Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry Study guide

My name is Dr. Salman Ali, and I have been teaching Cambridge IGCSE and O level chemistry for over seven years. Over the years I've realized that many students have a difficult time with chemistry, some complaint class after class:
• Chemistry is hard!
• Textbooks are expensive!
• Textbooks are confusing!

While it is my job as a teacher to help make chemistry easier, I realized that I had a lot less control over the other two complaints. So back in 2009 I proposed to my students to help me write a replacement book. 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 details
• It should have ample diagrams and illustrations
• It should include all the tips and memory aids you've taught us in class

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 their Chemistry exam.

Although the book was originally developed for my O level students, in these years I've worked on it to match the latest Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry syllabus.

I kept on improving the book over all these years, adding more diagrams, illustrations, and updating topics to the latest exam specifications.
I've added a high yield section to the book which now includes
• A list of colours of all the important compounds
• A list of conditions required for several important chemical reactions
• Answers to factual questions commonly asked on Cambridge IGCSE exam.

The book now includes an 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 Chemistry exam preparation, just as it has helped all of my students in these years.

All the best for your IGCSE exams!

Warm wishes,

Your Teacher!