Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Chemistry · 4CH1 · Free · no account needed
Pollutants And Acid Rain — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on Pollutants And Acid Rain, 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 Pollutants And Acid Rain — 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
6 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
- 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
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 4.15 · 4.14 · 4.16. 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 — two pollutants from burning fuels Pollutant Where the atoms come from Acid formed in rain water sulfur dioxide sulfur impurities in the fuel sulfurous and sulfuric acid oxides of nitrogen nitrogen and oxygen in the air nitrous and nitric acid (a)
(1)Give
Give the acid formed when sulfur dioxide dissolves and is oxidised in rain water, using Table 1.
Table 1 — two pollutants from burning fuels Pollutant Where the atoms come from Acid formed in rain water sulfur dioxide sulfur impurities in the fuel sulfurous and sulfuric acid oxides of nitrogen nitrogen and oxygen in the air nitrous and nitric acid (b)
(2)Describe
Describe the difference between the two pollutants shown in the second column of Table 1.
Table 1 — two pollutants from burning fuels Pollutant Where the atoms come from Acid formed in rain water sulfur dioxide sulfur impurities in the fuel sulfurous and sulfuric acid oxides of nitrogen nitrogen and oxygen in the air nitrous and nitric acid (c)
(3)Explain
Explain why removing sulfur from a fuel prevents one of the pollutants in Table 1 but not the other.
Table 1 — two pollutants from burning fuels Pollutant Where the atoms come from Acid formed in rain water sulfur dioxide sulfur impurities in the fuel sulfurous and sulfuric acid oxides of nitrogen nitrogen and oxygen in the air nitrous and nitric acid (d)
(3)Suggest
Suggest why building taller chimneys reduced acid damage near power stations but made the overall problem worse.
Table 1 — two pollutants from burning fuels Pollutant Where the atoms come from Acid formed in rain water sulfur dioxide sulfur impurities in the fuel sulfurous and sulfuric acid oxides of nitrogen nitrogen and oxygen in the air nitrous and nitric acid (Total for Question 1 = 9 marks)
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(1)Which
Which element in a fuel is responsible for sulfur dioxide in the exhaust gases?
Element A carbon B hydrogen C sulfur D nitrogen (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Give
Give the two gases in the air that combine to form oxides of nitrogen in an engine.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name one effect of acid rain.
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(2)Describe
Describe how sulfur dioxide comes to be present in the exhaust gases from a power station.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why oxides of nitrogen are formed in a car engine but not in a Bunsen burner.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain how sulfur dioxide released from a chimney comes to damage a lake many miles away.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(2)Suggest
Suggest why powdered limestone is sometimes added to a lake that has been acidified by acid rain.
(Total for Question 8 = 2 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain how oxides of nitrogen come to be formed in a car engine, even though neither the fuel nor the air contains them.
(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 Pollutants And Acid Rain to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Henry Cavendish over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Pollutants And Acid Rain — One pollutant comes out of the fuel and one comes out of the air — and telling them apart decides which fix works.
- All of Incandio Chemistry · Incandio Exam Practice