Children Chemistry facts and ideas

• Before Chemistry there were Alchemists.  Alchemists discovered most of the chemicals we know today and developed ways of examining matter.
• One of the greatest experiments of the Alchemists was their attempt to turn lead into gold. In 1951 Glenn Seaborg, a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry did successfully turn a very small amount of lead into gold.
• The history of Chemistry is based on the discovery of chemical elements, some of which are still being found today.
• Between 1882 and 1895 the famous scientist Louis Pasteur made several life changing discoveries, such as recognising bacteria as a disease-causing agent and developing the field of immunochemistry.
• Did you know that the human body contains enough carbon to produce enough lead for approximately 9,000 pencils? How crazy is that!
• This one is mad… a bucket of water contains more atoms than the Atlantic Ocean contains buckets of water…its true!
• To help Chemists, a table was developed to list the different elements by number. It is called the Periodic Table.
• In 1953 F.H.C Crick and James D. Watson outlined the structure of DNA.

Some practical points to check are:

• Do you need to provide stationery or equipment? Do these need to be purchased before the lessons start?
• Are there any text books that you need to order/pay for in advance?

There are three examination boards accredited by Ofqual. These are:

AQA – One of the leading providers of GCSEs and A Levels. Used by most secondary schools and colleges in the UK.

Edexcel – Considered the UK’s largest awarding organisation, they offer both academic and vocational qualifications and testing to schools and colleges.

OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations) – Over 13,000 centres choose OCR for their A Levels and GCSEs.

Qualifications/grades - children

GCSE involves studying the theory of Chemistry combined with some investigative work. GCSEs normally take 5 terms to complete and are usually studied full time at school or college.

AS Level (Advanced Subsidiary) and A Level (Advanced) qualifications focus on more traditional study skills. They generally take two years to complete full-time, however they are also available to part-time.

Adults

Chemistry can been taken into many areas at degree level, too many to list. Please click here to see the subjects available to you, where the degree can be studied and what qualification you will need to be accepted.

General information on taking a Chemistry Degree including what qualifications are required.

Qualifications of teachers/tutors

There is no minimum qualification required to tutor Chemistry at home in the UK at present, however we would recommend you ask to see copies of qualifications held.

• Focus
• Concentration
• Mathematical
• Spelling
• Memory
• Reading
• Writing
• Motivation
• Organisation
• Vocabulary
• Discipline
• Written Communication

There are many benefits to introducing your child to a Chemistry tutor. Closing some of the holes in their learning will enable them to catch up with or creep ahead of their peers, building their confidence and enabling them to enjoy the subject.

Whether building a young child’s confidence or assisting them with exam preparation a Chemistry tutor is your way of helping them gain control of their learning.

Linus Pauling (1901 – 1994) was born in Portland, USA. One of two people to win a Noble Prize in two fields (Chemistry and Peace). He is best known for his work in molecular science.

Dmitri Mendeleev (1834 – 1907) was born in Serbia and was the creator of the first periodic table of elements.

Antoine Lavoisier (1743 – 1794) was best known for naming both oxygen and hydrogen and helping to construct the metric system.

Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) was a Polish physicist and chemist, and was the first person to receive 2 Noble Prizes.

Robert Burns Woodward (1917 – 1979) was born in America. His work focused on organic chemistry and he is considered by many as the most well-known chemist in this field of the 21^st century.

Mr. Bean – Chemistry experiment.

A simple experiment for kids.

This is an animated, upbeat ode to the periodic table of elements and how they form our world.

The Nobel prize in Chemistry.