A-Level Chemistry Practical Endorsement Course

The A-Level Chemistry Practical Endorsement course at BioGrad Education comprises a minimum of 12 experiments, carefully selected to give students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their competency against each of the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC).

Students are expected to have a good understanding of the practical skills, techniques and procedures required by their examination board specification before attending the course. The practicals provide students with the opportunity to apply this existing knowledge and demonstrate their practical competency in a real laboratory environment.

The practical activities cover a range of key A-Level Chemistry techniques. These include identifying and characterising unknown organic and inorganic compounds, preparing organic solids and liquids using reflux and distillation apparatus, recrystallisation and aqueous work-up procedures, followed by analysis using thin-layer chromatography.

Students also have the opportunity to demonstrate standard titration and gas collection techniques to determine unknown concentrations and relative formula masses. Rate investigations provide opportunities to collect, process and present experimental data, while redox titration can be used to determine the mass of iron ions present in iron tablets.

Throughout the course, students receive guidance and support from experienced scientists while completing their assessed practical work. The focus is on providing students with the opportunity to demonstrate their practical competency against the required assessment criteria and gain experience working in a professional laboratory environment.

Practical 1 – Determination of the relative atomic mass of magnesium.

Practical 2 – Determination of concentration of hydrochloric acid.

Practical 3 – Determination of an enthalpy change of reaction by Hess’ Law.

Practical 4 – Identifying unknowns.

Practical 5 – Preparation of an ester.

Practical 6 – Preparation of benzoic acid.

Practical 7 – Identifying organic unknowns.

Practical 8 – Electrochemical cells.

Practical 9 – Rate of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.

Practical 10 – Rates – Iodine Clock.

Practical 11 – pH – titration curves.

Practical 12 – The iodometric determination of copper in brass.

• Students must be studying an England A-Level Chemistry qualification with AQA, Eduqas, Pearson Edexcel or OCR.
• This is an intensive practical course designed for students who are ready to complete their A-Level Practical Endorsement. Students are expected to have a good understanding of the practical skills, techniques and procedures required by their examination board specification before attending. The course provides multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their competency across the assessed practical techniques and Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC).
• If a student has had limited opportunities to develop their practical laboratory skills before studying A-Level Chemistry, BioGrad Education recommends considering our 1-day Introduction to Laboratory Skills course before completing their Practical Endorsement. This course provides an opportunity to develop essential laboratory skills and gain confidence working in a laboratory environment.