Update: Join us in our 2018 Score 100% O-Level Pure Chemistry MCQ Workshop. Click here for more details.
“This programme tells me the topics that I am weak in and it emphasises the importance of getting full marks for Chemistry MCQ. I have learnt to manage my time wisely, which is crucial in doing Paper 1 as I usually could not finish the paper. I learnt more about the strategies of doing MCQ and revise on key concepts. I hope I am able to get full marks and I will recommend this to anyone taking O-Levels.”
Cher Yi Jia, Nan Hua High School
To: Students in Singapore taking the 2013 GCE O-Level Pure Chemistry Examination (Syllabus Code 5072)
It’s been awhile. I have been busy the last few weeks preparing my Sec 4 Chemistry students @ Winners Education Centre for their GCE O-Level Pure Chemistry Examination in Singapore.
During the last two lessons of the weekly Chemistry tuition classes, I focused alot on what is really required for them to know in order to do well in the O-Level examination.
For the past years, i realised that many school’s chemistry teachers tend to ask students to work on challenging application questions using top-school preliminary examination papers. However, if you take a look at the Ten Years Series Book (which contains GCE O-Level Examination questions), you will realised that students are asked only on key fundamentals. When i asked my students, i got a shock that they know nothing much about some of the basic fundamentals and straight forward questions.
Today, i would like to share with you these Final Revision Tips (adapted from Syllabus Code 5072 www.seab.gov.sg) that i discussed with my Chemistry students as well as on my daily O-Level Revision tweets, in a topical manner:
Separation Techniques:
- Use of locating agents
Kinetic Particle Theory:
- Everyday examples of diffusion
- Factors affecting diffusion of gases
Atomic Structure:
- Define isotopes
Chemical bonding:
- Common examples of small covalent molecules, giant covalent structures, giant crystal lattice structures & metallic structures
Electrolysis:
- State one use of electroplating
Energy Changes:
- Describe hydrogen, derived from water or hydrocarbons, as a potential fuel, reacting with oxygen to generate electricity directly
Speed of Reactions:
- Define catalysts
- Identify compounds that act as catalysts in a range of industrial processes & enzymes are biological catalysts
Acids & Bases:
- Use of Universal Indicator to test on acidity & alkalinity
- Uses of H2SO4
- Importance of controlling pH in soils & how excess acidity can be treated using calcium hydroxide
- Uses of SO2
Ammonia:
- Raw materials in Haber Process
- Displacement of ammonia in salt
Metals:
- Definition of alloys
- Diagrams of metals & alloys
- Social, economic & environmental issues of recycling metals
- Different types of steels & their composition / properties / uses
Atmosphere:
- Volume composition of gases in dry air
- Use of catalytic converters
- Use of CaCO3
- Importance of ozone layer & problems caused by ozone depletion due to use of CFCs
- Describe the carbon cycle in simple terms, to include: (1) processes of combustion, respiration & photosynthesis (2) how carbon cycle regulates amount of CO2 in atmosphere
- Greenhouse gases & the effects of global warming
Organic Chemistry:
- Sources of energy
- Issues relating to competing uses of oil as an energy source & as a chemical feedstock
- Draw & name structures of branched & unbranched C1 – C4 Alkanes, Alkenes, Alcohols & Carboxylic Acids
- Define & identify isomers
- Describe cracking to manufacture alkenes & hydrogen
- Understand that cracking is essential to match demand for fractions containing smaller molecules from refinery process
- Define polyunsaturated in organic food products
- Manufacture of margarine by addition of H2 to unsaturated vegetable oil to form a solid product
- Methods to produce ethanol
- Uses of ethanol
- Oxidation of ethanol
- Uses of esters
- Define macromolecules
- Uses of poly(ethene)
- Name the common condensation polymers & their uses
- Pollution problems associated with disposal of non-biodegradable plastics
- Full structural formulae (displayed formulae) must show in detail both the relative placing of atoms and number / type of bonds between atoms i.e. CONH- and COOH are not satisfactory as full structural formulae
I sincerely hope that the above tips are useful for your final revision. The Written Paper (Paper 2) is on Monday 28th October 2013 so you still have time to find out anything that you do not know.
If you would like a more detailed description from the final revision tips, you can go to www.seab.gov.sg (Singapore Examination & Assessment Board).
If you are a local student taking your GCE O-Level Pure Chemistry and would like a final dash to score more marks, i welcome you to join us in our annual Score 100% MCQ Workshop on 9 Nov 2013.
PS: Feel free to share this blog post with your friends! Keep sharing & learning! 🙂
