Members of the Department
Mrs T Quigg (HOD)
Dr Mc Astocker
Mr D Kirk
Mr G Kelly

Mr C Watson

Aims

OLS Chemistry Department aims to make the study of Chemistry both stimulating and fun. Not only does the study of Chemistry help us make sense of the world around us, it also touches upon the main social, ethical and cultural issues affecting our lives today.

Given its close links with Physics, Biology and Maths, Chemistry also provides a wide-reaching base of scientific knowledge and brings with it great career opportunities in science, industry and commerce.

Key Stage 3

At Key Stage Three. Chemistry is taught as discrete units within a General Science Course. Emphasis is placed on learning through practical activities in the laboratory.

The practical activities are the backbone of a stimulating and engaging programme of study and encourage students to challenge themselves to progress through graduated and interlinked ideas, which provide a stable base of content for further study of this wide-reaching subject.

At Key Stage 3, all pupils study Science. Students are introduced to Chemistry in Year 8 through a practical Chemistry programme. They are encouraged to work safely and with assured confidence in the laboratory. Year 8 students are given our award-winning chemistry kit to carry out ten experiments at home using common substances found in the kitchen. This allows the students to discover and think through the concepts covered in class. In Year 9, students complete a research project where they are encouraged to listen to podcasts of interviews with current scientists and read about current ground-breaking scientific research.

Their findings are presented as scientific posters and in an oral presentation to their peers.

J1 Chemistry:

• Unit One: Introduction to Science, Solvents, Solutes, Solutions and Separating techniques
• Unit Two: Acids and Bases

J2 Chemistry

• Unit One: The States of Matter, Kinetic Theory and Laboratory Preparation ofCommon Gases
• Unit Two: Elements, Compounds and Mixtures

J3 Chemistry

• Unit One: Different Types of Chemical Reaction
• Unit Two: Atomic Structure and Ionic Bonding

Key Stage 4 (GCSE)

At GCSE the study of Chemistry provides a wide-reaching base of scientific knowledge and brings with it great career opportunities in science, industry and commerce. It provides students with a fascinating insight into and develops their knowledge and understanding of the material world.

Students begin to develop their understanding of the effects of chemistry on society; both good and bad. They also develop transferable skills that will benefit them in vocational training and employment. It also enables them to progress to the study of science and related courses at GCE Advanced level and Advanced Subsidiary level.

At GCSE Students can access the study of Chemistry as a discrete GCSE or as a component of the Double Award Science Qualification. Both qualifications build on the skill, knowledge and understanding developed at Key Stage 3 and allow further opportunities for practicing laboratory skills.

Unit 1 involves study of: Structures, Trends, Chemical Reactions, Quantitative Chemistry and Analysis

Unit 2 involves the study of: Further Chemical Reactions, Rates and Equilibrium, Calculations and Organic Chemistry

Unit 3 is a Practical Skills unit and is taught in laboratory sessions throughout Year 11 and 12.

Key Stage 5 (GCE)

A Level Chemistry is growing in popularity in Our Lady s and there is great enthusiasm for the subject. The department is fully resourced to provide to an extensive laboratory programme to complement the teaching and learning in the classroom.

At A-Level pupils study the CCEA course.

In Unit AS1, students develop important basic chemical skills, writing balanced symbol and redox equations, determining oxidation states and calculating chemical quantities using the mole as an amount of substance. They study basic atomic structure and how the chemical properties of elements depend on their atomic structure, and on the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus.

The students are introduced to the central role of bonding and intermolecular forces in influencing the physical properties of compounds. This unit also allows students to develop the important quantitative techniques they need to measure mass, make up solutions and titrate.

Organic chemistry forms a major part of Unit AS2. Students work on the chemistry of alkanes, alkenes, halogenoalkanes and alcohols. They receive a qualitative introduction to equilibrium and kinetics and cover thermochemistry in some depth.

In Unit A21, students build on the knowledge of physical and organic chemistry that they acquired at AS level. They quantitatively study rates of reaction, equilibria, enthalpy, entropy and free energy changes. They consider acids, bases and buffer solutions from a qualitative and quantitative viewpoint. Students expand their study of organic chemistry to include optical isomerism and compounds containing the carbonyl group and aromatic compounds.

In Unit A22, students examine how various instrumental methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) and chromatography are used for determining structure.

They study redox and complex ion formation with transition metals as well as organic nitrogen compounds such as amines, amides and amino acids. They use further techniques in volumetric analysis and learn about polymer chemistry and chemistry in medicine.

Career Opportunities
The study of Chemistry is fundamental to our understanding of the world. Chemistry plays a role in everyone's lives and touches almost every aspect of our existence in some way. Chemistry is essential for meeting our basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, health, energy, and clean air, water, and soil.

Chemical technologies enrich our quality of life in numerous ways by providing new solutions to problems in health, materials, and energy usage. Chemistry is often referred to as the central science because it joins together physics and mathematics, biology and medicine, and the earth and environmental sciences. Knowledge of the nature of chemicals and chemical processes therefore provides insights into a variety of physical and biological phenomena.

There are careers which use Chemistry directly and others which use the skills developed through the study of Chemistry. Some of the areas where chemists are to be found include:

• All areas of industry, from the oil, chemical and pharmaceutical companies to a host of smaller enterprises producing new and specialist product health and environmental protection.
• Public health and environment protection
• Research in universities, government institutes, industry and private agencies
• Teaching at all levels
• Patent agencies, scientific journalism
• Forensic science
• Engineering especially chemical and biomedical
• Medicine
• Pharmacy
• Toxicology
• Neuroscience and neurochemistry
• Dentistry

However, in following a chemistry degree, students also acquire many other valuable general skills, for example numeracy, data handling, computing and IT, in evaluating written material and in presenting both written and verbal reports of their work. These are precisely the skills required in many areas of managerial and administrative work, in business, commerce, finance, banking or the Civil Service, and many chemists move easily into occupations in these areas.

Thus, a chemistry degree will prepare you for a career in chemistry, if that is what you wish, but it will not restrict you to chemistry and can be a stepping stone to many other opportunities.