Multiple Choice Answers

B The colours of copper(II) ion, iron(II) ion and permanganate ion are blue, green
and purple respectively.

D Copper(II) hydroxide can dissolve in excess ammonia solution to give a deep

blue solution.

B Ag+ ions would form white precipitate with A, C and D, i.e. silver chloride, silver
sulphate and silver carbonate respectively.

C They can turn both moist blue and red litmus paper white.

B Both hypochlorite ions and sulphite ions do not form any precipitates with silver
ions. Therefore, test (1) is inappropriate. Both solutions can bleach moist litmus
paper. Therefore, test (3) is inappropriate. When dilute hydrochloric acid is added to a
solution containing hypochlorite ions, a pale yellowish green gas with a pungent and
choking smell is evolved. When dilute hydrochloric acid is added to a solution
containing sulphite ions, a colourless gas with a choking smell of burning sulphur is
evolved.

10

C Silver ions would form white precipitate of AgCl, Ag 2 SO 4 and AgBr with HCl,
H 2 SO 4 and NaBr respectively.

11

D Alkenes have no reaction with acidified potassium dichromate solution.

12

13

D Sulphur dioxide has a strong choking smell of burning sulphur.

14

15

D Hydrogen chloride dissolves in water to give an acidic solution which turns moist
blue litmus paper red. Aqueous sulphur dioxide is a bleaching agent, so it bleaches
moist litmus paper. Ammonia dissolves in water to give an alkaline solution which
turns moist red litmus paper blue.

16

D The reaction between SO 2 (aq) and Br 2 (aq): SO 2 (aq) + Br 2 (aq) + 2H 2 O(l)

SO 4 2(aq) + 2Br(aq) + 4H+(aq). The oxidation number of S increases from +4 to +6
while that of Br decreases from 0 to 1. Aqueous sulphur dioxide is a bleaching
agent.

17

A Propene decolorizes red-orange bromine (dissolved in organic solvent). Propene

also decolorizes acidified potassium permanganate solution. However, propene has
no reaction with acidified potassium dichromate solution.

18

B B is incorrect because Tollens reagent has no reaction with ketones. It is a

specific test for aldehydes. For D, dilute hydrochloric acid reacts with sulphite ions to

Potassium carbonate does not decompose upon heating.

Ammonia turns moist red litmus paper blue but not a dry one.

form sulphur dioxide gas which has a choking smell of burning sulphur. SO 3 2(aq) +

2H+(aq) SO 2 (g) + H 2 O(l)

19

B Acidified potassium dichromate solution changes from orange to green when a

primary alcohol is added to it.

20

A For (1), alkenes decolorize bromine in shade while alkanes do not. For (2),
alkenes can be tested by acidified potassium permanganate solution but not acidified
potassium dichromate solution. For (3), 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine is used to test for
the functional groups in aldehydes and ketones.

21

B Both alkenes and primary alcohols can decolorize acidified potassium

permanganate solution. Therefore, acidified potassium permanganate solution cannot
be used to distinguish them. Alkenes cannot change acidified potassium dichromate
solution from orange to green while primary alcohols can. Therefore, acidified
potassium dichromate solution can be used to distinguish them. Both alkenes and
primary alcohols can react with hydrogen chloride but both do not show any
observable changes.

22

23

24

25

26

27

C Lead(II) oxide is insoluble in water while magnesium chloride is soluble in water.

Therefore, lead(II) oxide can be obtained as residue while magnesium chloride can be
obtained in the filtrate after filtration. For A, both are soluble in acid, so they cannot
be separated.

28

B We should use a little cold distilled water to wash the crystals after filtration,
otherwise, the crystals may dissolve.

29

A As proteins have high molecular masses, so they do not vaporize easily. In

addition, they may denature at high temperatures.

30

B KCl(aq) and NaCl(aq) are miscible liquids. Ethanol and water are also miscible
liquids. Therefore, they cannot be separated by solvent extraction. On the other hand,
hexane and propan-2-ol are immiscible liquids, so they can be separated by solvent
extraction.

31

32

33

34

35

D In paper chromatography, a pencil should be used for drawing the baseline. The
pen contains ink. If the baseline was drawn with a pen, the ink from the pen might
interfere with the experimental results.

36

During shaking, pressure is increased inside the funnel and has to be reduced.

Although the spots from dye A and dye C have the same R f value, they have

different colours. Therefore, they are different dyes.

37

C The R f values of some components are so close that they cannot be separated by
chromatography.

38

39

C Referring to the chromatogram, the spots from dye A have the same R f values as
blue dye and green dye.

40

41

42

A Flame test can only be used for qualitative analysis of a substance. It shows the
presence of a substance.

43

D The presence of impurities lowers the melting point, so a pure solid has a sharp
melting point.

44

A Wax is a mixture of hydrocarbons, so it has a wide range of melting points.

Sodium sulphate crystal is pure, so it has a sharp melting point.

45

46

C Crude oil contains a mixture of hydrocarbons which have close boiling points, so
fractional distillation is used.

47

A For B, distillation is used to separate ethanol and water. For C, a separating

funnel is used to separate oil and water. For D, evaporation is used to separate salt
from sea water.

48

49

50

A Since these two solvents are immiscible, they can be separated by a separating
funnel.

51

D The salts contain K+ and NO 3 ions are usually soluble in water. Therefore, they
cannot be precipitated for gravimetric analysis.

52

D
Formula mass of CuSO 4 5H 2 O
= 63.5 + 32.1 + 16.0 4 + 5 (1.0 2 + 16.0)
= 249.6

These two compounds are miscible liquids with close boiling points.

Percentage by mass of Cu =

53

63.5
100% = 25.4%
249.6

D
Formula mass of CuSO 4 5H 2 O
= 63.5 + 32.1 + 16.0 4 + (1.0 2 + 16.0) 5
= 249.6

(1.0 2 16.0) 5
100% = 36.1%
249.6
mass of H 2 O in CuSO 4 5H 2 O = 6.0 36.1% g = 2.17 g
Percentage by mass of H 2 O =

54

D The precipitate must be cooled to room temperature before weighing. A

desiccator is used to keep out moisture but not for drying purpose. An analytical
balance is used to measure weights with an accuracy of four or five decimal places.

55

D (1) is incorrect because the filter paper should be wetted with the solution to be
filtered. (2) is incorrect because it may cause water from the pump to be drawn back
to the filtering flask. (3) is incorrect because the pressure inside the filtering flask is
reduced when the water pump is turned on.

56

B (2) is incorrect. Both masses have four decimal places, so they should be
measured by an analytical balance.

57

58

A Pb2+ ions react with Cl ions to form PbCl 2 precipitate. C 2 O 4 2 ions react with
Ca2+ ions to form CaC 2 O 4 H 2 O precipitate.

59

C
Percentage by mass of Ba in BaSO 4 =

137
100% = 58.8%
137 32.1 16.0 4

Mass of Ba in 500.0 cm3 of sample solution = 0.046 g 58.8% = 0.027 g

the sample solution contained 0.054 g of barium per dm3 of sample solution.
60

C (1) is incorrect because copper(II) ions do not form a precipitate with excess
ammonia solution. The reactions in (2) and (3) involve the formation of BaSO 4 (s)
and PbCl 2 (s) respectively.

61

C
Number of moles of Cu(OH) 2 =

1.245 g
= 0.0128 mol
63.5 2 (16.0 1.0) g mol1

CuSO 4 (aq) + 2NaOH(aq) Cu(OH) 2 (s) + Na 2 SO 4 (aq)

From the equation, mole ratio of CuSO 4 : Cu(OH) 2 = 1 : 1
Number of moles of CuSO 4 = 0.0128 mol
Mass of CuSO 4 = 0.0128 mol (63.5 + 32.1 + 16.0 4) g mol1 = 2.043 g
the percentage of copper(II) sulphate in the impure sample
=

2.043
100% = 79.80%
2.560

62

B The volume delivered by a measuring cylinder is not accurate. Burette is used to

deliver variable volumes of a solution accurately.

63

D A reddish-brown precipitate of silver chromate can be observed at the end point

of the titration.

64

65

B
Number of moles of Na 2 CO 3 =

2.65 g
= 0.0250 mol
(23.0 2 12.0 16.0 3) g mol1

the molarity of the 500.0 cm3 solution = 0.0250 mol

1000
dm 3 = 0.0500 M
500.0

66

B The indicator used in this method should be potassium chromate.

67

C
Ag+(aq) + Cl(aq) AgCl(s)
Number of moles of moles of Ag+ in 28.90 cm3 of 0.300 M AgNO 3 solution
= 0.300 M

28.90
dm 3 = 0.00867 mol
1000

From the equation, mole ratio of Ag+ : Cl = 1 : 1

number of moles of Cl in 25.0 cm3 of solution = 0.00867 mol
number of moles of Cl in 500.0 cm3 of solution
= 0.00867

500.0
mol = 0.173 mol
25.0

Since 1 mole of KCl contains 1 mole of Cl, number of moles of KCl in the 500.0
cm3 of solution is 0.173 mol.
68

C Mohrs method should be carried out in pH 6.59. If the pH is too high, the silver
ions may be precipitated by the hydroxide ions. If the pH is too low, the chromate
ions will change to hydrogen chromate ions or dichromate ions. This will affect the
accuracy of the results.

69

70

71

72

73

D No indicator is required in the titration because any excess potassium

permanganate will cause a permanent purple colour in the reaction mixture at the end
point of the titration.

74

75

A Only coloured chemical solutions can be quantitatively analyzed by a

colorimeter.

76

77

A The presence of any strong absorption peaks between 16101680 cm1

corresponds to the absorption of C=C bond in propene.

78

A A strong absorption peak is observed at around 1700 cm1 indicates that the
compound contains C=O bond. A strong and broad absorption band is observed at

Potassium chromate is used as the indicator.

around 3100 cm1 because of the absorption of the OH bond in butanoic acid.
79

C A strong absorption peak at around 1700 cm1 can only be observed in the
infrared spectrum of ethanoic acid because of the absorption of the C=O bond in
ethanoic acid.

80

C The absence of an absorption peak between 16101680 cm1 indicates that the
compound does not contain C=C bond. The absence of a strong and broad absorption
peak between 25003670 cm1 indicates that the compound does not contain OH
bond. The presence of a strong absorption peak at around 1750 cm1 indicates that the
compound contains C=O bond. Therefore, the compound is methyl ethanoate.

81

A The presence of a strong absorption peak at around 1640 cm1 indicates that the
compound contains C=C bond.

82

B (2) is incorrect because stronger bonds vibrate at higher frequencies than weaker
bonds.

83

84

D A strong and broad peak at around 3230 cm1 is due to the absorption of OH
bond in phenol.

85

D Stronger bonds (e.g. triple bonds) vibrate at higher frequencies than weaker
bonds (double bonds).

86

C For A, the x-axis should be mass-to-charge ratio. For B, the magnetic field is used
to deflect the ions in the detector while the electric field is used to accelerate the ions.
For D, ions with a lower mass-to-charge ratio are deflected more than those with a
higher mass-to-charge ratio.

87

D The base peak is the peak corresponding to the ion with the highest relative
abundance.

88

89

D The peak at m/e = 86 corresponds to the molecular ion peak,

CH 3 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 +. The peaks at m/e = 57 and 43 correspond to
CH 3 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 + and CH 3 CH 2 CH 2 + respectively.

90

B Only the ion corresponding to the base peak has the highest relative abundance.

91

92

93

94

D A pair of enantiomers can only be distinguished by a polarimeter.

95

96

97

98

C Sulphur dioxide can be found in wine to prevent oxidation of ethanol to ethanoic

acid. (1) and (3) are potential carcinogens to humans and both are non-permitted
substances in food.

99

100

C It is one of the most common indoor air pollutants.

101

C Dioxins are environmentally persistent organic pollutants.

102

103

104

B For A, it is a rust indicator. For D, it is used to test for aldehydes and ketones. For
B, potassium dichromate is an oxidizing agent that can oxidize alcohol. Potassium
dichromate changes from orange to green if the breathed air contains alcohol vapour.

105

B Iodine sublimation involves a physical change only.

106

107

108

109

C They are reduced by alcohol vapour.

110

111

B Dioxin should be analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

112

D Thin-layer chromatography is used as a preliminary test for ketamine only.

113

114

D For (1), the ingredients of food and drugs are tested to ensure their qualities. For
(2), it helps analyze different evidences collected in crime scene such as fibre, paint,
hair, blood samples, etc. For (3), it is used for determining the levels of air pollutants
such as carbon monoxide, dioxin and formaldehyde.

115

C The substance is potassium dichromate crystal which is orange in colour. When it

is reduced, green chromium(III) ions are formed.

116

A It involves placing the suspected material in a closed container with iodine

crystals.

117

B The formaldehyde in air is analyzed by infrared spectroscopy.

118

C Carbon monoxide reacts with an alkaline solution of a silver salt, forming a

silver-coloured solution. The concentration of carbon monoxide in the sample can be
obtained from the absorbance of this coloured solution.