Chemistry Curriculum

Stoichiometric Relationships

• Introduction to the particulate nature of matter and chemical change
• The mole concept
• Reacting masses and volumes

Atomic Structure

• The nuclear atom
• Electron configuration

Periodicity

• Periodic table
• Periodic trends

Chemical bonding and Structure

• Ionic bonding and structure
• Covalent bonding
• Covalent structures
• Intermolecular forces
• Metallic bonding

Energetics/thermochemistry

• Measuring energy changes
• Hess's Law
• Bond enthalpies

Chemical

• Collision theory and rates of reaction

Equilibrium

• Equilibrium

Acids and Bases

• Theories of acids and bases
• Properties of acids and bases
• The pH scale
• Strong and weak acids and bases
• Acid deposition

Redox Processes

• Oxidation and reduction
• Electrochemical cells

Organic Chemistry

• Fundamentals of organic chemistry
• Functional group chemistry

Measurement and Data processing

• Uncertainties and errors in measurement and results
• Graphical techniques
• Spectroscopic identification of organic compounds

Atomic Structure

• Electrons in atoms

The periodic table—the transition metals

• First-row d-block elements
• Coloured complexes

Chemical bonding and Structure

• Further aspects of covalent bonding and structure
• Hybridization

Energetics/thermochemistry

• Energy cycles
• Entropy and spontaneity

Chemical

• Rate expression and reaction mechanism
• Activation energy

Equilibrium

• The equilibrium law

Acids and Bases

• Lewis acids and bases
• Calculations involving acids and bases
• pH curves

Redox Processes

• Introduction to the particulate nature of matter and chemical change
• Electrochemical cells

Organic Chemistry

• Types of organic reactions
• Synthetic routes
• Stereoisomerism

Measurement and Analysis

• Spectroscopic identification of organic compounds

Materials

Core topics

• Materials science introduction
• Metals and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy
• Catalysts
• Liquid crystals
• Polymers
• Nanotechnology
• Environmental impact—plastics

Additional higher level option topics

• Superconducting metals and X-ray crystallography (HL only)
• Condensation polymers (HL only)
• Environmental impact—heavy metals (HL only)

Biochemistry

Core topics

• Introduction to biochemistry
• Proteins and enzymes
• Lipids
• Carbohydrates
• Vitamins
• Biochemistry and the environment

Additional higher level option topics

• Proteins and enzymes (HL only)
• Nucleic acids (HL only)
• Biological pigments (HL only)
• Stereochemistry in biomolecules (HL only)

Energy

Core topics

• Energy sources
• Fossil fuels
• Nuclear fusion and fission
• Solar energy
• Environmental impact—global warming

Additional higher level option topics

• Electrochemistry, rechargeable batteries and fuel cells (HL only)
• Nuclear fusion and nuclear fission (HL only)
• Photovoltaic and dye-sensitized solar cells (HL only)

Medicinal Chemistry

Core topics

• Pharmaceutical products and drug action
• Aspirin and penicillin
• Opiates
• pH regulation of the stomach
• Anti-viral medications
• Environmental impact of some medications

Additional higher level option topics

• Taxol—a chiral auxiliary case study (HL only)
• Nuclear medicine (HL only)
• Drug detection and analysis (HL only)