Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Chemistry · 4CH1 · Free · no account needed
The Three States of Matter — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on the Three States of Matter, 25 marks, about 25 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 The Three States of Matter — 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
- State (1 mark)
- one precise fact, no justification
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer — the most common chemistry command
- 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
- Compare (2–4 marks)
- explicit comparison with a comparative word — a bare pair of statements is not a comparison
- 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 1.2 · 1.1 · 1.3. 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 — the temperature of a pure substance recorded every minute as it was heated steadily from −30 °C. Time / min 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Temperature / °C −30 −12 0 0 0 18 44 70 (a)
(1)Give
Give the melting point of the substance in Table 1.
Table 1 — the temperature of a pure substance recorded every minute as it was heated steadily from −30 °C. Time / min 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Temperature / °C −30 −12 0 0 0 18 44 70 melting point of the substance = ............................ °C
(b)
(3)Explain
Explain why the temperature stays constant between 4 and 8 minutes although heating continues.
Table 1 — the temperature of a pure substance recorded every minute as it was heated steadily from −30 °C. Time / min 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Temperature / °C −30 −12 0 0 0 18 44 70 (c)
(1)State
State the state of the substance at 12 minutes.
Table 1 — the temperature of a pure substance recorded every minute as it was heated steadily from −30 °C. Time / min 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Temperature / °C −30 −12 0 0 0 18 44 70 (d)
(2)Suggest
Suggest how Table 1 would look different if the substance were an impure mixture rather than pure.
Table 1 — the temperature of a pure substance recorded every minute as it was heated steadily from −30 °C. Time / min 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Temperature / °C −30 −12 0 0 0 18 44 70 (Total for Question 1 = 7 marks)
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(1)Which
Which term describes the change from a gas directly to a solid?
Term A condensing B freezing C sublimation D evaporating (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State
State the arrangement of the particles in a solid.
Figure 1 — the arrangement of particles in a solid, a liquid and a gas. (Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(1)Give
Give the movement of the particles in a liquid.
Figure 1 — the arrangement of particles in a solid, a liquid and a gas. (Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(3)Explain
Explain, in terms of particles, why a solid melts when it is heated.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
A drop of purple ink is added to a beaker of still water. After an hour the whole beaker is pale purple. Explain this in terms of particles.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Compare
Compare the arrangement and movement of the particles in a liquid and in a gas.
Figure 1 — the arrangement of particles in a solid, a liquid and a gas. (Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(2)Suggest
Two gas jars are connected, one containing bromine vapour and one containing air. After a few minutes both are the same colour. Suggest why this happens faster than the ink spreading through water.
(Total for Question 8 = 2 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain why a gas can be compressed into a much smaller volume but a liquid can hardly be compressed at all.
(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 the Three States of Matter to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Robert Brown over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- The Three States of Matter — What the particles are doing in a solid, a liquid and a gas — and what really changes when ice melts.
- All of Incandio Chemistry · Incandio Exam Practice