Practical skills — IGCSE Chemistry (0620) questions by topic
Recording expected observations for a precipitation reaction between magnesium sulfate and barium nitrate, plotting temperature-change data across five sulfuric-acid experiments, describing apparatus for reducing lead(II) oxide with methane, and identifying substances from a mixture by their solubility and acid reactions are the recurring tasks in this topic, worth 1 to 20 marks across 43 real questions from 2023 to 2025 papers.
Record, state, explain, identify and describe are the top command words, and record specifically means the precise observation, such as a colour change or precipitate, not the underlying chemical explanation. Because a wrongly predicted observation invalidates a whole results table, working through the practical scenario and checking each recorded answer against instant marking is a fast way to confirm the expected observation matches what the substances involved would actually do.
May–June 2025, Paper 11
A student measures 25.00 cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid accurately. Which piece of apparatus is most suitable? A beaker B measuring cylinder C burette D dropping pipette
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 51
You are going to investigate how the rate of reaction of magnesium ribbon with dilute acid changes as the concentration of the acid is changed. You will use five solutions of the…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 61
Use the stop-watch diagrams to complete Table 2.1. Table 2.1 experiment acid concentration of acid in mol/dm^3 stop-watch diagram time for magnesium to disappear in s --- --- ---…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 62
When heated, magnesium reacts with steam to make magnesium oxide and hydrogen gas. Fig. 1.1 shows the apparatus a teacher uses to react clean magnesium ribbon with steam and…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 63
Name the items of apparatus labelled A and B in Fig. 1.1. A ............ B ............
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 13
When zinc reacts with dilute sulfuric acid, hydrogen gas is produced. Which apparatus is needed to investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of this reaction? 1…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 51
You are going to investigate the temperature change when magnesium reacts with dilute sulfuric acid. In five experiments, 20 cm³ of dilute sulfuric acid is placed in a boiling…
Answer this question and get it marked →You are provided with one solid: solid E. Divide solid E into two portions in two boiling tubes. Gently heat the first portion of solid E. Record your observations.
Answer this question and get it marked →A mixture contains three compounds: liquid ethanol; solid sodium chloride; solid zinc carbonate. Table 3.1 gives some information about these compounds (name; solubility in water;…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 61
A student carries out a titration to find the concentration of a sample of dilute hydrochloric acid. The student adds 25.0 cm3 of aqueous potassium hydroxide to the apparatus…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 12
Which piece of apparatus is used to measure exactly 21.50 cm3 of dilute sulfuric acid? A beaker B burette C measuring cylinder D volumetric pipette
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 22
Which piece of apparatus can only measure a single fixed volume? A a 250 cm3 beaker B a 50 cm3 burette C a 100 cm3 measuring cylinder D a 25 cm3 volumetric pipette
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 61
A student investigates the reaction between aqueous magnesium sulfate and aqueous barium nitrate. A precipitate of barium sulfate forms in the reaction. The student does eight…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 63
When crystals of hydrated calcium ethanedioate, CaC2O4•H2O, are heated they decompose to form solid calcium carbonate, steam and carbon monoxide gas: CaC2O4•H2O(s) → CaCO3(s) +…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 51
You are going to investigate the reaction between aqueous ammonia and two different aqueous solutions of copper(II) sulfate labelled A and B (different concentrations). Experiment…
Answer this question and get it marked →You are provided with solid E. Do the tests, recording all observations. Divide solid E into two approximately equal portions in two boiling tubes. Gently heat the first portion…
Answer this question and get it marked →Solid cobalt(II) oxide is a base which is insoluble in water. It reacts very slowly with cold dilute sulfuric acid to form a solution of cobalt(II) sulfate. Describe how to make…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 52
You are going to investigate how the rate of the reaction between aqueous iron(III) nitrate and aqueous sodium thiosulfate changes with temperature, using the apparatus in Fig.…
Answer this question and get it marked →You are provided with two substances: solution F and solid G. Carry out a flame test on solution F. Record your observations.
Answer this question and get it marked →A metal polish is a mixture of four substances. Table 3.1 shows their properties: name of substance solubility in water reaction with dilute nitric acid --- --- --- propanol…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 53
You are going to investigate the temperature change when solid citric acid reacts with solid sodium carbonate, in six experiments. Experiment 1: place 5.0 g of solid sodium…
Answer this question and get it marked →You are provided with solid H. Describe the appearance of solid H.
Answer this question and get it marked →Oxalic acid is a white solid which is soluble in both water and ethanol to form colourless solutions. Plan an experiment to determine if oxalic acid is more soluble in water or in…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 61
Ethanol can be made by fermentation of sugars found in plants. A by-product of fermentation is carbon dioxide gas. A student made some ethanol using the method: (1) cut up and…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 62
Hot powdered lead(II) oxide is reduced by methane, a flammable gas. The products are lead, steam and carbon dioxide gas. Fig. 1.1 shows the apparatus used to reduce lead(II) oxide…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 52
You are going to investigate the temperature change when aqueous sodium hydroxide neutralises dilute hydrochloric acid (NaOH + HCl → NaCl + H2O). Six experiments mix dilute…
Answer this question and get it marked →You are provided with two substances: solid K and solid L. Solid K is dissolved in distilled water to form solution K, divided into three portions. To the first portion of…
Answer this question and get it marked →The solubility of solid sodium sulfate in water changes as the temperature of the water changes. Plan an experiment to find out how the solubility of sodium sulfate in water…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 53
You are going to investigate the reaction between dilute hydrochloric acid and aqueous sodium hydroxide. In Experiment 1, 25 cm³ of dilute hydrochloric acid with methyl orange…
Answer this question and get it marked →You are provided with two substances: solid I and solution J. Conduct a flame test on solid I. Record your observations.
Answer this question and get it marked →You are asked to investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of decomposition of aqueous hydrogen peroxide. Aqueous hydrogen peroxide decomposes to make oxygen gas (hydrogen…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 61
A student uses chromatography to analyse samples of three different dyes. The apparatus is shown in Fig. 1.1 (a beaker containing ethanol, a piece of chromatography paper with a…
Answer this question and get it marked →Copper(II) carbonate reacts with dilute acids to make carbon dioxide gas. Malachite contains copper(II) carbonate. A student investigates the rate of reaction between powdered…
Answer this question and get it marked →A student tests two substances: solid M and solid N. Solid M is hydrated chromium(III) nitrate. The student places half of solid M in a boiling tube and heats it strongly. The…
Answer this question and get it marked →Greaseaway and Kitchenclean are two solutions used as household cleaners that contain aqueous ammonia. Plan an investigation to find which of the two household cleaners contains…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 62
Some seashells contain a mixture of the insoluble compounds calcium carbonate and silicon(IV) oxide only. Calcium carbonate reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid to form the…
Answer this question and get it marked →A student investigates the temperature change when aqueous sodium hydroxide neutralises dilute hydrochloric acid (NaOH + HCl → NaCl + H2O). Six experiments mix dilute hydrochloric…
Answer this question and get it marked →A student tests two substances: solid K and solid L. Solid K is dissolved in water to form solution K, divided into four portions. Table 3.1 shows the tests and observations for…
Answer this question and get it marked →The solubility of solid sodium sulfate in water changes as the temperature of the water changes. Plan an experiment to find out how the solubility of sodium sulfate in water…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 63
Hydrated aluminium chloride is a white solid. When heated very strongly it produces steam, hydrogen chloride gas (toxic) and aluminium oxide (white solid). A teacher heats a…
Answer this question and get it marked →A student investigates the reaction between dilute hydrochloric acid and aqueous sodium hydroxide. In Experiment 1, 25 cm³ of dilute hydrochloric acid with methyl orange indicator…
Answer this question and get it marked →A student tests two substances: solid I and solution J. Solid I is chromium(III) sulfate. The student dissolves solid I in water to form solution I, divided into three portions.…
Answer this question and get it marked →You are asked to investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of decomposition of aqueous hydrogen peroxide. Aqueous hydrogen peroxide decomposes to make oxygen gas (hydrogen…
Answer this question and get it marked →Other IGCSE Chemistry topics
- Organic chemistry (155)
- The Periodic Table (102)
- Metals (96)
- Acids, bases and salts (84)
- Experimental techniques and chemical analysis (84)
- Chemical reactions (80)
- Stoichiometry (62)
- Chemical bonding (58)
- Chemistry of the environment (55)
- Atoms, elements and compounds (51)
- Electrochemistry (47)
- States of matter (42)