Leaving Certificate chemistry aims to provide a relevant course for students who will complete their study of chemistry at this level while, at the same time, providing a foundation course for those who will continue to study chemistry or a related subjects following completion of their Leaving Certificate. This syllabus is for students in the senior cycle of post-primary education and is assessed at Ordinary and Higher levels.
Studying Chemistry will help you develop a variety of skills: not only will you learn how to approach scientific problems in a logical and analytical way but you will also develop your practical and mathematical skills. During the Leaving Certificate Chemistry course you will use and develop your skills in communication, organisation, team work and logical thinking. In preparation for the state examination the course also focuses on the development of effective study skills through an active learning environment. The Chemistry department use a number of different methodologies such as :
- Relating syllabus to everyday life
- Use of posters to enhance learning
- Students writing definitions
- Peer teaching
- Concept and mind maps
- Powerpoint as a revision tool
- Practical activities
This leads to students mastering the following key skills:
- Critical and creative thinking
- Information processing
- Being personally effective
- Working with others
The subject aims to provide a relevant course for students who will complete their study of chemistry at this level while, at the same time, providing a foundation course for those who will continue to study chemistry or related subjects following completion of their Leaving Certificate.
The Leaving Cert. course follows on directly from Junior Cert Science, and deals with more topics in a lot more depth. The course includes 28 mandatory practical experiments which must be completed in the lab, as well as a written paper including questions on the experiments and examining the theory and applications of chemistry. There are an amount of calculations involved. Chemistry has been the second most popular science subject for some time now.
There is no element of continuous assessment but experimental copies must be available for inspection by State Examinations Commission
The syllabus consists of approximately 70% pure chemistry; the remaining 30% deals with the social and applied aspects of chemistry.
The syllabus is comprised of all the essential and relevant topics within general chemistry. The major topics involved include the following:
- Atomic structure
- Volumetric analysis
- Organic chemistry
- Water chemistry
- Reaction mechanisms.
There also is an option to be taken as part of the course which involves the study of atmospheric and industrial chemistry or the study of materials and electrochemistry.
Experimental investigations are an essential part of the leaving certificate course. Each student must complete at least 28 experiments over the duration of the course.
The leaving cert exam is three hours in duration. Each candidate must answer at least two questions from Section A (experimental section) and a maximum of six questions from Section B.
There is no element of continuous assessment but experimental copies must be available for inspection by the State Examinations Commission. Students taking chemistry have to memorise the chemical components of a series of prescribed experiments. They will need to present the elements of four such experiments in their exam.