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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 3 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 16.
The use of an approved scientific calculator is expected, where appropriate.
Gas G is made in a flask.
G is less dense than air and very soluble in water.
The diagrams show four ways of collecting a gas from the flask.
Which diagram shows a suitable method of collecting G?
A mixture contains ethanol, water and sand.
Sand does not dissolve in either liquid, and ethanol and water mix completely.
Ethanol boils at 78 °C and water boils at 100 °C.
Which methods, used in this order, separate ethanol from the other two substances?
Paper chromatography is used to separate the sugars in a fruit juice.
The sugars are colourless.
The paper is dried and sprayed with a locating agent.
The diagrams show the paper before and after spraying.
Why is the paper sprayed with the locating agent?
Which statement about the purity of substances used in everyday life is correct?
A student heats water in a beaker until it boils.
A cold test tube is held in the steam, and drops of liquid form on its outside.
Which statement describes what happens to the water molecules as the drops form?
A crystal of potassium manganate(VII) is placed at the bottom of a beaker of cold water and left undisturbed.
After one day, the purple colour has spread throughout the water.
Which statement explains this observation?
The ‘dot-and-cross’ diagram shows the outer shell electrons in a molecule of hydrogen sulfide, H2S.
Three statements about the molecule are listed.
Which statements are correct?
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.
Brass is harder than pure copper.
The diagram shows the arrangement of atoms in brass.
Which row is correct?
| arrangement of atoms in brass | when a force is applied, the layers of atoms | |
|---|---|---|
| A | regular | slide over each other easily |
| B | regular | do not slide over each other easily |
| C | irregular | slide over each other easily |
| D | irregular | do not slide over each other easily |
Zinc powder is added to aqueous copper(II) sulfate.
Four statements about the reaction are listed.
Which statements can be deduced from the equation?
Dilute sulfuric acid is added to each of three solids, Q, R and S.
The observations are listed.
Which row identifies Q, R and S?
| Q | R | S | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | base | carbonate | metal |
| B | carbonate | base | metal |
| C | metal | base | carbonate |
| D | metal | carbonate | base |
A student measures the pH of the soil in four plots, K, L, M and N, of a school garden.
The vegetables grown there grow best in soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.
| plot | pH of the soil |
|---|---|
| K | 6.5 |
| L | 4.5 |
| M | 8.5 |
| N | 7.0 |
Which plot should be treated with calcium hydroxide?
Four oxides, W, X, Y and Z, are each added separately to dilute hydrochloric acid and to aqueous sodium hydroxide.
The results are shown.
| oxide | dilute hydrochloric acid | aqueous sodium hydroxide |
|---|---|---|
| W | reacts | reacts |
| X | reacts | does not react |
| Y | does not react | reacts |
| Z | does not react | does not react |
Which oxide could be carbon monoxide?
Which method can be used to prepare crystals of ammonium sulfate from dilute sulfuric acid and aqueous ammonia?
Ammonium chloride is heated at the bottom of a test tube.
The ammonium chloride breaks down into ammonia and hydrogen chloride.
A white solid collects on the cooler part of the tube, near the top.
Which statement explains why the white solid forms?
Three colourless solutions, X, Y and Z, each contain one anion.
The tests carried out are listed.
Which row identifies the anions in X, Y and Z?
| X | Y | Z | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | chloride | sulfate | carbonate |
| B | chloride | carbonate | sulfate |
| C | iodide | carbonate | sulfate |
| D | iodide | sulfate | carbonate |
In a fume cupboard, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are mixed in a gas jar.
A yellow solid forms on the glass.
Which row describes the changes in terms of oxygen and hydrogen?
| sulfur dioxide is | hydrogen sulfide is | |
|---|---|---|
| A | oxidised | oxidised |
| B | oxidised | reduced |
| C | reduced | oxidised |
| D | reduced | reduced |
Four substances are tested in a circuit containing a lamp and two inert electrodes.
Which substance conducts electricity and is decomposed by the current?
Which statements about the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride using inert electrodes are correct?
A steel bicycle handlebar is electroplated with chromium to stop it rusting.
The electrolyte contains positively charged chromium ions.
Which statement about the electroplating is correct?
Which statements about atoms of the first twenty elements are correct?
Which row describes the change across Period 2 from lithium to fluorine?
| number of outer shell electrons | metallic character | |
|---|---|---|
| A | decreases | decreases |
| B | decreases | increases |
| C | increases | decreases |
| D | increases | increases |
A student makes three statements about the halogens chlorine, bromine and iodine.
Which statements are correct?
Argon is a noble gas with the electronic configuration 2,8,8.
Which statement explains, in terms of electronic configuration, why argon is unreactive?
Which metal reacts with steam but does not react with cold water?
A student adds equal masses of four metals, P, Q, R and S, to separate samples of dilute hydrochloric acid of the same concentration at the same temperature.
The time taken to collect 20 cm3 of hydrogen is measured.
The letters are not the chemical symbols.
| metal | time taken to collect 20 cm3 of hydrogen / s |
|---|---|
| P | no gas formed |
| Q | 150 |
| R | 6 |
| S | 35 |
What is the order of reactivity of the metals, from least reactive to most reactive?
Which statement about obtaining copper and magnesium from their ores is correct?
A student places an iron nail, with a block of metal X attached to it, in salt solution.
After one week the iron nail has not rusted.
Which metal could X be?
A student investigates the reaction between sodium thiosulfate solution and dilute hydrochloric acid.
A cross is marked on paper under the flask, and the time taken for the cross to disappear from view is measured.
The rate of reaction is inversely proportional to the time taken.
| experiment | concentration of sodium thiosulfate / mol / dm3 | temperature / °C | time for the cross to disappear / s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.10 | 20 | 160 |
| 2 | 0.20 | 20 | 80 |
| 3 | 0.10 | 40 | 40 |
| 4 | 0.20 | 40 | 20 |
How many times faster is the reaction in experiment 4 than in experiment 1?
A class makes bioethanol by fermenting a sugar solution obtained from sugarcane.
Which statement describes bioethanol as a fuel?
A hydrocarbon has the structure shown.
Which structure is an isomer of this hydrocarbon?
A student cracks liquid paraffin using the apparatus shown.
Four statements about cracking are listed.
Which statements are correct?
Which row describes how margarine is made from vegetable oil?
| substance added to the oil | number of C=C bonds in the molecules | |
|---|---|---|
| A | hydrogen | decreases |
| B | hydrogen | increases |
| C | steam | decreases |
| D | steam | increases |
A student burns ethanol in a spirit burner with a plentiful supply of air.
Which equation represents the reaction?
Which structure shows propanoic acid?
A student warms ethanoic acid and ethanol with a few drops of concentrated sulfuric acid.
A sweet smell is detected.
Which statements about the reaction are correct?
Which statement about polymers is correct?
Which row describes poly(ethene)?
| use | type of material | |
|---|---|---|
| A | clingfilm | plastic |
| B | clingfilm | man-made fibre |
| C | fishing line | plastic |
| D | fishing line | man-made fibre |
Waste poly(ethene) can be recycled by a physical method or by a chemical method.
Which row shows one physical method and one chemical method?
| physical method | chemical method | |
|---|---|---|
| A | burying in landfill sites | cracking into fuel |
| B | cracking into fuel | melting into pellets |
| C | melting into pellets | cracking into fuel |
| D | melting into pellets | burying in landfill sites |
A student passes 200 cm3 of dry air over heated excess copper until no more oxygen is removed.
What is the volume of oxygen removed?
A catalytic converter is fitted to the exhaust system of a car.
Which row describes a reaction that takes place in the catalytic converter?
| pollutant | pollutant is | product | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | carbon monoxide | reduced | carbon dioxide |
| B | carbon monoxide | oxidised | carbon dioxide |
| C | nitrogen dioxide | oxidised | nitrogen |
| D | unburnt hydrocarbons | reduced | carbon dioxide and water |
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