← Chemical Changes course

Practice

20 questions

Work each one out on paper first, then tap "show answer" to check. They get harder as you go, mixing word equations, calculations and reasoning questions tied to the lab.

Q1 A nail left outside turns orange and flaky over several weeks. Is this a physical or chemical change? Justify your answer.Easy

A chemical change — a new substance (rust, iron oxide) has formed. It's not reversible by simple physical means, which is the other clue.

Q2 Ice cream left out of the freezer melts into a liquid. Is this a physical or chemical change?Easy

A physical change — no new substance forms, and refreezing it reverses the change.

Q3 Write a word equation for magnesium burning in oxygen to form magnesium oxide.Easy

magnesium + oxygen → magnesium oxide

Q4 4 g of a metal reacts completely with 3 g of oxygen. What mass of product forms, and which idea does this demonstrate?Medium

Mass in = mass out: 4 + 3 = 7 g

This demonstrates conservation of mass — atoms are rearranged in a chemical reaction, never created or destroyed.

Q5 State the type of chemical change in each: (a) heating copper carbonate until it turns black, (b) a candle burning, (c) an iron gate turning reddish-brown over time.Medium

(a) Thermal decomposition  ·  (b) Combustion  ·  (c) Oxidation (rusting)

Q6 Universal Indicator turns purple/violet when added to a solution. Is the solution acidic, neutral, or strongly alkaline?Medium

Strongly alkaline — on the UI colour chart, purple/violet corresponds to the top of the scale, around pH 13–14.

Q7 Write the word equation for the reaction between hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide.Medium

hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide → sodium chloride + water

Q8 Dilute sulfuric acid is added to magnesium ribbon. (a) State the type of reaction. (b) Write the word equation. (c) Describe one observation and how you'd test the gas produced.Hard

(a) An acid + metal reaction.

(b) sulfuric acid + magnesium → magnesium sulfate + hydrogen

(c) Bubbles form and the magnesium ribbon gradually dissolves. Test the gas with a lit splint — a squeaky pop confirms hydrogen.

Q9 Dilute hydrochloric acid is added to calcium carbonate chips. (a) Write the word equation. (b) Describe a test to confirm the gas produced.Hard

(a) hydrochloric acid + calcium carbonate → calcium chloride + water + carbon dioxide

(b) Bubble the gas through limewater — it turning cloudy confirms carbon dioxide.

Q10 In the rusting lab: one tube has an iron nail in boiled water with a layer of oil on top; another has a nail with a drying agent, in normal air. Predict whether each will rust, and explain why. Then check your prediction in the lab.Hard · reasoning

Neither tube rusts.

The boiled-water-with-oil tube has water but no oxygen — boiling removed the dissolved air, and the oil layer stops more air getting in.

The drying-agent tube has air (oxygen) but no water — the drying agent absorbs all the moisture before it reaches the nail.

Rusting needs water and oxygen together — each tube is missing exactly one of the two, so neither rusts.

Q11 Butter left in a warm room melts into a liquid. Is this a physical or chemical change?Easy

A physical change — still the same substance, just a different state. Cool it back down and it solidifies again.

Q12 A block of wood is chopped into smaller pieces with an axe. Is this a physical or chemical change?Easy

A physical change — still wood, just smaller pieces. No new substance has formed.

Q13 Write a word equation for the thermal decomposition of copper carbonate.Easy

copper carbonate → copper oxide + carbon dioxide

Q14 10 g of a fuel burns completely in 30 g of oxygen. If 22 g of carbon dioxide is produced, what mass of water must also have formed?Medium

Mass in = mass out: 10 + 30 = 40 g of products in total.

Mass of water = 40 − 22 = 18 g

Same idea as always — the atoms are all still there, just repackaged, so nothing in the mass total can go missing.

Q15 State the type of chemical change in each: (a) silver cutlery slowly tarnishing in air, (b) a sparkler burning, (c) baking soda fizzing when vinegar is added.Medium

(a) Oxidation  ·  (b) Combustion  ·  (c) Acid + carbonate reaction (vinegar is a weak acid, baking soda is a carbonate)

Q16 A gardener tests some soil with Universal Indicator and it turns orange. Is the soil acidic, neutral, or alkaline? Estimate the pH.Medium

Acidic — orange sits on the acidic half of the UI colour chart, roughly pH 3–4.

Q17 Write the word equation for the reaction between nitric acid and potassium hydroxide.Medium

nitric acid + potassium hydroxide → potassium nitrate + water

Q18 Dilute hydrochloric acid is added to zinc granules. (a) Write the word equation. (b) Name the gas produced and describe how you'd test for it.Hard

(a) hydrochloric acid + zinc → zinc chloride + hydrogen

(b) The gas is hydrogen. Hold a lit splint at the mouth of the tube — a squeaky pop confirms it.

Q19 Dilute sulfuric acid reacts with magnesium carbonate. (a) Write the word equation. (b) Describe two observations you'd make during the reaction.Hard

(a) sulfuric acid + magnesium carbonate → magnesium sulfate + water + carbon dioxide

(b) Bubbling/fizzing as carbon dioxide gas is released, and the solid carbonate gradually dissolves and disappears.

Q20 In real experiments, iron rusts faster in salt water than in plain water. Does this contradict the rule that rusting needs both water and oxygen? Explain.Hard · reasoning

No, it doesn't contradict the rule.

Salt doesn't change whether rusting can happen — you still need both water and oxygen present, or there's no rust at all, exactly as in the lab. What salt changes is the rate: salt water conducts electricity better than plain water, which speeds up the reaction once both required conditions are already met.

Necessary conditions (water + oxygen) and rate factors (like dissolved salt) are two different things — this question is testing whether you can tell them apart.