Process
Edexcel A-Level Chemistry 9CH0
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
Bonding and Structure
Inorganic Chemistry and the Periodic Table
Topic overviewFlame tests and how they workThermal decomposition of nitrates and carbonatesCarrying out flame tests and testing the gasesGroup 2 elements and their compoundsTrends in Group 7 and predicting fluorine and astatineHalogen displacement reactionsDisproportionation and the reactions of chlorineHalides with concentrated sulfuric acid, and the hydrogen halidesTesting for halide ions with silver nitrateTesting for carbonate and hydrogencarbonate ionsTesting for sulfate and ammonium ions
Formulae, Equations and Amounts of Substance
Topic overviewThe mole, molar mass and empirical formulaThe ideal gas equation and molar volumeEquations, concentration and reacting quantitiesStandard solutions, titration and uncertaintyPercentage yield, atom economy and acid reactionsCore practicals 1 to 3Empirical formula and water of crystallisation by experimentApparatus, uncertainty and mathematical skills
Organic Chemistry I
Topic overviewFormulae, homologous series and functional groupsIUPAC nomenclatureTypes of organic reaction and structural isomerismStereoisomerism and E/Z nomenclaturePractical techniques in organic chemistryAlkanes, crude oil and combustion pollutantsRadical substitutionAlkenes, the double bond and hydrogenationElectrophilic addition, Markovnikov's rule and the test for an alkeneAddition polymers and waste polymersNucleophilic substitution of halogenoalkanesRates of hydrolysis and the SN1 and SN2 mechanismsClassifying and oxidising alcoholsAlcohols: practical techniques and the core practicals
Modern Analytical Techniques I
Energetics I
Kinetics I
Equilibrium I
Acid-Base Equilibria
Energetics II
Redox II
Transition Metals
Topic overviewElectron configuration and what makes a transition metalComplex ions, ligands and the colour of transition metal ionsCoordination number, monodentate ligands and the shapes of complexesBidentate and multidentate ligands, and ligand exchangeVanadium and chromium chemistryReactions with sodium hydroxide and ammoniaCobalt and copper complexesLigand exchange, amphoteric behaviour and the chelate effectTransition metals as catalysts
Kinetics II
Organic Chemistry II
Topic overviewChiralityAldehydes, ketones and their oxidationReduction and nucleophilic addition of HCNTesting for a carbonyl group: 2,4-DNPH and the iodoform reactionCarboxylic acids and their reactionsEsters and acyl chloridesReflux, extraction and recrystallisationDistillation, melting temperature and working safely
Organic Chemistry III
Topic overviewThe structure of benzene and the evidence for itElectrophilic substitution of benzeneNitration, halogenation, Friedel-Crafts and phenolAmines: structure and basicityReactions of amines and preparing themAmides and condensation polymersAmino acids, zwitterions and proteinsEmpirical and molecular formulae from analytical dataGrignard reagents and multi-step synthesisPurification techniques and the aspirin preparation
Organic Chemistry II
- 8 subtopics
- 24 things to know
- Papers 2 and 3
What Organic Chemistry II covers
Covers chirality, the aldehydes and ketones with the tests that tell them apart, their reduction and addition reactions, the carboxylic acids, esters and acyl chlorides, and the practical techniques for making and purifying an organic product.
Where it is assessed
Papers 2 and 3
Advanced Organic and Physical Chemistry, then the synoptic paper.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 8 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- ChiralityChiral centres and optical isomers, how they rotate plane-polarised light, racemic mixtures, and using the optical activity of the product to tell an Sₙ1 mechanism through a planar carbocation from an Sₙ2 mechanism with inversion.Open →
- Aldehydes, ketones and their oxidationRecall questions on naming and structure, on physical properties, and on the Tollens', Fehling's and dichromate tests that distinguish an aldehyde from a ketone.Open →
- Reduction and nucleophilic addition of HCNReducing aldehydes to primary alcohols and ketones to secondary alcohols with lithium tetrahydridoaluminate, LiAlH₄, in dry ether, writing the reducing agent as [H], the nucleophilic addition of HCN with KCN to give a hydroxynitrile, and why the product is a racemic mixture.Open →
- Testing for a carbonyl group: 2,4-DNPH and the iodoform reactionRecall questions on the 2,4-DNPH test and its orange precipitate, on identifying a carbonyl from its melting temperature, and on what a positive iodoform test proves.Open →
- Carboxylic acids and their reactionsThe carboxyl group, hydrogen-bonded dimers and solubility, why carboxylic acids are weak, preparing them by oxidation or nitrile hydrolysis, and their reactions with metals, sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, LiAlH₄, phosphorus(V) chloride and alcohols.Open →
- Esters and acyl chloridesRecall questions on esterification and its catalyst, on acid and alkaline hydrolysis, on the uses of esters, and on the reactions of acyl chlorides.Open →
- Reflux, extraction and recrystallisationRecall questions on why a reaction is refluxed, on solvent extraction in a separating funnel, and on the steps of a recrystallisation.Open →
- Distillation, melting temperature and working safelySimple and steam distillation, judging purity from a sharp or broad melting range, using hazard data to select and justify control measures, the techniques in the aspirin preparation of Core Practical 16, and why Grignard reactions need dry ether.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Process
How are esters made and broken?
Process
Describe the mechanism of the reaction between a carbonyl compound and cyanide ions.
Key term
How is ethyl ethanoate named from the alcohol and acid it comes from?
Key term
Give two everyday uses of esters and the property each depends on.
Process
What happens to the optical activity when a single optical isomer undergoes an Sₙ1 reaction?
Key term
What happens to the configuration at the chiral centre during an Sₙ2 reaction?
Key term
What apparatus is used when purifying by washing, and what action is performed?
Key term
Why is the mixture shaken during solvent extraction?
Key term
What solvent is typically used for Grignard reagent reactions and reactions involving carbonyl compounds?
Key term
Why can aldehydes and ketones not form hydrogen bonds with one another?
Key term
What reagent reduces aldehydes and ketones, and under what conditions?
Key term
Why must the derivative be recrystallised before its melting temperature is taken?
Key term
What reagents are used in the iodoform reaction?
Key term
What is the carboxylic acid functional group?
Key term
Why do carboxylic acids have higher boiling temperatures than alcohols of similar relative molecular mass?
Key term
In distillation, what happens to the mixture in the distillation flask?
Key term
What molecular feature gives rise to optical isomerism?
Key term
Why are the shorter aldehydes and ketones soluble in water?
Key term
What is formed when an aldehyde is reduced, and what when a ketone is reduced?
Key term
What is observed in a positive iodoform test?
Key term
Why are the shorter carboxylic acids very soluble in water?
Process
In refluxing, what happens to the reaction mixture during the process?
Key term
Which component vaporises first during distillation and why?
Take Organic Chemistry II further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Enantiomers vs Diastereomers
Enantiomers: non-superimposable mirror-image molecules. Diastereomers: stereoisomers that are not mirror images.
Aldehyde vs Ketone
Aldehyde: carbonyl compound with the group at a chain end. Ketone: carbonyl compound with the group within a chain.
Primary alcohol vs Secondary alcohol
Primary alcohol: hydroxyl-bearing carbon attached to one other carbon. Secondary alcohol: hydroxyl-bearing carbon attached to two other carbons.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What molecular feature gives rise to optical isomerism?
Model answer
Handedness in a molecule carrying one chiral carbon
- 2
Define a chiral centre.
Model answer
An asymmetric carbon atom bonded to four different groups
- 3
What is the relationship between two optical isomers?
Model answer
They are non-superimposable mirror images of each other
- 4
What is optical activity?
Model answer
One optical isomer turns plane-polarised light of a single wavelength clockwise; its mirror image turns it by an equal angle the other way.
- 5
What is a racemic mixture?
Model answer
A mixture containing equal amounts of both optical isomers (enantiomers)
- 6
Why does a racemic mixture show no net optical activity?
Model answer
Because the rotations of the two enantiomers cancel out
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Organic Chemistry II revision questions
- What does Organic Chemistry II cover in Edexcel A-Level Chemistry?
- 8 subtopics: chirality, aldehydes, ketones and their oxidation, reduction and nucleophilic addition of hcn, testing for a carbonyl group: 2,4-dnph and the iodoform reaction, carboxylic acids and their reactions, esters and acyl chlorides, reflux, extraction and recrystallisation and distillation, melting temperature and working safely. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Organic Chemistry II organised?
- By the Edexcel 9CH0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Organic Chemistry II, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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