National Curriculum

KS3 Chemistry Topics

62 lessons across 11 units

This is the complete topic map for KS3 Chemistry— every part of the national curriculum for Key Stage 3, organised the way it's taught: 62 lessons across 11 units, from Acids and alkalis to Separation. Each topic below opens a focused revision lesson, so “what should we look at tonight?” always has an answer.

Acids and alkalis7 lessons

Metal oxides and non-metal oxides

pH and universal indicator

Atoms and elements7 lessons

Atoms and elements

Compounds and formation

Metallic elements

Molecular elements

Naming compounds

Properties of elements

Chemical reactions6 lessons

Characteristics of chemical reactions

Combustion

Conservation of mass and balancing

Thermal decomposition

Climate chemistry4 lessons

Greenhouse effect

Sustainable use of resources

Earth and atmosphere9 lessons

Evidence for global warming

Fossil fuel formation

Gases in the atmosphere

Sedimentary rock formation

The carbon cycle

Energetics2 lessons

Comparing fuels

Exothermic and endothermic reactions

Materials5 lessons

Displacement reactions

Metals, ceramics, polymers, composites

Mixtures and solutions5 lessons

Diffusion in solutions

Dissolving

Mixtures and solutions

Pure substances

Particle model7 lessons

Boiling and condensing

Melting and freezing points

Solids and liquids

Using a Bunsen burner

Periodic table4 lessons

Group 0 noble gases

Group 1 and 2 metals

Group 7 halogens

Groups in the periodic table

Separation6 lessons

Chromatography

Distillation

What KS3 Chemistry covers

The course is organised into 11 units: Acids and alkalis (7 lessons), Atoms and elements (7 lessons), Chemical reactions (6 lessons), Climate chemistry (4 lessons), Earth and atmosphere (9 lessons), Energetics (2 lessons), Materials (5 lessons), Mixtures and solutions (5 lessons), Particle model (7 lessons), Periodic table (4 lessons) and Separation (6 lessons). Together that's 62 lessons — the whole course, with nothing skipped and nothing added.

How to revise with this page

Little and often beats cramming. One topic a night, done properly — read it, try the questions, check yourself — moves a grade more than a weekend binge the week before the exam. The list above is deliberately complete so you can tick through it a topic at a time.

Start from what's coming up, not from the beginning. If a class test or mock is near, open the unit it covers and work through those topics first. Between assessments, work through units in order — later topics usually build on earlier ones.

For parents:you don't need to know the subject to help. Ask which topic tonight's lesson was, open it here, and let them teach it back to you — explaining something out loud is one of the most effective revision techniques there is. At KS3 the habit matters more than the coverage: little routines now are what GCSE revision gets built on.

Common questions

What topics are in KS3 Chemistry?

KS3 Chemistry covers 62 topics across 11 units: Acids and alkalis, Atoms and elements, Chemical reactions, Climate chemistry, Earth and atmosphere, Energetics, Materials, Mixtures and solutions, Particle model, Periodic table and Separation. Each topic on this page opens a focused revision lesson.

How many topics are in KS3 Chemistry?

There are 62 topics in KS3 Chemistry, grouped into 11 units.

Is KS3 Chemistry the same for every exam board?

KS3 Chemistry follows the national curriculum, so it isn't tied to a specific exam board — boards like AQA and Edexcel set GCSE specifications (Key Stage 4), not KS3. This page lists the national-curriculum topics for KS3 Chemistry.