GCSE Chemistry is manageable for most students, but it trips people up with its calculations (moles), the required practicals and the need for precise structure-and-bonding explanations.
GCSE Chemistry
Written & reviewed by James Millett — Biology (Imperial College London), PGCE Science (University of Cambridge).
What makes it challenging
Calculations — especially moles — put off students who avoid the maths.
You must explain properties from structure and bonding, exactly.
Several required practicals with methods, risks and accuracy points to learn.
Balancing equations and precise definitions are easy marks that are easy to drop.
The topics students find hardest
Moles and calculations
Structure, bonding and properties
Electrolysis
Rates and required practicals
How to do well: Practise calculations until they are automatic, and practise the explain-from-structure questions with feedback on the exact wording.