Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Chemistry · 4CH1 · Free · no account needed
Addition Polymers — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on Addition Polymers, 26 marks, about 26 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Addition Polymers — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
8 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer — the most common chemistry command
- Name (1 mark)
- the correct chemical name
- Describe (2–5 marks)
- developed, linked statements of what happens or what is observed Misread as: giving one bare observation where the tariff asked for a developed account
- Determine (1–4 marks)
- a value reached by combining given data with a method the learner selects
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- the reason, in terms of particles, bonding, energy or equilibrium Misread as: describing the observation without giving the chemistry that causes it
- Complete (1–4 marks)
- the missing entries in a table, equation or diagram
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught chemistry to an unfamiliar substance
Assessed on Paper 1 (4CH1/1C) and Paper 2 (4CH1/2C), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry (4CH1) — statements 4.44 · 4.47 · 4.45 · 4.46. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 12 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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Table 1 — four addition polymers Polymer Monomer Monomer formula poly(ethene) ethene CH₂=CH₂ poly(propene) propene CH₃CH=CH₂ poly(chloroethene) chloroethene CHCl=CH₂ PTFE tetrafluoroethene to be found (a)
(1)Complete
Complete Table 1 by giving the formula of tetrafluoroethene.
Table 1 — four addition polymers Polymer Monomer Monomer formula poly(ethene) ethene CH₂=CH₂ poly(propene) propene CH₃CH=CH₂ poly(chloroethene) chloroethene CHCl=CH₂ PTFE tetrafluoroethene to be found (b)
(2)Describe
Describe what all four monomers in Table 1 have in common.
Table 1 — four addition polymers Polymer Monomer Monomer formula poly(ethene) ethene CH₂=CH₂ poly(propene) propene CH₃CH=CH₂ poly(chloroethene) chloroethene CHCl=CH₂ PTFE tetrafluoroethene to be found (c)
(3)Explain
Explain how the repeat unit of poly(chloroethene) is obtained from the monomer in Table 1.
Table 1 — four addition polymers Polymer Monomer Monomer formula poly(ethene) ethene CH₂=CH₂ poly(propene) propene CH₃CH=CH₂ poly(chloroethene) chloroethene CHCl=CH₂ PTFE tetrafluoroethene to be found (d)
(3)Suggest
Suggest why burning waste poly(chloroethene) from Table 1 creates a problem that burning poly(ethene) does not.
Table 1 — four addition polymers Polymer Monomer Monomer formula poly(ethene) ethene CH₂=CH₂ poly(propene) propene CH₃CH=CH₂ poly(chloroethene) chloroethene CHCl=CH₂ PTFE tetrafluoroethene to be found (Total for Question 1 = 9 marks)
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(1)Which
Which term describes a small molecule that joins with many others to form a polymer?
Term A monomer B isomer C repeat unit D functional group (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Give
Give the feature a monomer must have if it is to form an addition polymer.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name one problem caused by disposing of addition polymers in landfill.
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(2)Describe
Describe how the repeat unit of an addition polymer differs from its monomer.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(2)Determine
The repeat unit of a polymer is –CH₂–CHCH₃–. Determine the monomer it was made from.
(Total for Question 6 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why the polymerisation of ethene produces no second product.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why addition polymers are not broken down by microbes in the environment.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain why poly(ethene) waste is difficult to dispose of, and why burning it is not a complete solution.
(Total for Question 9 = 4 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 12 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Addition Polymers to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Wallace Carothers over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Addition Polymers — Millions of double bonds opening onto each other, nothing given off — and a material that will not go away afterwards.
- All of Incandio Chemistry · Incandio Exam Practice