Admissions Test Preparation · Practice Set 19
ESAT Chemistry Mock Module 3 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 | Testing for an alkene | Bromine water decolourises with a double bond present |
| Q2 | Displacement and the reactivity series | A more reactive metal displaces a less reactive one from its compound |
| Q3 | Tests for gases | Each gas has one distinctive observation |
| Q4 | The composition of air | Roughly four fifths nitrogen, one fifth oxygen |
| Q5 | Moles back to a mass | Multiply moles by the relative molar mass |
| Q6 | Particles in the three states | Packing explains volume and shape; motion explains flow |
| Q7 | Concentration and collision frequency | More particles per unit volume means more collisions per second |
| Q8 | Why graphite conducts and diamond does not | Count the bonds each carbon forms |
| Q9 | Electrolysis of copper(II) sulfate solution | A metal below hydrogen is deposited; with no halide, oxygen forms |
| Q10 | Oxidation state in a dichromate ion | Two atoms of the unknown means divide at the end |
| Q11 | Addition polymerisation | The double bond opens and the monomers join with nothing lost |
| Q12 | Matching a metal to its use | The property that matters names the metal |
| Q13 | Testing for anions | Add the reagent that precipitates only the ion you are looking for |
| Q14 | Pollutants and their effects | Match each pollutant to its origin and its distinctive effect |
| Q15 | Reacting masses with a 2:1 ratio | The ratio applies to moles, and here it is not one to one |
| Q16 | Energy and changes of state | Temperature holds constant while a state change happens |
| Q17 | Bond energies for the combustion of methane | Multiply each bond energy by how many of that bond appear |
| Q18 | Alcohols | The OH group defines the family and its reactions |
| Q19 | Choosing an extraction method | Above carbon means electrolysis, below carbon means carbon reduction |
| Q20 | Identifying metal cations | Flame colour for Group 1 and 2, precipitate colour for the rest |
| Q21 | Water treatment | Chlorine kills microbes; fluoride protects teeth |
| Q22 | Concentration in grams per cubic decimetre | Multiply the molar concentration by the relative molar mass |
| Q23 | Sublimation | Solid straight to gas, with no liquid stage |
| Q24 | Carboxylic acids | The COOH group makes it acidic, and it behaves like any weak acid |
| Q25 | Transition metal properties | Variable oxidation states and coloured compounds mark the central block |
| Q26 | Testing for water | White to blue means water is present, but not that it is pure |
| Q27 | Addition of hydrogen to an alkene | Addition across the double bond turns an alkene into an alkane |
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.