Chemistry A review for O level

My name is Dr. Salman Ali, and I have been teaching Cambridge GCE O level chemistry for over seven years. Over the years I've realized that students have a difficult time with O level chemistry, some complaint class after class:
• Chemistry is hard!
• Textbooks are expensive!
• Textbooks are confusing!
While it's my job as a teacher to help make chemistry easier, I realized that I had a lot less control over the second two complaints. So back in 2009 I proposed to my students to help me out write a replacement textbook. The students were incredibly positive about it and ideas poured in about how it should be structured
• It should be short but should not miss out on important detail
• It should have ample diagrams and illustrations
• It should include your study aids too Sir!
So in September 2009, we took all of my previous notes and sprinted over three weeks to prepare the book.
It was a rewarding experience and we all learned something from it!

And guess what? The book turned out to be an incredible success, circulating for a long time among students as “High yield Chemistry notes”.

As for my students, the happiest moment was when they all got an A in chemistry on their O level exam.

I kept on improving the book over the years, adding more diagrams, illustrations, and updating topics to the latest exam specification.
I added a high yield section to the book which now includes
• Colours of all the compounds
• Conditions required for all the important reactions
• Answers to factual questions commonly asked on O level exam.

The book now includes a exam decoded section that highlights common (often silly) mistakes students make on exams. For example did you know that while writing "observations" on exam for any reaction, you can only write events which can be seen, smelled or heard. Hence violent reaction does not score a mark but an explosion does score. Alkaline gas produced does not score a mark but a gas produced which turns red litmus blue does.

I hope you will find this book helpful in your O level Chemistry preparation, just as it has helped all of my students in these years.

All the best for your exams!

Warm wishes,

Your Teacher!