Year 10 Practice Test ANSWERS

PART A: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following sub-atomic particles has a positive electric charge?
a) electrons
b) neutrons
c) protons
d) quarks

2. Which of the following elements is an alkali metal?

a) francium
b) carbon
c) aluminium
d) chlorine

3. The lithium atom becomes a positive ion by:

a) gaining protons
b) losing protons
c) gaining electrons
d) losing electrons

4. An atom becomes an anion when it:

a) gaining protons
b) losing protons
c) gaining electrons
d) losing electrons

5. The mass of an atom is equal to the number of:

a) Electrons and protons
b) Protons and neutrons
c) Neutrons
d) Electrons, neutrons and protons

6. Which of the following substances is a covalent molecular substance?

a) Phosphorus trioxide
b) Diamond
c) Graphite
d) Sodium chloride

7. A covalent bonds is:

a) A bond formed between metals and non-metals
b) A bond formed when two atoms share protons
c) A bond that keeps an atom electrically neutral
d) A bond that results in the formation of ions

8. How many electrons are shared when two atoms have a double bond between them?
a) 2
b) 4
 c) 6
d) 8

9. Which of the following compounds is covalent?

a) CaS
b) NO2
c) Al2O3
d) MgCl2

10. Which of the formulae below is written incorrectly?

a) Na2O
b) CaO
c) Al2O3
d) BaO2

11. Which of the following statements about chemical reactions is true?

a) Reactants are used up to produce products.
b) A rearrangement occurs.
c) A new chemical substance is produced.
d) All of the above are true.

12. Which of the following would decrease the rate of a chemical reaction?
a) Increasing the temperature
b) Diluting the reactants
c) Increasing the surface area of one or all of the reactants
d) Stirring the reactants together

13. Group II are known as the _______________ metals. They have ___________ valence
electrons and form _______cations.
a) Alkali, 2, 2+
b) Halogens, 7, 7+
c) Earth, 1, 2+
d) Alkali Earth, 2, 2+

14. As you move down a group in the periodic table the atomic radius of the atom
____________ because an extra electron shell has been _______________. The number of
_______________ electrons are the same.
a) Decreases, added, valence.
b) Increases, decreased, atomic.
c) Increases, added, valence.
d) Decreases, decreased, electronic.
 PART B: SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

15. Write the electron configuration of the following ions. (3 marks)

a) N3- 2, 5

b) Mg2+ 2, 8, 8, 2

c) Al3+ 2, 8, 3

16. What feature of the atoms of the noble gases causes them to be so stable and unreactive?
(2 mark)

They have 8 electrons in their valence shell, which is full and stable.

17. In a neutrally charged atom, which two sub-atomic particles: (3 marks)

a) are present in equal numbers? Protons and electrons

b) have approximately the same mass? Protons and neutrons

c) have equal but opposite charges? Protons and electrons

18. Complete the following table (unless otherwise indicated, assume each substance is an
atom not an ion – i.e. charge is neutral). (12 marks)
Symbo Atomic # Mass # # protons # neutrons # electrons Electron configuration
l
Na 11 23 11 12 11 2, 8, 1
Ar 18 38 18 20 18 2, 8, 8
P 15 30 15 15 15 2,8, 5
K 19 39 19 20 19 2, 8, 8, 1
- 17 35 17 18 17 2, 8, 7
Cl

19. Explain, using an example, what a compound is. (3 marks)

A compound is made up of 2 or more different elements. For example water H 2O has 2 hydrogens
and 1 oxygen and is therefore a compound.
20. Calcium has 2 electrons in its outer shell and chlorine has 7. Describe, with the help of a diagram,
how calcium and chlorine become charged and bond to each other. (4 marks)

The positive cation and negative anions are now bonded through electrostatic attraction.

21. Determine whether each of the compounds below are ionic or covalent. (4 marks)
a) MgS Ionic
b) SF6 Ionic
c) P2O3 Covalent
d) Na3N Ionic

22. Determine whether each of the compounds below are ionic or covalent. Hence write the formula
of each compound: (6 marks)
a) calcium chloride Ionic CaCl2
b) carbon dioxide Covalent CO2
c) aluminium sulphide Ionic Al2S3
d) barium nitride Ionic Ba3N2

23. Write balanced chemical equations for the following reactions. In each case, indicate
what type of reaction it is: (8 marks)
a) Calcium metal reacts with aqueous hydrogen chloride to form calcium chloride and
hydrogen gas.

Ca (s) + 2HCl (aq)  CaCl2 (aq)+ H2 (g)

 b) Solid lithium reacts with aqueous barium chloride to produce aqueous lithium
chloride and solid barium.

2Li (s) + BaCl2 (aq)  2LiCl (aq) + Ba (s)

c) Solid sulphur combines with oxygen gas to produce sulphur trioxide gas.

2S (s) + 3O2 (g)  2SO3 (g)

24. Balance the following equations. (note the formulas are already correctly balances)
(4 marks)
a) 2NaOH + H2SO4 ⟶ Na2SO4 + 2H2O
b) CaCO3 + 2HCl ⟶ CaCl2 + H2O + CO2
c) N2 + 2O2 ⟶ 2NO2
d) 2Al2O3 ⟶ 2Al + 3O2

PART C: Critical thinking (5 marks)

25. Non-metals such as fluorine have a tendency to attract electrons from other atoms. This
tendency to attract electrons from other atoms is known as electronegativity. The table
below shows the electronegativity of group 7 (the halogens). Elements with high
electronegativity also generally have a high tendency to gain electrons.

Element Electronegativity
F 3.98
Cl 3.16
Br 2.96
I 2.66
At 2.2

a) Describe the change in electronegativity as you go down the group (does it go up or

down?). (1 mark)

Electro negativity decreases as you go down the group

b) Propose a reason for why fluorine has the highest electronegativity (hint, think about
how easily it would gain electrons, compared to the other halogens). (2 marks)
Fluorine has 7 valence electrons and only needs one electron to achieve a full
valence shell. It also has the least shells and therefore the nuclear charge is not
shielded by the inner electrons.

c) Would you expect the electronegativity of a metal such as sodium to be high or low?
Explain your reasoning. (2 marks)

Low. It only has one valence electron and therefore it is much easier to lose one electron
than gain 7 electrons to achieve a full valence shell.
 26. Critical thinking question.
Consider the adjacent graph.
a) Find these elements on the
periodic table and describe the
Atomic radius periodic trend. (2
marks )

For the group 1 metals (alkali metals) as

you go down the group the atomic radius increases from 0.15 to 0.25 nm.

b) Explain the trend that you have described using the following key terms: electron, shells,
atomic radius, alkali metals, alkali earth metals, electrostatic attraction, and repulsion. (and
other relevant terms you can think of) (4 marks)

As you go down any group on the periodic table another electron shell has been added so the atomic
radius increases. Because there are electron shells in between the valence electrons and the nucleus
the inner electrons repel the valence electrons decreasing the electrostatic attraction between the
nucleus and the valence electrons, so they are held less tightly.

27. One way to observe the rate of a

chemical reaction is to measure the
concentration (or amount) of the
reaction components over the duration
(time) of the reaction. This is shown in
the adjacent graph. Describe and explain
the trends for Reactant A and Product B.

The trend is that reactant A rapidly decreases and then slowly decreases over time whilst Product
B rapidly increases and then slows down over time. These trends are because when a reaction
first starts there are 100% reactants and no products and they all react rapidly, producing
products. As the amount of reactants decrease and the amount of products decrease the reaction
starts to slow down which is shown as the plateau –ing of the trend lines in the graph.
27. Finish the following ‘concept map’ which connects some different terms together from our unit on chemistry. Add diagrams and detailed links in each the
shaded boxes to explain how the terms are connected. Each box is worth 2 marks so include detail! (20 marks)
Metallic Sea of electrons are mobile and therefore able
Electrical
Bonding to conduct a electric current
Conductivity

Cations lattice with a sea of Metals lose valence electrons Usually not able to conduct
electrons to become cations electricity unless there are
lone/free electrons. (e.g.
Can be shared by non-metals to polyatomic ions and graphite)
form covalent bonds.
Covalent Bonding

Malleable
Atoms can gain electrons to Valence
become anions (-) or lose electrons Electrons Come covalent structures can be
to become cations (+) brittle e.g. glass

If a force is applied like charges will

align and repel one another causing
the lattice to break Brittle

Non metals become anions

by accepting electrons
from metals, which
become anions. The
opposite charges ions are
Ions
bonded via electrostatic
attraction.
Name:
__________
Anions and cations form an ionic lattice
as they are strongly attracted to one
another. As a solid they cannot conduct
electric current as the charged particles
Ionic Bonding Electrical
are not mobile. In an aqueous solution
Conductivity
the are mobile and can conduct a
current.