Accredited Level 2 Diploma in Chemistry

Unit 1: The Principles, the Elements, and Organic Chemistry Module 1: Principles of Chemistry • Atoms• Atomic structure• Relative formula masses• Chemical formulae and chemical equations• Ionic compounds• Covalent Substances• Metallic crystals• Electrolysis The field of chemistry is based entirely on its key principles. An understanding of these key principles is the foundation to developing your knowledge of the field. This section will explore the very foundations of chemistry; the structure of the atom; the microscopic building blocks of our universe, the atomic arrangement of solids, liquids and gases and the properties these create, as well as taking a look at molecules, compounds and mixtures and how they are organised, identified and separated. The Periodic Table is like a map of the chemical world and this section will provide an understanding of this stunning piece of organisation. You will also be introduced to formula mass calculations & the concept of the Mole as well as balancing chemical equations and using experimental data to calculate reacting masses and percentage yields. You will also consider the practical aspects of study in these topic areas. Module 2: Chemistry of the Elements • The Periodic Table• Group 1 elements - lithium, sodium and potassium• Group 7 elements - chlorine, bromine and iodine• Oxygen and oxides• Hydrogen and water• Reactivity series• Tests for ions and gases Everything around us is made of elements from the oxygen and hydrogen that make up the water we drink to the nitrogen, oxygen, carbon and various other elements found in the air we breathe. It is the chemical behaviour and relationships of these elements that allows the variety of life and processes we see every day. The periodic table organises over one hundred elements and this section will provide more detailed knowledge of how it works, taking an in depth look at some of the key groups of elements like the alkali metals and the halogens. We will discover an array of different methods for both preparing substances and testing for the presence of substances in the laboratory. We will also discover how metals can be ranked in order of reactivity and see how this can deduced from the outcomes of displacement reactions. You will also consider the practical aspects of study in these topic areas. Module 3: Organic Chemistry • Introduction to organic chemistry• Alkanes• Alkenes• Ethanol We will start to focus on specific areas of chemistry. For this section, we will focus on organic chemistry - the chemistry of the hydrocarbons, including alkanes, alkenes and the alcohol, Ethanol. We will discover how to represent the different organic molecules in terms of general formula and displayed formula, as well as how to name a given organic compound. We will also look at the reactions of the different organic groups and see how their chemistry causes them to behave entirely differently to one another. You will also consider the practical aspects of study in these topic areas. Unit 2: Physical Chemistry and Industry Module 4: Physical Chemistry • Acids, alkalis and salts• Energetics• Rates of reaction• Equilibria In this section, we will look deeper in to why reactions proceed as they do. We will discuss the relationship between acids, alkalis and salts and how to use indicators to identify their presence. We will also explore the change in energy during reactions and how we can explain these energy changes in terms of bonds made and broken. We will also discover experiments to investigate the rates of reaction and how these can be explained in a more intricate scale. Reversible reactions and Equilibria will also be discovered and we will see how temperature and pressure are able to control the position of a chemical equilibrium. You will also consider the practical aspects of study in these topic areas. Module 5: Chemistry in Industry • Extraction and uses of metals• Crude oil• Synthetic polymers• The industrial manufacture of chemicals This section explores the application of chemistry on an industrial scale. It shows how many of the principles we have previously discussed can be up-scaled onto massive production lines that produces some of the most important substances we see in our everyday lives. We will discuss how metals are extracted from their ores using electrolysis and blast furnaces, how crude oil can be split into its many useful components by fractional distillation and how catalytic cracking can be used to convert long chain alkanes to alkenes and shorter-chain alkanes. We will also enter the world of synthetic polymers and how some of life’s most important and underrated plastics rely on polymerisation. Finally, this section looks at the manufacture of chemicals on an industrial-scale, including the Haber process of manufacturing ammonia and the manufacture and uses of Sulfuric acid. You will also consider the practical aspects of study in these topic areas.