Admissions Test Preparation · Practice Set 22
ESAT Chemistry Mock Module 4 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, metals, organic chemistry, analysis and the atmosphere. Seventeen of its questions were written for sub-topics that had no question anywhere in the practice material before, from sub-atomic particles and half-equations to flame tests and gaseous pollutants.
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, metals, 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 | Formula of an ionic compound | Balance the charges, then take the simplest ratio |
| Q2 | How the Periodic Table is ordered | Atomic number, not mass |
| Q3 | Converting a mass to moles | Moles equal mass divided by molar mass |
| Q4 | Reading two rate curves | The gradient gives the rate; the plateau gives the total amount |
| Q5 | Relative mass and charge of a neutron | Proton and neutron mass 1; electron negligible |
| Q6 | Why electrolysis needs direct current | The electrodes must keep a fixed polarity for ions to arrive and stay |
| Q7 | Reading an energy level diagram | Products higher than reactants means endothermic |
| Q8 | Identifying oxidation and reduction by electron transfer | OIL RIG: oxidation is loss, reduction is gain of electrons |
| Q9 | Products of an acid-alkali neutralisation | Acid plus alkali always gives a salt and water |
| Q10 | Matching a pollutant to its origin and effect | Sulfur impurities give sulfur dioxide, which gives acid rain |
| Q11 | Identifying a cation by flame colour | Lilac is potassium |
| Q12 | Balancing a combustion equation | Carbon, then hydrogen, then oxygen last |
| Q13 | Reading a reactivity order from displacements | A more reactive metal displaces a less reactive one from its compound |
| Q14 | Properties of the alkanes | Saturated, CnH2n+2, no reaction with bromine water |
| Q15 | Particle changes on sublimation | Solid to gas directly: fixed and regular to free and random |
| Q16 | What happens when sodium reacts with chlorine | Metal loses, non-metal gains, opposite charges attract |
| Q17 | Why a Group behaves alike | Same outer-shell electrons, same chemistry |
| Q18 | Mass of product from a reacting mass | Mass to moles, ratio from the equation, moles back to mass |
| Q19 | What makes a collision successful | Enough energy, and the right orientation |
| Q20 | Relative atomic mass from isotopic abundance | Weighted mean: multiply each mass by its share and add |
| Q21 | The cathode half-equation | Cathode is reduction: electrons on the left |
| Q22 | Energy change from bond energies | Bonds broken minus bonds formed |
| Q23 | Identifying the oxidising agent | The oxidising agent is the one that gets reduced |
| Q24 | Why sodium chloride melts so much higher than chlorine | Melting breaks the forces between particles, not the bonds within them |
| Q25 | Trends down Group 17 | Down the halogens: less reactive, higher boiling point |
| Q26 | Concentration from moles and volume | Divide by the volume in cubic decimetres, not cubic centimetres |
| Q27 | What a catalyst does | Lower activation energy, faster rate, unchanged catalyst, same yield |
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.