Practical work brings science to life, helping make sense of the universe around us. Practical work at the heart of the chemistry A level. Practical science allows scientific theory to transform into deep knowledge and understanding – scientific thinking. Through investigation, you will uncover the important links between your observations and scientific ideas.
Practical vocabulary
It's important to understand the language of investigations - here are some key terms
Chemistry required practicals
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1. Making salts |
Preparation of a pure, dry sample of a soluble salt from an insoluble oxide |
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2. Neutralisation (Chemistry only) |
Determination of the concentration of a solutions from the reacting volumes and the known concentration of the other solution |
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3. Electrolysis |
Investigate what happens when aqueous solutions are electrolysed using inert electrodes. |
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4. Temperature changes |
Investigate the variables that affect temperature changes in reacting solutions |
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5. Rate of reactions - Activity 1 |
Investigate how changes in concentration affect the rates of reactions by a method involving measuring the volume of a gas produced. |
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5. Rate of reactions - Activity 2 |
Investigate how changes in concentration affect the rates of reactions by a method involving a change in colour (precipitate) |
6. Chromatography |
Investigate how paper chromatography can be used to separate and calculate Rf values |
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7. Identifying ions (Chemistry only) |
Use of chemical tests to identify the ions in unknown ionic compounds |
8. Water purification |
Analysis and purification of water samples from different sources, including pH, dissolved solids and distillation |