Admissions Test Preparation · Practice Set 17
ESAT Chemistry Mock Module 1 of 4
27 a full 27-question module, the same length and shape as one sitting of the real test. Atomic structure and the Periodic Table, equations and moles, redox, bonding, rates, energetics, electrolysis, organic chemistry, analysis and the atmosphere. Every question states the specification sub-topic it was written against.
How to use this set
Every question carries a target time, and no question needs a calculator. Attempt each one against the clock with the solution collapsed. If you are still setting up algebra when the target time passes, stop and open the solution: the shortcut is what the question is testing, and the arithmetic is not.
Read the Key Idea before the full breakdown. If the key idea alone lets you redo the question in under a minute, the method has landed and you can move on. If it does not, work the step-by-step breakdown and then return to the question a day later.
The Common Mistake section on each question is the slower route that still reaches the right answer. Under exam conditions that route is usually the difference between finishing the module and running out of time.
Modules in this set
Select a module below to view the questions and their step-by-step worked solutions:
Chemistry
27 questions, 40 minutes in the real test. Atomic structure and the Periodic Table, equations and moles, redox, bonding, rates, energetics, electrolysis, organic chemistry, analysis and the atmosphere. 27 worked solutions.
Shortcut index
Use this as a revision checklist. If you can state the shortcut before opening the question, you already have the mark.
Chemistry
| # | Topic | Shortcut rehearsed |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Relative molar mass | Multiply through the brackets before adding |
| Q2 | Relative masses and charges | Mass sits in the nucleus; charge balances outside it |
| Q3 | Oxidation and reduction as electron transfer | OIL RIG: oxidation is loss, reduction is gain |
| Q4 | Elements, compounds and mixtures | A compound needs a chemical reaction to break it up; a mixture does not |
| Q5 | How the Periodic Table is arranged | Order by protons, not by mass |
| Q6 | Working out an ionic formula | Balance the charges, then write the smallest whole-number ratio |
| Q7 | Grams to moles | Divide the mass by the relative molar mass |
| Q8 | Reading a nuclide symbol | Bottom number is protons, top minus bottom is neutrons |
| Q9 | Assigning an oxidation state | Set the known states, then solve for the unknown |
| Q10 | Ionic bonding | Metals lose, non-metals gain, and the noble gas configuration is the target |
| Q11 | Locating the families | Group 1 alkali, Group 2 alkaline earth, 17 halogens, 18 noble gases |
| Q12 | Balancing an equation | Change the coefficients, never the formulae |
| Q13 | Percentage composition by mass | That element's total mass over the whole formula mass |
| Q14 | Electron configuration | Fill 2, then 8, then 8, then 2 |
| Q15 | Identifying the oxidising agent | The oxidising agent is the one that gets reduced |
| Q16 | Covalent bonding | Count the shared pairs, not the atoms |
| Q17 | Position and electron configuration | Group gives outer electrons; Period gives shells |
| Q18 | Reversible reactions | At equilibrium both reactions continue at equal rates |
| Q19 | Empirical formula | Divide each mass by its Ar, then by the smallest result |
| Q20 | Relative atomic mass from isotope abundances | A weighted mean, with abundances as the weights |
| Q21 | Disproportionation | One element both oxidised and reduced in the same reaction |
| Q22 | Reacting masses | Mass to moles, ratio, moles back to mass |
| Q23 | Concentration of a solution | Moles over volume in cubic decimetres |
| Q24 | Finding an equation from reacting masses | Convert every mass to moles, then simplify the ratio |
| Q25 | Molar gas volume | One mole of any gas fills the same volume |
| Q26 | Percentage yield | Actual over theoretical, and it can never exceed a hundred |
| Q27 | Titration arithmetic | Moles from the known solution, ratio, then divide by the unknown volume |
Where to go from here
Everything on this page is free and stays free. These are the three things worth doing next.
- Take the 15-question ESAT diagnostic - Twenty minutes, scored instantly, with a worked solution for every question you miss
- Follow the dated preparation plan - Every ESAT page on this site, sequenced backwards from the October sitting
- Sitting another admissions test as well? - TMUA, PAT, MAT and STEP each have their own preparation page and free practice
- Join the ESAT preparation list - One email a week from June to October, and nothing else
- Enquire about one-to-one preparation - For candidates who want the gap closed rather than mapped
One-to-one places are limited and taken by application, not by the hour.