4.7 Organic chemistry

Unit Summary

This  unit is aligned with the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification and is designed to be taught flexibly, while building securely on students’ prior knowledge of particle models, bonding, and basic reactions from earlier units.

The unit introduces students to the chemistry of carbon-based compounds, explaining why carbon can form a vast range of substances due to its ability to form chains and rings with strong C–C bonds. Students explore the origins of organic compounds, including living and once-living materials, and examine how fossil fuels provide essential feedstocks for the petrochemical industry. Key content includes hydrocarbons, crude oil, alkanes, alkenes, polymers, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and esters, alongside the reactions that interconvert these families.

Substantive knowledge is taught alongside disciplinary knowledge, with students developing skills in naming compounds, writing structural and displayed formulae, interpreting reaction equations, and linking structure to properties and uses. Practical and investigative work supports understanding of polymerisation, cracking, and esterification, helping students see how organic chemistry operates in both laboratory and industrial contexts.

The unit embeds working scientifically throughout, enabling students to analyse data, evaluate evidence, and understand limitations in processes such as crude oil processing, polymer manufacture, and sustainability of organic resources. Prior learning is revisited through retrieval activities and structured practice, with scaffolding provided to ensure accessibility for all learners.

Assessment for Learning strategies are woven into each lesson, including low-stakes quizzes, diagnostic questioning, and misconception checks, supporting long-term retention and exam readiness.

In line with Developing Experts’ commitment to ambition and real-world relevance, the unit highlights links to careers in chemical engineering, pharmaceuticals, materials science, environmental science, and the petrochemical industry, while also encouraging critical thinking about finite resources, sustainability, and the environmental impact of organic chemistry.