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.

Latest updates

Option B : BiochemistryFree26 November 2018

Like all IB students you are likely to have a natural curiosity about who you are and how your body functions. You will very likely want to know the answers to questions like, ‘How is light converted... more

Option A : Materials Free26 November 2018

The Chalcolithic Age, an era between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, involved the use of copper for tools but they were generally only possessed by the higher members of society and, unlike stone and... more

Topics 10 & 20 : Organic chemistry26 November 2018

Organic chemistry is the largest topic on the syllabus and concerns the reactions and properties of compounds containing just one element - carbon. The first sub-topic has the heading "Fundamentals of... more

Topics 8 & 18 : Acids and bases 26 November 2018

You should be able to recall the characteristic properties of acids and bases and you should have plenty of practice at writing equations for the reactions of acids with hydroxides, oxides, carbonates,... more

Topics 7 & 17 : Equilibrium 26 November 2018

Equilibrium is another key concept that runs right through the whole of chemistry. Technically all chemical reactions are reversible and so can reach a state of equilibrium but in practice many do go... more

Topics 5 & 15 : Energetics/thermochemistry26 November 2018

If bonding is “the key to understanding Chemistry” (see Topics 4 & 14 : Chemical bonding & structure) then Energetics/thermochemistry is equally important as it underpins the whole of bonding. There... more

Topics 4 & 14 : Chemical bonding & structure26 November 2018

One of the first things I do with my new Diploma classes is ask them what Chemistry actually is. It does not seem an unreasonable question to ask since they have chosen to study it for two years. It can... more

Topics 2 & 12 : Atomic structure26 November 2018

A good understanding of atomic structure is paramount to understanding chemistry. The essential idea stated in the syllabus, that the mass of an atom is concentrated in its minute, positively charged... more

Topic 1 : Stoichiometric relationships26 November 2018

This topic on stoichiometry is based on three essential ideas. If you have studied some chemistry before you will probably already know the first - that the physical and chemical properties of substances... more

Topics 11 & 21 : Measurement, data processing & analysis26 November 2018

Topic 11 - Measurement and data processing - is really two completely separate topics under the one heading. The first two sub-topics deal with error and uncertainties (including graphing techniques)... more