Beginner · 2h 24m · 18 lessons
Chemistry: Beginner
See the chemistry behind your kitchen: rust, fizz and salt, worked out step by step.
What you'll learn
- ✦Explain the three states of matter and why evaporation cools things down
- ✦Tell a pure substance, a mixture, a solution and a colloid apart, using a real kitchen example
- ✦Calculate the number of moles in a given mass of a substance using its molar mass, and use Avogadro's number
- ✦Explain atomic number, mass number and isotopes, and write a simple formula using valency
- ✦Write a balanced chemical equation from a word description, and name the type of reaction it shows
- ✦Explain oxidation using rusting and food turning rancid. Predict the salt formed when a named acid neutralises a named base
- ✦Explain the difference between metals and non-metals, and use the reactivity series to predict a displacement reaction
- ✦Explain why carbon forms so many compounds, and identify a hydrocarbon or a common functional group like in soap
Certification projects
Build 3 projects to earn your certificate
Hands-on work that proves you can apply what you learned — part of the certificate requirements.
Syllabus
Module 1 · 25m
Matter Free
What you'll be able to do
- Name the three states of matter and explain melting, boiling and condensation as changes of state
- Explain why evaporation happens at any temperature and why it cools things down
- Tell a pure substance, a mixture, a solution and a colloid apart using a real kitchen example
Module 2 · 29m
Atoms and Molecules Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Explain the law of conservation of mass and the law of constant proportions using a real reaction
- Calculate the number of moles in a given mass of a substance using its molar mass and Avogadro's number
- Explain atomic number, mass number and isotopes, and write a simple formula using valency
Module 3 · 27m
Chemical Reactions and Equations Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Turn a word description of a reaction into a balanced chemical equation
- Name a reaction as combination, decomposition, displacement or double displacement
- Explain rusting and food turning rancid as everyday examples of oxidation
Module 4 · 26m
Acids, Bases and Salts Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Use an indicator and the pH scale to say if a substance is acidic, neutral or basic
- Predict the salt formed when a named acid neutralises a named base
- Name a common salt and one everyday use of it
Module 5 · 26m
Metals and Non-metals Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Sort a material as a metal or a non-metal using its physical properties
- Use the reactivity series to predict whether a metal will displace another from its compound
- Explain, in outline, how a metal is extracted from its ore and how it is protected from corrosion
Module 6 · 27m
Carbon and its Compounds Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Explain why carbon forms so many compounds using covalent bonding and catenation
- Name a hydrocarbon and place it in its homologous series
- Identify a common functional group and explain how soap removes oily dirt