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AQA GCSE Chemistry 8462
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
Topic overviewAtoms, elements and compoundsWord equations, symbols and balanced equationsMixturesFrom the plum pudding model to the nuclear modelBohr, Chadwick and the modern model of the atomRelative electrical charges of subatomic particlesSize and mass of atomsRelative atomic mass and electronic structureThe periodic tableDevelopment of the periodic tableMetals and non-metalsGroup 0Group 1Group 7Transition metals, and how they differ from Group 1
Bonding, Structure, and the Properties of Matter
Topic overviewChemical bonds, including metallic bondingIonic bondingIonic compoundsCovalent bonding and how it is representedThe three states of matter and changes of statePredicting state, state symbols, and the limits of the particle modelProperties of ionic compoundsProperties of small moleculesPolymers and giant covalent structuresProperties of metals and alloys, and why metals conductDiamond and graphiteGraphene and fullerenesSizes of particles and their propertiesUses of nanoparticles
Chemical Analysis
Chemical Changes
Topic overviewThe reactivity seriesMetal oxides, extraction, and redox in terms of electronsAcids reacting with metals, neutralisation and saltsSoluble saltsThe pH scale and neutralisationTitrationsStrong and weak acidsThe process of electrolysis, and molten ionic compoundsUsing electrolysis to extract metalsElectrolysis of aqueous solutionsRepresentation of reactions at electrodes as half equations
Chemistry of the Atmosphere
Topic overviewThe Earth's early atmosphereHow oxygen increased and carbon dioxide decreasedThe gases in today's atmosphere, and which are greenhouse gasesHuman activities which contribute to an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphereGlobal climate change and carbon footprintsAtmospheric pollutants from fuels, and their effects
Energy Changes
Organic Chemistry
Topic overviewCrude oil, hydrocarbons and alkanesFractional distillation and petrochemicalsProperties of hydrocarbonsCracking, and testing alkenes with bromine waterWhy cracking is useful, and equations for itStructure and formulae of alkenesReactions of alkenesAlcoholsCarboxylic acidsAddition polymerisationCondensation polymerisationAmino acids, DNA and naturally occurring polymers
Quantitative Chemistry
Topic overviewConservation of mass and balanced chemical equationsRelative formula mass and concentration of solutionsMass changes when a gas is involved, and measurement uncertaintyMolesAmounts of substances in equations, and balancing using molesLimiting reactantsPercentage yieldAtom economyUsing concentrations of solutions in mol/dmUse of amount of substance in relation to volumes of gases
The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change
Topic overviewMeasuring the mean rate of a reactionRate from graphs, and the gradient of a tangentFactors which affect the rates of chemical reactionsCollision theory and activation energyCatalystsReversible reactions and dynamic equilibriumThe effect of changing conditions on equilibriumThe effect of changing concentrationThe effect of temperature changes on equilibriumThe effect of pressure changes on equilibrium
Using Resources
Topic overviewUsing the Earth's resources and sustainable developmentProducing potable water in the UKDesalination, and analysing water samplesWaste water treatmentAlternative methods of extracting metalsLife cycle assessmentWays of reducing the use of resourcesCorrosion and its preventionAlloys as useful materialsGlass, clay ceramics and polymersComposites, and comparing materialsThe Haber processProduction and uses of NPK fertilisers
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
- 15 subtopics
- 42 things to know
- Paper 1
What Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table covers
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table is examined in Chemistry Paper 1. It covers atoms, elements and compounds, word equations, symbols and balanced equations, mixtures, from the plum pudding model to the nuclear model, Bohr, Chadwick and the modern model of the atom, relative electrical charges of subatomic particles, size and mass of atoms, mass number, atomic number and isotopes, the periodic table, development of the periodic table, metals and non-metals, group 0, group 1, group 7 and transition metals, and how they differ from Group 1.
Where it is assessed
Paper 1
Chemistry Paper 1: 1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks, 50% of the GCSE.
Check the AQA specification ↗The 15 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Atoms, elements and compoundsWhat all substances are made of, how atoms and elements are written as symbols, roughly how many elements exist, and how compounds form, are represented and are separated by chemical reactions.Open →
- Word equations, symbols and balanced equationsWriting reactions as word equations and symbol equations, reactants and products either side of the arrow, looking up element symbols, naming compounds from formulae, why and how symbol equations are balanced, half equations for sodium and chloride ions, and what an ionic equation shows.Open →
- MixturesWhat a mixture is and why its substances keep their properties, why air is a mixture, separation by filtration, crystallisation, simple and fractional distillation and chromatography, and choosing a method for sea water, ethanol and water, and black ink.Open →
- From the plum pudding model to the nuclear modelHow new evidence changes scientific models, Thomson's discovery of the electron and the plum pudding model, Rutherford's alpha particle scattering experiment and what its results showed about the nucleus and empty space, Bohr's electron orbits, and the naming of protons.Open →
- Bohr, Chadwick and the modern model of the atomChadwick's evidence for the neutron and where it sits, why the scattering experiment forced a new model, how the nuclear model differs from the plum pudding model, and the fixed energy levels of electrons.Open →
- Relative electrical charges of subatomic particlesThe relative charges of the proton, electron and neutron, why an atom has no overall charge, equal numbers of protons and electrons, atomic number as the number of protons, identifying an element from it, and where each particle sits in the nuclear model.Open →
- Size and mass of atomsThe radius of an atom and of its nucleus, where the mass of an atom is concentrated, the relative masses of protons, neutrons and electrons, mass number and isotopes, reading atomic notation, counting protons, neutrons and electrons in atoms and ions, and estimating at atomic scale.Open →
- Relative atomic mass and electronic structureRelative atomic mass as an average over isotopes, why chlorine is 35.5, calculating relative atomic mass from percentage abundances, how electrons fill the lowest energy levels or shells first, and writing electronic structures such as 2,8,1 for sodium and 2,8,7 for chlorine.Open →
- The periodic tableElements arranged by atomic number, groups as columns of similar elements, why the table is periodic, how outer electrons give the group number and similar chemical properties, how occupied shells give the period, predicting reactions from position, and drawing and writing electronic structures for elements such as potassium, calcium, aluminium and oxygen.Open →
- Development of the periodic tableHow early tables ordered elements by atomic weight and why they were faulty, Mendeleev's gaps and reordering, how his predictions were confirmed, and how isotopes explained the anomalies.Open →
- Metals and non-metalsHow metals and non-metals are defined by the ions they form, where each is found in the periodic table, their physical and chemical properties, and how outer electrons decide how an element reacts.Open →
- Group 0The noble gases, why their full outer shells make them unreactive, how many outer electrons helium and the rest have, and how boiling point and density change going down the group.Open →
- Group 1The alkali metals and their single outer electron, their reactions with oxygen, water and chlorine, the alkaline solution formed with water, how and why reactivity increases down the group, and predicting how rubidium reacts with water.Open →
- Group 7The halogens as non-metals with seven outer electrons that exist as pairs of atoms, ionic metal halides and covalent compounds with non-metals, rising melting and boiling points and falling reactivity down the group, displacement reactions, and why fluorine is more reactive than chlorine.Open →
- Transition metals, and how they differ from Group 1How transition metals compare with Group 1 metals in melting point, density, hardness and reactions with water, oxygen and the halogens, examples of transition metals, their ions with different charges such as Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺, coloured compounds, and their use as catalysts.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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Outline how crystallisation and simple distillation separate a mixture, and what chromatography's separation depends on.
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Explain what a group is and how an element's electrons decide where it sits in the periodic table.
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Explain why the reactions of an element are decided by its atomic number.
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What are all substances made of?
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In an equation for a reaction, what is written on each side of the arrow?
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What can cause a scientific model to be changed or replaced?
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Whose experimental work provided the evidence for neutrons?
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Which particles in an atom carry an electrical charge?
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Where is almost all of the mass of an atom found?
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Which two pieces of information about an element's isotopes are needed to find its relative atomic mass?
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Besides leaving gaps, what else did Mendeleev do to make his table work?
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How many electrons does a helium atom have in its outer shell?
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What is formed when lithium reacts with oxygen?
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What type of compound is formed when chlorine reacts with a metal?
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What is the smallest part of an element that can exist on its own?
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Write the word equation for magnesium burning in oxygen.
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What is a mixture?
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Which scientist is credited with discovering the electron?
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Using the nuclear model, describe where the three types of particle are found in an atom.
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What are isotopes?
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Describe the method for calculating a relative atomic mass from percentage abundances.
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What is a group in the periodic table?
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What eventually happened to the gaps Mendeleev left?
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Which elements are classed as metals by the ions they form?
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How do the boiling points of the noble gases relate to relative atomic mass?
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Write the word equation for potassium reacting with water.
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What charge does a halide ion carry in a compound with a metal?
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Compare the melting points of the transition metals with those of the Group 1 metals.
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Which element is represented by the symbol Na?
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Which element has the symbol K?
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Air contains nitrogen, oxygen and argon. Explain why air is a mixture and not a compound.
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Which experiment provided the evidence that led to the nuclear model?
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When an atom is written using its symbol, where are the mass number and the atomic number placed?
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How many electrons fill the lowest energy level of an atom?
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How is an element's group number related to the electrons in its atoms?
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Which later discovery explained why ordering by atomic weight was not always correct?
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How are non-metals defined in terms of the ions they form?
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Explain, in terms of electrons, why argon does not react with oxygen.
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What is produced when sodium burns in chlorine?
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What type of bonding is formed when a halogen reacts with a non-metal?
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Compare the densities of the transition metals with those of the Group 1 metals.
Take Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Atomic number vs Mass number
Atomic number: how many protons an atom of that element contains. Mass number: the total of protons and neutrons in one atom.
Plum pudding model vs Nuclear model
Plum pudding model: a ball of positive charge with electrons embedded in it. Nuclear model: a tiny dense positive centre with electrons arranged around it.
Group vs Period
Group: a column of elements with similar properties and the same outer electrons. Period: a row of elements sharing the same count of occupied shells.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What are all substances made of?
Model answer
All substances are made of atoms.
- 2
What is the smallest part of an element that can exist on its own?
Model answer
An atom is the smallest part of an element that can exist.
- 3
How is an atom of a particular element represented in writing?
Model answer
It is represented by a chemical symbol.
- 4
Which element is represented by the symbol Na?
Model answer
Na represents an atom of sodium.
- 5
What is the chemical symbol for an atom of oxygen?
Model answer
The symbol for oxygen is O.
- 6
Approximately how many different elements are there?
Model answer
There are about 100 different elements.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table revision questions
- What does Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table cover in AQA GCSE Chemistry?
- 15 subtopics: atoms, elements and compounds, word equations, symbols and balanced equations, mixtures, from the plum pudding model to the nuclear model, bohr, chadwick and the modern model of the atom, relative electrical charges of subatomic particles, size and mass of atoms, relative atomic mass and electronic structure, the periodic table, development of the periodic table, metals and non-metals, group 0, group 1, group 7 and transition metals, and how they differ from group 1. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table organised?
- By the AQA 8462 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table, 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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