Chemistry 30 Diploma study plan
Chemistry 30 Diploma · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Thermochemical Changes
Distinguish enthalpy, heat, and temperature, and classify processes as endothermic or exothermic from sign conventions and energy diagrams
Calculate heat transferred with q = mcΔT in calorimetry scenarios involving water, metal samples, and simple calorimeters
Construct and interpret potential energy diagrams, labelling reactants, products, activation energy, and ΔH
Apply Hess's law to calculate ΔH for multistep reactions, including reversing and scaling given equations
Your checkpoint
A one-page thermochemistry formula/convention sheet plus 20 fully worked calorimetry and Hess's law problems, scored at 80% or better.
Thermochemical Changes
Calculate ΔH using standard enthalpies of formation and using average bond energies, then explain why the two values can differ
Solve stoichiometry problems that convert between moles of reactant and kilojoules released or absorbed
Explain how catalysts, concentration, and surface area change reaction rate without changing ΔH
Complete a timed, closed-note self-test on Domain 1 and classify every error by concept
Your checkpoint
A 30-question timed Domain 1 mini-test (35 minutes) with an error log naming each missed concept and the corrected worked solution.
Electrochemical Changes
Assign oxidation numbers and identify the species oxidized, reduced, and the oxidizing and reducing agents
Balance half-reactions and complete redox equations in both acidic and basic media
Label every part of a galvanic cell and write the anode half-reaction, cathode half-reaction, and net cell reaction
Calculate E°cell from standard reduction potentials and use its sign to predict spontaneity
Your checkpoint
An annotated worksheet of 10 galvanic cells, each with a labelled cell diagram, both half-reactions, the net reaction, and a justified E°cell value.
Electrochemical Changes & Chemical Equilibrium Focusing on Acid-Base Systems
Compare galvanic and electrolytic cells and predict the products of electrolysis for molten and aqueous systems
Apply Faraday stoichiometry to convert between charge, moles of electrons, and mass or volume of product
Describe the reactions in a lead-acid battery and a hydrogen fuel cell and explain why they are practical
Write equilibrium constant expressions and calculate K from equilibrium concentrations using ICE tables
Apply Le Châtelier's principle to predict and justify the direction of shift for concentration, temperature, pressure, and catalyst changes
Your checkpoint
A two-part checkpoint: 15 electrochemistry problems and 10 equilibrium/ICE problems, each submitted with a written worked solution.
Chemical Equilibrium Focusing on Acid-Base Systems
Calculate pH, pOH, [H3O+], and [OH−] for strong acids and strong bases, including dilution cases
Use Kw and ICE tables to solve for [H3O+] and then Ka or Kb for weak acids and bases
Rank conjugate acid-base pairs by strength and connect percent ionization to Ka
Predict whether a salt solution is acidic, basic, or neutral and justify the prediction with hydrolysis equations
Your checkpoint
A 25-problem acid-base calculation set (strong, weak, and salt hydrolysis) solved without notes, with a corrections page for every miss.
Chemical Equilibrium Focusing on Acid-Base Systems
Sketch and label titration curves for strong-strong, weak-strong, and weak-weak systems, marking the buffer region and equivalence point
Calculate the pH at any point of a titration, including the half-equivalence point and past the equivalence point
Select an appropriate indicator for a given titration and justify the choice from its colour-change range
Solve buffer problems by choosing a conjugate pair and calculating buffer pH before and after adding strong acid or base
Your checkpoint
Three hand-drawn labelled titration curves reproduced from memory plus 12 buffer and titration calculations, scored at 80% or better.
Chemical Changes of Organic Compounds
Name and draw alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, aromatics, and haloalkanes using IUPAC rules
Identify functional groups across alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amines, and amides
Draw structural isomers and identify cis-trans isomerism in substituted alkenes and rings
Predict the products of addition, substitution, elimination, oxidation, esterification, combustion, and addition polymerization reactions
Your checkpoint
A hand-drawn functional group and reaction map plus 25 reaction-product predictions and 20 IUPAC naming items, all self-marked with corrections.
Chemical Changes of Organic Compounds & Chemical Equilibrium Focusing on Acid-Base Systems
Complete two full-length timed practice exams under diploma conditions with no notes or aids
Review both error logs and redo every missed question type until solved correctly twice
Recite the complete formula and convention sheet from memory, including sign conventions and organic naming priorities
Rank remaining weak objectives and drill the lowest-scoring one first each study session
Your checkpoint
Two completed practice exams with a score report by domain and a final one-page must-remember sheet written entirely from memory.
Milestones
Week 2: Score 75% or higher on the timed Domain 1 mini-test and calculate ΔH correctly by both formation enthalpies and Hess's law without notes.
Week 4: Score 75% or higher on a 45-minute mixed Domain 1-2 checkpoint and balance 9 of 10 redox equations in acidic or basic media correctly.
Week 6: Score 75% or higher on a 40-minute Domain 4 test and reproduce all three titration curve shapes with correct labels from memory.
Week 8: Score 80% or higher on both full-length practice exams, with no single domain below 70%, and recite the must-remember sheet from memory in under 10 minutes.