Chemguide

Support for home-schooling parents

Tell me about the book

This book covers the Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry syllabus which will be examined for the first time in 2011, and which will be taught in schools starting in September 2009. It replaces the current Longman Chemistry for IGCSE co-authored by Jim Clark and Ray Oliver. Jim Clark is the sole author of the new version.

Can the new book be used to prepare for the 2010 exam?

This is a bit of a problem. The new syllabus is based on the old one, but has had a lot of bits and pieces removed. If you are using the old syllabus, you will probably know that an amendment that Edexcel have published on their website has already removed some material from what students need to know for the 2009 and 2010 exams. However, even more has been removed in the new syllabus.

The new book therefore won't contain everything that you need for the old syllabus. The arrangements for testing "practical" content have also changed in the new syllabus.

If you are preparing your child for the 2010 exam, it might seem better to use the old Clark and Oliver edition. However, there are problems with this book, and it appears increasingly difficult to find copies of it on the web, although there are still a few second-hand versions available at absurd prices. An alternative solution is to use the new Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry book, and add on the extra material from elsewhere as necessary.

You will find no-frills descriptions of this extra material by following this link.

If you do use the Clark and Oliver version rather than the new book, it is important for you to contact me via the address on the about this site page of Chemguide for a full list of all the answers in the book, including a commentary on places where the existing book is less than ideal.

Can we just work through the new book starting from page 1?

Yes! The content is in a logical teaching order, leaving tricky or boring stuff like calculations right to the end. The book doesn't follow the order of the syllabus, but all the syllabus is covered. If you want to check, you will find the syllabus statements for each chapter available on the CD accompanying the book. Download and print a copy of the syllabus from Edexcel, and cross things off as you have done them.

What if I can't follow something in the book, or I disagree with an answer?

I wrote the book with an eye on the needs of home-schooling parents with little or no chemistry, so I hope that you won't have too much trouble following the book. I have also tried to explain the answers in a way that doesn't assume any chemistry knowledge beyond what you might have acquired up to that point in the book. However, there is often a gap between intentions and results!

If you find something that you don't understand, or if you think I may have got an answer wrong, please contact me via the address on the about this site page of Chemguide so that I can try to sort it out. An answer file can easily be corrected or rephrased, but only if somebody tells me about it. If something from the book needs further explanation, I can add it to this web page (or a link from this page) so that everybody can benefit.

Please don't feel embarrassed in asking about things you don't understand, or pointing out problems to me. When I was teaching, I worked on the principle that my students had a right to understand things and, provided they weren't just day-dreaming, if they didn't understand something I taught them, it was my fault and not theirs. I still believe that.

Can I make clear, though, that this service only applies to home-schooling parents (or teachers finding problems with the answers), and not to students themselves. I don't have the time or energy to serve as a personal tutor to thousands and thousands of individual students! (Chemguide as a whole is currently getting over half a million visits a month (2009) - there is no way that I can cope with students asking me questions!)

Where can I find answers to the questions in the book?

They are currently available as pdf files from here, although this may change later. Click on the links below to find complete answers section by section.

Go to chapter-by-chapter list of resources

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