GCSE chemistry asks you to hold a lot of small, precise facts: what a mole is, why reactivity increases down group 1, which gas relights a glowing splint, what happens to equilibrium when you raise the pressure. Lose a few of those under exam conditions and marks slip away on questions you actually understood.
Flashcards with spaced repetition fix the recall side. This guide gives you a free deck, an honest look at what it covers, and a plan for using it alongside past papers.
The deck: Chemistry: GCSE & A-Level Core is free to download as .apkg (for MintDeck or Anki) or .csv. It has 150 cards.
What's in the free chemistry deck
Every card gives a term or concept on the front and a clear definition on the back, often with a worked example or equation. For instance, Mass number (A) is answered with "the total number of protons and neutrons," plus the reminder that neutrons = A − Z.
| Topic | Cards | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Atomic Structure & Periodic Table | 26 | Subatomic particles, isotopes, electron shells, groups and periods, group trends |
| Bonding & Structure | 24 | Ionic, covalent and metallic bonding; giant and simple structures; graphite, graphene, fullerenes |
| Quantitative Chemistry (Moles) | 22 | Conservation of mass, moles, concentration, limiting reactants, yield, atom economy, titration |
| Acids, Bases & Reactions | 26 | pH, neutralisation, redox, reactivity series, electrolysis, salts, gas tests |
| Energetics, Rates & Equilibrium | 24 | Exo/endothermic reactions, bond energies, collision theory, catalysts, Le Chatelier's principle |
| Organic Chemistry | 28 | Crude oil, alkanes, alkenes, cracking, alcohols, carboxylic acids, polymers |
| Total | 150 |
How it maps to the GCSE specification
The deck isn't tied to one exam board. Specifications differ in how they group and number topics, so as a worked example, here's how it lines up with AQA GCSE Chemistry (8462). AQA examines it in two papers, each 1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks and 50% of the GCSE, at Foundation or Higher tier. Paper 1 covers topics 1–5 and Paper 2 covers topics 6–10.
| AQA topic | Paper | Free deck coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Atomic structure and the periodic table | 1 | Strong |
| 2. Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter | 1 | Strong |
| 3. Quantitative chemistry | 1 | Strong |
| 4. Chemical changes | 1 | Strong: acids, salts, reactivity, redox, electrolysis |
| 5. Energy changes | 1 | Good: exo/endothermic, reaction profiles, bond energies |
| 6. The rate and extent of chemical change | 2 | Strong: collision theory, rate factors, equilibrium |
| 7. Organic chemistry | 2 | Strong |
| 8. Chemical analysis | 2 | Partial: gas tests only; no chromatography, flame tests or ion tests |
| 9. Chemistry of the atmosphere | 2 | Light: greenhouse gases from combustion only |
| 10. Using resources | 2 | Not covered |
In short: the deck covers the core of Paper 1 well and the first half of Paper 2, and you'll need your own cards for analysis, the atmosphere and using resources. If you sit Edexcel, OCR or another board, or Combined Science, use your specification's topic list to make the same check. Exam formats change, so always confirm details on your board's website.
A revision plan that works
Start early and go little and often. Ten to fifteen new cards a day, plus reviews, gets you through the deck in two to three weeks with time to spare. Spaced repetition works best spread over months, so starting in Year 10 or the autumn of Year 11 beats cramming in May.
Say the answer before you flip. Recognising an answer isn't the same as producing it, and the exam asks you to produce it. Say the definition, equation or test result out loud, then check.
Rate honestly. MintDeck uses FSRS, which schedules each card from your ratings. If you only half-remembered, press Hard or Again so it comes back sooner.
Turn calculations into cards, then practise them on paper. Make cards for the formulas (moles = mass ÷ Mr, concentration = moles ÷ volume, percentage yield, atom economy) and the steps, then do real calculation questions. Flashcards make the formula automatic; past papers make the method reliable.
Add your required practicals. Each board lists required or core practicals, and exam questions often ask about method, variables and safety. Make a short set of cards for each practical on your board's list.
Make a card from every past-paper mistake. After marking a paper, write one card for each fact you got wrong. That deck ends up tailored exactly to your weak spots.
Where to revise: comparing flashcard apps
| MintDeck | Anki | Quizlet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduler | FSRS (on by default) | FSRS (optional) or SM-2 | Proprietary |
| Can import this deck | Yes (.apkg or .csv) | Yes (.apkg) | Paste-in text import |
| AI cards from your notes | Yes (credits) | Not built in | Yes (plan limits vary) |
| iPhone price | Free (credits only for AI) | AnkiMobile (paid) | Free tier; paid plan |
| Platforms | iOS | Desktop, Android, iOS, web | Web, iOS, Android |
Quizlet is where a lot of UK classes share sets, and it's easy to use; several study modes need a paid plan, and its scheduling isn't a published spaced repetition algorithm. Anki is free on desktop and Android and very flexible, though setup takes time and the iPhone app is paid. Free revision sites such as BBC Bitesize are useful for notes and explanations alongside any flashcard app.
MintDeck is a free iPhone and iPad app with FSRS on by default. Reviews, imports, manual cards, image occlusion, reverse cards, quizzes, folders, iCloud sync and Audio Study are free, and equations written in LaTeX render as typeset maths at no cost. Credits are only for optional AI generation. It's iOS-only, so Android users should look at Anki or Quizlet.
How to set up MintDeck for GCSE chemistry
- Download MintDeck from the App Store. It's free.
- Get the deck. Open the Chemistry: GCSE & A-Level Core page on your iPhone and tap Download .apkg.
- Import it. In MintDeck, go to Decks → + → Import → Anki Deck and select the file. Put it in a "Chemistry" folder with your own decks.
- Study the topics you've been taught. Start with the topics your class has covered, and add the rest as you reach them.
- Fill the gaps from your specification. Make decks for the topics the free deck doesn't cover. Type them, import a CSV, or have AI draft cards from your notes or a PDF of your revision guide pages. Topic generation costs about 1 credit per card, and a PDF or image job costs 10–30 credits. New accounts get 10 free credits; the only paid option is a one-time pack of 400 credits for $4.99. Check AI cards against your specification before you revise from them.
- Use Audio Study on the bus. Audio Study reads cards aloud with free on-device voices that work offline. It suits definitions and tests better than calculations.
- Review every day, then do a past paper each week. Ten minutes of flashcards keeps the facts there; past papers turn them into marks.
A-level students: the deck is useful in Year 12 as a quick check that your GCSE foundations are solid. A-level goes much further (orbitals, enthalpy cycles, equilibrium constants, mechanisms), so build those decks from your own notes as you go.
The bottom line
The free Chemistry: GCSE & A-Level Core deck covers the core of GCSE chemistry in 150 cards: atoms, bonding, moles, reactions, rates and organic chemistry. Check it against your own exam board's specification, add cards for what it misses, revise a little every day and spend the time you save on past papers.
Related guides: AP Biology flashcards · How to make flashcards with AI · PDF to flashcards · Study techniques · Productive study schedule · Spaced repetition science
Free study decks: Chemistry: GCSE & A-Level Core · Biology Essentials: Cell & Molecular · SAT Math Formulas
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a free GCSE chemistry flashcard deck?
- Yes. MintDeck's free Chemistry: GCSE & A-Level Core deck has 150 cards across atomic structure and the periodic table, bonding and structure, quantitative chemistry (moles), acids and reactions, energetics, rates and equilibrium, and organic chemistry. Download it as .apkg or .csv from mintdeck.app/decks/chemistry-gcse-a-level and import it into MintDeck or Anki.
- Does the deck follow AQA, Edexcel or OCR?
- It isn't written to one exam board. It covers the core content that GCSE chemistry specifications share, so it suits AQA, Edexcel, OCR and IGCSE students as a base. Check your own board's specification for topics the deck doesn't cover, such as chemical analysis, atmospheric chemistry and using resources, and add cards for them.
- Are flashcards good for GCSE chemistry?
- They're good for the recall the exam depends on: definitions, gas tests, trends in the periodic table, reaction equations and the formulas you need for mole calculations. They don't replace practising calculations and past papers. Use flashcards to make the facts automatic, then spend most of your remaining time on exam questions.
- Is this deck enough for A-level chemistry?
- No. It's the GCSE-level foundation that A-level builds on, which makes it useful for Year 12 students consolidating the basics. A-level content such as orbitals, enthalpy calculations, equilibrium constants and reaction mechanisms isn't covered, so build those cards from your own notes.
Written by
Sergiu Puscas · Creator of MintDeck
Sergiu builds MintDeck and writes every guide and comparison on this blog — drawing on building an FSRS-based flashcard app and hands-on testing of the study apps covered here.
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