AQA GCSE Chemistry, Foundation tier Active Recall Guide (8462)
AQA · GCSE
AQA GCSE Chemistry, Foundation tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 8462 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 1,386 questions across 10 topics and 91 subtopics, at Foundation tier, covering Paper 1 and Paper 2.
- AQA
- GCSE
- Specification 8462
- 1,386 questions
Guide overview All topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
AQA GCSE Chemistry (specification 8462) is one of the three separate sciences and is examined by two written papers of 1 hour 45 minutes and 100 marks each, worth 50% apiece. Paper 1 covers the first half of the topics and Paper 2 the second, though Paper 2 questions can also draw on the fundamental ideas of atomic structure, bonding and quantitative chemistry. This is the Foundation tier: grades 1 to 5 are available, and the higher-tier content is not examined.
Chemistry at GCSE is a large number of small, precise things: a definition, a required practical, an equation, a named process. Almost none of it can be worked out in the hall from first principles, which makes recall the whole problem and a question list the instrument that matches it.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paper 1 Chemistry Paper 1 |
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table Bonding, Structure, and the Properties of Matter Quantitative Chemistry Chemical Changes Energy Changes |
1 hour 45 minutes | 100 marks | 50% |
|
Paper 2 Chemistry Paper 2 |
The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change Organic Chemistry Chemical Analysis Chemistry of the Atmosphere Using Resources |
1 hour 45 minutes | 100 marks | 50% |
What is in the guide
All 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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Atoms, elements and compounds
What is the chemical symbol for an atom of oxygen?
Show the answer
The symbol for oxygen is O. -
Chemical bonds, including metallic bonding
Magnesium oxide is made from magnesium and oxygen. Name its type of bonding and give a reason.
Show the answer
Ionic bonding, because it is a compound of a metal with a non-metal. -
Pure substances
What is the difference between the way a pure compound changes state and the way a mixture does?
Show the answer
A pure compound melts and boils at specific fixed temperatures, while a mixture melts and boils over a range of temperatures. -
The reactivity series
State the rule that decides whether one metal will take another metal's place in a compound.
Show the answer
A more reactive metal displaces a less reactive metal from its compound. -
The Earth's early atmosphere
Which gas is thought to have made up most of the Earth's early atmosphere?
Show the answer
Carbon dioxide. -
Exothermic and endothermic reactions
A student mixes two solutions in a beaker and the beaker becomes warm. What type of energy change has taken place?
Show the answer
An exothermic change, because energy has been transferred from the reaction to the surroundings. -
Crude oil, hydrocarbons and alkanes
Which type of compound makes up most of crude oil?
Show the answer
Hydrocarbons. -
Conservation of mass and balanced chemical equations
Explain why chemical reactions can be represented by balanced symbol equations.
Show the answer
Because no atoms are lost or made, the number of atoms of each element must be the same on both sides of the equation.
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 Structure and the Periodic Table202
- Bonding, Structure, and the Properties of Matter197
- Chemical Analysis100
- Chemical Changes146
- Chemistry of the Atmosphere115
- Energy Changes76
- Organic Chemistry190
- Quantitative Chemistry79
- The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change96
- Using Resources185
- What are the three types of strong chemical bond?
- In ionic bonding, what kind of particles are held together?
- In covalent bonding, what do the particles do with their electrons?
- In metallic bonding, what do the atoms share?
- What type of bonding is found in a compound made from a metal and a non-metal?
- Magnesium oxide is made from magnesium and oxygen. Name its type of bonding and give a reason.
- What type of bonding is found in most non-metallic elements?
- Name the type of bonding in a compound formed from two non-metals.
- Which type of bonding occurs in a metallic element such as copper?
- Ionic, covalent and metallic.
- Oppositely charged ions.
- They are atoms that share pairs of electrons.
- Delocalised electrons that are spread through the whole structure.
- Ionic bonding.
- Ionic bonding, because it is a compound of a metal with a non-metal.
- Covalent bonding.
- Covalent bonding.
- Metallic bonding.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
I do Combined Science, not separate sciences.
Then you need a different guide. Combined Science: Trilogy is 8464, a double award worth two GCSEs, and it examines less chemistry than the separate Chemistry GCSE. Working from this guide would mean learning content your papers will not ask for.
The one you want is AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy Chemistry, Foundation.
Trilogy or Synergy? My school mentioned both.
AQA runs two combined science specifications. Combined Science: Trilogy is 8464, taught as three separate sciences, and that is the one this guide set covers. Combined Science: Synergy is 8465 and is taught as four integrated topics instead.
The code is on your exam timetable. If it says 8465 this is not your specification.
Higher or Foundation. Which do I need?
This is the Foundation tier guide, offering grades 5 to 1.
AQA sits the same numbered papers at either tier, so Paper 1 and Paper 2 is what you sit whichever tier you are entered for. The tier changes the content and the grades available, not the paper numbers.
Your teacher decides the entry, usually during Year 11. If you are moved up to Higher you will need the Higher guide, which adds the higher-tier content.
Which topics are on which paper?
Paper 1 covers Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table, Bonding, Structure, and the Properties of Matter, Quantitative Chemistry, Chemical Changes, Energy Changes. Paper 2 covers The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change, Organic Chemistry, Chemical Analysis, Chemistry of the Atmosphere, Using Resources.
Paper 2 questions can also draw on the fundamental ideas of atomic structure, bonding and quantitative chemistry, so the Paper 1 content is never finished with. The full breakdown is here.
AQA GCSE Chemistry, Foundation tier Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.