the hardest part in revision is getting stared

The hardest part of any revision process is getting started. These brief notes do not tell you the whole story but they might help you to get started and, pretty soon you will be amazed at how much you actually know.

There are three main sections you need to know about for the examination.

Rocks and building (including quite a bit on atomic structure)

All substances are made of atoms.

The atoms themselves contain a nucleus (containing protons and neutrons) surrounded by electrons.

An atom is the smallest particle that can be recognised as being an element.

The periodic table shows a list of elements.

The elements are substances that only contain one kind of atom.

Atoms of elements have a chemical symbol. The first letter is always a capital letter. The second letter (if it has one) is always a lower case. Be careful that your…