Elements of Life | OCR A-Level Chemistry B (Salters) (H433)

Elements of Life

267 questions
18 subtopics
The ten storylines, examined across all three papers
Component 01, Component 02 and Component 03

The first Salters storyline, which builds the quantitative and structural foundations: the mole and titration, atomic structure and electron configuration, nuclear fusion and where the elements came from, bonding and structure, the periodic table and Group 2, the tests for the common ions, and atomic spectra..

It covers the mole, relative masses and empirical formulae, concentration, titration and writing balanced equations, orbitals, sub-shells and electron configurations, sub-atomic particles and the evidence for the model of the atom, fusion reactions and the origin of the elements, ionic, covalent, dative and metallic bonding and the four structures, melting point, conductivity and solubility of each structure, shapes of molecules and ions, the periodic table, the blocks and trends in melting point, ion charges, the common polyatomic ions and writing formulae, group 2 chemistry and charge density, ionisation enthalpy and trends in reactivity, solubility rules and the tests for the common anions, hydroxide precipitates, ionic equations and identifying an unknown salt, acids, bases and preparing salts, the electromagnetic spectrum and photon energy calculations, emission and absorption spectra, and flame tests and mass spectrometry and relative atomic mass.

Sample questions from Elements of Life

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The mole, relative masses and empirical formulae

Define relative atomic mass.

Show the answer
It is the weighted mean mass of an atom of an element, taking account of the abundance of each isotope, compared with one twelfth of the mass of one atom of carbon-12.
Orbitals, sub-shells and electron configurations

Why do electrons occupy the three p-orbitals singly before any of them pairs up?

Show the answer
Electrons repel one another, so they stay in separate orbitals for as long as possible to keep as far apart as they can.
Fusion reactions and the origin of the elements

What particle is represented by the symbol ⁰₊₁e?

Show the answer
It is a positron, a particle with the same mass as an electron but a charge of +1.
Melting point, conductivity and solubility of each structure

When solid iodine turns to vapour, what is being broken?

Show the answer
Only the weak attractions between the I₂ molecules are broken; the covalent bonds inside each molecule stay intact.
The periodic table, the blocks and trends in melting point

Which groups make up the s-block and which make up the p-block?

Show the answer
The s-block is Groups 1 and 2, and the p-block runs from Group 3 to Group 0.
Group 2 chemistry and charge density

Write a general equation for the thermal decomposition of a Group 2 carbonate.

Show the answer
MCO₃(s) → MO(s) + CO₂(g), where M is the Group 2 metal.
Solubility rules and the tests for the common anions

Which carbonates are soluble in water?

Show the answer
Carbonates are insoluble apart from those of the Group 1 metals and ammonium.
Acids, bases and preparing salts

How would you prepare a pure sample of a soluble salt from an acid and an insoluble base?

Show the answer
Warm the acid, add the solid base a little at a time until some remains unreacted, filter off the excess base, then evaporate the filtrate to the point of crystallisation and leave it to crystallise.

The 18 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The mole, relative masses and empirical formulae	Recall questions on atomic and mass number, isotopes, the Avogadro constant, relative masses, and finding an empirical and a molecular formula.	16
Concentration, titration and writing balanced equations	Recall questions on concentration and dilution, preparing a standard solution, titration technique and uncertainty, and writing balanced and ionic equations.	10
Orbitals, sub-shells and electron configurations	Recall questions on the shapes of s and p orbitals, sub-shell capacities, the filling order, and the configurations of atoms and of ions.	15
Sub-atomic particles and the evidence for the model of the atom	Recall questions on counting protons, neutrons and electrons in an ion, the plum pudding model, the Geiger-Marsden experiment, and the evidence from ionisation enthalpies and spectra.	9
Fusion reactions and the origin of the elements	Recall questions on why fusion needs such high temperatures, hydrogen burning, and the nuclear equations that build carbon, oxygen, neon and beyond.	18
Ionic, covalent, dative and metallic bonding and the four structures	Recall questions on what holds each type of bond together, dative covalent bonds, dot-and-cross diagrams, and the four structure types.	11
Melting point, conductivity and solubility of each structure	Recall questions on why each structure melts where it does, which conduct and in which states, why ionic crystals are brittle, and which dissolve in water.	13
Shapes of molecules and ions	Recall questions on electron pair repulsion, why lone pairs repel more, and the shapes and bond angles of the common molecules and ions.	22
The periodic table, the blocks and trends in melting point	Recall questions on how the table is arranged, what a group and a period share, the s, p and d blocks, and the melting point trend across Periods 2 and 3.	13
Ion charges, the common polyatomic ions and writing formulae	Recall questions on deducing an ion's charge from its block, the formulae of the common polyatomic ions, and building a neutral formula.	10
Group 2 chemistry and charge density	Recall questions on Group 2 reacting with water, oxygen and acids, the trend in reactivity, and the thermal stability and solubility of the compounds.	21
Ionisation enthalpy and trends in reactivity	Recall questions on writing an ionisation equation, the trends across a period and down a group, and reading a group from successive ionisation enthalpies.	22
Solubility rules and the tests for the common anions	Recall questions on which salts are soluble, and the tests for sulfate, carbonate and the halide ions.	12
Hydroxide precipitates, ionic equations and identifying an unknown salt	Recall questions on the hydroxide precipitates, writing the ionic equations, and sequencing tests to identify an unknown salt.	11
Acids, bases and preparing salts	Recall questions on the definitions of acid, base and alkali, neutralisation, and preparing and crystallising a salt.	22
The electromagnetic spectrum and photon energy calculations	Recall questions on the order of the spectrum, the relationships linking speed, frequency, wavelength and photon energy, and calculations with them.	9
Emission and absorption spectra, and flame tests	Recall questions on how each spectrum arises, why the lines converge, why a spectrum identifies an element, and the flame colours of the common ions.	15
Mass spectrometry and relative atomic mass	Recall questions on what a mass spectrum plots, why abundances sum to 100%, and the weighted mean that gives relative atomic mass.	18

Elements of Life is 267 of the 3,430 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

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.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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.
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.