Structure of an Atom and Mass Spectrum

How the electron, the nucleus, the proton and the neutron were discovered and what their properties are; isotopes, nuclide notation and relative atomic mass on the carbon-12 scale; how a mass spectrometer ionises, accelerates, deflects and detects ions; and how to read a mass spectrum to find isotopic abundances, the relative atomic mass of an element and the relative molecular mass of a compound.

2

Electron Configurations of Atoms and Ions

Light as photons and Bohr's model of the atom; emission, absorption and continuous spectra; the hydrogen spectrum and its Lyman, Balmer, Paschen, Brackett and Pfund series, with the Rydberg equation and the ionisation energy of hydrogen from the convergence limit; quantum numbers and the shapes of s, p and d orbitals; s-p-d-f electron configurations of atoms and ions using the Aufbau principle, Hund's rule and the Pauli principle; and first and successive ionisation energies, their trends and the factors that control them.

3

Formation of Ionic and Metallic Bonds

Why atoms bond and what makes a configuration stable; ionic bonding by electron transfer, dot-and-cross diagrams and the conditions that favour it; giant ionic lattices, their physical properties and lattice energy, including how ionic charge and radius change it and a simple Born–Haber cycle; and metallic bonding, the electron-sea model and how it explains the conductivity, malleability and melting points of metals and alloys.

4

Formation of Covalent Bonds

Covalent bonding as the overlap of atomic orbitals, with sigma and pi bonds; Lewis (dot-and-cross) structures and the octet rule, and molecules that break it; coordinate (dative) bonds; valence bond theory and sp, sp², sp³, sp³d and sp³d² hybridisation; VSEPR theory and the shapes and bond angles of molecules and ions; and polar bonds, electronegativity, dipoles and the intermolecular forces (London, permanent dipole and hydrogen bonding) that decide boiling points and solubility.

5

Trends in Physical Properties of Elements in the Periodic Table

How the periodic table was built, from Döbereiner and Newlands to Mendeleev's predictions and Moseley's atomic numbers, and how Mendeleev's table compares with the modern one; locating an element's period, group and block (s, p, d, f) from its electron configuration; and the trends in atomic and ionic radius, ionisation energy, electronegativity, melting and boiling points, electrical conductivity and metallic character down groups and across Period 3, explained by nuclear charge, shielding and structure.

6

Trends in Chemical Properties of Group 1 Elements and Their Compounds

The alkali metals lithium to caesium: where they occur and how their physical properties change down the group; their reactions with oxygen, water and the halogens, and the oxides, peroxides, superoxides and hydroxides they form; the effect of heat on their carbonates, hydrogencarbonates and nitrates, the solubility of their compounds and the unusual behaviour of lithium; flame tests for lithium, sodium and potassium ions; and the uses of Group 1 elements and compounds.