AQA A-Level Chemistry Active Recall Guide (7405)
AQA · A-Level
AQA A-Level Chemistry Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 7405 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 2,442 questions across 18 topics and 168 subtopics, covering physical, inorganic and organic chemistry with nothing optional left out.
- AQA
- A-Level
- Specification 7405
- 2,442 questions
Guide overview All 18 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
AQA A-Level Chemistry is three written papers of two hours. Paper 1 is inorganic chemistry and most of physical chemistry at 105 marks and 35 per cent. Paper 2 is organic chemistry with the physical topics that underpin it, also 105 marks and 35 per cent. Paper 3 is 90 marks and 30 per cent, can draw on any content, and includes practical techniques, data analysis and a multiple choice section.
Chemistry at this level is a large number of precise things that cannot be worked out in the hall: a reagent, a set of conditions, a mechanism, a definition, a calculation route. Recall is the limiting factor on almost every mark.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paper 1 Inorganic and physical chemistry |
Physical chemistry: atomic structure, amount of substance, bonding, energetics, chemical equilibria and Le Chatelier's principle, oxidation and reduction, thermodynamics, the equilibrium constant Kp, electrode potentials and electrochemical cells, acids and bases Inorganic chemistry: periodicity, Group 2, Group 7, Period 3 oxides, transition metals, reactions of ions in aqueous solution Relevant practical skills |
2 hours | 105 marks | 35% |
|
Paper 2 Organic and physical chemistry |
Physical chemistry: amount of substance, bonding, energetics, kinetics, chemical equilibria, rate equations Organic chemistry: from the introduction through to NMR and chromatography Relevant practical skills |
2 hours | 105 marks | 35% |
|
Paper 3 Any content, plus practical skills |
Any content from the specification Practical techniques and data analysis A section of multiple choice questions |
2 hours | 90 marks | 30% |
What is in the guide
All 18 topics
Every topic has its own page with its subtopics, what it covers and sample questions.
Sample questions
Taken from the guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Fundamental Particles
What is the relative mass of a proton?
Show the answer
1 -
Relative Atomic and Molecular Mass
How is relative molecular mass calculated from a molecular formula?
Show the answer
By adding together the relative atomic masses of all atoms present in the molecular formula. -
Ionic Bonding
What is the formula of the carbonate ion?
Show the answer
CO₃²⁻ -
Enthalpy Change and Standard Conditions
What does the term exothermic mean in relation to a reaction?
Show the answer
A reaction that releases heat energy to the surroundings (negative ΔH) -
Collision Theory and Activation Energy
Besides having sufficient energy, what other requirement must be met for a successful collision?
Show the answer
The particles must collide with the correct orientation. -
Dynamic Equilibrium and Le Chatelier's Principle
What happens to the position of equilibrium when the concentration of a product is removed?
Show the answer
The position of equilibrium shifts to the right (towards products) to replace the removed product. -
Redox: Definitions and the Rules for Oxidation States
What oxidation state is assigned to uncombined elements?
Show the answer
Zero -
Brønsted-Lowry Acid-Base Equilibria
What is a conjugate acid?
Show the answer
The species formed when a base accepts a proton
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Look inside
Questions for a subtopic print together and the answers for that section print after them.
- Atomic Structure89
- Amount of Substance118
- Bonding132
- Energetics and Thermodynamics108
- Kinetics133
- Chemical Equilibria80
- Redox and Electrochemistry109
- Acids and Bases117
- Periodicity and Group Chemistry218
- Period 3 Elements and Their Oxides92
- Transition Metals324
- Introduction to Organic Chemistry106
- and 6 more
- What is relative atomic mass?
- What standard is used as the reference for relative atomic mass?
- Why is carbon-12 used as the standard for relative atomic mass?
- What is relative molecular mass?
- How is relative molecular mass calculated from a molecular formula?
- What is relative formula mass?
- When is the term relative formula mass used instead of relative molecular mass?
- How does relative formula mass differ in calculation from relative molecular mass?
- Why do relative atomic mass and relative molecular mass have no units?
- The weighted mean mass of an atom of an element relative to one-twelfth of the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
- One-twelfth of the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
- Carbon-12 is a stable isotope with a precisely defined mass, providing a consistent reference standard.
- The weighted mean mass of a molecule relative to one-twelfth of the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
- By adding together the relative atomic masses of all atoms present in the molecular formula.
- The weighted mean mass of a formula unit relative to one-twelfth of the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
- For ionic compounds and giant covalent structures that do not exist as discrete molecules.
- There is no difference in calculation; both involve summing the relative atomic masses of all atoms in the formula.
- Because they are ratios comparing masses to the carbon-12 standard, so units cancel.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
Which topics are on which paper?
Paper 1 is the inorganic chemistry plus most of physical chemistry. Paper 2 is the organic chemistry plus the physical topics that underpin it. Paper 3 can take anything.
The physical topics appear on both, which is why they are grouped that way here. The full breakdown is here.
What is on Paper 3?
Any content from the specification, plus practical techniques and data analysis, plus a section of multiple choice. It is 30 per cent and it is the paper where gaps anywhere in the course show up.
Are the required practicals covered?
The practical endorsement is marked by your teacher and reported separately. The techniques are examined on all three written papers, and that content is in the guide: titration, purification and recrystallisation, reflux and distillation, chromatography, rate measurement, and testing for ions and functional groups.
Are the calculations in it?
Yes, with their own subtopics. Amount of substance and titrations, percentage yield and atom economy, enthalpy and Hess cycles, bond enthalpies, Kc and Kp, Kw and pH, buffer calculations, Born-Haber cycles, entropy and free energy, rate equations, half-lives and the Arrhenius equation, and electrode potentials.
AQA A-Level Chemistry Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.