Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Chemistry · 4CH1 · Free · no account needed
Working Out Esters, And What They Are For — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on Working Out Esters, And What They Are For, 27 marks, about 27 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 Working Out Esters, And What They Are For — 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
- 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
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught chemistry to an unfamiliar substance
- Identify (1–2 marks)
- the correct substance or feature selected from what is given
- Complete (1–4 marks)
- the missing entries in a table, equation or diagram
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 4.42 · 4.41. 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 esters used as flavourings Ester Formula Smell ethyl methanoate HCOOC₂H₅ raspberry methyl butanoate CH₃CH₂CH₂COOCH₃ apple propyl ethanoate CH₃COOC₃H₇ pear ethyl butanoate to be found pineapple (a)
(1)Identify
Identify the alcohol used to make the pear-smelling ester in Table 1.
Table 1 — four esters used as flavourings Ester Formula Smell ethyl methanoate HCOOC₂H₅ raspberry methyl butanoate CH₃CH₂CH₂COOCH₃ apple propyl ethanoate CH₃COOC₃H₇ pear ethyl butanoate to be found pineapple (b)
(2)Complete
Complete Table 1 by giving the formula of ethyl butanoate.
Table 1 — four esters used as flavourings Ester Formula Smell ethyl methanoate HCOOC₂H₅ raspberry methyl butanoate CH₃CH₂CH₂COOCH₃ apple propyl ethanoate CH₃COOC₃H₇ pear ethyl butanoate to be found pineapple (c)
(3)Explain
Explain how the formula of any ester in Table 1 can be split to find the two compounds it was made from.
Table 1 — four esters used as flavourings Ester Formula Smell ethyl methanoate HCOOC₂H₅ raspberry methyl butanoate CH₃CH₂CH₂COOCH₃ apple propyl ethanoate CH₃COOC₃H₇ pear ethyl butanoate to be found pineapple (d)
(3)Suggest
Suggest why a manufacturer might use a single ester from Table 1 as a flavouring rather than an extract of the real fruit.
Table 1 — four esters used as flavourings Ester Formula Smell ethyl methanoate HCOOC₂H₅ raspberry methyl butanoate CH₃CH₂CH₂COOCH₃ apple propyl ethanoate CH₃COOC₃H₇ pear ethyl butanoate to be found pineapple (Total for Question 1 = 9 marks)
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(1)Which
Which property makes esters suitable for use in perfumes?
Property A they are volatile and smell pleasant B they have very high boiling points C they are strong acids D they conduct electricity (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Give
Give one use of esters.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name the alcohol used to make butyl ethanoate.
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(2)Determine
Determine the alcohol and the acid that would be needed to make methyl propanoate.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(3)Determine
Determine the name of the ester with the formula CH₃CH₂COOCH₃.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why an ester's volatility is essential to its use as a perfume.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest why ethyl methanoate and methyl ethanoate are different compounds, although they contain the same atoms.
Table 1 — four esters used as flavourings Ester Formula Smell ethyl methanoate HCOOC₂H₅ raspberry methyl butanoate CH₃CH₂CH₂COOCH₃ apple propyl ethanoate CH₃COOC₃H₇ pear ethyl butanoate to be found pineapple (Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Explain
A food company wants a flavouring that survives being baked but is not detected in the cold mixture. Explain how the boiling point of an ester decides whether it is suitable.
(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 Working Out Esters, And What They Are For to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Jean-Baptiste Dumas over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Working Out Esters, And What They Are For — Given the two parents, deduce the ester; given the ester, work backwards — and find out why a strawberry sweet smells of anything at all.
- All of Incandio Chemistry · Incandio Exam Practice