Answers: GCSE Chemistry Foundation

Question Answer Mark Question Answer Mark

1 a To get more crops to grow. 1 3 a i water 1
b nitrogen 1 ii add to anhydrous copper(II) sulphate/cobalt
chloride paper 1
c If fertiliser washed off, it will not
colour changes from white to blue/blue
benefit the crops. 1
to pink 1
If it gets into river water, it can
cause pollution problems. 1
Examiner’s Tip
The best test for water is to show that the boiling point of
Examiner’s Tip
the liquid is 100ºC, but there is not enough water in this
This is intended to be an easy introduction to the paper.
example to do this. Anhydrous copper(II) sulphate has lost
Other elements might be present, but nitrogen is the most
its water of crystallisation, and is white. The water restores
important one. In (c), one mark is an economic mark and
this water of crystallisation, returning the blue colour.
one an environmental mark.
Always describe how to do the test, and give the colour
before and after the test.
2 a copper(II) sulphate  water
(order not important) 2
b i white precipitate/white cloudiness/lime
b neutralisation 1 water turns milky 2
ii The gases contain carbon dioxide. 1
Examiner’s Tip
Neutralisation reactions occur not only between acids and
Examiner’s Tip
alkalis, but also between metal oxides and acids, as in this
All hydrocarbons burn to give water and carbon dioxide.
example, and between carbonates and acids. A salt is always
Lime water forms a white solid of calcium carbonate when
formed, in this case copper(II) sulphate.
carbon dioxide is bubbled through it. This turns the solution
cloudy – a white precipitate.
c i All the acid has reacted. 1
ii copper(II) oxide 1 c Two from
Carbon monoxide is poisonous.
Examiner’s Tip Carbon monoxide is colourless.
The common error here is for students to write about Carbon monoxide is odourless. 2
the solution being saturated. This is a reaction with excess
copper(II) oxide. The excess remains at the bottom of Examiner's Tip
the tube. The serious problems caused by carbon monoxide is
highlighted by approximately 50 deaths a year in Great
Britain from carbon monoxide poisoning.
d Filter or decant off the clear blue liquid. 1
Heat the solution to evaporate off some
of the water. 1 ii The octane is burned in a limited amount
Leave the remaining solution to cool. 1 of air. 1
+ 1 mark for logical order in answer 1 iii Carbon (accept soot) 1
Insufficient air inside the engine. 1
Examiner’s Tip
Crystals will form if a hot saturated solution is allowed to
cool to room temperature. The excess copper(II) oxide must
be removed first, then some of the water evaporated to form
a saturated solution of the copper(II) sulphate.
To score the extra mark you must make three points in the
correct order.

© Letts Educational 2004 28

Question Answer Mark Question Answer Mark
4 a Speeds up (or alters the rate) of a e i A concentrated solution decomposes
chemical reaction. 1 faster than a dilute solution. 1
Without being used up. 1
ii A solution decomposes slower in a
b A glowing splint relights. 1 cold place. 1

Examiner's tip iii To stop light getting into the hydrogen

You should make sure you know the tests for oxygen, peroxide as light speeds up decomposition. 1
carbon dioxide and hydrogen. iv Less risk of breakage. 1
v In a screw cap bottle pressure inside could
c i Oxygen gas escapes from the flask. 1 build up, causing an explosion. 1
5 a i catalytic 1
Examiner's tip cracking 1
There would have been no mass change if all the products
remained in the flask at the end of the experiment. Examiner’s Tip
It would be very easy to answer ‘cracking’ for this question
and get only one mark. Do not forget to look at the number
ii A 1 of marks to be given for the answer and make sure you
The graph is steepest here – most gas write a separate point for each one.
produced in given time. 1
iii D 1
At this point no more gas is produced. ii catalyst 1
The graph is horizontal. 1 iii small pieces have greater surface area 1
iv B 1 giving more collisions with the hydrocarbon
When half the total loss of mass. 1 per second 1
v The sketched graph should be less steep Examiner’s Tip
than the original, 1 The aluminium oxide is a solid catalyst for a reaction in
but reach the same final volume. 1 which a gas is reacting. The amount of contact between the
Examiner's tip catalyst and the gas will have a large effect on how fast the
You are only sketching a graph. Providing it meets the reaction will go. Don’t forget to use the ideas of time when
criteria above you will score 2 marks. you are writing about rate of reaction.

d The apparatus must show a suitable way of b ethene 1

collecting the gas and measuring its volume 6 a i sandstone A 1
e.g. gas syringe, measuring cylinder upside
down over water. 1 Examiner’s Tip
The apparatus must work with no way Youngest rocks are always at the top of a sequence.
for gas to escape. 1
Example
ii basalt 1
gas syringe
Examiner’s Tip
Quite a tough question – the two igneous rocks that you
have to know about for GCSE are basalt and granite.
Questions are often about granite, shown as an igneous
intrusion, but this is about basalt as a lava flow.

iii limestone 1

Examiner’s Tip
Learn that limestone, marble and chalk are all mostly
calcium carbonate.

© Letts Educational 2004 29

Question Answer Mark Question Answer Mark
b Fault X–Y has affected the mudstone layer but 8 a reversible/can go both ways/can form
fault A–B has not; since the younger layers are an equilibrium 1
on top of the older layers this must mean that
X–Y occurred after A–B. 2 Examiner’s Tip
Any of the above answers are acceptable although saying
Examiner’s Tip that it shows that the reaction is reversible is probably the
In this sort of question, think about the order in which easiest to remember.
events must have taken place over geological time. Which
layer was deposited first? Then what was next? When did
fault A–B occur? You will then realise that X–Y must have b nitrogen from air 1
taken place later than fault A–B. hydrogen from crude oil/natural gas 1
c i The gases are recycled or reused. 1
7 a i respiration 1 ii The mixture of gases is cooled and
ammonia is liquefied. 1
ii water  carbon dioxide 1
 glucose oxygen 1 Examiner's tip
Look at the boiling points of the three gases. You will notice
iii from the sun/sunlight 2
that ammonia has a much higher boiling point than the
other two gases.
Examiner’s Tip
It is easy to get respiration and photosynthesis mixed up on
the carbon cycle. Remember that respiration happens in d Three from:
both plants and animals, and produces CO2, but Although the yield is high at low temperatures
photosynthesis happens in plants only, and uses up CO2. the rate of reaction is slow;
In (iii) you will not get the mark for ‘light’. this is because gas particles have less energy
and so there are fewer successful collisions;
using a higher temperature will give a lower
b i As carbon dioxide was removed from the air
equilibrium yield but this lower yield will be
by photosynthesis, 1
obtained much more quickly;
an equal amount 1
it is important economically to produce
was returned to the air by respiration. 1
ammonia quickly and so higher temperatures
Examiner’s Tip are used which give a fast reaction rate;
The important idea here is that the removal and return of a catalyst can be used to help speed up the rate
carbon dioxide was balanced, so that the percentage in the at which the equilibrium is established. 3
air remained constant.
Examiner’s Tip
The mark scheme enables you to score three marks without
ii carbon dioxide percentage has increased 1 giving every single answer on the list. The examiner will
caused by an increase in the burning of look to see that you have understood the idea that too low a
fossil fuels/ temperature will give too slow a rate of reaction because of
destruction of rain forests 1 fewer successful collisions between particles.

c Hydrogen and helium have low densities. 1

They escaped from the Earth’s atmosphere. 1 e Ammonia is used to make artificial fertilisers;1
Ammonia reacted with oxygen to produce this was important because of the rapidly
nitrogen and water 1 expanding world population requiring increased
Bacteria (nitrifying or dinitrifying) food production. 1
removed ammonia. 1
9 a atomic mass 1
+ 1 mark for correct spelling, punctuation
periods 1
and grammar. 1
groups 1
(Choose the best sentence and look for capital
letters, spelling and grammatical errors.) b It sometimes caused the elements not to
fit in . 1
He left gaps for elements yet to
be discovered. 1

© Letts Educational 2004 30

Question Answer Mark Question Answer Mark
c Scientists today have better methods of b In oceans water evaporates but
communication. 1 sodium chloride remains, 1
so concentration of sodium chloride
Examiner’s Tip builds up. 1
Part (c) is Ideas and Evidence. You would score the mark if
you gave a suitable method, e.g. Internet, telephone, Examiner's tip
television, conferencing, etc. The concentration does not continue to build up. Eventually
when the concentration is sufficient, sodium chloride will
crystallise.
10 a Either
Calcium sulphate has a low solubility
in water. 1 c Evaporation of water. 1
Calcium sulphate is precipitated. 1 Using energy from the Sun. 1
or
Sea creatures with shells (crustaceans) use
calcium ions to build up shells. 1
Shells are calcium carbonate. 1

Grade Predictor
The grid below suggests the grade that you might expect to achieve on this examination paper.
It is an indication only and does not imply that this is the grade you will receive in the actual examination.

Grade C (max. grade

61+
on foundation paper
D 48–60
E 35–47
F 21–34
G 11–21
Ungraded 10 and below

© Letts Educational 2004 31

 Answers: GCSE Chemistry Higher
Question Answer Mark Question Answer Mark

1 a i copper(II) sulphate solution 1 2 a i water 1

ii copper(II) oxide 1 ii add to anhydrous copper(II) sulphate/cobalt
chloride paper 1
iii CuO  H2SO4  CuSO4  H2O colour changes from white to blue/blue
left side 1 to pink 1
right side 1
iv neutralisation 1 Examiner’s Tip
The best test for water is to show that the boiling point of
Examiner’s Tip the liquid is 100ºC, but there is not enough water in this
Neutralisation reactions occur not only between acids and example to do this. Anhydrous copper(II) sulphate has lost
alkalis, but also between metal oxides and acids, as in this its water of crystallisation, and is white. The water restores
example, and between carbonates and acids. A salt is always this water of crystallisation, returning the blue colour.
formed, in this case copper(II) sulphate. Always describe how to do the test, and give the colour
before and after the test.

b Filter or decant off the clear blue liquid. 1

Heat the solution to evaporate off some of the b i white precipitate/white cloudiness/lime
water. 1 water turns milky 2
Leave the remaining solution to cool. 1 ii The gases contain carbon dioxide. 1
+ 1 mark for logical order in answer 1
Examiner’s Tip
Examiner’s Tip All hydrocarbons burn to give water and carbon dioxide.
Crystals will form if a hot saturated solution is allowed to Lime water forms a white solid of calcium carbonate when
cool to room temperature. The excess copper(II) oxide must carbon dioxide is bubbled through it. This turns the solution
be removed first, then some of the water evaporated to form cloudy – a white precipitate.
a saturated solution of the copper(II) sulphate.
To score the extra mark you must make three points in the
correct order. c i 2C8H18  25O2  18H2O  16CO2
formula: left hand side 1
formula: right hand side 1
c i exothermic 1
balance 1
ii
Examiner’s Tip
This is a hard equation to balance. Two molecules of octane
are needed in the equation so that an even number of oxygen
atoms is used. Otherwise a half molecule of oxygen would
energy
reactants be needed. Don’t be afraid of large numbers of molecules in
equations – sometimes they are necessary.

products
time
energy vs time axes drawn and labelled
reactants labelled at higher energy level than
products
curve drawn to show progress of reaction
Examiner’s Tip
Since an exothermic reaction gives out heat energy, the
reactants must be at a higher energy level than the products.
This is shown on the diagram.
ii When the octane does not have sufficient
oxygen for complete combustion 1
some of the carbon in the octane does not
1 combine with oxygen. 1
1 Examiner’s Tip
1 Hydrocarbons only burn completely to water and carbon
dioxide if there is plenty of oxygen available. In air there is
not enough oxygen, so the octane does not burn completely.
All of the hydrogen forms water, but some of the carbon
will form carbon monoxide or carbon. The carbon gives a
sooty deposit.

© Letts Educational 2004 32

Question Answer Mark Question Answer Mark
3 a d i Rate increases with increase in concentration. 1
time in seconds

400
Rate is directly proportional to concentration. 1
ii In order to react the acid particles need to
300
collide with the solid sodium carbonate
in the tablet. 1
200 At higher concentration there are more
particles of acid per cm3, 1
100 therefore more particles collide with the sodium
carbonate each second. 1
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 Examiner’s Tip
volume of acid in cm3
As in many questions, the number of marks indicated for
each part must be carefully noted. In both (i) and (ii) it
axes correctly drawn and labelled, including would be easy to write less than the number of points
units 1 needed for full marks. The rate of a reaction depends on the
all points plotted to  or  half a square 1 number of particles which collide each second. Of these
a best fit line drawn ignoring the second point1 collisions a proportion will result in the formation of
products. The same proportion of a larger number of
Examiner’s Tip collisions will result in the formation of more product in a
Axes need to be sensibly scaled and labelled with the thing certain length of time, i.e. a greater rate of reaction.
being plotted, e.g. volume of acid, and the units, e.g. cm3.
There is just one mark for doing this correctly for both
axes! Plotting of the points must be accurate. Mark them
4 a i mass of copper  15.52  12.64  2.88g 1
clearly with a circle or cross. The best fit line must ignore
any anomalous results. ii mass of oxygen  15.88  15.52  0.36g 1
2.88
b moles of copper  64
 0.045 1
b i This kept the total volume the same in
0.36
each case, 1 moles of oxygen  16
 0.0225 1
otherwise the concentration would not mole ratio of copper to oxygen
have been proportional to the volume of
 0.045:0.0225  2:1 1
acid added. 1
formula must be Cu2O 1
ii temperature (of the acid and water
mixture)/stirring 1
Examiner’s Tip
The masses of copper and oxygen are easily worked out by
Examiner’s Tip
subtraction, but be careful that you are subtracting the
By using different volumes of acid diluted with water to the
correct figures! The mass of each element in the copper
same total volume each time, Sarah made sure that the
oxide is used to work out the number of moles by dividing
concentration was proportional to the volume of acid added.
mass by atomic mass. The number of moles of each element
This could then be plotted to give the graph. Since the rate
then gives the mole ratio. The tricky bit is converting this to
of a reaction increases with increase in temperature, this has
a whole number ratio. Simply divide the larger value by the
to be kept constant if the investigation of rate with
smaller one. The whole number ratio gives the number of
concentration of acid is to be a fair test.
atoms of each element: two for copper and one for oxygen.

c i 4 cm3 of acid 1
c Sodium is much more reactive than copper, 1
ii incorrect measurement of volumes or time/not so it is not so easy to remove the oxygen from
constant temperature/inconsistent sodium oxide/ hydrogen will not remove the
stirring/inconsistent tablets 1 oxygen from sodium oxide. 1

Examiner’s Tip Examiner’s Tip

The result for 4 cm3 obviously does not fit onto a straight The more reactive a metal, the more energy is needed to
line, which this graph should have. There are many possible pull oxygen away from the metal in the oxide. Hydrogen is
reasons for this, and any sensible suggestion would score not a strong enough reducing agent to remove the oxygen
the mark in (ii). from sodium oxide.

© Letts Educational 2004 33

Question Answer Mark Question Answer Mark
5 a i catalytic 1 6 a i sandstone A 1
cracking 1
Examiner’s Tip
Examiner’s Tip Youngest rocks are always at the top of a sequence.
It would be very easy to answer ‘cracking’ for this question
and get only one mark. Do not forget to look at the number
of marks to be given for the answer and make sure you ii basalt 1
write a separate point for each one.
Examiner’s Tip
Quite a tough question – the two igneous rocks that you
ii catalyst 1 have to know about for GCSE are basalt and granite.
Questions are often about granite, shown as an igneous
iii small pieces have greater surface area 1
intrusion, but this is about basalt as a lava flow.
giving more collisions with the hydrocarbon
per second 1
iii limestone 1
Examiner’s Tip
The aluminium oxide is a solid catalyst for a reaction in Examiner’s Tip
which a gas is reacting. The amount of contact between the Learn that limestone, marble and chalk are all mostly
catalyst and the gas will have a large effect on how fast the calcium carbonate.
reaction will go. Don’t forget to use the ideas of time when
you are writing about rate of reaction.
b Since it contains crystals it is likely to be an
igneous rock/formed from lava solidifying;
b i ethene 1 since it contains very small crystals it must
ii add bromine water 1 have cooled quickly/above ground. 2
changes from red/orange to colourless 1
Examiner’s Tip
Examiner’s Tip If you see two marks in a question like this, don’t just put
The gas must be an alkene, and ethene is the alkene with ‘quick cooling’ – think what else you could say.
two carbon atoms. Bromine water is the standard test for an
alkene. The bromine reacts with the alkene and therefore is
used up, leaving no colour in the mixture. An alkane will c Fault X–Y has affected the mudstone layer but
not decolourise bromine water. fault A–B has not; since the younger layers are
on top of the older layers this must mean that
X–Y occurred after A–B. 2
c
Examiner’s Tip
H H H H H H H H H H In this sort of question, think about the order in which
HC C C C C C C C C C H  events must have taken place over geological time. Which
H H H H H H H H H H layer was deposited first? Then what was next? When did
fault A–B occur? You will then realise that X–Y must have
H H H H H H H H H H taken place later than fault A–B.
H C C C C C C C C H  CC
H H H H H H H H H H 7 a i respiration 1
one mark for each graphical formula 3 ii 6CO2  6H2O ( energy from sunlight) 
C6H12O6  6O2
Examiner’s Tip
Remember to show each atom and each bond in a graphical formulae 1
formula, and don’t forget the double bond in ethene. It is balance 1
easy to give the wrong number of carbon atoms when there iii from the sun/sunlight 2
are so many, so count them to make sure they are correct
for decane and octane. Examiner’s Tip
It is easy to get respiration and photosynthesis mixed up on
the carbon cycle. Remember that respiration happens in

© Letts Educational 2004 34

Question Answer Mark
both plants and animals, and produces CO2, but
photosynthesis happens in plants only, and uses up CO2.
You will get both marks even if the energy is not included
in the equation in (ii). In (iii) you will not get the mark
for ‘light’.
b i As carbon dioxide was removed from the air
by photosynthesis, 1 board’s specification.
an equal amount 1
was returned to the air by respiration. 1
Examiner’s Tip
The important idea here is that the removal and return of
carbon dioxide was balanced, so that the percentage in the
air remained constant.
ii carbon dioxide percentage has increased
caused by an increase in the burning of
fossil fuels/
destruction of rain forests
c Hydrogen and helium have low densities.
They escaped from the Earth’s atmosphere. 1
Ammonia reacted with oxygen to produce
nitrogen and water
Bacteria (nitrifying or dinitrifying)
removed ammonia.
+ 1 mark for correct spelling, punctuation
and grammar
(Choose the best sentence and look for capital
letters, spelling and grammatical errors.)
8 a reversible/can go both ways/can form
an equilibrium
Examiner’s Tip
Any of the above answers are acceptable although saying
that it shows that the reaction is reversible is probably the
easiest to remember.
b nitrogen from air
hydrogen from crude oil/natural gas
c Increasing the pressure increases the rate of
reaction (because there are a greater number of
successful collisions between the greater
numbers of particles present);
increasing the pressure increases the yield
(because it pushes the equilibrium to the right
and produces more ammonia).
Examiner’s Tip
This is a difficult A* question. You have to use your
knowledge of reaction rates to realise that increasing the
pressure of gases increases their concentration and so will
© Letts Educational 2004
Question Answer Mark
mean that more successful collisions will take place because
there are more particles present. You also have to
understand that since this equilibrium equation shows fewer
molecules on the right hand side of the equation, increasing
the pressure will force the equilibrium to the side with the
smaller number of molecules, in this case to the right.
This is often referred to as ‘Le Chatelier’s Principle’ but
knowing this name is not part of every examination
d Three from:
Although the yield is high at low temperatures
the rate of reaction is slow;
this is because gas particles have less energy
and so there are fewer successful collisions;
using a higher temperature will give a lower
equilibrium yield but this lower yield will be
1 obtained much more quickly;
it is important economically to produce
ammonia quickly and so higher temperatures
1 are used which give a fast reaction rate;
1 a catalyst can be used to help speed up the rate
at which the equilibrium is established. 3
1 Examiner’s Tip
Another difficult question but the mark scheme enables you
1 to score three marks without giving every single answer on
the list. The examiner will look to see that you have
1 understood the idea that too low a temperature will give too
slow a rate of reaction because of fewer successful
collisions between particles.
1 e Ammonia is used to make artificial fertilisers;1
this was important because of the rapidly
expanding world population requiring increased
food production. 1
f 2  (14  3) 1
 34 tonnes 1
1 9 a atomic number increases from
1 Na – Cl – Ar/increases 11 – 17 – 18 1
number of electrons in outer shell increases:
Na – 1, Cl – 7 and Ar – 8 1
Examiner’s Tip
It is important to write about the number of protons, since
this decides the element’s position in the Periodic Table,
and the number of electrons in the outer shell, since this
2 determines the chemical behaviour of the element.
b Sodium is a very reactive metal. 1
Chlorine is a very reactive non-metal. 1
Argon is an unreactive gas. 1
35
Question Answer Mark Question Answer Mark
c Sodium has one electron in its outer shell Sea creatures with shells (crustaceans) use
which is easily lost to get the stable calcium ions to build up shells 1
electronic structure of argon – a typical Shells are calcium carbonate 1
metal property. 1
b Either
Chlorine has seven electrons in its outer shell
Ca2+(aq)  SO42–(aq)  CaSO4(s) 2
and easily gains one more to get the stable
One mark for left hand side and one mark for
electronic structure of argon – a typical non-
right hand side.
metal property. 1
or
Ca2+(aq)  CO32–(aq)  CaCO3(s) 2
Examiner’s Tip
One mark for left hand side and one mark for
These two questions look at the relationship between the
right hand side.
number of electrons in the outer shell of an atom and its
chemical properties. The fact that chemical bonding leads to Examiner's tip
each atom having a full outer electron shell, which is the New specifications have questions on compositions of the
same electronic structure as a noble gas, is an essential oceans. There are two correct answers to this question. You
feature of chemistry. will not be penalised if you miss out state symbols.
The table helps you with the correct formulae of calcium
and sulphate ions.
10 a Either
Calcium sulphate has a low solubility
in water 1
Calcium sulphate is precipitated 1
or

Grade Predictor
The grid below suggests the grade that you might expect to achieve on this examination paper.
It is an indication only and does not imply that this is the grade you will receive in the actual examination.

A* 82+
A 71–81
B 60–70
C 45–59
D 30–44

© Letts Educational 2004 36