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Practice paper written from an analysis of every
O-Level Chemistry paper, 2009–2026
Paper 1 Multiple Choice
FORECAST PAPER · SET 1 Easy
For practice before the 2026 examination
1 hour
Additional Materials: Paper for your answers, numbered 1 to 40
Write in soft pencil.
Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid.
There are forty questions on this paper. Answer all questions. For each question there are four possible answers A, B, C and D.
Choose the one you consider correct and record your choice on a separate sheet of paper, numbered 1 to 40.
Each correct answer will score one mark. A mark will not be deducted for a wrong answer.
Any rough working should be done in this booklet.
A copy of the Periodic Table is printed on page 14.
The use of an approved scientific calculator is expected, where appropriate.
Lemon juice contains citric acid.
A student adds aqueous sodium hydroxide, drop by drop, to lemon juice in a flask until an indicator changes colour.
Which piece of apparatus is used to add the aqueous sodium hydroxide and to measure its volume?
Fat floats on top of the juices that run from a roast chicken.
The fat and the juices do not mix.
Which method is used in a laboratory to separate the fat from the juices?
A food scientist uses paper chromatography to find out which colouring is in an orange fruit drink.
The table shows the Rf value of each of four known colourings in the solvent used.
| colouring | Rf value |
|---|---|
| J | 0.15 |
| K | 0.35 |
| L | 0.60 |
| M | 0.85 |
The chromatogram of the drink is shown.
Which colouring is in the drink?
Four colourless liquids, W, X, Y and Z, are found in a kitchen.
| liquid | melting point / °C | boiling point / °C |
|---|---|---|
| W | 0 | 100 |
| X | −114 | 78 |
| Y | −3 | 101–105 |
| Z | −114 | 78 |
Which two liquids are the same pure substance?
Two observations are made in a kitchen.
What do these observations show about the particles?
Which statement about the diffusion of gases is correct?
Magnesium chloride is used to set tofu.
The diagrams show only the outer shell electrons.
Which ‘dot-and-cross’ diagram shows the bonding in magnesium chloride?
Which statement about substances found in a kitchen is correct?
Baker’s ammonia is ammonium carbonate, (NH4)2CO3.
How many atoms are shown in this formula?
Baking soda is sodium hydrogencarbonate, which decomposes when it is heated.
A student heats 4.2 g of impure baking soda until no more gas is given off.
The impurities do not give off a gas.
The carbon dioxide formed has a volume of 0.24 dm3 at room temperature and pressure.
What is the percentage purity of the baking soda?
Which ionic equation represents neutralisation?
Oven cleaner contains aqueous sodium hydroxide, which is a base.
Four substances are listed.
Which substances react with aqueous sodium hydroxide?
Magnesium sulfate, used in Epsom salts, is prepared from magnesium carbonate and dilute sulfuric acid.
Sodium sulfate is prepared from aqueous sodium hydroxide and dilute sulfuric acid.
Both salts are soluble in water.
Which row shows the method used to prepare each salt?
| magnesium sulfate | sodium sulfate | |
|---|---|---|
| A | add excess solid, then filter | precipitation |
| B | add excess solid, then filter | titration |
| C | precipitation | titration |
| D | titration | add excess solid, then filter |
Aqueous ammonia is used in some household cleaners.
Ammonia is made from nitrogen and hydrogen.
Which row shows where the nitrogen and the hydrogen come from?
| nitrogen | hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| A | air | air |
| B | air | cracking of hydrocarbons |
| C | cracking of hydrocarbons | air |
| D | cracking of hydrocarbons | cracking of hydrocarbons |
A piece of aluminium baking foil is dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid.
Aqueous sodium hydroxide is added to one sample of the solution, and aqueous ammonia to another, a little at a time until in excess.
Which row shows the observations?
| aqueous sodium hydroxide | aqueous ammonia | |
|---|---|---|
| A | green precipitate, insoluble in excess | green precipitate, insoluble in excess |
| B | white precipitate, insoluble in excess | no precipitate |
| C | white precipitate, soluble in excess | white precipitate, insoluble in excess |
| D | white precipitate, soluble in excess | white precipitate, soluble in excess |
In which experiment is the result of the test correct for the gas given off?
Two cleaning products, P and Q, are tested.
Product P turns aqueous potassium iodide from colourless to brown.
Product Q turns acidified potassium manganate(VII) from purple to colourless.
What can be deduced about P and Q?
Calcium chloride is used in some moisture absorbers for the home.
Solid calcium chloride does not conduct electricity, but molten calcium chloride conducts electricity and is decomposed.
Which statements are correct?
Potassium chloride is used as a salt substitute in cooking.
Molten potassium chloride is electrolysed using inert electrodes.
Which substances are formed?
An argon atom has a nucleon number of 40 and a potassium atom has a nucleon number of 39.
Argon is placed before potassium in the Periodic Table.
Which statement explains why?
Iodised table salt contains a small amount of an iodine compound.
Chlorine and iodine have similar chemical properties.
Which row compares the atoms of chlorine and iodine?
| number of outer shell electrons | number of electron shells | |
|---|---|---|
| A | different | different |
| B | different | same |
| C | same | different |
| D | same | same |
Which electronic configuration is that of an atom of a non-metal?
Which element is most likely to be used as a catalyst in an industrial process?
Metal R forms positive ions more readily than iron does, but less readily than zinc does.
The letter R is not the chemical symbol of the metal.
Metal R is added separately to aqueous zinc sulfate and to aqueous iron(II) sulfate.
Which row describes what happens?
| aqueous zinc sulfate | aqueous iron(II) sulfate | |
|---|---|---|
| A | no reaction | no reaction |
| B | no reaction | reaction |
| C | reaction | no reaction |
| D | reaction | reaction |
Magnesium carbonate and zinc carbonate are heated separately in the same way.
Which row shows the carbonate that needs the higher temperature, and the reason?
| carbonate that needs the higher temperature | reason | |
|---|---|---|
| A | magnesium carbonate | its metal is higher in the reactivity series |
| B | magnesium carbonate | its metal is lower in the reactivity series |
| C | zinc carbonate | its metal is higher in the reactivity series |
| D | zinc carbonate | its metal is lower in the reactivity series |
Four statements about the rusting of iron are listed.
Which statements are correct?
A candle burns in air.
The reaction is exothermic.
Three statements about the energy changes in this reaction are listed.
Which statements are correct?
A student investigates how the size of pieces of eggshell affects the rate of reaction with vinegar.
The apparatus shown is used to measure the volume of gas given off in the first minute.
The conditions used in five experiments are shown.
| experiment | mass of eggshell / g | size of eggshell | volume of vinegar / cm3 | temperature / °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.0 | large pieces | 50 | 20 |
| 2 | 2.0 | small pieces | 50 | 40 |
| 3 | 2.0 | small pieces | 50 | 20 |
| 4 | 4.0 | small pieces | 50 | 20 |
| 5 | 2.0 | large pieces | 100 | 20 |
Which experiment should be compared with experiment 1 to investigate the effect of the size of the pieces on the rate?
Which statements about the members of a homologous series are correct?
A molecule of an alkene contains 14 hydrogen atoms.
What is the relative molecular mass of the alkene?
Some cooking oils are described as polyunsaturated.
The table shows the number of carbon–carbon double bonds in one molecule of each of four fats and oils, P, Q, R and S.
| fat or oil | number of C=C bonds in one molecule |
|---|---|
| P | 1 |
| Q | 0 |
| R | 1 |
| S | 3 |
Which fat or oil is polyunsaturated?
Which compound is an alcohol?
Which compound is in the same homologous series as ethanoic acid, CH3CO2H?
Ethanol is changed into ethanoic acid when it is warmed with acidified potassium manganate(VII).
Ethanol is also changed into ethanoic acid when it is left exposed to the air for a long time.
Which statement about these changes is correct?
Methanoic acid reacts with ethanol in the presence of a catalyst to form an ester and water.
Which row gives the name and the molecular formula of the ester?
| name of ester | molecular formula of ester | |
|---|---|---|
| A | ethyl methanoate | C3H6O2 |
| B | ethyl methanoate | C3H8O3 |
| C | methyl ethanoate | C3H6O2 |
| D | methyl ethanoate | C3H8O3 |
Washing-up liquid bottles are made from poly(ethene).
Which diagram shows part of a poly(ethene) molecule?
Part of the structure of a polymer is shown.
The rectangles represent parts of the structure that are not shown in detail.
Which polymer has this structure?
Four household items are listed.
Which items are typical uses of man-made fibres such as nylon and Terylene?
A charcoal barbecue is used in a room with the windows closed.
The supply of air to the burning charcoal is limited.
Which pollutant gas is formed because the supply of air is limited?
Which row shows a substance that depletes the ozone layer and the radiation from the Sun that the ozone layer absorbs?
| substance that depletes the ozone layer | radiation absorbed by the ozone layer | |
|---|---|---|
| A | carbon dioxide | ultraviolet |
| B | carbon dioxide | infrared |
| C | chlorofluorocarbons | ultraviolet |
| D | chlorofluorocarbons | infrared |
Group | |||||||||||||||||
1 | 2 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |||||||||
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| 1 H hydrogen 1 |
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| 2 He helium 4 | ||
3 Li lithium 7 | 4 Be beryllium 9 |
| proton (atomic) number atomic symbol name relative atomic mass |
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| 5 B boron 11 | 6 C carbon 12 | 7 N nitrogen 14 | 8 O oxygen 16 | 9 F fluorine 19 | 10 Ne neon 20 | ||
11 Na sodium 23 | 12 Mg magnesium 24 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 Al aluminium 27 | 14 Si silicon 28 | 15 P phosphorus 31 | 16 S sulfur 32 | 17 Cl chlorine 35.5 | 18 Ar argon 40 |
19 K potassium 39 | 20 Ca calcium 40 | 21 Sc scandium 45 | 22 Ti titanium 48 | 23 V vanadium 51 | 24 Cr chromium 52 | 25 Mn manganese 55 | 26 Fe iron 56 | 27 Co cobalt 59 | 28 Ni nickel 59 | 29 Cu copper 64 | 30 Zn zinc 65 | 31 Ga gallium 70 | 32 Ge germanium 73 | 33 As arsenic 75 | 34 Se selenium 79 | 35 Br bromine 80 | 36 Kr krypton 84 |
37 Rb rubidium 85 | 38 Sr strontium 88 | 39 Y yttrium 89 | 40 Zr zirconium 91 | 41 Nb niobium 93 | 42 Mo molybdenum 96 | 43 Tc technetium – | 44 Ru ruthenium 101 | 45 Rh rhodium 103 | 46 Pd palladium 106 | 47 Ag silver 108 | 48 Cd cadmium 112 | 49 In indium 115 | 50 Sn tin 119 | 51 Sb antimony 122 | 52 Te tellurium 128 | 53 I iodine 127 | 54 Xe xenon 131 |
55 Cs caesium 133 | 56 Ba barium 137 | 57–71 lanthanoids
| 72 Hf hafnium 178 | 73 Ta tantalum 181 | 74 W tungsten 184 | 75 Re rhenium 186 | 76 Os osmium 190 | 77 Ir iridium 192 | 78 Pt platinum 195 | 79 Au gold 197 | 80 Hg mercury 201 | 81 Tl thallium 204 | 82 Pb lead 207 | 83 Bi bismuth 209 | 84 Po polonium – | 85 At astatine – | 86 Rn radon – |
87 Fr francium – | 88 Ra radium – | 89–103 actinoids
| 104 Rf rutherfordium – | 105 Db dubnium – | 106 Sg seaborgium – | 107 Bh bohrium – | 108 Hs hassium – | 109 Mt meitnerium – | 110 Ds darmstadtium – | 111 Rg roentgenium – | 112 Cn copernicium – | 113 Nh nihonium – | 114 Fl flerovium – | 115 Mc moscovium – | 116 Lv livermorium – | 117 Ts tennessine – | 118 Og oganesson – |
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lanthanoids | 57 La lanthanum 139 | 58 Ce cerium 140 | 59 Pr praseodymium 141 | 60 Nd neodymium 144 | 61 Pm promethium – | 62 Sm samarium 150 | 63 Eu europium 152 | 64 Gd gadolinium 157 | 65 Tb terbium 159 | 66 Dy dysprosium 163 | 67 Ho holmium 165 | 68 Er erbium 167 | 69 Tm thulium 169 | 70 Yb ytterbium 173 | 71 Lu lutetium 175 |
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actinoids | 89 Ac actinium – | 90 Th thorium 232 | 91 Pa protactinium 231 | 92 U uranium 238 | 93 Np neptunium – | 94 Pu plutonium – | 95 Am americium – | 96 Cm curium – | 97 Bk berkelium – | 98 Cf californium – | 99 Es einsteinium – | 100 Fm fermium – | 101 Md mendelevium – | 102 No nobelium – | 103 Lr lawrencium – |
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The volume of one mole of any gas is 24 dm3 at room temperature and pressure (r.t.p.).
The Avogadro constant, L = 6.02 × 1023 mol-1