One page per syllabus topic, in Cambridge's own numbering. Each teaches the content, diagrams it, then tests it against self-marked exam questions written in Cambridge style.
Atomic structure
Atomic structure explains where the mass and the charge of an atom are found, how the electrons are arranged in shells, sub-shells and orbitals, and how that arrangement ...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicAtoms, molecules and stoichiometry
The mole is the bridge between the mass you weigh out on the balance and the particles that actually react. This topic covers relative atomic and molecular mass, the Avog...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicChemical bonding
Chemical bonding explains why sodium chloride melts at about 800 degrees C while iodine melts at about 114 degrees C. Electronegativity and bond polarity lead into ionic,...
9 questions · 31 marks
Revise this topicStates of matter
Pressure in a gas comes from molecules colliding with the walls of the container, and the ideal gas equation pV = nRT links p, V, n and T and gives the Mr of a gas, thoug...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicChemical energetics
Chemical energetics is about the enthalpy change that accompanies every reaction, and how you find its size and sign. This topic covers exothermic and endothermic changes...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicElectrochemistry
Redox is the movement of electrons between species, and oxidation numbers are the bookkeeping that tracks it. This topic covers the rules for working out oxidation number...
9 questions · 27 marks
Revise this topicEquilibria
A reversible reaction in a closed system reaches dynamic equilibrium, where the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal and the concentrations remain constan...
9 questions · 31 marks
Revise this topicReaction kinetics
Reaction kinetics explains how fast a reaction goes and why. Particles must collide with at least the activation energy for a collision to be effective, so concentration,...
9 questions · 28 marks
Revise this topicThe Periodic Table: chemical periodicity
Periodicity is the repeating pattern of properties across a period and down a group. This topic explains the Period 3 trends in atomic and ionic radius, melting point and...
9 questions · 31 marks
Revise this topicGroup 2
Group 2 covers magnesium to barium: the two outer s electrons they lose to form 2+ ions, their reactions with oxygen, water, steam and dilute acids, and the reactions of ...
8 questions · 27 marks
Revise this topicGroup 17
Group 17 covers the halogens from fluorine to iodine: their colours, the fall in volatility explained by instantaneous dipole-induced dipole forces, the trend in X-X bond...
9 questions · 31 marks
Revise this topicNitrogen and sulfur
At room temperature nitrogen is unreactive, because its triple bond is very strong and the molecule is non-polar, but at the high temperature of a flame or an engine it f...
9 questions · 32 marks
Revise this topicAn introduction to AS Level organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is organised by functional group. This topic covers the classes of compound you must know at AS Level, the general, structural, displayed and skeletal f...
9 questions · 30 marks
Revise this topicHydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons are the alkanes, saturated compounds of formula CnH2n+2, and the alkenes, which contain a C=C and have the formula CnH2n. This topic covers how each family i...
9 questions · 32 marks
Revise this topicHalogen compounds
Halogenoalkanes are made from alkanes, alkenes or alcohols, and the carbon that carries the halogen is electron-poor, so nucleophiles attack it. This topic covers how hal...
8 questions · 31 marks
Revise this topicHydroxy compounds
Hydroxy compounds are the alcohols: molecules in which an -OH group is attached to a saturated carbon atom. You need every route that makes an alcohol, the way the class ...
9 questions · 31 marks
Revise this topicCarbonyl compounds
The carbonyl group, C=O, is polar, so the carbon is electron deficient and is attacked by nucleophiles. This topic covers how aldehydes and ketones are made by oxidising ...
9 questions · 27 marks
Revise this topicCarboxylic acids and derivatives
A carboxylic acid carries the carboxyl group, -COOH, and is acidic because the carboxylate ion left behind is stabilised by delocalisation of the negative charge over bot...
8 questions · 26 marks
Revise this topicNitrogen compounds
Nitrogen compounds at AS Level is about forming the carbon-nitrogen bond. Ammonia attacks a halogenoalkane to give a primary amine, and the cyanide ion attacks either a h...
9 questions · 28 marks
Revise this topicPolymerisation
Addition polymerisation joins unsaturated monomers such as ethene and chloroethene into saturated polymers that have the same empirical formula as the monomer. This topic...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicOrganic synthesis
Organic synthesis is getting from one named compound to another on purpose. You identify every functional group in a molecule, predict how each group behaves when the rea...
9 questions · 32 marks
Revise this topicAnalytical techniques
Infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry together identify functional groups, relative molecular mass and structure. This topic covers the characteristic infrared abso...
8 questions · 26 marks
Revise this topicOther areas in AS & A Level Chemistry
Where this fits in AS & A Level Chemistry
This page is one area of Cambridge AS & A Level Chemistry 9701. AS & A Level Chemistry is the course home: every area and every topic in Cambridge's own order, the papers you sit and what each one tests, and the exam-practice tools. The full topic list, with each topic linked to its revision page, is on the AS & A Level Chemistry syllabus page.