Chemical Literacy | OCR A-Level Chemistry B (Salters) (H433)
Chemical Literacy
- 41 questions
- 2 subtopics
- Skills strands running through the course
- Component 01, Component 02 and Component 03
The comprehension strand, assessed across all three written papers and most directly through the Advance Notice article on component 02: reading a scientific passage, pulling the numbers out of it and using them, and writing chemistry in language that says exactly what is meant..
It covers extracting and using data and information from a scientific text and written communication and comprehension.
Sample questions from Chemical Literacy
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Extracting and using data and information from a scientific text
A text describes haematite as Fe₂O₃. Calculate the percentage by mass of iron in it, given Aᵣ(Fe) = 55.8 and Aᵣ(O) = 16.0.
Show the answer
Mᵣ(Fe₂O₃) = 159.6, so the percentage of iron is (111.6 ÷ 159.6) × 100 = 69.9%. -
Extracting and using data and information from a scientific text
Why should an answer based on an article be quoted to no more significant figures than the article's data?
Show the answer
The calculated result cannot be more precise than the least precise value it was derived from. -
Written communication and comprehension
What is the difference between saying a reaction is energetically feasible and saying it is fast?
Show the answer
Feasibility is a thermodynamic statement that ΔtotS is positive, while speed is a kinetic matter governed by activation enthalpy; a feasible reaction can still be immeasurably slow. -
Written communication and comprehension
Why is "it goes cloudy" a weaker observation than "a white precipitate forms"?
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The second identifies both the physical change and the colour of the solid formed, which is the evidence needed to identify the ion present.
The 2 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Extracting and using data and information from a scientific text | Recall questions on converting the units quoted in an article, checking them before substituting, reading a table, and judging how many figures an answer deserves. | 21 |
| Written communication and comprehension | Recall questions on the distinctions that must not be blurred: atom and ion, strong and concentrated, weak and dilute, rate and extent, feasible and observed. | 20 |
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
OCR A-Level Chemistry B (Salters) Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 3,430 questions with their answers.