Recommended books for H1 Chemistry?
-
Originally posted by Dizzyday:
Hi ultimaonline, since you are knowledgeable in our local A level chemistry exams, i'd like to ask you this question on my friend's behalf. My friend is taking H2 Chem Practical Exam this year (She took her A levels in JC in 2009 and is unable to carry forward her SPA results). How should she go about studying for the practical exam?
Thanks
Since your friend doesn't have access to a Chem lab to practice labwork, she can only 'study' it from a theoretical approach, which she already needs to do this for the H2 Planning Qn of Paper 2 (tell her it's a new implementation, started only in 2010).Basically, it's "practical sessions on paper". The most direct way for her to prepare for both the H2 Planning Qn of Paper 2, as well as her Practical Exam, is to study the 2010 Prelim Exam Qns (and their solutions, of course) from all 20 JCs. These can be obtained from the bookshops of several different JCs (network amongst yourselves, help each other out).
In addition, she needs to be familiar with the procedures for (acid-base and redox) titrations, experimental techniques for Kinetics and for Energetics (see CS Toh's A level study guide's notes on experimental procedures in the chapters on Kinetics and on Energetics), Qualitative Analysis (tests for cations and anions, be thoroughly familiar with the QA notes given in the H2 Chem syllabus http://www.seab.gov.sg/aLevel/2012Syllabus/9647_2012.pdf ), and various experimental procedures involving Organic Chemistry (see Rod Beavon's website : http://www.rod.beavon.clara.net/organic_preps.htm ).
-
Alright, thanks a lot for your reply.
-
As you are aware, I'm taking H1 Chem. There's no "hidden" practical component in H1 Chem syllabus right?
-
Originally posted by Dizzyday:
As you are aware, I'm taking H1 Chem. There's no "hidden" practical component in H1 Chem syllabus right?
Nope. -
Hi ultimaonline, is "eagle" still active in this sub-forum?
-
Yes, but if you want his attention, write [Physics] in your subject header, as he may not read [Chemistry] threads.
-
Dear Dizzyday,
Ramsden's book, "A-Level Chemistry" will also come in handy. I have a tattered 3rd edition (below), but there is a fourth edition too.
CKLee
For free materials on additional mathematics, visit http://ascklee.org/ -
I like the explanations given in HL Hey's "Physical Chemistry". This is a very old book, used by those who took chemistry in Sixth Form (HSC, now A Levels). Very few textbooks are written like that anymore, with very detailed descriptions of phenomena, processes, experimental procedures, etc. If you use it, note that:
[1] you have to be very-very selective with the chapters as they covered different things those days (e.g., not many students today have heard of the "ebullioscopic constant"!)
[2] you have to be pretty adept at converting from Imperial units to SI (energy units, for example, are stated in calories; volume is stated in litres, though!)
Sincerely,
CKLee
http://ascklee.org/
-
Hi ascklee. I have the EN Ramsden book (4th edition) but whenever i flip through it i'm not sure which parts of it are relevant to our Singapore A level syllabus. The guidebookbook by CS Toh as well as my JC notes seem very different from the EN Ramsden book (the style of teaching). So for now i'll stick to the CS Toh guidebook and the challenging questions. Btw, are the questions in EN Ramsden book relevant to our Singapore A levels?
Thanks
-
Dear Dizzyday,
I'd say most of the questions (more on this below) in the books published by E.N. Ramsden, JGR Briggs, and Tan Yin Toon and his co-authors are relevant to the Singapore A-Level syllabus.
My suggestion if you want to stick very closely to the syllabus is to use the JC notes that you have to go through the tables of contents and mark out those that are *not* in the syllabus.
However, if you do not mind learning stuff that it not in the current syllabus (it really doesn't hurt, and there really isn't that much that is out-of-the-Singapore-A-Level-Chemistry-syllabus in Ramsden!), save yourself the trouble, and just plow through the book in the table of contents order. I particularly like the arrangement in Ramsden, Introduction > Physical > Inorganic > Organic. By the way, I think NJC notes are based pretty much on Ramsden. They even refer to their exercises section as "Checkpoints", as does Ramsden.
Some questions (e.g., those on the Chernobyl reactor disaster -- Section 1.10 & Checkpoint 1F in Edition 3) are probably not relevant for the Singapore A-Level H1 Chemistry syllabus, but hey, look at it this way -- If you read up more on this topic, you will gain more knowledge in this area (not many students today are familiar with Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or Bhopal), and this will give you the edge in the sceince and society questions in General Paper (if you're taking this subject). Nothing really goes to waste, so to speak!
Yet other questions (Why did Chadwick look for the neutron? Why was it hard to find? - Checkpoint 1B, Question 4) will help you in Physics. The best answer to this question is not found in Ramsden, by the way, but in Cathcart's "The Fly in the Cathedral". It is a fantastic read (almost like a novel), and give you an insight into man's journey in his understanding of the atom like no other book. I don't think such a question will ever appear in the Chemistry paper (I doubt it will even appear in the Physics paper), but then again, understanding the history of the atomic structure is not "wasted" in any way!
Sincerely,
CKLee
-
Hi ultimaonline, as mentioned earlier, i bought CS Toh's H1 Chem guidebook. Does it correspond to the latest H1 Chem syllabus (I heard from my sister that there was a change in syllabus a few years ago)?
Also, for H1 organic Chem, there's no need for remembering mechanisms and understanding concepts like nucleophile and electrophile right?Thank you
-
Originally posted by Dizzyday:
Hi ultimaonline, as mentioned earlier, i bought CS Toh's H1 Chem guidebook. Does it correspond to the latest H1 Chem syllabus (I heard from my sister that there was a change in syllabus a few years ago)?
Also, for H1 organic Chem, there's no need for remembering mechanisms and understanding concepts like nucleophile and electrophile right?Thank you
Yes (it corresponds) and yes (no need).You're welcome.
-
Hi ultimaonline, i'll really appreciate it if you could answer some of my questions.
As mentioned by dizzyday previously, i'll be taking my a levels as a private candidate this year. And I sat for a levels in 2009, so my SPA component for H2 chemistry is no longer valid. It's said that I have to take the practical paper (paper 5), however is it true that I need to enrol into a private school to fufil the criteria of taking paper 5 even though I sat for a levels chemistry previously in a JC? I can't just study for the paper 5 on my own? -
Originally posted by wonderlandd:
Hi ultimaonline, i'll really appreciate it if you could answer some of my questions.
As mentioned by dizzyday previously, i'll be taking my a levels as a private candidate this year. And I sat for a levels in 2009, so my SPA component for H2 chemistry is no longer valid. It's said that I have to take the practical paper (paper 5), however is it true that I need to enrol into a private school to fufil the criteria of taking paper 5 even though I sat for a levels chemistry previously in a JC? I can't just study for the paper 5 on my own?Nope, you do NOT have enroll in a private school. As long as you've had past Chemistry practical experience at 'A' levels (eg. JC SPA), you can declare "yes" and register as a private candidate for the syllabus that includes the practical exam paper (instead of SPA).