Teaching 16–18 chemistry

Try these simple guides to teaching core topics and skills in chemistry for older students

Each article provides real-world context for the chemistry topic, along with what students needs to know and common misconceptions. The articles also suggest ideas to use in your classroom, recommended resources and how to check for student understanding.

A magnified image showing large cords, some smooth and some scaley

How to teach polymers at post-16

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Teaching strategies and resources to help learners master polymers and overcome misconceptions

Tubes of flourescent spheres and organic molcules

How to teach chromatography at post-16

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Everything you need to help your students master the fundamentals of this analytical technique

A yellow oil sits on top of a clear liquid in a test tube

How to teach chemistry through electrostatics at post-16

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Highlight the importance of charge and polarity in chemistry with these classroom ideas and activities

An artwork relating the periodic table to atomic orbitals and the energy to fill them

Everything you need to teach atomic structure and periodicity at post-16

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Top tips and teaching ideas to help your students get to grips with the periodic table and its trends

A row of horseshoe crabs in a lab where a woman in a lab coat and hair covering is extracting their blue blood

How to teach post-16 transition metals and complex ions

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Everything you need to help your students master transition metal complexes

Two halves of a lemon wired together and to a red bulb that is glowing. On the table written in chalk is a plus and minus sign and a lightning bolt

How to teach electrochemistry at post-16

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Use these tips to help your students calculate redox reactions and create electrochemical cells

Three slices of tomato, two slices of cheese cut from a block and three slices of bread ready to make a sandwich

How to teach quantitative chemistry at post-16

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Use these tips to help your students successfully calculate reacting masses and limiting agents

Four glass beakers holding different volumes of different metals

How to teach moles at post-16

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Use this explainer to help students overcome misconceptions of this fundamental quantity

A spectrum

Teaching spectroscopic techniques at post-16

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Use these ideas and resources to help your students master spectroscopy

A mix of coloured glass marbles

How to teach entropy at post-16

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Use these ideas and activities to help your chemistry students master this challenging topic

Pharmaceutical pill production

Teaching organic synthesis at post-16

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Use these ideas and tips to help students master this tricky topic

Copper_sulfate-and-water

Teaching energy and change post-16

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Try these ideas to help students better understand this scientific concept

Curly arrows

Teaching curly arrows at post-16

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Tips and resources to help you teach chemical processes and organic reaction mechanisms

People at a concert taking photos on their mobile phones

Teaching redox chemistry post-16

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Try these ideas to help make redox less confusing for students

A scientist in a lab working on a computer and NMR machine

How to teach structure determination post-16

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Students find this process puzzling. Help them solve it with these ideas and tips

People on up and down escalators

Teaching chemistry equilibria post-16

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How to help students tackle equilibrium challenges at post-16

A scientist working in a lab

Teaching organic chemistry post-16

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Introduce the study of molecules containing carbon atoms to your students with these many different contexts

A photo of a car's exhaust pipe

Teaching rates of reaction post-16: part 2

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Ideas and activities to help students explore catalysts

A photo of orange juice bottles with the best before date displayed

Teaching rates of reaction post-16

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Ideas and activities to help students explore reaction dynamics and mechanisms

A photo of three household cleaning products' bottles

Teaching acids and bases post-16

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Try these tips, ideas and activities to help you teach this topic

A photo of a charged balloon deflecting a water stream

Teaching structure and bonding post-16

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Try these tips, contexts and activities to tackle the orbital model of the atom and bonding