UNIT ONE: The Big Ideas of Chemistry

The story of chemistry begins with the building of the Periodic Table from speculation, debate and experimental evidence. The Periodic Table provides a unifying framework for studying the chemistry of the elements using their chemical and physical properties to locate their position.The electron configuration of an element, its tendency to form a particular bond type and its ability to act as an oxidant or reductant can all be linked to its position in the Periodic Table.

This Unit examines a wide range of chemical reactions with emphasis on the writing of chemical equations and performance of calculations based on them. Students are introduced to the development and application of "smart" materials. Developing new materials has escalated with the use of synchrotron science that explores particle behaviour at an ever decreasing size. Some examples of new materials are alloys, fibres and compounds incorporating polymers, ceramics, biopolymers, films and coatings.

 Both areas of study in this Unit involve the design and performance of experiments, including the generation, collection and evaluation of experimental data.

 Areas of study

• The Periodic Table
• Materials

What do I need to know? 

Refer to the course description that need to be met, as listed below (on this page). This information is provided by the VCAA in the Course guidelines, and gives you a clear indication of what you will be learning in this Unit. For assessment purposes, you should refer to the outcomes link, which gives a formal statement of key knowledge and skills that the student should have acquired by the completion of the Unit. Most of these outcome statements apply across a whole semester of work, and as such are useful for exam preparation.

Practice tests / Revision sheets

At this link you will find practice tests on     Atomic Theory    

Metals and Ionic Bonding                       Covalent Bonding        Organic Chemistry

I have also included some draft chapters of a book that I was/am writing for Year 11 Chemistry. These chapters cover Atomic Structure, Ionic Bonding and Covalent Bonding (including Intermolecular bonding forces). Each Chapter also has a number of problems associated with the work that you may wish to consider for extra practice. The solutions to these questions are also available.

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ASSESSMENT: Units One and Two

The award of satisfactory completion for each Unit is based on a decision that the student has demonstrated achievement of the set of outcomes specified for the Unit. This decision will be based on the teacher’s assessment of the student’s overall performance on assessment tasks designated for the Unit. Such assessment tasks must include:

• an extended experimental investigation requiring between three and five hours practical work OR
• a summary report including annotations on three practical activites AND
• a response to stimulus material in written, oral, visual or multimedia format
• an analysis of first or second-hand data using structured questions (a test)
• a response to stimulus material related to green chemistry in written, oral, visual or multimedia format
• topic tests and a 90 minute end of Unit examination (internally assessed).

 Students will be graded from A⁺ to E and as S or N. The VCAA will only be notified as to whether or not the student has satisfactorily completed the Unit. All students must normally satisfactorily complete both Units 1 and 2 if they wish to proceed to Units 3 and 4 Chemistry.

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Course description

Area of Study 2: Materials

Outcome 2: Key knowledge

On completion of this Unit the student should be able to use models of structure and bonding between atoms to explain the properties an dapplications of materials.

In achieving this outcome the student should demonstrate knowledge of:

·        covalent bonding within discrete molecules such as hydrogen, oxygen, water, ethane, ethene, ethanoic (acetic) acid

·        shapes of molecules with up to four electron pairs around a central atom

·        ethane as the first member of the homologous series of alkanes; names and molecular and empirical formulas of the alkanes and the corresponding alkenes up to C₆; increase in melting temperature and boiling temperature with molecular size; structural isomers; structural formulas and systematic names of the isomers of C₃H₈ and C₄H₁₀

·        the corresponding series of carboxylic acids as another example of a homologous series; names and structural formulas (straight chain only) to C₅H₁₁COOH;

·        unsaturated and saturated hydrocarbons; addition polymerisation of ethene;

·     a general structural model for polymer materials in which (i) the only forces between the chains are dispersion forces, (ii) there is a small degree of crosslinking, (iii) there is extensive crosslinking; thermoplastic and thermosetting materials; elasticity; the selection of a polymer for a specific purpose; the identification of thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers;

·      the behaviour of surfaces and the application of surface chemistry in nanotechnology

Outcome 2: Key skills

To achieve this outcome the student should demonstrate the ability to:

·       perform experiments which illustrate aspects of key knowledge of this outcome;

·       construct models which represent the chemical structures of covalent molecular materials;

·     use molecular models to illustrate addition polymerisation

·        establish and observe safe laboratory work practices

·        prepare clear, concise reports of laboratory work

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