Specification = CHEMISTRY OCR AS 3882, A 7882

All around us we have the evidence that Chemist have been at work. The food we eat depends upon chemicals, so that plants grow strong and healthy producing good harvests. This harvested material is then converted into other useful materials or products, that can be eaten, drunk, or used in some other way.

Similarly plastics, pharmaceuticals, paper, beverages and their allied industries, depend upon the skills of many chemists to keep them competitive in today's marketplace.

The most complex and marvellous chemical factory is the body we inhabit. Hence any study of the body requires a good knowledge of chemistry so that cause and effect can be traced and possibly rectified.

Students we have taught in the past have gone on to read Medicine, Medicinal Science, Veterinary Science, Biology, Chemistry, Materials Science, Engineering, Forensic Science, Fine Arts and Food Science. These students are safe in the knowledge that their grounding in Chemistry will allow them to meet the challenges of their courses.

Specification

The specification is modular and consists of six units (3 for AS and 3 for A2). The first 3 units will be Chemistry Foundation, Chains and Rings and How Far, How Fast and Experimental Skills. These 3 units will constitute the Advanced subsidiary course.

The A2 course will be three further units of Chains and Rings and Spectroscopy, Trends and Patterns and an option paper and finally Unifying concepts and Experimental Skills. These topics will allow students to appreciate the application of chemistry, in all respects, in our modern society. The experimental skills are assessed in class and presented to OCR for moderation.

The length of papers for each unit will be dependent upon their weighting, thus a paper that is 15% of the course will be 1 hour for AS and 1½ hours long A2.

The structure of the exam paper will constitute 80% of short sentence answers and calculations and 20% which involves application of knowledge and free response. The whole of the paper is compulsory.