Organic Chemistry I | Edexcel A-Level Chemistry (9CH0)
Organic Chemistry I
- 202 questions
- 14 subtopics
- Paper 2: advanced organic and physical chemistry
- Paper 2 and Paper 3
Covers naming and formulae, isomerism and stereochemistry, the alkanes and their combustion, radical substitution, the alkenes and their addition reactions, addition polymers, the halogenoalkanes and their substitution mechanisms, and the alcohols..
It covers formulae, homologous series and functional groups, iUPAC nomenclature, types of organic reaction and structural isomerism, stereoisomerism and E/Z nomenclature, practical techniques in organic chemistry, alkanes, crude oil and combustion pollutants, radical substitution, alkenes, the double bond and hydrogenation, electrophilic addition, Markovnikov's rule and the test for an alkene, addition polymers and waste polymers, nucleophilic substitution of halogenoalkanes, rates of hydrolysis and the SN1 and SN2 mechanisms, classifying and oxidising alcohols and alcohols: practical techniques and the core practicals.
Sample questions from Organic Chemistry I
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Formulae, homologous series and functional groups
What is a general formula?
Show the answer
An algebraic formula that can represent any member of a homologous series. -
IUPAC nomenclature
State the IUPAC prefix for a ten-carbon chain.
Show the answer
Dec- -
Stereoisomerism and E/Z nomenclature
In E/Z nomenclature, what does the Z isomer indicate about the positions of higher priority groups?
Show the answer
The higher priority groups are on the same side of the double bond (zusammen means together). -
Practical techniques in organic chemistry
What is an initial rate method for measuring reaction rates, and give an example?
Show the answer
A method that measures the rate at the start of a reaction, such as a clock reaction. -
Radical substitution
What type of reaction do alkanes undergo with oxygen?
Show the answer
Combustion reactions. -
Alkenes, the double bond and hydrogenation
Why are alkenes and cycloalkenes described as unsaturated hydrocarbons?
Show the answer
They contain carbon-carbon double bonds, meaning they have fewer than the maximum number of hydrogen atoms possible for the number of carbon atoms present. -
Addition polymers and waste polymers
What chemical process can separated waste polymers be used as a feedstock for?
Show the answer
Cracking. -
Nucleophilic substitution of halogenoalkanes
What organic product is formed when a halogenoalkane reacts with excess ammonia?
Show the answer
A primary amine.
The 14 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Formulae, homologous series and functional groups | Hydrocarbons, empirical, general, structural, displayed and skeletal formulae, homologous series, and functional groups. | 8 |
| IUPAC nomenclature | The IUPAC prefixes for carbon chains of one to ten atoms, choosing the longest continuous chain as the parent, numbering to give the lowest locants, and listing substituents alphabetically. | 13 |
| Types of organic reaction and structural isomerism | Recall questions on addition, substitution, elimination, oxidation and hydrolysis, and on chain, position and functional group isomerism. | 17 |
| Stereoisomerism and E/Z nomenclature | Stereoisomerism and why restricted rotation about C=C gives E/Z isomers, assigning E and Z by Cahn-Ingold-Prelog priority, when cis-trans naming is used instead and how cis and trans isomers differ, identifying chiral centres for optical activity, and using symmetry to describe stereoisomerism. | 14 |
| Practical techniques in organic chemistry | Clamping distillation and reflux apparatus, gravity and vacuum filtration, recrystallisation, the separating funnel and melting point apparatus, the initial rate and continuous monitoring methods for following a reaction, and why 3D structures are represented in 2D. | 8 |
| Alkanes, crude oil and combustion pollutants | Alkanes and cycloalkanes as saturated hydrocarbons, fractional distillation, cracking and reforming, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, particulates and unburned hydrocarbons as pollutants and their effects, catalytic converters, and biofuels against non-renewable fossil fuels. | 19 |
| Radical substitution | Radicals and homolytic fission, alkanes reacting with oxygen and with halogens, the initiation, two propagation steps and termination of radical substitution, and why further substitution gives a mixture of products. | 11 |
| Alkenes, the double bond and hydrogenation | Alkenes and cycloalkenes as unsaturated hydrocarbons, the σ-bond and π-bond in C=C and the orbital overlap that forms each, electrophiles, hydrogenation over a nickel catalyst and margarine manufacture, and the products of alkenes with halogens and with steam. | 19 |
| Electrophilic addition, Markovnikov's rule and the test for an alkene | The products of alkenes with halogens, hydrogen halides, steam and acidified potassium manganate(VII), heterolytic fission and the electrophilic addition mechanisms for bromine and HBr, carbocation stability and the major product from an unsymmetrical alkene, where curly arrows start, and the bromine water test for C=C. | 18 |
| Addition polymers and waste polymers | Addition polymerisation and moving between monomer and repeat unit, dealing with waste polymers by recycling, incineration for energy and use as cracking feedstock, removing hydrogen chloride from burning PVC, and biodegradable polymers. | 14 |
| Nucleophilic substitution of halogenoalkanes | Nucleophiles, halogenoalkanes substituted by aqueous potassium hydroxide, by water from silver nitrate in ethanol, by cyanide ions to lengthen the chain and by excess ammonia to give a primary amine, and hydroxide acting as a base with ethanolic potassium hydroxide. | 14 |
| Rates of hydrolysis and the SN1 and SN2 mechanisms | Comparing hydrolysis rates with silver nitrate in ethanol, the reactivity order of primary, secondary and tertiary halogenoalkanes and of chloro-, bromo- and iodoalkanes explained by C–X bond enthalpy, the Sₙ2 mechanism and its transition state, and aqueous against ethanolic potassium hydroxide for substitution or elimination. | 19 |
| Classifying and oxidising alcohols | Classifying alcohols as primary, secondary or tertiary, their combustion, making halogenoalkanes with PCl₅, potassium bromide and sulfuric acid, or red phosphorus and iodine, oxidation by acidified potassium dichromate(VI) to aldehydes, carboxylic acids and ketones, Fehling's and Benedict's tests for aldehydes, and elimination to alkenes. | 18 |
| Alcohols: practical techniques and the core practicals | Recall questions on the oxidation and the halogenoalkane preparations, on the apparatus each needs, and on how the product is purified and identified. | 10 |
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.
Nearby topics
Edexcel A-Level Chemistry Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,534 questions with their answers.