Dr Carl’s Chemistry Blog:
How to Get An A* in A-Level Chemistry
How to Get An A* in A Level Chemistry Key Takeaways To get an A* in A-Level chemistry, you should: Use a study system that emphasises learning, understanding, and regular review of the material. Use SMART goals for efficient revision planning. Use active recall techniques and review material at [...]
Easy way to balance chemical equations for GCSE
Easy way to balance chemical equations for GCSE Balancing chemical equations A chemical equation balancing question is normally worth 1 or 2 marks, which means you have at most 2 minutes to solve it. Everyone is taught the table method when learning to balance chemical equations (where you use a table to track [...]
Is IB chemistry harder than A Level chemistry?
Is IB Chemistry Harder Than A-Level Chemistry? Key Points: Comparing the new 2023 IB chemistry syllabus with current A-Level chemistry syllabuses, A-Level chemistry is harder than the Standard Level syllabus, and slightly harder than the Higher Level syllabus. A-Level chemistry has harder exams. IB chemistry is overall harder due [...]
Balancing chemical equations using algebra
Balancing chemical equations using the algebraic method In the last of my series on balancing chemical equations, we look at the algebraic method, which is useful for balancing the hardest equations Whilst the combination of algebra and balancing chemical equations might sound horrifying, it’s not as bad as it sounds. The algebra [...]
What are ionic equations and ionic half-equations?
Step-by-step guide to understanding and writing ionic equations Aimed at GCSE, A Level and IB students, this guide will help you master the difficult skills of writing half-equations and ionic half-equations What are ionic equations? Ionic equations are chemical equations that show only ions that participate in a chemical [...]
Balancing redox reactions
Oxidation number method for balancing redox reactions The combination of redox and balancing chemical equations is enough to strike fear into the heart of any chemistry student. Read on to learn how to master this essential skill… In my last blog, I covered seven rules you can use to balance chemical equations, [...]