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Chemistry (New Syllabus)
IB DP Category 2
Stockholm, Sweden, 12 - 14 May 2023
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Chemistry (New Syllabus)
IB DP Category 2
Online (IB Approved), 25 - 27 August 2023
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20.1(1) Nucleophilic substitution 29 August 2021
Written specifically for students to provide help and support for the IB Diploma chemistry programme this page provides full coverage of nucleophilic substitution, the first part of the syllabus content... more
3-D molecular modelling 23 April 2022
This is one of the mandatory laboratory components listed under the Applications and skills section of Topic 10.1 Fundamentals of organic chemistry. You can, if you wish, set time aside to do this as... more
Iodination of propanone26 April 2022
This practical contains a lot of good Chemistry. Students will determine a rate equation for a known chemical reaction and then use it to suggest a mechanism for the reaction. Rate equations and their... more
Advice to students (Paper 1)6 April 2019
1. Revision. Go through the syllabus thoroughly checking that you know and understand the chemistry given under 'Nature of Science', 'Understandings', 'Applications and skills' and 'Guidance' for each... more
MC test: Further aspects of covalent bonding3 September 2017
Use the following 'quiz' to test your knowledge and understanding of this sub-topic. You will need access to a periodic table (Section 6 of the IB data booklet).If you get an answer wrong, read through... more
Chemistry apps1 November 2021
This page looks at Apps available for smart phones that can be used for chemistry. It includes specific details of one that can generate hands-on data at home using simple chemicals that can be used for... more
A modern paradigmFree1 November 2022
During this period there are likely to be several competing schools of thought. For example, is matter continuous or is it made up of discrete individual particles. Each school of thought defends its... more
Books for enjoyment 27 May 2021
All of the following are books with some links to chemistry that I have enjoyed reading. They can all be bought through reputable booksellers.Mysteries of the Quantum Universe, T. Damour & M. Burniat,... more
Novel uses for the IB data booklet 11 March 2021
As well as providing essential data, the IB data booklet can be used as a great teaching aid to introduce and reinforce some of the fundamental concepts covered in the course. more
Creating student accounts Free18 August 2022
Note that you can gain student access from any non-teacher only page (not just the home page) simply by clicking on the arrow by your name and then selecting 'Student access' from the drop-down menu. more
Short cut to give students access to a pageFree9 March 2020
The site now has a new feature which enables you to quickly give (or take away) student access for those pages over which you have control as to whether or not they are accessible by students. Using this... more
Comprehending Avogadro's constant19 September 2021
A second does not seem a very long time whereas 18 years might. On the exact anniversary of your 18th birthday, will you have lived for longer than a mole of seconds? A quick calculation will show that... more
The 12 TOK concepts6 September 2021
The main difference in TOK for first assessment in 2022 is that the framework of the TOK curriculum has shifted to become "concept-based." This means that the focus of the course is now on "big ideas."... more
Misuse of formulas26 March 2020
Students often use mathematical formulas to solve chemical problems in exams and sometimes arrive at the wrong answer. This page looks at why this is so and encourages students to work always from first... more
Understanding hybridization4 May 2020
The theory of hybridization is developed by first considering how atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals which then leads on to how hybrid orbitals are formed. The relationships between shapes,... more
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Understanding the activity series10 September 2019
There can be considerable confusion for standard level students over the position of certain metals in the activity series given in Section 25 the IB data booklet. One of the understandings in the IB... more
How useful are oxidation states?25 October 2018
Paradigm shifts often occur when an established theory has to be ever more distorted to account for observable facts and to make accurate predictions. I wonder if the time is coming soon when the concept... more
Factors affecting the rate of nucleophilic substitution reactions15 September 2021
This page explains how the nature of the halogen, whether the halogenoalkane is primary, secondary or tertiary and the choice of solvent can all affect the rate of substitution reactions of halogenoalkanes... more
Databases25 February 2021
Students are expected to perform at least one exercise using a database in order to fulfil Aims 6 & 7 in the Guide. These concern developing experimental and investigative scientific skills including... more
Ammonium nitrate & IB Chemistry9 September 2020
Ammonium nitrate has been very much in the news recently after 2750 tonnes of the salt which were being stored in the port area of Beirut caused a massive explosion on 4 August 2020 killing and injuring... more
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NOS & Critical Thinking9 June 2020
In order to think critically in chemistry a knowledge of both chemistry and the nature of science is required. This page gives a simple example of this then provides a full worked example you can give... more
Manipulating equilibrium constants 27 February 2020
The importance of the relationship between the equilibrium constant and the balanced stoichiometric equilibrium reaction it relates to is stressed. What happens to the value of the equilibrium constant... more
Understanding and using ΔG 7 October 2019
ΔG is the change in free energy for a chemical reaction. If it is measured under standard conditions then it is known as the standard free energy change and has the symbol ΔG⦵. If the value of ΔG⦵... more
A.4 Liquid crystals27 November 2018
Written specifically for students to provide help and support for the IB Diploma chemistry programme this page provides full coverage of the syllabus content of Option A - sub topic A.4. It encourages... more
Convergence limits1 October 2018
In sub-topic 12.1 Electrons in atoms underneath 'Applications and skills' it states "Calculation of the value of the first ionization energy from spectral data which gives the wavelength or frequency... more
