Books and Websites to Help You Study

Many students want help with their studies beyond the classroom and turn to books and websites to help them. But let's cut through the chatter and find out which ones are genuinely helpful and which ones are all hot air. Check which specification your school or college uses before purchasing and exam board specific resources. Any links will be to AQA products as these are the dominant provider.

Disclaimer: As a member of the Amazon Associates and other affiliate programs, we may earn a small commission from any qualifying purchases. This does not affect the price you pay.

Starting with the CGP revision guides (Amazon). These are excellent, structured and comprehensive revision notes. They cover the entire syllabus in an easily digestible manner. They are a colourful set of revision notes which will give you enough information to pass. However, they will not be enough to access higher grades. They should be used as a supplement to, not a replacement for, a set of class notes. Recommendation: go for it.

CGP also produce a set of revision question cards and a exam practice workbook (both on Amazon). These are designed to get you thinking about answering questions rather than just remembering information. The question cards are a bit simpler and focus on information retrieval whereas the practice workbook is more realistic in terms of exam-style questions. The revision cards will help you pass, the workbook will help you achieve higher grades. Recommendation: workbook yes, cards maybe.

Moving away from CGP and to a slightly older and often overlooked book. Calculations in AS/A-level Chemistry by Jim Clark (Amazon) still ranks among the most useful books for students struggling with mathematical concepts and laying them out in a way that accesses marks. It is not specific to an exam specification, nor an exam series. This has the benefit that it can be passed on (via Ebay) when your course has finished unlike revision guides which usually have a shelf life of only a few years. Recommendation: absolutely.

Turning to the internet, we must face the issues of reliability and specificity. Anybody can write anything on the internet and there is no regulation. We regularly come across websites which use 1-pentanol as the name when the correct nomenclature is pentan-1-ol. If you are going to use a website, ensure it is written by a competent author. Unfortunately, the vast number of websites, and the constant flux, prevents regular checking. Something we recommend today may be wrong tomorrow. Also, be aware that specifications simplify material. Your syllabus will tell you that the reaction between bromine water and ethene proceeds via the carbocation to give 1,2-dibromoethane. In truth, the reaction proceeds via a bromonium ion to give 2-bromoethan-1-ol. Recommendation: treat most websites with caution. There are two websites which we consider to be up-to-date, reliable and specification-relevant. These are www.chemguide.co.uk and https://www.docbrown.info/page13/page13.htm.

Ultimately, the best support is provided by people. Your class teachers and, if required, private tutors will guide you through exactly what you need for your studies. If you want to discuss your requirements, do get in touch.