Admissions Test Preparation · Practice Set 18
ESAT Chemistry Mock Module 2 of 3
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 | Metallic bonding | Delocalised electrons explain both conduction and malleability |
| Q2 | What breaks when a molecular substance melts | Melting breaks the forces between molecules, not the bonds inside them |
| Q3 | Identifying a substance from its properties | Conductivity when molten but not solid means ionic |
| Q4 | Why the noble gases are unreactive | A full outer shell means nothing to gain by reacting |
| Q5 | Reactivity down Group 1 | Further down, the outer electron is easier to lose |
| Q6 | Halogen displacement | A more reactive halogen displaces a less reactive one |
| Q7 | Physical separation against chemical decomposition | Bonded means chemical; merely mixed means physical |
| Q8 | Separating two liquids | Ask first whether the liquids mix at all |
| Q9 | Choosing a separation technique | Match the technique to the property that differs |
| Q10 | Chromatography and purity | One spot means pure; more than one means a mixture |
| Q11 | Reactions of acids | Acid plus carbonate always gives three products |
| Q12 | Bases and alkalis | Every alkali is a base, but not every base is an alkali |
| Q13 | Neutralisation | The ionic equation is the same whatever the acid and alkali |
| Q14 | What speeds a reaction up | Anything that raises the frequency of successful collisions |
| Q15 | Reading a rate graph | Steepest at the start, flat when the reaction stops |
| Q16 | Collision theory and temperature | Temperature raises both how often and how hard particles collide |
| Q17 | What a catalyst does | Lower barrier, same start and finish |
| Q18 | Reading an energy level diagram | Products below reactants means exothermic |
| Q19 | Reversible reactions and energy | Reversing the reaction reverses the sign, keeping the magnitude |
| Q20 | Calorimetry | Energy is mass times specific heat capacity times temperature change |
| Q21 | Enthalpy change from bond energies | Bonds broken minus bonds formed |
| Q22 | The language of electrolysis | Cathode is negative, anode is positive, and the current must not alternate |
| Q23 | Electrode half-equations | Electrons on the left at the cathode, on the right at the anode |
| Q24 | Electrolysis of an aqueous solution | In solution, water competes and the less reactive species wins |
| Q25 | Electroplating | The object to be plated is the cathode |
| Q26 | Fractional distillation of crude oil | Longer chains mean stronger forces and higher boiling points |
| Q27 | The alkane general formula | Twice the carbons plus two |