VCE Chemistry past exams 2023–2025

Every question from the last three VCE Chemistry exams, matched to the lesson that teaches it, with class averages from the examiners' reports and worked solutions. VCE Chemistry (Year 12) lessons.

2025 Exam

MC 1 (1 mark, class average 92%): Is biomethane renewable? Is natural gas?. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
MC 2 (1 mark, class average 34%): Energy in 100 g of a snack bar from its carbohydrate, protein and fat. Lesson: Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied
MC 3 (1 mark, class average 71%): Which statement is true of every exothermic reaction. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
MC 4 (1 mark, class average 83%): Improving the circular economy of bioethanol production. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability
MC 5 (1 mark, class average 93%): Calibration factor from an electrical calibration of a calorimeter. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
MC 6 (1 mark, class average 56%): Energy change per mole of CO2 used in photosynthesis. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
MC 7 (1 mark, class average 24%): What moves through the gel electrolyte of a discharging zinc–air cell. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells, Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
MC 8 (1 mark, class average 29%): Which metal–air cell design gives the largest voltage. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
MC 9 (1 mark, class average 57%): Which metal–air cell is least likely to have side reactions with moisture. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
MC 10 (1 mark): True statements about the steps in making bioethanol from sugar cane. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
MC 11 (1 mark, class average 80%): Fuel cell design feature that most improves efficiency. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 12 (1 mark, class average 62%): Mass of O2 used when a fuel cell delivers 36 000 C. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 13 (1 mark, class average 61%): Reduction half-equation when a nickel–cadmium cell is recharged. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
MC 14 (1 mark, class average 62%): What a catalyst actually increases in the methanal reaction. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory
MC 15 (1 mark, class average 56%): $K_c$ for a reversed and doubled ammonia equilibrium. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
MC 16 (1 mark, class average 67%): Concentration–time graph after heating an exothermic equilibrium. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
MC 17 (1 mark, class average 49%): Which claimed benefits of an electrolyte-free fuel cell show design for energy efficiency. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability, Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 18 (1 mark, class average 41%): What happens in artificial photosynthesis. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 19 (1 mark, class average 34%): Order four pieces of equipment from lowest to highest resolution. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
MC 20 (1 mark, class average 64%): Most likely cause of scatter in a reaction-time graph. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
MC 21 (1 mark, class average 84%): Main advantage of renewable feedstocks for making organic compounds. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability
MC 22 (1 mark, class average 75%): Product of propan-1-ol reacting with butanoic acid. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
MC 23 (1 mark, class average 63%): Name for reactions that use water to break large molecules apart. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation, Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
MC 24 (1 mark, class average 64%): Yield of the second step from the overall yield of a two-step synthesis. Lesson: Reaction Pathways — Multi-Step Synthesis
MC 25 (1 mark, class average 59%): Best way to separate volatile liquids with similar boiling points. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
MC 26 (1 mark, class average 60%): Compare the molecular formulas of geranial and linalool. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
MC 27 (1 mark, class average 41%): Chemical test that tells geranial and linalool apart. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
MC 28 (1 mark, class average 45%): What an impure vanillin sample's melting point would look like. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
MC 29 (1 mark, class average 50%): Fatty acid in a triglyceride that reacts with 6 mol of iodine. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
MC 30 (1 mark, class average 67%): 13C NMR spectrum expected for pentan-3-one. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q1a (2 marks, class average 70%): Thermochemical equation for the complete combustion of propane. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q1b (2 marks, class average 85%): Energy released by burning 9.0 g of propane. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q1c.i (2 marks, class average 80%): Energy absorbed by 166.0 g of water heated from 24.1 °C to 90.1 °C. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
Q1c.ii (1 mark, class average 65%): Energy efficiency of heating the water with propane. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
Q1d (4 marks, class average 40%): Mass of excess reactant when propane burns in a sealed box of air. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps, Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q1e (2 marks, class average 30%): Why more ethanol than propane gives the same temperature rise. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q2a (2 marks, class average 70%): Use oxidation numbers to show chromium plating is reduction. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
Q2b (2 marks, class average 20%): Why electroplating needs the same ion at the anode and the cathode. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q2c (3 marks, class average 27%): Why the amount of sulfuric acid in the plating bath must be controlled. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q2d (4 marks, class average 68%): Current needed to plate 7.80 g of chromium in 2.50 hours. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q2e (2 marks, class average 30%): Why plating the same mass of rhodium needs less current than chromium. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q3a (1 mark, class average 88%): Definition of a reversible reaction. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
Q3b.i (2 marks, class average 65%): Effect on methanol yield of raising the temperature. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
Q3b.ii (2 marks, class average 60%): One way to raise methanol yield at constant temperature, with a reason. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
Q3c (3 marks, class average 53%): Use the reaction quotient to say how the system returns to equilibrium. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
Q3d (4 marks, class average 48%): Initial amount of H2 from an equilibrium concentration of methanol. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
Q4a.i (2 marks, class average 65%): Equation for making C3H7Cl from propane, with conditions. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
Q4a.ii (2 marks, class average 30%): Two reactants that make propan-1-amine in one substitution. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
Q4b.i (2 marks, class average 50%): Why carboxylic acids boil higher than the matching amines. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
Q4b.ii (1 mark, class average 77%): Decide from an IR spectrum whether a separated sample is the acid or the amine. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q4c.i (1 mark, class average 86%): m/z of the base peak in the mass spectrum. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q4c.ii (1 mark, class average 41%): Why every isomer of Compound X shows a peak at m/z = 108. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q4c.iii (1 mark, class average 10%): Formula of the fragment at m/z = 95. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q4d (3 marks, class average 27%): Three things the 1H NMR spectrum shows about Compound X. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q4e (2 marks, class average 50%): What the 13C NMR spectrum shows about Compound X. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q4f.i (1 mark, class average 15%): Skeletal structure of Compound X. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
Q4f.ii (1 mark, class average 27%): IUPAC name of Compound X. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
Q5a.i (2 marks, class average 35%): Use retention time to confirm quinine in tonic water. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
Q5a.ii (2 marks, class average 20%): Why the standards must be run under controlled conditions. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
Q5a.iii (1 mark, class average 75%): Why the calibration curve can't be used for a 130 mg/L sample. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
Q5b.i (1 mark, class average 57%): Highest-priority functional group of the three circled in quinine. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
Q5b.ii (2 marks, class average 65%): Which quinine structure is likely at low pH. Lesson: Acids, Bases and pH, Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
Q5c.i (3 marks, class average 43%): Why only one isomer of quinine works against malaria. Lesson: Optical Isomers — Chirality, Enantiomers and Medicines
Q5c.ii (2 marks, class average 25%): Why quinine inhibits better at pH 4.7 than at higher pH. Lesson: Enzymes and Coenzymes in Metabolism
Q6a (1 mark, class average 43%): Methodology used to develop a hypothesis from background research. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q6b (1 mark, class average 22%): Observation that shows the end point of a permanganate titration. Lesson: Food Analysis — Volumetric and Spectroscopic Methods
Q6c.i (1 mark, class average 90%): Why 50 °C is preferred, using collision theory. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory
Q6c.ii (1 mark, class average 66%): Why running the titration at room temperature might make it invalid. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q6d (1 mark, class average 65%): Average titre from four titration trials. Lesson: Food Analysis — Volumetric and Spectroscopic Methods
Q6e (4 marks, class average 43%): Mass of oxalate in 15.15 g of uncooked spinach from titration data. Lesson: Food Analysis — Volumetric and Spectroscopic Methods
Q6f (1 mark, class average 17%): Percentage change in oxalate from boiling the spinach. Lesson: Food Analysis — Volumetric and Spectroscopic Methods
Q6g (2 marks, class average 25%): Why poor rinsing makes the measured oxalate too high. Lesson: Food Analysis — Volumetric and Spectroscopic Methods
Q6h (2 marks, class average 45%): Do the findings support the hypothesis of 75% removal?. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q7a (2 marks, class average 35%): Requirement for molten oxide electrolysis to help responsible production. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability
Q7b (6 marks, class average 60%): Evaluate molten oxide electrolysis against the blast furnace using green chemistry. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability, Fuel Cells and Electrolysis

2024 Exam

MC 1 (1 mark, class average 54%): Classify photosynthesis by energy change and reaction type. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
MC 2 (1 mark, class average 40%): Which statement about glucose and hydrogen as fuels is correct. Lesson: Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied, Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
MC 3 (1 mark, class average 45%): Limiting reagent when ethane is burnt in a set mass of air. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
MC 4 (1 mark, class average 49%): Oxidising agent and a correctly written conjugate redox pair. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
MC 5 (1 mark, class average 54%): Energy change and electron flow in a Sn⁴⁺/Sn²⁺ and Pb²⁺/Pb galvanic cell. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
MC 6 (1 mark, class average 43%): Iodate half-cell joined to an alkaline oxygen half-cell. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
MC 7 (1 mark, class average 63%): Mass of copper deposited for a given amount of electrons. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 8 (1 mark, class average 51%): Two statements about efficiency in hydrogen fuel cells. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 9 (1 mark, class average 29%): Hydroxide used per mole of ethanol at the anode of an alkaline fuel cell. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 10 (1 mark): Two statements about bioethanol and hydrogen peroxide as fuel-related chemicals. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry, Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 11 (1 mark, class average 73%): Making iron with hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability
MC 12 (1 mark, class average 32%): Why the combustion of butane is treated as irreversible. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier, Reaction Rates and Collision Theory
MC 13 (1 mark, class average 82%): Effect of adding or removing a catalyst on an energy profile. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory
MC 14 (1 mark, class average 58%): Conditions for the highest yield of NO₂ from N₂O₄. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
MC 15 (1 mark): What is always true when SO₃ decomposes to equilibrium in a sealed container. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
MC 16 (1 mark, class average 49%): Reading a concentration–time graph after thiocyanate is added to an equilibrium. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
MC 17 (1 mark, class average 38%): Purifying blister copper by electrolysis. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 18 (1 mark, class average 48%): Highest boiling point among four compounds with the same molar mass. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
MC 19 (1 mark, class average 34%): Comparing cyclohexane and benzene. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature, Stereoisomerism — Structural, Chain and E/Z Isomers
MC 20 (1 mark, class average 51%): Structural isomers of C₅H₁₀O that are aldehydes. Lesson: Stereoisomerism — Structural, Chain and E/Z Isomers, Organic Structure and Nomenclature
MC 21 (1 mark, class average 42%): Skeletal structure of 3-chlorobutyl butanoate. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
MC 22 (1 mark, class average 49%): Formula of a triglyceride from the methyl ester it forms. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
MC 23 (1 mark, class average 59%): Should water be added when making biodiesel from a triglyceride?. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
MC 24 (1 mark, class average 26%): Volume of oxalic acid needed to titrate a set amount of permanganate. Lesson: Food Analysis — Volumetric and Spectroscopic Methods, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
MC 25 (1 mark, class average 50%): Order of retention times in HPLC with a non-polar stationary phase. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
MC 26 (1 mark, class average 63%): How to find the concentration of a compound with HPLC. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
MC 27 (1 mark): Which analysis shows a feature more clearly than another technique. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
MC 28 (1 mark, class average 63%): Functional groups in the active ingredient of a chilli plant. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
MC 29 (1 mark, class average 57%): What reactions between sulfur atoms do in proteins. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
MC 30 (1 mark, class average 81%): Which section of a scientific poster each statement belongs in. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q1a (2 marks, class average 35%): Using melting point to check the identity and purity of a solid product. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
Q1b.i (1 mark, class average 69%): Number of chiral centres in linalool. Lesson: Optical Isomers — Chirality, Enantiomers and Medicines
Q1b.ii (3 marks, class average 43%): Percentage of linalool in a mixture from the iodine it reacts with. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q1b.iii (2 marks, class average 55%): Two processes to get pure linalool from crushed lavender. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
Q2a.i (1 mark, class average 73%): Formula of the hydrocarbon that gives 1-chloropentane with chlorine in UV light. Lesson: Reaction Pathways — Multi-Step Synthesis
Q2a.ii (1 mark, class average 75%): Type of reaction between an alkane and chlorine in UV light. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
Q2b (1 mark, class average 70%): Product when 1-chloropentane reacts with NaOH. Lesson: Reaction Pathways — Multi-Step Synthesis
Q2c (1 mark, class average 69%): Name the primary alcohol made from propene and water. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
Q2d.i (2 marks, class average 60%): A test for a carboxylic acid and what you'd see. Lesson: Acids, Bases and pH, Organic Structure and Nomenclature
Q2d.ii (2 marks, class average 70%): Skeletal structure of the ester from pentanoic acid and propan-1-ol. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature, Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
Q3a (1 mark, class average 64%): Energy available from 100 g of bread from its protein, fat and carbohydrate. Lesson: Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied
Q3b.i (1 mark, class average 65%): Name of the bond joining amino acids in a peptide. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q3b.ii (1 mark, class average 76%): Type of reaction that forms the bond between amino acids. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids, Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
Q3b.iii (1 mark, class average 52%): Identify an amino acid in the circled part of a peptide. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q3c.i (1 mark, class average 71%): A structural difference between oleic acid and stearic acid. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q3c.ii (2 marks, class average 80%): Equation for the complete combustion of oleic acid. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q3c.iii (2 marks, class average 45%): Predict whether oleic or stearic acid has the higher heat of combustion, using bond enthalpies. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry, Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q4a (1 mark, class average 86%): Equilibrium expression in partial pressures for making ammonia. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier, Industrial Applications — Haber and Contact Processes
Q4b (1 mark, class average 34%): Partial pressure of ammonia at equilibrium from K and the other pressures. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier, Industrial Applications — Haber and Contact Processes
Q4c (3 marks, class average 37%): A change at constant temperature that lowers Q below K, and how the system responds. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
Q4d (3 marks, class average 43%): How the iron catalyst resolves the rate–temperature conflict, linked to a green chemistry principle. Lesson: Industrial Applications — Haber and Contact Processes, Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability
Q5a.i (2 marks, class average 75%): Energy released by burning 0.580 g of butane. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q5a.ii (1 mark, class average 66%): Energy absorbed by 100.0 g of water heated by 35.6 °C. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
Q5a.iii (2 marks, class average 60%): Percentage energy efficiency of a butane burner heating water. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
Q5b.i (2 marks, class average 30%): Why a solution calorimeter must be calibrated. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
Q5b.ii (3 marks, class average 43%): Maximum temperature reached in a calorimeter when 0.048 mol of KI reacts. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
Q5b.iii (1 mark, class average 13%): Why repeated trials all gave a higher temperature than expected. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q6a (1 mark, class average 68%): Bond responsible for the IR absorption with the highest wave number. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q6b.i (1 mark, class average 75%): m/z of the base peak in a mass spectrum. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q6b.ii (1 mark, class average 50%): Formula of the fragment at m/z = 73. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec, Multi-Step Spectroscopy Problems — IR, NMR and MS Together
Q6c (3 marks, class average 57%): What four ¹³C NMR peaks say about the arrangement of five carbons. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec, Multi-Step Spectroscopy Problems — IR, NMR and MS Together
Q6d.i (1 mark, class average 20%): What an integration curve in ¹H NMR represents. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q6d.ii (1 mark, class average 32%): What the relative sizes of integration curves tell you. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q6d.iii (1 mark, class average 20%): What these integration curves say about the structure of Compound X. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec, Multi-Step Spectroscopy Problems — IR, NMR and MS Together
Q6d.iv (2 marks, class average 55%): What the ¹H peak at 0.96 ppm says about the structure. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec, Multi-Step Spectroscopy Problems — IR, NMR and MS Together
Q6e (2 marks, class average 45%): Structure of C₅H₁₁ClO from all the spectra. Lesson: Multi-Step Spectroscopy Problems — IR, NMR and MS Together
Q7a.i (1 mark, class average 76%): Which electrode is the anode in an electrolytic cell. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q7a.ii (1 mark, class average 25%): Half-equation at the platinum cathode in sodium nitrate solution. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q7a.iii (1 mark, class average 6%): Why nothing happens when the power supply is turned off. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q7b.i (1 mark, class average 69%): Polarity of an electrode in a lithium-ion cell during recharging. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
Q7b.ii (4 marks, class average 78%): Mass of LiC₆ formed when a cell is recharged at 1.25 A for one hour. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells, Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q7c.i (1 mark, class average 33%): Energy transformation in artificial photosynthesis. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q7c.ii (1 mark, class average 59%): Direction of electron flow in an artificial photosynthesis cell. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q7c.iii (2 marks, class average 20%): How charge stays balanced when electrons flow only one way. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q8a.i (1 mark, class average 50%): Equation for fermenting glucose to ethanol. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q8a.ii (1 mark, class average 37%): Why boiling water isn't used to dissolve the glucose for fermentation. Lesson: Enzymes and Coenzymes in Metabolism
Q8b.i (1 mark, class average 61%): Moles of gas lost from the mass change in Method A. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8b.ii (1 mark, class average 43%): Moles of gas collected in a burette at SLC. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8b.iii (1 mark, class average 27%): An assumption behind the gas calculation in part b.ii. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8b.iv (2 marks, class average 10%): Compare the resolution of the balance and the burette. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8c.i (1 mark, class average 69%): Independent variable in a fermentation rate experiment. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8c.ii (2 marks, class average 35%): Does the graph support the hypothesis that more glucose means a faster rate?. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8d.i (1 mark, class average 33%): A limitation of collecting gas in a burette. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8d.ii (1 mark, class average 87%): Which section of a scientific poster discusses limitations. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q9a.i (4 marks, class average 65%): Percentage yield and atom economy of a second route to paracetamol, compared with the first. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability
Q9a.ii (2 marks, class average 60%): Which paracetamol route is better aligned with green chemistry. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability
Q9b (3 marks, class average 50%): Compare two reactions in terms of preventing waste. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability

2023 Exam

MC 1 (1 mark, class average 67%): Type of reaction glucose undergoes in human cells, and its energy change. Lesson: Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied, Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
MC 2 (1 mark, class average 40%): A statement true of both fuel cells and galvanic cells. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis, Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
MC 3 (1 mark, class average 70%): Order of melting points of three triglycerides with different numbers of C=C bonds. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
MC 4 (1 mark, class average 79%): What makes a cell a secondary cell. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
MC 5 (1 mark, class average 42%): Which statements about coenzymes are correct. Lesson: Enzymes and Coenzymes in Metabolism
MC 6 (1 mark, class average 43%): Is HPLC qualitative, quantitative, or both?. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines, Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
MC 7 (1 mark, class average 73%): Statements about the environmental effects of fossil fuels and biofuels. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
MC 8 (1 mark, class average 52%): Equilibrium constant when every coefficient in the equation is doubled. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
MC 9 (1 mark, class average 54%): Statements about coal seam gas and petroleum gas. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
MC 10 (1 mark, class average 26%): Which change always increases the yield of an equilibrium reaction. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
MC 11 (1 mark, class average 63%): Units of an initial rate from a concentration–time graph. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory
MC 12 (1 mark, class average 88%): What a catalyst changes about a reaction. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory
MC 13 (1 mark, class average 59%): Which molecule can exist as cis and trans isomers. Lesson: Stereoisomerism — Structural, Chain and E/Z Isomers
MC 14 (1 mark, class average 44%): Effect of raising temperature on the forward and reverse rates at equilibrium. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory, Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
MC 15 (1 mark, class average 41%): Comparing petrol-powered and hydrogen-fuel-cell drones. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis, Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
MC 16 (1 mark, class average 43%): Number of peaks in the ¹³C NMR spectrum of a branched ester. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
MC 17 (1 mark, class average 57%): Mass of coal needed for a set amount of usable energy at 39% efficiency. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
MC 18 (1 mark, class average 37%): Concentration from an HPLC calibration curve after a 1000-fold dilution. Lesson: Medicinal Chemistry — Extracting, Purifying and Testing Natural Medicines
MC 19 (1 mark, class average 59%): Comparing omega-6 fatty acids with saturated fatty acids. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
MC 20 (1 mark): Good technique for an accurate acid–base titration. Lesson: Food Analysis — Volumetric and Spectroscopic Methods, Titration Curves and Indicator Selection
MC 21 (1 mark, class average 65%): What denaturation does to a protein. Lesson: Enzymes and Coenzymes in Metabolism, Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
MC 22 (1 mark, class average 41%): Greenhouse gases and electrons per mole of fuel for methane and methanol fuel cells. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 23 (1 mark, class average 89%): Semi-structural formula of 2-methylpent-1-ene. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature
MC 24 (1 mark, class average 61%): Statements about an acidic propan-1-ol fuel cell. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
MC 25 (1 mark, class average 44%): What H⁺ and HSO₄⁻ do in a lead–acid battery when discharging and recharging. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
MC 26 (1 mark, class average 50%): Number of independent variables in a biodiesel viscosity investigation. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
MC 27 (1 mark, class average 45%): Most valid conclusion from flow-rate data for several biodiesels. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
MC 28 (1 mark, class average 45%): Voltage and electrode choice for a Mn³⁺/Mn²⁺ half-cell joined to a sulfur half-cell. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
MC 29 (1 mark, class average 46%): Which statement about mass spectrometry is always correct. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
MC 30 (1 mark, class average 48%): What happens when H₂O₂, Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ are mixed in a beaker. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
Q1a (1 mark): Percentage of omega-3 fatty acids in coconut oil from a composition table. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q1b (1 mark, class average 60%): Why coconut oil resists oxidative rancidity
Q1c (1 mark, class average 60%): The other product when fats are broken down into fatty acids. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q1d (1 mark, class average 30%): Formula of the triglyceride that gives three caprylic acid molecules. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q1e (2 marks, class average 35%): Why vitamin E dissolves in coconut oil
Q1f.i (1 mark, class average 30%): Cathode half-equation for a fuel cell with an alkaline electrolyte. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q1f.ii (1 mark, class average 50%): A design feature of a fuel cell cathode that helps it work efficiently. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q1g (1 mark, class average 50%): Why a fuel cell might be better than burning the fuel. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q1h (2 marks, class average 20%): A practical reason coconut oil may not suit a fuel cell. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q2a (1 mark, class average 80%): Name the link between the two sugar units in lactose. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q2b.i (2 marks, class average 45%): What the glycaemic index of a food tells you. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q2b.ii (1 mark, class average 50%): Why breaking down lactose affects its GI. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q2c.i (1 mark, class average 90%): Why proline isn't an essential amino acid. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q2c.ii (1 mark, class average 40%): Structure of proline in acidic solution. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids
Q2c.iii (2 marks, class average 45%): Two enzyme-catalysed reactions proline takes part in. Lesson: Biomolecules — Carbs, Proteins, Lipids, Enzymes and Coenzymes in Metabolism
Q2c.iv (2 marks, class average 40%): Why proline has two optical isomers. Lesson: Optical Isomers — Chirality, Enantiomers and Medicines
Q2c.v (2 marks, class average 35%): Why an enzyme needs the right optical isomer of an amino acid in its structure. Lesson: Optical Isomers — Chirality, Enantiomers and Medicines, Enzymes and Coenzymes in Metabolism
Q3a.i (1 mark, class average 70%): Energy released by burning 140.0 g of propane. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q3a.ii (2 marks, class average 65%): Thermochemical equation for the complete combustion of propane at SLC. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q3a.iii (1 mark, class average 80%): Energy profile for the complete combustion of propane. Lesson: Enthalpy and Calorimetry
Q3a.iv (2 marks, class average 25%): How the energy profile changes for incomplete combustion. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry, Enthalpy and Calorimetry
Q3b.i (3 marks, class average 77%): Volume of CO₂ from burning 96.0 g of ethanol, at 15.0 °C and 100.0 kPa. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q3b.ii (3 marks, class average 57%): Is ethanol's flashpoint higher or lower than propane's? Explain from structure
Q4a.i (1 mark, class average 70%): Type of reaction when but-1-ene reacts with steam. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation
Q4a.ii (1 mark, class average 50%): Name the alcohol from but-1-ene that can't be oxidised to butanoic acid. Lesson: Organic Structure and Nomenclature, Reaction Pathways — Multi-Step Synthesis
Q4b (1 mark, class average 60%): Product of partially oxidising butan-1-ol. Lesson: Reaction Pathways — Multi-Step Synthesis
Q4c (2 marks, class average 40%): Skeletal structure of the product of butanoic acid and ethanamine. Lesson: Organic Reactions — Substitution, Addition, Condensation, Organic Structure and Nomenclature
Q4d (2 marks, class average 75%): Atom economy for making ethyl butanoate. Lesson: Green Chemistry — Atom Economy and Sustainability
Q5a (1 mark, class average 80%): A source of methane. Lesson: Fuels, Combustion and Thermochemistry
Q5b.i (1 mark, class average 80%): Equilibrium expression for steam reforming of methane. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
Q5b.ii (4 marks, class average 60%): Equilibrium constant from starting amounts and the hydrogen at equilibrium. Lesson: Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier
Q5c (1 mark, class average 50%): How cooling changes the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory
Q6a (1 mark, class average 80%): Energy transformation in a cell while it discharges. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
Q6b (2 marks, class average 45%): Identify the oxidising agent using oxidation numbers. Lesson: Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
Q6c.i (1 mark, class average 50%): Half-equation in the organic half-cell during recharge. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
Q6c.ii (1 mark, class average 50%): Polarity of the organic half-cell electrode during recharge. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
Q6c.iii (2 marks, class average 20%): How the electrode polarities are set up during recharge. Lesson: Rechargeable Batteries and Secondary Cells
Q7a.i (2 marks, class average 65%): Molecular formula of a compound from its mass spectrum. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q7a.ii (1 mark, class average 70%): Why there's a small peak one unit above the molecular ion. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q7b (1 mark, class average 50%): What a doublet in ¹H NMR says about the structure. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q7c (3 marks, class average 43%): Structure of C₅H₁₀O consistent with its mass, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra. Lesson: Multi-Step Spectroscopy Problems — IR, NMR and MS Together
Q7d (3 marks, class average 30%): Why one molecule absorbs several different infrared frequencies. Lesson: Analytical Techniques — IR, NMR and Mass Spec
Q8a (2 marks, class average 75%): Why the dry beans were crushed before burning. Lesson: Reaction Rates and Collision Theory, Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied
Q8b (1 mark, class average 50%): Dependent variable in a food energy experiment. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8c (2 marks, class average 90%): A step that manages a safety hazard, and how it reduces the risk. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8d (4 marks, class average 53%): Energy content of a bean in kJ g⁻¹ from a can-calorimeter experiment. Lesson: Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied
Q8e.i (2 marks, class average 75%): Energy content of soybeans in kJ g⁻¹ from their nutrition panel. Lesson: Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied
Q8e.ii (2 marks, class average 25%): An error that would make the measured energy content too high. Lesson: Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8f (2 marks, class average 45%): An improvement to the method that makes the result more accurate. Lesson: Energy Content of Food — Calorimetry Applied, Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q8g (1 mark, class average 70%): A valid conclusion from the bean experiment. Lesson: Chemistry Exam Technique and Stoichiometry Traps
Q9a (5 marks, class average 24%): How electrolysis purifies copper containing zinc, lead and gold. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
Q9b (3 marks, class average 40%): How the Faraday constant and Faraday's first law give the bromine from electrolysis. Lesson: Fuel Cells and Electrolysis