Marlborough Boys’ College

NCEA L3 Chemistry A - Mātai Matū A

Course Description Recommended Prior Learning

Level 2 Chemistry A - Mātai matū A - Required

Level 2 Chemistry B - Mātai matū B - Will be an advantage and allow for a wider choice if student is designing a unique personal course

THE CHEMISTRY OF VEHICLES

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 of Vehicles 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 dismantle a range of rechargeable cells to observe and understand the chemical reactions that occur in them.
Thermochemistry of fuels - you will observe temperature changes when fuels are burnt and chemical reactions occur and use these to compare the heat content of fuels.
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 of vehicle emissions - you will learn to use analysis graphs to identify unknown chemicals

By the end of the course you will be able to

use the principles of Aufbau and 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 reactions
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 the chemical reactions that occur in a cell from Redox Potential values.

Course Overview

Semester A
Having set up electrolytic and electrochemical cells and dismantled rechargeable batteries you will develop the skills to use Redox Potential values to predict the chemical reactions that occur in these cells. Then, using these skills together with the knowledge you built in the Redox section of the Level 2 course you, you will apply your knowledge to predict, describe and justify the chemical reactions that occur in the Lead Acid Accumulator, the NICAD, Vanadium and the mercury- zinc button batteries.
While learning to read 12C NMR, Infrared and mass spectrographs you will practise identifying and eliminating a variety of unknown organic molecules and then justifying your predictions using concise scientifically worded discussions.
These two units will be assessed via two internal assessments for three credits each.
Thereafter, you will build the knowledge to be able to predict the physical properties of atomic, molecular, ionic and metallic substances. Molecular substances are the main focus of this section and, to arrive at a point where you can justify their physical behaviour, you will have opportunities to use the principles of Aufbau and lone electron pair repulsion to draw electron configurations of atoms and structures of molecules. Using these will support you in understanding the implications of atomic and molecular structure on a molecule's polarity and thus a material's boiling point, melting point and solubility.
The last step in completing the course involves carrying out experiments and calculations to classify a selection of chemical and physical reactions as exothermic or endothermic. Using this information you will be able to discover and justify if a reaction is spontaneous or not. This will be assessed in an five credit external assessment at the end of the year.

Learning Areas:

Year 13 (NCEA Level 3), Science - Pūtaiao

Assessment Information

This course has three documented assessments - two 3 credit internals on Batteries and Spectroscopy and one 5 credit external on Particles and Thermochemistry.
This course does however provide opportunities for students to design a personal unique course according to their abilities and aspirations.
For example there is an option take a year long 5 credit Level 3 Aqueous chemistry (AS 91392) external starting from the beginning of the year (taught after school from 3:30 to 4:30 for one afternoon a week throughout the year).
A scholarship examination is also available.

These options can be negotiated with your teacher before/during during the course.