← Science (Single Award) syllabus

Northern IrelandScience (Single Award)

Unit 2: Chemistry

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What are acids, bases and alkalis, how does the pH scale work, and what happens when acids react?

Acids, bases and alkalis in terms of hydrogen and hydroxide ions, the pH scale and indicators, neutralisation to make a salt and water, the reactions of acids with metals, oxides, hydroxides and carbonates, and simple tests for hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
A focused CCEA GCSE Single Award Science answer on acids, bases and salts, covering hydrogen and hydroxide ions, the pH scale and indicators, neutralisation, the reactions of acids with metals, oxides, hydroxides and carbonates, and the tests for hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
8 min answer →

What is an atom made of, how are electrons arranged, and how is the periodic table organised?

The structure of the atom in terms of protons, neutrons and electrons, atomic number and mass number, isotopes, electron arrangement in shells, and how the periodic table is organised into groups and periods including the trends in Groups 1, 7 and 0.
A focused CCEA GCSE Single Award Science answer on atomic structure, covering protons, neutrons and electrons, atomic number and mass number, isotopes, electron arrangement, and how the periodic table is organised into groups and periods with the trends in Groups 1, 7 and 0.
9 min answer →

How do atoms join by ionic and covalent bonding, and how does the bonding explain a substance's properties?

Ionic bonding as the transfer of electrons forming a giant ionic lattice, covalent bonding as shared electron pairs in simple molecules, dot-and-cross diagrams, and using structure to explain melting points and electrical conductivity.
A focused CCEA GCSE Single Award Science answer on bonding, covering ionic bonding and the giant ionic lattice, covalent bonding in simple molecules, dot-and-cross diagrams, and how the structure explains melting points and electrical conductivity.
8 min answer →

How are metals ranked by reactivity, and how does reactivity decide how a metal is extracted and how it corrodes?

The reactivity series, the reactions of metals with water and acid, displacement reactions, how reactivity decides extraction by carbon reduction or electrolysis, the extraction of iron in the blast furnace, and the rusting of iron and its prevention.
A focused CCEA GCSE Single Award Science answer on metals, covering the reactivity series, reactions with water and acid, displacement reactions, extraction by carbon reduction or electrolysis, the blast furnace, and the rusting of iron and how it is prevented.
9 min answer →

What is crude oil, how is it separated into fuels, and what pollution does burning fuels cause?

Crude oil as a mixture of hydrocarbons, fractional distillation and the main fractions, the alkanes and their combustion, the composition of the atmosphere, the pollutants from burning fuels, and the greenhouse effect and global warming.
A focused CCEA GCSE Single Award Science answer on organic chemistry and fuels, covering crude oil as a mixture of hydrocarbons, fractional distillation and the fractions, the alkanes and combustion, the composition of the atmosphere, the pollutants from burning fuels, and the greenhouse effect.
9 min answer →

What changes the speed of a chemical reaction, and how do we measure and explain the rate?

The factors that change the rate of a reaction (concentration, temperature, surface area and catalysts), how rate is measured by gas volume or mass loss, how to read a rate graph, and the collision theory that explains it all.
A focused CCEA GCSE Single Award Science answer on rates of reaction, covering the factors that change the rate, how rate is measured by gas volume or mass loss, how to read a rate graph, and the collision theory that explains why each factor works.
8 min answer →

How do we write chemical formulae and balance equations, and what does conservation of mass mean?

Writing chemical formulae by balancing ion charges, turning reactions into word equations and balanced symbol equations with state symbols, and the conservation of mass in a chemical reaction.
A focused CCEA GCSE Single Award Science answer on chemical formulae and equations, covering writing formulae by balancing ion charges, word and balanced symbol equations with state symbols, how to balance, and the conservation of mass.
8 min answer →