InThinking

Independent
Innovative
International
About us | Visit our hub website

Disclaimer: InThinking subject sites are neither endorsed by nor connected with the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

School visits

If you are interested in an InThinking consultant visiting your school to work with teachers and/or students, please contact us.

Blog posts

Metallic hydrogen 10 February 2017

Back in 1989 Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons claimed to have achieved cold fusion. Cold fusion is the fusion of two small nuclei occurring at or near room temperature with the release of energy. Their... more

Carbon atoms can bond to more than four other carbon atoms 16 JIB Docs (2) Teamary 2017

“Each carbon atom can only bond to a maximum of four other carbon atoms.” This well known and seemingly incontrovertible axiom of organic chemistry has now been definitely shown not to be true. The... more

Updated periodic table 23 December 2016

Since the IB data booklet for first use in the May 2016 examination session came into existence there have been several updates as mistakes were corrected. The latest version, which can be downloaded... more

2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNP) 2 November 2016

Years ago when I first started teaching at Atlantic College I came across a bottle of picric acid in the store room. It had completely dried out and posed a considerable risk of explosion as friction... more

YInMn blue 24 August 2016

Colour is an important aspect of chemistry and integrates well with the Group 6 subject Visual Arts. In the 1980s ‘Colour Chemistry’ used to be one of the Options on the now defunct SL Applied Chemistry... more

An IB Chemistry question I cannot answer 28 May 2016

There has been considerable controversy in the UK recently about the SAT tests in English given to all 10-11 year olds. This was compounded when the tests were leaked before they were due to be taken... more

Time Zone Zero (TZ0) 16 May 2016

Astute observers will have noticed that the IB Chemistry Diploma exams were labelled TZ0 this year. From the very first IB Diploma exams back in the early 1970's until 2007 there was always just one set... more

Significant digits in context 24 April 2016

A teacher has asked about a possible problem following an IB question that appeared on a past paper where a volume of 500 cm3 is quoted. The question asked by the teacher is; “Does a volume of 500 cm3... more

Index of Hydrogen Deficiency (IHD) 12 March 2016

The Index of Hydrogen Deficiency applies to organic compounds and is part of sub-topic 11.3 Spectroscopic identification of organic compounds in the IB programme. Most books and websites that deal with... more

Strike a light 6 March 2016

Those who have been teaching IB Chemistry for some years now may remember the cover of the first edition of my Study Guide published by OUP. It showed a burning match.Recently the American Chemical Society... more