NCEA L3 Chemistry - Mātai Matū

Chemistry is a fascinating subject because of its history, the beauty of its logic and its multitude of applications. 

Chemistry is the study of the composition of matter and the changes in composition that this matter undergoes. We do experiments to describe what matter looks like and does and then we learn how to use chemical principles to explain and discuss why matter behaves in this way. 

This Chemistry course is for students keen to extend the development of their thinking skills, ability to engage in logical argument, laboratory skills and their understanding of chemistry and for those who plan to study science or any form of applied science at tertiary level.

This course provides opportunities for students to design their own unique course according to their abilities and aspirations and, if you are doing the course as a Year 12 student, the opportunity to compete for a place on the New Zealand team for the international Chemistry Olympiad.

Topics you will learn about include:

• Redox processes in batteries - you will set up electrochemical and electrolytic cells to observe them working and you will understand the chemical reactions that occur batteries and rechargeable cells in them.
• Thermochemistry - you will observe temperature changes when chemical reactions occur 
• Physical properties of materials - you will experiment to find the properties of different types of materials and then relate these to the materials' microstructure
• Spectroscopy - you will learn to use analysis graphs to identify unknown chemicals 
• The chemistry of acids, bases, soluble and insoluble salts and buffers - carry out experiments on aqueous solutions and discover the links between the observations, the microstructure of the solutions, ocean acidification, ocean and coastal ecosystems.
• How to synthesis and analyse organic compounds

By the end of the course you will be able to

• use the principles of lone electron pair repulsion to draw electron configurations of atoms and structures of molecules and predict and justify their physical properties
• predict and justify whether a reaction is spontaneous and non spontaneous 
• understand the implications of a material's structure on its chemical and physical properties
• calculate the enthalpy change of a reaction from book and experimental values
• use ¹²C NMR, Infrared and mass spectroscopy to identify unknown organic molecules 
• predict chemical reactions that occur in a cell from Redox Potential values
• evaluate the validity of an aqueous chemical experiment 
• use equilibrium, pH, Ka, Kb, pka, pK and Ks values in the context of strong and weak acids and bases, buffers and salt solutions
• carry out Redox, precipitation and acid - base titrations, draw acid -base titration curves and justify indicator choices