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IB Demystified Examiners · Moderators · Mentors

The complete curriculum framework

IB Chemistry Standard Level, taught in the order it makes sense.

The complete Standard Level course re-presented as a single prerequisite-ordered teaching sequence — not six syllabus themes taught in the order they are printed. Every topic carries the depth to teach it to, the topics it connects to, and the investigation it prepares students for.

  • 21 topics
  • 4 phases
  • 110 h taught + 40 h practical
  • Paced to finish by January
01 — Standard Level

What this framework is

This framework re-presents the Chemistry Standard Level course as a single, prerequisite-ordered teaching sequence. It is built on three convictions: that topics should be taught in the order their dependencies require, that each should be taught to its full depth rather than its minimum, and that the connections between topics should be made explicit so students see chemistry as one connected subject rather than twenty-one separate ones.

The intended outcome is a student taught deeply and connectedly enough to design and run their own scientific investigation, rather than one who — never having been shown the depth — reaches for a recipe from the internet.

Every topic is classified by the role it plays

Foundational

Self-contained, and a prerequisite for later topics.

Developmental

Extends one or more foundations.

Synthesis

Applied topics that draw several earlier strands together, taught once those strands are secure — materials and structure, energy cycles, chemical equilibrium, electron transfer and organic reaction pathways.

Where the synthesis happens at Standard Level

Standard Level has no late-stage capstone of the kind found at Higher Level — there is no Born–Haber cycle, no Gibbs energy, no NMR to gather everything up at the end. Instead the synthesis happens inside the applied topics, where two or three foundations are brought to bear on one real problem. The dependency-ordered path below makes sure those foundations are always in place first.

The subject guide itself warns that Structure and Reactivity are meant to be taught in parallel rather than in sequence, because the two strands feed each other constantly: stoichiometry sits in Reactivity 2 but belongs immediately after the mole, and the oxidation of alcohols sits in Reactivity 3 but is unreadable before functional groups. This framework acts on that advice — which is why the spine runs horizontally across the syllabus themes rather than marching down them one at a time.

A note on the topic list. The 21 topics are exactly the topic list from the IB Demystified DP Chemistry SL resource, re-ordered by dependency and costed in hours. Nothing has been added, split or dropped — only re-sequenced.

Inside this framework

02 — Standard Level

The teaching spine

Teach top to bottom — each phase is a prerequisite for the next. Colour shows each topic’s role in the sequence.

Particulate foundations & quantitative chemistry

23 teaching hours

Nothing here depends on later material.

  • 1Particles & physical change
  • 2Atomic structure
  • 3Electron arrangement
  • 4The mole
  • 5Gases
  • 6Amount of change

Bonding, structure & classification

27 teaching hours

Three bonding models, then the continuum that unites them.

  • 7Ionic bonding
  • 8Covalent bonding
  • 9Metallic bonding
  • 10Materials & structure
  • 11Periodic trends

Energetics, kinetics & equilibrium

27 teaching hours

Rates before equilibrium — dynamic means measured.

  • 12Enthalpy change
  • 13Energy cycles
  • 14Fuels & energy
  • 15Reaction rates
  • 16Chemical equilibrium

Organic families & mechanisms of change

33 teaching hours

Functional-group language first, pathways last.

  • 17Organic families
  • 18Proton transfer
  • 19Electron transfer
  • 20Radical reactions
  • 21Organic pathways
Foundational Developmental Synthesis — applied, later

110 h taught content + 40 h experimental programme = 150 h

03 — Standard Level

Where the strands come together

Each applied topic rests on the foundations to its left. A gold arrow means ‘is a prerequisite for’ — so teach the feeders first.

10. Materials & structure

  • 7 · Ionic bonding
  • 8 · Covalent bonding
  • 9 · Metallic bonding

10Materials & structure

Three bonding models, one continuum.

13. Energy cycles

  • 12 · Enthalpy change
  • 8 · Covalent — bond enthalpy
  • 6 · Amount of change — mole ratio

13Energy cycles

Hess’s law is bookkeeping over bonds.

16. Chemical equilibrium

  • 15 · Reaction rates
  • 6 · Amount of change
  • 12 · Enthalpy — the temperature effect

16Chemical equilibrium

Dynamic, not static — so rates come first.

19. Electron transfer

  • 11 · Periodic trends — oxidation states
  • 7 · Ionic bonding — ion formation
  • 17 · Organic families — alcohols

19Electron transfer

Oxidation states are what make redox legible.

21. Organic reaction pathways

  • 17 · Organic families — functional groups
  • 8 · Covalent — bond polarity
  • 20 · Radical reactions — fission

21Organic pathways

Polarity tells you where the attack happens.

How to read this

  • Right-hand boxes are the applied topics that draw several strands together.
  • Left-hand entries are the topics they build on.
  • A gold arrow means ‘is a prerequisite for’.
  • Each feeder sits earlier in the spine, so by the time an application is taught its feeders are done.
  • The order follows dependency, not theme number.
04 — Standard Level

The sequence at a glance

Every topic in teaching order, with its role and teaching hours. The suggested Year 1 / Year 2 boundary falls at the end of Phase C and is adjustable.

All 21 Standard Level topics in prerequisite order.
#TopicSyllabus themeRoleHours
Phase A — Particulate foundations & quantitative chemistry (23 h)
1Particles, substances & physical changeStructure 1Foundational2 h
2Atomic structureStructure 1Foundational2 h
3Electron arrangementStructure 1Foundational3 h
4The mole & quantitative chemistryStructure 1Foundational7 h
5GasesStructure 1Developmental3 h
6Amount of chemical changeReactivity 2Developmental6 h
Phase B — Bonding, structure & classification (27 h)
7Ionic bondingStructure 2Foundational4 h
8Covalent bondingStructure 2Foundational10 h
9Metallic bondingStructure 2Developmental2 h
10Materials & structureStructure 2Synthesis4 h
11Periodic trends & element classificationStructure 3Developmental7 h
Phase C — Energetics, kinetics & equilibrium (27 h)
12Enthalpy changeReactivity 1Foundational5 h
13Energy cyclesReactivity 1Synthesis4 h
14Fuels & energy sourcesReactivity 1Developmental3 h
15Reaction ratesReactivity 2Foundational7 h
16Chemical equilibriumReactivity 2Synthesis8 h
Phase D — Organic families & mechanisms of change (33 h)
17Organic families & functional groupsStructure 3Foundational9 h
18Proton transferReactivity 3Developmental9 h
19Electron transferReactivity 3Synthesis8 h
20Radical reactionsReactivity 3Developmental2 h
21Organic reaction pathwaysReactivity 3Synthesis5 h
Total taught content110 h
05 — Standard Level

The 21 topics in depth

Each topic carries its teaching depth, its interconnections with other topics, and the investigative angle through which it prepares a student for the scientific investigation. Select a topic to open it.

Phase A · 23 hours

Particulate foundations & quantitative chemistry

Nothing here depends on later material, so it is taught first. The particle model, the atom and the mole are front-loaded because every later structure, energy change and rate is counted and explained through them. Stoichiometry is pulled forward from Reactivity 2 to sit immediately after the mole, where it belongs.

Particles, substances & physical change Foundational 2 h
Teach to this depth
Establish elements, compounds and mixtures as a classification with consequences, not vocabulary: why a mixture can be separated physically and a compound cannot. Cover solvation, filtration, recrystallisation, evaporation, distillation and chromatography as choices a chemist makes for a reason, and distinguish homogeneous from heterogeneous mixtures. Treat kinetic molecular theory as a model, name every change of state, use state symbols correctly from the first lesson, and establish temperature in kelvin as a measure of average kinetic energy.
Connects to
Separation technique choice returns as an intermolecular-forces question in covalent bonding; kinetic energy returns as the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution; the energy change on melting and boiling returns in enthalpy.
Investigation angle
Purification and purity determination; separation efficiency measured against a real mixture.
Atomic structure Foundational 2 h
Teach to this depth
Build the nuclear model with the relative masses and charges of protons, neutrons and electrons, and use nuclear symbols fluently to deduce composition of atoms and ions. Treat isotopes as a physical-property story as well as a mass one, and calculate non-integer relative atomic masses from abundance data.
Connects to
Atomic number orders the periodic table; isotopic mass feeds every mole calculation; the nuclear model is what electron arrangement refines.
Investigation angle
Isotope-abundance analysis from published spectral data; density or mass measurements used to compare isotopic composition.
Electron arrangement Foundational 3 h
Teach to this depth
Move from the electromagnetic spectrum to emission spectra as evidence for discrete energy levels, distinguishing continuous from line spectra and explaining convergence at higher energy. Establish the 2n² rule, the s, p and d sublevels, orbital shapes, and confident application of the Aufbau principle, Hund’s rule and the Pauli exclusion principle up to Z = 36, using orbital diagrams and the noble-gas core.
Connects to
The most load-bearing topic in the Structure strand at SL: periodicity, ionic charge and bonding all reduce to electron configuration. Emission spectra are also the clearest example in the course of a model built directly from experimental evidence.
Investigation angle
Flame tests and emission spectra observed with a spectroscope or drawn from a database; relating observed colour to energy transitions.
The mole & quantitative chemistry Foundational 7 h
Teach to this depth
Establish the mole as the SI unit of amount and the Avogadro constant as a counting device, and drill conversion between mass, moles and particles until it is automatic. Cover relative atomic and formula mass, molar mass, empirical and molecular formulas from percentage composition, and molar concentration in both g dm⁻³ and mol dm⁻³. Introduce Avogadro’s law and standard-solution preparation.
Connects to
Everything quantitative downstream: reacting masses, gas volumes, titration, equilibrium expressions and pH. Weakness here surfaces later as apparent weakness in equilibrium or acid–base work, so it is worth over-securing.
Investigation angle
Empirical formula from mass change on heating a hydrated salt; concentration determination by calibration curve — a well-scoped investigation with genuinely propagable uncertainties.
Gases Developmental 3 h
Teach to this depth
State the assumptions of the ideal gas model explicitly and treat them as claims that can fail. Investigate the pressure–volume–temperature relationships graphically, use molar gas volume at STP, and solve problems with PV = nRT and the combined gas law in SI units only. Explain qualitatively why real gases deviate at low temperature and high pressure.
Connects to
Deviation from ideality is an intermolecular-forces argument revisited in covalent bonding; molar gas volume feeds gas stoichiometry.
Investigation angle
Molar mass of a gas from experimental PV, T and mass data; investigating one gas relationship while controlling the others.
Amount of chemical change Developmental 6 h
Teach to this depth
Balance equations reliably, including ionic equations, then work the full stoichiometric toolkit: reacting masses, gas volumes, solution concentration, limiting and excess reactant identified by calculation rather than inspection, theoretical and percentage yield, and atom economy as a green-chemistry measure distinct from yield.
Connects to
Pulled forward from Reactivity 2 to sit next to the mole because every later quantitative topic assumes it. Limiting reactant returns in calorimetry; the mole ratio underwrites titration and equilibrium work.
Investigation angle
Percentage yield of a real synthesis and an honest account of where the missing mass went; comparing atom economy across two routes to the same product.

Phase B · 27 hours

Bonding, structure & classification

A strict chain: ions before lattices, Lewis structures before shapes, shapes before polarity, and polarity before intermolecular forces. Materials and structure closes the bonding strand by treating the three models as one continuum; periodicity closes the phase, because a trend is only explicable once electron configuration and bonding type are both in place.

Ionic bonding Foundational 4 h
Teach to this depth
Predict ionic charge from electron configuration rather than from a memorised group rule, including the variable charges of transition elements. Establish the ionic bond as electrostatic attraction, name and write formulas for binary and polyatomic compounds fluently, and explain volatility, conductivity and solubility from the three-dimensional lattice, with lattice enthalpy introduced as a measure of ionic bond strength governed by ionic radius and charge.
Connects to
Charge prediction comes straight from electron arrangement; the polyatomic ions learned here are the conjugate bases met in Phase D; ionic properties are one vertex of the bonding triangle.
Investigation angle
Conductivity, melting point or solubility measured across a series of ionic compounds and explained by charge and radius.
Covalent bonding Foundational 10 h
Teach to this depth
The largest single block in the course, and worth every hour. Establish the covalent bond electrostatically, deduce Lewis formulas for up to four electron pairs including species that break the octet, and relate bond number to bond length and strength. Identify coordination bonds. Apply VSEPR to predict electron-domain and molecular geometry with the effect of lone pairs and multiple bonds on bond angle. Deduce bond polarity from electronegativity and net dipole from geometry, insisting that students reason from shape rather than guess. Cover covalent network structures and carbon’s allotropes, then the full intermolecular-forces hierarchy — London, dipole-induced dipole, dipole–dipole and hydrogen bonding — and use it to explain volatility, conductivity and solubility. Close with chromatography and RF values as an application of exactly those forces.
Connects to
Deviation of real gases from ideality; the boiling-point trends of homologous series; solubility and extraction in organic chemistry; bond enthalpy in energy cycles; and the entire structure–property argument of topic 10.
Investigation angle
Boiling point or volatility against molecular structure across a controlled series; chromatographic separation with RF analysis; solubility used to test a polarity prediction.
Metallic bonding Developmental 2 h
Teach to this depth
Define the metallic bond as attraction between a cation lattice and delocalised electrons, and explain electrical and thermal conductivity and malleability from it. Explain melting-point trends in s- and p-block metals from cation charge and electron density, and relate characteristic properties to real uses.
Connects to
Completes the third vertex of the bonding triangle; non-directional bonding is the reason alloys work, which is the next topic.
Investigation angle
Conductivity or hardness across a metal series; the effect of composition on an alloy property.
Materials & structure Synthesis 4 h
Teach to this depth
Present bonding as a continuum rather than three boxes, and use the bonding triangle with electronegativity data to place a binary compound and predict its properties. Explain alloy behaviour through non-directional bonding, and cover polymers as macromolecules with addition polymerisation from alkene monomers, representing repeating units from given structures and vice versa.
Connects to
The first genuine synthesis in the course: it needs all three bonding models and cannot be taught before them. Addition polymerisation reaches back to atom economy — the reaction is 100% atom-economical, and that is worth proving — and forward to the alkene chemistry of Phase D.
Investigation angle
Structure–property testing of plastics; biodegradability; composition and strength in an alloy or composite.
Periodic trends & element classification Developmental 7 h
Teach to this depth
Read the periodic table as a consequence of electron configuration: periods as occupied energy levels, groups as valence-electron counts, blocks as sublevels. Explain — not merely state — the periodicity of atomic and ionic radius, ionisation energy, electron affinity and electronegativity. Cover the reactions of group 1 with water and group 17 with halide ions, and the continuum from basic metal oxides through amphoteric to acidic non-metal oxides, including acid rain and ocean acidification. Establish oxidation states as a bookkeeping device with clear rules and known exceptions such as hydrides and peroxides.
Connects to
Electron arrangement supplies the explanation; oxidation states are the prerequisite for all redox work in Phase D; oxide acidity previews proton transfer. Electronegativity here is what makes bond polarity and, later, mechanism prediction possible.
Investigation angle
Trends in reactivity down a group measured rather than watched; the pH of a series of oxides in water compared against position in the period.

Phase C · 27 hours

Energetics, kinetics & equilibrium

Energetics follows bonding because bond enthalpy is a bonding quantity and Hess cycles are arithmetic over bonds. Rates precede equilibrium — not the other way round — because dynamic equilibrium is defined through equal opposing rates, and a student who has not measured a rate cannot picture one.

Enthalpy change Foundational 5 h
Teach to this depth
Separate heat from temperature carefully, since the confusion behind most calorimetry errors starts here. Establish system and surroundings, conservation of energy, and the sign convention for exothermic and endothermic change with correctly labelled energy profiles including activation energy. Define standard enthalpy changes and their conditions, and run calorimetry properly: q = mcΔT, the assumptions built into it, heat loss, and the temperature-extrapolation correction.
Connects to
The bond-making and bond-breaking account of ΔH depends on covalent bonding; ΔH feeds Hess cycles and the temperature effect on equilibrium; calorimetry is one of the best-supported investigation techniques available in a school laboratory.
Investigation angle
Enthalpy of neutralisation, solution, combustion or displacement, with a serious treatment of heat loss and uncertainty propagation — among the most reliably high-scoring investigation designs at SL.
Energy cycles Synthesis 4 h
Teach to this depth
Establish Hess’s law as a consequence of enthalpy being a state function, and calculate ΔH by three routes: cycles, enthalpies of formation, and average bond enthalpies. Compare the three answers deliberately and explain why the bond-enthalpy route disagrees — average values, gaseous states only. That comparison is the topic’s real teaching point, not an aside.
Connects to
Draws bond enthalpy from covalent bonding, mole ratios from stoichiometry and ΔH from calorimetry. It is the first place students see that an unmeasurable quantity can be obtained by constructing a route through measurable ones.
Investigation angle
Verifying Hess’s law experimentally through an indirect route (the classic magnesium oxide or hydrated-salt cycle) and evaluating why the routes disagree.
Fuels & energy sources Developmental 3 h
Teach to this depth
Compare complete and incomplete combustion and their products, including the toxicity and particulate consequences. Relate carbon dioxide output to the greenhouse effect through molecular vibration and infrared absorption rather than assertion, and evaluate biofuels and fuel cells on evidence — energy density, carbon balance, practical limitations — rather than on enthusiasm.
Connects to
Uses combustion enthalpy from topics 12 and 13; the hydrocarbons burned here are named properly in Phase D; fuel cells connect to the electrochemistry of topic 19.
Investigation angle
Comparative energy density of fuels by calorimetry; assessing a biofuel claim against measured data.
Reaction rates Foundational 7 h
Teach to this depth
Define rate operationally and measure it several ways — mass loss, gas volume, colour change, conductivity, clock reactions — deriving rate from the gradient of a real graph including the initial-rate tangent. Build collision theory properly: frequency, energy and orientation, with activation energy as the threshold. Cover the effect of concentration, pressure, surface area, temperature and catalyst, and interpret and sketch Maxwell–Boltzmann distributions with correct axis labels and the shaded area beyond Ea, explaining catalysis as an alternative pathway of lower activation energy.
Connects to
Kinetic energy and temperature from topic 1; the energy profile from enthalpy; the distribution curve is the explanation behind the temperature effect on equilibrium position in the next topic.
Investigation angle
The classic strong SL design: rate against concentration, temperature, surface area or catalyst, with initial rates taken from properly drawn tangents and a defended method of measurement.
Chemical equilibrium Synthesis 8 h
Teach to this depth
Establish dynamic equilibrium experimentally as well as verbally — rates equal, concentrations constant, closed system — and use a reversible reaction students can actually watch. Write equilibrium expressions correctly and interpret the magnitude of K in terms of extent rather than speed. Apply Le Châtelier’s principle to concentration, pressure and temperature changes, being explicit that a catalyst changes neither the position nor K, and that only temperature changes K itself. Apply the whole apparatus to an industrial process such as the Haber process, where the kinetic and thermodynamic demands conflict and a compromise must be justified.
Connects to
Rates supply the dynamic definition, stoichiometry supplies the expression, and enthalpy supplies the temperature argument. The acid–base work of Phase D is this topic in a new costume, which is why it must be secure first.
Investigation angle
Following a coloured equilibrium by colorimetry as conditions are changed; the effect of temperature on the position of a reversible reaction.

Phase D · 33 hours

Organic families & mechanisms of change

Organic families open the phase rather than close the course, because the oxidation of alcohols in electron transfer and every pathway in the final topic depend on fluent functional-group language. Proton transfer and electron transfer then follow as the two great mechanism families, with the organic pathways last.

Organic families & functional groups Foundational 9 h
Teach to this depth
Interconvert empirical, molecular, condensed, full structural and skeletal formulas, and build real or virtual 3D models rather than relying on flat drawings. Identify the required functional groups by name and structure and the homologous series they define, explaining the trend in melting and boiling points from intermolecular forces rather than restating it. Apply IUPAC nomenclature systematically to straight- and branched-chain compounds up to six carbons, and cover structural isomerism — chain, position and functional group — with primary, secondary and tertiary classification of alcohols, halogenoalkanes and amines.
Connects to
Boiling-point trends are the intermolecular-forces work of topic 8 applied; functional-group identity determines every reaction that follows; the primary/secondary/tertiary distinction decides the oxidation products in topic 19.
Investigation angle
Physical-property trends across a homologous series — a clean, well-controlled design; isomer identification by boiling point or solubility.
Proton transfer Developmental 9 h
Teach to this depth
Establish the Brønsted–Lowry model, conjugate acid–base pairs and amphiprotic species. Cover the reactions of acids with metals, bases, carbonates and hydrogencarbonates, and neutralisation with correct ionic equations. Develop pH as a logarithmic scale — including what a one-unit change really means — with Kw linking [H⁺] and [OH⁻], and treat the strong/weak distinction as one of dissociation extent, supported by conductivity, pH and rate evidence rather than assertion. Run titrations properly and interpret pH curves for all four acid–base combinations, identifying the equivalence point and choosing an indicator to match it.
Connects to
Concentration from the mole and titration stoichiometry from topic 6; oxide acidity from periodicity; the weak-acid dissociation equilibrium is the equilibrium of topic 16 in a new setting.
Investigation angle
Titrimetric determination of the concentration or purity of a household or food product; pH-probe titration curves analysed for equivalence — one of the most dependable SL investigation designs.
Electron transfer Synthesis 8 h
Teach to this depth
Define oxidation and reduction by electron transfer and track it with oxidation states, identifying oxidising and reducing agents confidently. Deduce and combine half-equations, and establish the activity series from displacement evidence, covering the reactions of acids with metals. Build voltaic cells: electrode identity, electron and ion flow, salt bridge function and cell notation, alongside primary and secondary cells and their practical differences. Cover the electrolysis of molten salts, and treat the oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols and the reduction of carbonyls as redox chemistry in organic disguise — including distillation versus reflux as the control on the product.
Connects to
Oxidation states come from periodicity, ion formation from ionic bonding, and the alcohol series from topic 17 — three strands meeting in one topic, which is why it sits here rather than earlier. Fuel cells return from topic 14 with the chemistry now available to explain them.
Investigation angle
Redox titration to determine the concentration of vitamin C, iron or bleach; the effect of a variable on the voltage of a home-made cell.
Radical reactions Developmental 2 h
Teach to this depth
Define the radical through homolytic fission and contrast it explicitly with the heterolytic fission that produces ions — a distinction that organises the whole of the next topic. Work the free-radical halogenation of alkanes as a three-stage chain — initiation, propagation, termination — with the UV requirement justified by bond enthalpy, and discuss why the reaction gives a mixture of products.
Connects to
Bond enthalpy from topic 13 sets the initiation condition; the homolytic/heterolytic contrast is the organising distinction for topic 21; chain reactions connect to ozone depletion.
Investigation angle
UV-initiated reactions and photochemical rate studies; product distribution in a halogenation.
Organic reaction pathways Synthesis 5 h
Teach to this depth
Establish nucleophile and electrophile, and heterolytic fission as the origin of both. Develop nucleophilic substitution of halogenoalkanes, with the polarity of the carbon–halogen bond explaining where the nucleophile attacks and the carbon–halogen bond enthalpy explaining the trend in reactivity down group 17. Cover electrophilic addition to alkenes, and finish by having students construct short synthetic routes between named functional groups so the separate reactions become one connected map.
Connects to
Functional groups from topic 17, bond polarity and electronegativity from topics 8 and 11, fission type from topic 20. It is the most heavily fed topic in the SL course and belongs last.
Investigation angle
Comparing substitution rates across the halogenoalkanes; yield in a two-step conversion between functional groups.
06 — Standard Level

Time allocation & two-year pacing

The IB recommends 150 teaching hours for a Standard Level subject — for Chemistry SL, 110 hours of taught syllabus content plus a 40-hour experimental programme comprising 20 hours of practical work, the 10-hour collaborative sciences project and the 10-hour scientific investigation. The allocations above distribute the 110 content hours across all 21 topics; below they are reconciled to the official per-theme totals and paced so that teaching is complete by the end of January in Year 2.

Reconciliation to the official IB allocation

IB syllabus themeOfficial IB hoursAllocated here
Structure 1 — Models of the particulate nature of matter17 h17 h
Structure 2 — Models of bonding and structure20 h20 h
Structure 3 — Classification of matter16 h16 h
Reactivity 1 — What drives chemical reactions?12 h12 h
Reactivity 2 — How much, how fast and how far?21 h21 h
Reactivity 3 — What are the mechanisms of chemical change?24 h24 h
Taught content subtotal110 h110 h
Practical work20 h20 h
Collaborative sciences project10 h10 h
Scientific investigation (IA)10 h10 h
SL course total150 h150 h

Because this framework re-orders the sequence and costs each topic independently, individual topics do not map one-to-one onto the guide’s per-subtopic hours; the totals for each theme match the guide exactly.

The two-year pacing plan

Built on roughly three to three-and-a-half teaching hours per week. The cumulative column tracks progress toward the 150-hour total; the gold rows fall outside the teaching budget.

PeriodFocusHoursCumulative
Year 1
Autumn termPhase A — particulate foundations & quantitative chemistry · begin the practical programme (5 h)2828
Spring termPhase B — bonding, structure & classification · practical work (5 h)3260
Summer termPhase C — energetics, kinetics & equilibrium · collaborative sciences project (10 h) · practical work (3 h)40100
Year 2 (to end January)
Autumn termPhase D — organic families & mechanisms of change · run & write the scientific investigation (10 h) · practical work (5 h)48148
To end of JanuarySynthesis review, exam-style consolidation & investigation finalisation2150
February – AprilDedicated revision: past papers, Paper 1A / 1B / 2 drills and timed mocks (additional to the 150 teaching hours)——
MayIB examinations——

Revision time (February–April) is deliberately additional to the 150 teaching hours, in line with the subject guide’s reminder that adequate time must be set aside for examination revision. The practical programme is distributed across the two years rather than blocked, so that each technique is met alongside the theory it belongs to — and so that students have run enough independent work to design a scientific investigation of their own by the summer of Year 1.

Sequence by dependency, not by theme number

Standard Level has no late capstone, so the synthesis happens inside the applied topics — which only works if the foundations underneath them are already secure.

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