Form Four Chemistry terminal papers
The 2026 paper is free to try here
Terminal exams are set after the first half of the academic year and test the topics taught so far. Use them to find weak areas, then revise before the second half of the year.
2026 Form Four Chemistry terminal exam (032/1 Chemistry 1)
Time: 3 hours · Section A: 16 marks · Section B: 54 marks · Section C: 30 marks
Instructions from the paper:
• This paper consists of sections A, B and C with a total of eleven (11) questions.
• Answer all questions in Sections A and B, and two (2) questions from Section C.
• Section A carries 16 marks, Section B 54 marks and Section C 30 marks.
How to use this page: choose an option for each multiple-choice question and click “Check Answer”. A correct answer plays a short sound and shows an explanation; a wrong answer shows the right option and why. For the matching item and written questions, answer on paper first, then click “View Answer”.
SECTION A (16 marks): Question 1 — Multiple Choice (10 marks)
(i) The hot flame used in cooking and welding processes is formed when the:
(ii) A current of 10000 A is passed through an electrolytic cell for half a day. What mass of pure copper is deposited at the cathode?
(iii) The correct IUPAC name of H2SO3 is:
(iv) Where would you place an element with atomic number 18 in the modern periodic table?
(v) Which carbonates will not form a gaseous product when thermally decomposed?
(vi) For the equilibrium 4NH₃ + 7O₂ ⇌ 4NO₂ + 6H₂O ΔH = −1130 kJ, which conditions give the greatest yield of NO₂?
(vii) Identify a rock that does not cause hardness of water:
(viii) Which of the following will lower the activation energy of a reaction?
(ix) Concentrated nitric acid spills on the skin. What action should be taken immediately?
(x) The gaseous atoms which are the main agents in depleting the ozone layer are:
SECTION A continued: Question 2 — Matching Item (6 marks)
Match the properties of gases in List A with the corresponding name of the gas in List B. (6 marks)
| # | List A | Your answer |
|---|---|---|
| i | Colourless gas, lightly soluble in water, neutral to litmus, used as rocket fuel | |
| ii | Supports plant survival but inhibits combustion | |
| iii | Greenish gas, denser than air, used as military weapon (poisonous) | |
| iv | Colourless acidic gas with pungent choking smell, used to control pH | |
| v | Non-poisonous gas isolated from air, used to make fertilisers | |
| vi | Gas with strong choking smell of urine |
List B
- A. Oxygen
- B. Nitrogen
- C. Sulphur dioxide
- D. Hydrogen chloride
- E. Carbon dioxide
- F. Fluorine
- G. Ammonia
- H. Hydrogen
- I. Chlorine
Correct matches (1 mark each): i-H, ii-E, iii-I, iv-D, v-B, vi-G
- i. Hydrogen (rocket fuel)
- ii. Carbon dioxide (supports plants, extinguishes fire)
- iii. Chlorine (greenish, poisonous)
- iv. Hydrogen chloride (acidic, choking)
- v. Nitrogen (inert, fertilisers via Haber)
- vi. Ammonia (urine smell)
SECTION B (54 marks): Questions 3–8
3. (a) Cobalt(II) chloride paper changes from blue to pink when exposed to substance G.
(i) Identify substance G.
(ii) Outline two chemical properties of substance G.
(iii) Suggest another chemical test for G and give the positive observation.
(b) (i) Why are firewood and charcoal not recommended for domestic use despite being cheap? Give two reasons.
(ii) Why is kerosene preferred to petrol as a liquid fuel in the school laboratory?
Suggested answer and marking guide
(a)
- (i) Water (1 mark)
- (ii) Pure water is neutral; cold water reacts with some metals to form hydroxides + H₂; steam reacts with metals to form oxides + H₂ (any two, 3 marks)
- (iii) White anhydrous CuSO₄ turns blue / dissolves to give a blue solution (1 mark)
(b)
- (i) Difficult to transport/store/handle; pollute the environment; low calorific value / high non-combustible content (any two, 2 marks)
- (ii) Petrol has a lower ignition point and is more of a fire hazard; kerosene has a higher ignition point (2 marks)
4. (a) Justify each statement:
(i) Extraction of metals is fundamentally a reduction process.
(ii) In coin decoration, impure silver is used as the anode.
(iii) White coke is introduced into the blast furnace.
(iv) The indirect method is not common for preparing oxides of alkali metals.
(b) 2.60 g of solid P heated → residue 1.50 g and 560 cm³ of gas at STP.
(i) Calculate the molar mass of the gas.
(ii) Identify the gas.
(iii) How is the gas tested?
Suggested answer and marking guide
(a) (1 mark each)
- (i) Metal ions gain electrons (are reduced) to atoms: Mⁿ⁺ + n e⁻ → M
- (ii) Anode dissolves (impure Ag oxidised); pure Ag is deposited on the cathode (the coin)
- (iii) Coke burns to CO₂ then to CO, the reducing agent for iron oxides
- (iv) Alkali-metal compounds are very stable thermally / highly electropositive, so oxides are hard to obtain by heating carbonates etc.
(b)
- (i) Mass of gas = 2.60 − 1.50 = 1.10 g. Molar mass = (1.10 × 22400)/560 = 44 g mol⁻¹ (3 marks)
- (ii) Carbon dioxide (1 mark)
- (iii) Turns lime water milky (1 mark)
5. (a) Rearrange the following hospital steps into the correct scientific procedure order.
(b) How many moles of electrons are transferred when 26.98 g of aluminium are liberated by a current of 16.08 A for 5.0 hours?
Suggested answer and marking guide
(a) Correct order (1 mark each):
- Problem identification (doctor asks questions / writes problem)
- Hypothesis formulation
- Experimentation and observation (blood test)
- Data collection and analysis
- Data interpretation
- Drawing conclusion (prescribe medicine)
(b) Using Faraday’s 1st law: m = (M × I × t)/(n × F). t = 5 h = 18000 s; Ar(Al) = 27; n = 3; F = 96500. Solving gives n (moles of e⁻) = 3 (3 marks).
6. (a) From the metals Na, Mg, Cu, Ag (reactivity Na > Mg > Cu > Ag): which is
(i) most likely to tarnish rapidly in air?
(ii) most likely to be found free in nature?
(iii) used as a coinage metal (not free in nature)?
(iv) used in sacrificial protection?
(b) Write observations and equations for:
(i) Cl₂ + FeCl₂
(ii) Cl₂ dissolved in water
(iii) Cl₂ + H₂S
Suggested answer and marking guide
(a) (1 mark each)
- (i) Sodium (most reactive)
- (ii) Silver (least reactive)
- (iii) Copper (and silver) – relatively unreactive coinage metals
- (iv) Magnesium (more reactive, used sacrificially)
(b)
- (i) Solution darkens to brownish-yellow (Fe²⁺ oxidised to Fe³⁺). 2FeCl₂ + Cl₂ → 2FeCl₃
- (ii) Pale yellow solution of chloric(I) acid. Cl₂ + H₂O → HCl + HOCl
- (iii) Yellow solid sulphur precipitated. Cl₂ + H₂S → S + 2HCl
7. (a) Argon (Z = 18, A = 40) and potassium (Z = 19, A = 39).
(i) Why does argon have lower atomic number but higher mass number?
(ii) Why is argon neither metal nor non-metal?
(iii) Three deductions from potassium’s atomic number 19.
(b) Account for:
(i) Burette calibrated top-to-bottom
(ii) Pipette not rinsed with the solution to be measured
(iii) Electrical equipment not touched with wet hands
Suggested answer and marking guide
(a)
- (i) Argon has more neutrons (22 vs 20) so higher mass number despite fewer protons (2–3 marks)
- (ii) Noble gas with complete outer shell; does not form ions easily, so shows neither metallic nor non-metallic properties (2 marks)
- (iii) 19 protons; 19 electrons (neutral atom); position 19 in periodic table / Group 1 Period 4 (3 marks)
(b)
- (i) Liquid is dispensed from the top; calibration allows volume delivered = final − initial reading
- (ii) Residual water would dilute the solution and introduce error
- (iii) Water conducts electricity → risk of electric shock
8. (a) State any three negative impacts of alcoholism.
(b) Draw open structural formulae for:
(i) 3,4-dichloropent-1-ene
(ii) 3-bromo-2,2-dichlorohexane
(iii) 2,3-dichlorohexane
(c) Give IUPAC names for:
(i) CH₃CH(OH)CH(OH)CH₃
(ii) CH₂=CBrCHBrCH₂CH₂CH₃
(iii) CH≡CCH₂CH₂CH₃
Suggested answer and marking guide
(a) Any three: neglect of family; violence/crime; foetal defects; damage to reproductive system; heart-muscle damage (3 marks).
(b) Correct open structures (2 marks each).
(c)
- (i) Butane-2,3-diol
- (ii) 2,3-dibromohex-1-ene
- (iii) Pent-1-yne (2 marks each)
SECTION C (30 marks): Answer any two questions
9. Analyse six causes of noise pollution.
Suggested answer and marking guide (≈15 marks)
Introduction (2 marks). Any six causes (2 marks each): road traffic; construction; air traffic; workplace noise; residential noise; fireworks/events; commercial noise; industrial noise. Conclusion (1 mark).
10. Hydrocarbon W contains 83.3 % carbon; molecular mass = 72 g mol⁻¹.
(a) Calculate empirical and molecular formulae.
(b) Write open, condensed and simplified structural formulae of W.
(c) Write all isomers of W.
(d) To which family does W belong?
Suggested answer and marking guide
(a) % H = 16.7. C : H = 83.3/12 : 16.7/1 ≈ 6.94 : 16.7 ≈ 1 : 2.4 → multiply by 5 → C₅H₁₂. Molecular mass 72 confirms C₅H₁₂ (5 marks).
(b) Open, condensed (CH₃CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₃) and simplified CH₃(CH₂)₃CH₃ (3 marks).
(c) Three isomers of pentane (n-pentane, 2-methylbutane, 2,2-dimethylpropane) (3 marks).
(d) Alkane family (1 mark).
11. Describe any six ways in which soil fertility may be lost.
Suggested answer and marking guide (≈15 marks)
Introduction (2 marks). Any six: leaching; soil capping; soil erosion; monocropping; change in soil pH; burning of vegetation; accumulation of salts (2 marks each). Conclusion (1 mark).
Continue with Form Four Chemistry exams
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What do Form Four terminal exams cover?
The terminal exam covers the work taught in the first half of the academic year, so it is a good check of progress before the second half begins.
How do I use the interactive paper?
Choose an option for each multiple-choice question and click Check Answer to see whether you are right and why. For the matching item and written questions, answer on paper first, then click View Answer to see the suggested answer and marking guide.
How many questions must I answer?
Answer all questions in Sections A and B, and any two of the three questions in Section C.