It should be great for a 12 year old. The text is written at about a 7th to 8th grade level.
This is from the syllabus:
This is a general foundation course, teaching the basics of Chemistry. Principles of Alchemy covers more than half the material taught in a full year university-level Freshman Chemistry BUT it is taught in such a way that an average 13 year old could learn from it and enjoy it. That's because it is specifically designed as a "low-math" course to teach as much Chemistry as possible without resorting to logarithms, algebra or complex equations. No advanced math skills are expected, so it's suitable for everyone. Principles of Alchemy was developed to meet the needs and curiosity of those who do not want (and perhaps are frightened by) advanced math. However, this is NOT a watered down version of Science. Indeed, some topics are from second year (Sophomore level) university Chemistry!
If we were anywhere but on a gifted board, I wouldn't have dreamed of suggesting it for an 8-9 year old...but that's the age when my son fell in love with it.
