Alkanes — Interactive Lesson (Ages 14–16)

From the cooking gas in a Lagos kitchen to the natural gas heating a UK home, alkanes power everyday life. This 22-slide interactive lesson on alkanes takes pupils from first ideas to exam-style explanations, with 13 self-marking activities and nothing to prepare beforehand.

Teaching Alkanes in GCSE Chemistry

Pupils use the general formula CₙH₂ₙ₊₂ to write formulae, explain why alkanes are saturated and describe how boiling point, viscosity and flammability change with chain length. They balance equations for complete combustion and explore the real dangers of incomplete combustion, including carbon monoxide from charcoal stoves and generators. An extension slide introduces substitution with chlorine in UV light for SSCE and A-level learners.

What Pupils Will Learn

• Use the general formula CₙH₂ₙ₊₂ to write alkane formulae.
• Explain why alkanes are described as saturated.
• Describe how boiling point, viscosity and flammability change with chain length.
• Write word and symbol equations for complete combustion.
• Explain the dangers of incomplete combustion.

What’s Included

• 22-slide interactive lesson on alkanes
• 13 self-marking activities: multiple-choice questions, true-or-false checks, sorting tasks, drag-and-drop categorising and fill-in-the-gap questions
• Step-by-step teaching cards that reveal one point at a time
• A written explanation task with a model answer for self-assessment

Why Teachers Love It

• No prep — open it on an interactive whiteboard, laptop or tablet
• Instant feedback explains every answer, right or wrong
• Examples from both Nigeria and the UK make the chemistry feel real
• Works for whole-class teaching, independent study or revision

Curriculum Alignment

Supports the organic chemistry content of UK GCSE Chemistry (AQA, Edexcel and OCR) and the Nigerian Senior Secondary Chemistry curriculum (SS2–SS3), including WAEC and NECO exam preparation.

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FAQ

What year groups is this for? Years 10–11 (ages 14–16), and SS2–SS3 in Nigeria.

Is it self-marking? Yes — all 13 activities give instant feedback.

Do pupils need to log in? No. The lesson runs in any modern web browser.

Can I use it for revision? Yes. Pupils can replay it as often as they like, and the results screen shows which questions to review before a test.