http://www.knockhardy.org.uk/sci.htm

Amazing grades www.amazing-grades.com

Memrise https://www.memrise.com/

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