Good luck to all the Chemistry Standard Grade students who have the dubious honour of kicking off this year’s SQA Exam schedule on Thursday morning!
Remember your monkeys eating peanut butter!
Category Archives: Chemistry
7 day count down!
The Chemistry Standard Grade exam is on Thursday May 1st – exactly 7 days from now!
All pupils should already be working hard on their self-revision – and bringing in any questions or problems or requests into class during the day, so that teachers can advise or assist.
Please remember that there are a number of resources available to you in making your revision rigorous, varied and worthwhile. These include:
- Past Papers
- Revision guides
- Bitesize books and website (www.bbc.co.uk)
- Teacher worksheets
- Evans Chemweb (see link from here)
- Peer revision – get together with a classmate and test (and learn from) each other!
- After school revision (the Wednesday 3.45pm classes have run all term)
Good luck with your revision! Remember the short term pain working at home for this coming month will be worth it – your exam marks will reflect your effort in revising!
An Archimedes riddle…
Archimedes was no slouch! The Greek mathematician was also a physicist, engineer, inventor and astronomer in his spare time!
He is most well known for his “Eureka moment”…
The most commonly related anecdote about Archimedes tells how he invented a method for measuring the volume of an object with an irregular shape. According to Vitruvius, a new crown in the shape of a laurel wreath had been made for King Hiero II and Archimedes was asked to determine whether it was of solid gold – or whether silver had been added by a dishonest goldsmith. Archimedes had to solve the problem without damaging the crown, so he could not melt it down in order to measure its density as a cube (which would have been the simplest solution).
While taking a bath, he noticed that the level of the water rose as he got in. He realised that this effect could be used to determine the volume of the crown. For practical purposes water is incompressible, so the crown would displace an amount of water equal to its own volume. By dividing the weight of the crown by the volume of water displaced, its density could be obtained.
In other words, the density of the crown would be lower if cheaper and less dense metals had been added…
Archimedes then took to the streets naked (so excited by his discovery that he had forgotten to dress!) crying “Eureka!” (“I have found it!”)
So what is your Archimedes Riddle?
You are sitting in a rubber boat in a swimming pool. In the boat lies a stone. You throw this stone from the boat into the pool. Will the water level in the pool rise or drop?
Over to you…
Chemistry Easter Revision
April 2nd 2008
There will be revision classes for both Standard Grade and Higher Grade Chemistry held on April 2nd 2008 in the Chemistry Department.
Mr Kidd will run the revision classes for Higher and Mrs Binnie will be taking the revision classes for Standard Grade. You will have already been afforded the opportunity to sign up for these days by your teacher.
Classes will run from 10am until 2.45pm with a break for lunch.
Standard Grade Chemistry – Latest News
Here Standard Grade Chemistry pupils can catch up with the latest information about their course and course work.
March 17th 2008
This week 4D will move on to Topic 14, Fertilisers.
Homework this week will involve the completion of plastics questions – to be completed over the holidays as part of what now should be your rigorous revision programme.
March 10th 2008
This week class 4D will be finishing the metals topics and moving on to Topic 13 (Plastics and Synthetic Fibres)
Learning outcomes will be distributed this week in class. Homework will be homestudy of certain pages of the topic booklet – to be notified in due course.
March 3rd 2008
Homework for 4D this week is to research the different types of methods used to prevent or minimise rusting or corrosion of metals.
February 25th 2008
This week we will be moving on to look at the process rusting, how it happens, what chemistry is involved (redox) and how it can be prevented or minimised. We will also be making a start on some new empirical calculations.
Homework this week will be a worksheet on corrosion to be completed by Monday March 3rd.
February 18th 2008
S4 will be continuing this week with Topic 10. Homework for Class 4 D is to research the different ways rusting or corrosion can be prevented or treated in every day life. Examples of each kind of treatment or method essential…
February 4th 2008
S4 classes have both moved on to Topic 10 – which looks at a number of aspects of electrochemistry.
Homework for 4D this week is to read P8 and P9 of the Topic 10 booklet in preparation for next week’s practical work.
January 28th 2008
The Topic 9 Credit and General papers are to be taken this week by 4D.
4D Period 2 Thursday January 31st General Paper
4D Period 5 Monday February 4th Credit Paper
Homework for this week is revision for the tests!
January 14th 2008
Class 4D homework from last week due in today! (Equations questions)
Homework for this coming week -any outstanding titration example questions left over from lesson today. To be marked on Monday January 21st.
Class 4D will spend the rest of this week catching up with any unfinished practical assessments – this is due to the Live-N-Learn Workshops for S4 There will be Live-N-Learn Workshop for S4 pupils over 2 days – 16 and 17 January. They will affect our lessons on both Wednesday and Thursday morning. However, the workshop aims to equip pupils with study skills to help them prepare for their final exams in May. So make the most of the opportunity…
January 7th 2008
Happy New Year!
S4 Homework Class 4D
Question worksheet on acid/alkali equations handed out today. Due back in by Monday January 14th at the latest.
December 11th
This week both classes will be making a start on Topic 9 (Reactions of Acids)
This will cover aspects of the syllabus including –
Neutralisation
Making salts
Equations
November 27th
STANDARD GRADE PRELIM CREDIT PAPER THIS FRIDAY NOV 30 PERIOD 3 for CLASS 4C
STANDARD GRADE PRELIM CREDIT PAPER THIS MONDAY DEC 3 PERIOD 5 for CLASS 4D
Homework this week for class 4D – Credit paper revision for exam!
November 19th
STANDARD GRADE PRELIM GENERAL PAPER THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
Good luck to both Standard Grade sets with their Chemistry prelim (and the many other prelim papers they may be sitting this coming week!)
Homework for 4D this week is once again REVISION
November 12th
Class 4D still some outstanding homeworks from last week!
Homework for this week – REVISE FOR YOUR PRELIM (Topics 1-8)
Prelim exam is now only 9 days away – General Paper on Wednesday of next week (21st)
November 5th 2007
HOMEWORK FOR WEEK BEGINNING NOV 5th
Go to the Evans2 ChemWeb website http://www.evans2chemweb.co.uk
Check with your teacher if you have forgotten the username and password
SELECT class teacher MRS BINNIE
SELECT the section HOMEWORK WEBTESTS
SELECT Standard Grade
SELECT TOPIC 1 Chemical reactions Test 1
TOPIC 1 Chemical reactions Test 2
Do both online tests Your results will be emailed to your teacher. You will see your marks immediately and there will be an explanation of where you went right or wrong.
November 1st 2007
Well done to all in 4D for passing the Topic 8 tests! Interim subject reports will be ready to take home on Monday afternoon.
November 1st 2007
CLASS 4D TOPIC 8 test CREDIT PAPER – today!
October 31st 2007
CLASS 4D TOPIC 8 test GENERAL PAPER – today!
October 29th 2007
Homework for 4D – revision for Topic 8 test (see learning outcomes provided and revision sheets for assistance)
October 25th 2007
Revision sessions for S4 Standard Grade pupils have now commenced on a Wednesday afternoon straight after school. All pupils in Mr Evans’ and Mrs Binnie’s classes are welcome. Revision sessions will be held in Mr Evans’ room.
October 24th 2007
Homework for 4D – revision for Topic 8 test.
Topic 8 test will sit on Wednesday October 31st Period 3 (General paper) and on Thursday November 1st (Credit paper).
October 23rd 2007
S4 Prelim dates have been published. General paper for all S4 Chemistry Standard Grade students will be on November 21st in the main hall, Credit paper will be in class on December 1st for 4C (Mr Evans) and on December 3rd for 4D (Mrs Binnie).
October 15th 2007
- Homework for 4D
over October half term – mole calculations worksheet and revision of S3 topics for prelim.
Chemistry Resources
REVISION RESOURCES – IDEAS TO HELP YOU REVISE FOR CHEMISTRY
BBC BITESIZE can be found as part of the BBC website – or in hard copy. The Standard Grade Chemistry Bitesize Revision textbook can be an invaluable revision resource.
Evans2chem website, run by Preston Lodge PT Chemistry, Mr G Evans, is also a resource that we encourage our pupils to use – the ability for the classroom teacher to get emailed feedback from the website as to how any of their students have done in an online assessment is invaluable.
The Revision Aid website provides a number of links to on line resources including Doc Brown’s Chemistry Clinic and Revise Guys…
S1 Chemistry Club
Wed 27th Feb – Group 2: Gas cannons. Bring a small plastic juice bottle
Wed 5th March – Group 1: Gold coins. Bring a shiny 1p or 2p coin
Wed 12th March – Group 2: Gold coins. Bring a shiny 1p or 2p coin
General Info
This club traditionally starts up after the October half term and runs until the Easter break. In June there is also a competition at Heriot Watt University for a lucky four members of the chemistry club!
See Mr Evans in Science for details.
Some of the activities will include….
- Crystal gardens
- Fireworks and flames
- Custard behaving strangely
- Bouncy custard balls
- Gas cannons
- Gold coins