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ChemGym
How do I use this app?
Select your specification from the Settings page.
Choose which topics to include from the Topics page
Go to the Cards page and start testing yourself.
How you grade your answer controls how quickly the particular flashcard is shown again.
How do I use flashcards?
With traditional flashcards you compile a bank of cards by writing a question on one side of a card and a model answer on the other side.
Once you have a bank of flashcards you work through them by looking at the question on a card and working out in your head or writing down on paper what you think the answer should be.
Then you turn the card over and compare the model answer with what you thought.
If your answer was perfect you take the card out of the bank, but if your answer was not perfect you put the card on the bottom of the bank so you can try it again later.
How does ChemGym Flashcards help me?
The bank of flashcards has already been created for you by an experienced Chemistry teacher.
The cards have been classified by topic for each exam board so it is quick and easy to compile a bank for a given topic, a given unit or the entire A level course.
The flashcards can be used on a mobile phone or tablet computer when you are travelling without the fiddle of having physical cards which you might drop or lose.
What do the 'Wrong', 'OK' and 'Perfect' buttons do?
If you grade your answer as 'Wrong' the relevant flashcard will be asked again quite soon.
If you grade your answer as 'OK' the relevant flashcard will go to the back of the queue but will be asked again eventually.
If you grade your answer as 'Perfect' the relevant flashcard will be removed from the current bank of questions until you reshuffle the pack.
What does the progress bar on the Cards page show?
It shows how many of the cards in the current pack have not yet been shown to you.
When you have seen all the cards the pack will be rebuilt from those cards where you graded your answer as wrong or OK.
When you empty the pack completely, you can build a fresh one on the Topics page.
How do I reshuffle the bank of flashcards?
Changing the selected topics will automatically create a fresh bank of shuffled flashcards.
If you want to shuffle the bank but keep the currently selected set of topics, just deselect a topic then immediately reselect it.
Why are some topics greyed out?
When ChemGym Flashcards is in evaluation mode you are limited to about 50 cards from the first part of your course.
The full version of ChemGym Flashcards has between 300 and 500 cards that are relevant to your course depending on which specification you are studying.
What is the point of flashcards?
Flashcards are a good way to learn how to respond to short-answer questions.
The ChemGym quizzes are good for simple questions with a one word answer, but flashcards are helpful for longer answers like explanations where the marks are awarded for the correct use of technical terms rather than for the exact wording of the answer.
How were these flashcards compiled?
Many of the flashcards are based on questions that have appeared on recent exam papers and the mark schemes published by the various examination boards.
The rest are based on the sort of things the specification from your exam board says you should know or be able to explain.
What is the best way to use flashcards?
This varies from person to person, but it is generally better to spend short periods of time concentrating very hard rather than longer periods where you are not concentrating as much.
The act of grading your answer should help you learn what the key features of the answer are.
Can I contribute additional flashcards to ChemGym Flashcards?
Yes, please see the contributions page for further details.
Why might I want to contribute additional flashcards to ChemGym Flashcards?
At this early stage in its life ChemGym Flashcards has mostly been focused on topics that are common to several examination boards.
Some topics that are offered as options by just one examination board have not been covered at all.
If ChemGym Flashcards is successful, I may expand it to include more topics.
In the meantime if there is a topic that you would like to write some flashcards for, I would be happy to consider including them in ChemGym Flashcards with appropriate acknowledgement so that your students or friends can benefit from them.
Please see the contributions page for further details.
Can I evaluate the full set of flashcards?
Yes, please see the proofreading page.
This is a large page that may take several seconds to load even on a modern desktop computer.
It is provided to allow Chemistry teachers and interested students to check the contents of all of the flashcards and to report any mistakes so that they can be corrected.
Please buy the full version of ChemGym Flashcards if you intend to use it for personal study.
Why should I buy the full version when I can proofread all the flashcards for free?
The proofreading page is large and will be very slow to use on a mobile device.
Furthermore, you can only filter the flashcards by specification or one topic at a time.
The full version of ChemGym Flashcards allows you to
- mix and match which topics to include
- hide the answer until you are ready to grade it
- use ChemGym Flashcards on your mobile phone or tablet computer
About the author
Michael Docker received a first class honours degree in Chemistry from the University of Birmingham in 1984 and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Nottingham in 1987.
After two years post-doctoral research at the University of Zurich and three years industrial experience with BP Research he began working as a teacher of A level Chemistry.
From 1997 to 1999 he was Head of Chemistry at The Sixth Form College, Farnborough.
Between 1999 and 2011 he was Director of Information, Communication and Learning Technology also at The Sixth Form College, Farnborough.
In 2011 Michael left Farnborough to begin work as an independent software developer. The web app you are currently using is one of the first fruits of his labours.
Copyright
Copyright 2013 M P Docker 
ChemGym
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Your browser does not support local storage so ChemGym will not be able to save your registration details and settings. It should still work provided you always launch it from the link you were sent when you registered.
Your browser does not support an application cache so ChemGym will only work when you have a connection to the Internet.
Your browser does not support SVG (scalable vector graphic) images. ChemGym only uses these in one quiz (on infra red spectroscopy) so this quiz will not work properly for you but the other quizzes may.
Your browser does not support html audio, so ChemGym probably won't play any of its sound effects. This by itself should not prevent you from using ChemGym.
ChemGym Flashcards Topic Codes
The table below shows how the Topic Codes for ChemGym Flashcards relate to the topic titles in the various specifications that the application supports.
For example, the topic Kinetics from the AQA specification has the Topic Code AQA8 and Elements from the Sea from the Salters specification has the Topic Code Salters3.
The Topic Codes for the Cambridge International (CIE) course follow a slightly different pattern which is explained at the bottom of this page.
| Topic | AQA | CCEA | CIE | Edexcel | Topic | IB | OCR A | Salters | WJEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atomic structure | Formulae, equations and amount of substance | Atoms, molecules and stoichiometry | Formulae, equations and amounts of substance | 1 | Quantitative chemistry | Atoms | Elements of life | Atoms and calculations |
| 2 | Amount of substance | Atomic structure | Atomic structure | Energetics | 2 | Atomic structure | Moles and equations | Developing fuels | Equilibrium, energetics and kinetics |
| 3 | Bonding | Bonding and structure | Chemical bonding | Atomic structure and the periodic table | 3 | Periodicity | Acids | Elements from the Sea | Topic 3 |
| 4 | Periodicity | Shapes of molecules and ions | States of matter | Bonding | 4 | Bonding | Redox | The Atmosphere | Bonding |
| 5 | Introduction to organic chemistry | Intermolecular forces | Chemical energetics | Introductory organic chemistry | 5 | Energetics | Electron structure | Polymer revolution | Solid structures |
| 6 | Alkanes | Redox | Electrochemistry | Shapes of molecules and ions | 6 | Kinetics | Bonding and structure | What's in a medicine? | The periodic table etc |
| 7 | Energetics | The periodic table | Equilibria | Intermediate bonding and bond polarity | 7 | Equilibrium | Periodicity | The materials revolution | Organic compounds and their reactions |
| 8 | Kinetics | Group VII | Reaction kinetics | Intermolecular forces | 8 | Acids and bases | Group 2 | The thread of life | Analytical techniques |
| 9 | Equilibria | Titrations | The periodic table - chemical periodicity | Redox | 9 | Oxidation and reduction | Group 7 | The steel story | Spectroscopy |
| 10 | Redox reactions | Formulae and amount of substance | Group II | The periodic table | 10 | Organic chemistry | Basic concepts | Agriculture and industry | Isomerism and aromaticity |
| 11 | Group 7 | Nomenclature and isomerism in organic chemistry | Group IV | Kinetics | 11 | Alkanes | Colour by design | Organic compounds containing oxygen | |
| 12 | Group 2 | Hydrocarbons - alkanes | Group VII | Chemical equilbria | 12 | Atomic structure | Alkenes | The oceans | Organic compounds containing nitrogen |
| 13 | Extraction of metals | Hydrocarbons - alkenes | An introduction to the chemistry of transition elements | Organic chemistry | 13 | Periodicity | Alcohols | Medicines by design | Organic synthesis and analysis |
| 14 | Haloalkanes | Halogenoalkanes | Nitrogen and sulfur | Mechanisms | 14 | Bonding | Halogenoalkanes | Redox | |
| 15 | Alkenes | Alcohols | Introductory topics | Mass spectra and IR | 15 | Energetics | Modern analytical techniques | Chemistry of the p-block | |
| 16 | Alcohols | Infra-red spectroscopy | Hydrocarbons | Green chemistry | 16 | Kinetics | Enthalpy changes | d-block transition elements | |
| 17 | Analytical techniques | Energetics | Halogen derivatives | How fast? – rates | 17 | Equilibrium | Rates and equilibrium | Chemical kinetics | |
| 18 | Kinetics | Equilibrium | Hydroxy compounds | How far? – entropy | 18 | Acids and bases | Chemistry of the air | Energy changes | |
| 19 | Equilibria | Kinetics | Carbonyl compounds | Equilibria | 19 | Oxidation and reduction | Green chemistry | Equilibria | |
| 20 | Acids and bases | Group 2 | Carboxylic acids and derivates | Application of rates and equilibrium | 20 | Organic chemistry | Arenes | ||
| 21 | Nomenclature and isomerism in organic chemistry | Qualitative analysis | Nitrogen compounds | Acid/base equilibria | 21 | Carbonyl compounds | |||
| 22 | Compounds containing the carbonyl group | Lattice Enthalpy | Polymerisation | Further organic chemistry | 22 | Carboxylic acids and esters | |||
| 23 | Aromatic chemistry | Enthalpy, entropy and free energy | Spectroscopy and chromatography | 23 | Amines | ||||
| 24 | Amines | Kinetics | Redox and the chemistry of the transition metals | 24 | Amino acids and proteins | ||||
| 25 | Amino acids | Equilibrium | Organic chemistry – arenes, nitrogen compounds and synthesis | 25 | Polyesters and polyamides | ||||
| 26 | Polymers | Acid-base equilibria | 26 | Synthesis | |||||
| 27 | Organic synthesis and analysis | Isomerism | 27 | Chromatography | |||||
| 28 | Structure determination | Aldehydes and ketones | 28 | Spectroscopy | |||||
| 29 | Thermodynamics | Carboxylic acids | 29 | How fast? | |||||
| 30 | Periodicity | Esters, fats and oils | 30 | How far? | |||||
| 31 | Redox equilibria | Periodic trends | 31 | Acids, bases and buffers | |||||
| 32 | Transition metals | Environmental chemistry | 32 | Lattice enthalpy | |||||
| 33 | Reactions of inorganic compounds in aqueous solution | Mass spectrometry | 33 | Enthalpy and entropy | |||||
| 34 | Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy | 34 | Electrode potentials and fuel cells | ||||||
| 35 | Volumetric analysis | 35 | Transition elements | ||||||
| 36 | Colorimetry | 36 | |||||||
| 37 | Chromatography | 37 | |||||||
| 38 | Transition metals | 38 | |||||||
| 39 | Electrode potentials | 39 | |||||||
| 40 | Arenes | 40 | |||||||
| 41 | Amines, amides and amino acids | 41 | |||||||
| 42 | Polymer chemistry | 42 |
There are two types of Topic Codes for the Cambridge International (CIE) course: one for the AS component of the course and one for the full A level version of the course.
For example, the Topic Code CIEAS16 includes the flashcards on Hydrocarbons relevant to the AS course, whereas the Topic Code CIEAL16 includes the additional flashcards on the Chemistry of arenes relevant to the full A level course.
The proofreading page is not available on this device.
problemCardHolder
Please leave a comment if you find a mistake or if you think the flashcard should be included under a different topic code.
Contribute to ChemGym Flashcards
To contribute additional flashcards to ChemGym Flashcards you will need to download a JSON template file by right-clicking here and choosing Save Link As …
N.B. Please make sure you download the template file by right clicking and saving or your browser is likely to mangle the special Unicode characters that have been included in the file for your convenience.
Please read the terms and conditions before contributing any flashcards of your own to ChemGym Flashcards.
Additional technical guidance on using the JSON template file can be found here.
Terms and Conditions
If you contribute a flashcard to ChemGym Flashcards you are automatically signing over any copyright and intellectual property rights to Michael Docker.
The flashcard may or may not be used in a future version of ChemGym Flashcards entirely at the discretion of Michael Docker.
You are not entitled to any payment for any flashcards you contribute to ChemGym Flashcards, however, the contributors of flashcards that are used will be acknowledged on the contributors page.