KS3 & KS4 science curriculum

This unit builds on pupils’ prior learning from Atomic structure and the periodic table, where they explored how atomic arrangements influence element properties and reactivity. It deepens their understanding by examining chemical bonds, including ionic, covalent, and metallic, and how bonding affects substance properties. This prepares pupils for the next unit, Chemistry of carbon, where they will apply this knowledge to explore carbon’s unique bonding, forming complex organic molecules, reinforcing the role of bonding in chemistry.

1. Why chemical reactions happen
2. Metallic structure and properties
3. Metal alloys
4. Alloys and their properties
5. Forming ions for ionic bonding
6. Giant ionic structures
7. Determining ionic formulae
8. Ionic diagrams for binary ionic substances
9. Properties of giant ionic structures
10. Forming covalent bonds
11. Properties of covalent substances
12. Bonding models

• Each element is made up of just one sort of atom
• Each element has specific physical properties
• Each element has specific chemical properties
• Many non-metals are in the gas state at room temperature
• Some non-metals form diatomic molecules that contain two atoms
• A compound is made of two or more different elements chemically bonded through a chemical reaction
• A compound may have different properties to each of the elements that it is made from
• Some compounds contain the same elements that are bonded together in different ways