Edexcel AS Level Chemistry Tutors Online

Edexcel AS Level Chemistry is code 8CH0, and its full title is the Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Chemistry. First teaching was September 2015 and first certification was 2016. This page works from Issue 3, dated February 2024.

The qualification is made up of two externally examined papers and nothing else. There is no coursework, no practical endorsement and no non-examined assessment. Each paper is worth 50% of the total qualification, each runs for 1 hour 30 minutes, and each carries 80 marks.

Both papers are available in May and June only, and the specification sets a rule about timing. Students must complete both assessments in May and June in any single year. So a student cannot sit one paper this summer and the other next summer. Both are taken in the same series.

Paper 1 is Core Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, code 8CH0/01, and it examines Topic 1 Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table, Topic 2 Bonding and Structure, Topic 3 Redox I, Topic 4 Inorganic Chemistry and the Periodic Table, and Topic 5 Formulae, Equations and Amounts of Substance.

Paper 2 is Core Organic and Physical Chemistry, code 8CH0/02, and it examines Topic 2 Bonding and Structure, Topic 5 Formulae, Equations and Amounts of Substance, Topic 6 Organic Chemistry I, Topic 7 Modern Analytical Techniques I, Topic 8 Energetics I, Topic 9 Kinetics I and Topic 10 Equilibrium I.

That means two topics are examined on both papers. Bonding and Structure, and Formulae, Equations and Amounts of Substance, appear in both lists. So a student who treats Paper 2 as the organic paper and leaves bonding and the mole behind will lose marks in both sittings. The other eight topics belong to one paper each.

The ten topics in full are Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table, Bonding and Structure, Redox I, Inorganic Chemistry and the Periodic Table, Formulae Equations and Amounts of Substance, Organic Chemistry I, Modern Analytical Techniques I, Energetics I, Kinetics I and Equilibrium I. Several of the names carry a Roman numeral one, which marks them as the first part of a longer topic, so the AS covers the opening of work that continues later rather than a self-contained block.

Both papers share the same question format. They may include multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculation and extended writing questions, and some questions assess conceptual and theoretical understanding of experimental methods.

Practical work is central and it is examined rather than endorsed. The specification includes eight core practical activities, and it states that core practicals will be assessed through examination. Some of the Paper 1 and Paper 2 questions will be drawn from those eight core practicals, so a student's practical skill is tested through written questions about planning, risk management, choosing apparatus with reasons, using significant figures, processing data, plotting graphs and assessing measurement uncertainty and error.

The eight core practicals are measuring the molar volume of a gas, preparing a standard solution from a solid acid and using it to find the concentration of a solution of sodium hydroxide, and finding the concentration of a solution of hydrochloric acid. Then investigating the rates of hydrolysis of some halogenoalkanes, the oxidation of ethanol, and the chlorination of 2-methylpropan-2-ol using concentrated hydrochloric acid. Then analysing some inorganic and organic unknowns, and determining the enthalpy change of a reaction using Hess's Law.

There is a data booklet, and it behaves like a piece of equipment rather than a revision aid. The specification states that candidates must use an unmarked copy of the Data Booklet in examinations, that centres will be sent copies for the first examination series, and that fresh copies can be printed from Pearson's website. So a student should be practised at finding a value in it quickly, because the booklet is the only reference material allowed.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures, is 35 to 37 per cent. AO2, apply knowledge and understanding in a theoretical context, in a practical context, and when handling qualitative and quantitative data, is 41 to 43 per cent. AO3, analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence to make judgements and reach conclusions and to develop and refine practical design and procedures, is 20 to 23 per cent.

Applying knowledge is the largest objective, and it is worth more than knowledge itself. Both papers carry the same split of 17 to 19 per cent for AO1, 20 to 22 per cent for AO2 and 10 to 12 per cent for AO3, so neither paper is the softer one by weighting.

Mathematics carries a substantial minimum here. The specification states that a minimum of 20% of the marks across both papers will be awarded for mathematics at Level 2 or above, and the skills are listed in Appendix 6 on mathematical skills and exemplifications. One fifth of the qualification is arithmetic, algebra, graph work and data handling before any chemistry is added.

The qualification is graded on a five-grade scale from A to E using the total subject mark, and individual papers are not graded. Students below the minimum judged by Pearson to be of sufficient standard receive an unclassified U result. The qualification number is 601/5647/8.

Issue 3 is a light revision. It adjusted the font so the symbols for aluminium, chlorine and thallium are clearer, and it removed the relation in electronegativity difference table. Neither change alters the content a student is examined on, so an older copy of the specification is still usable for planning.