O LEVEL 2015 Answers

Section A

A1 (a) Non-metal 1
Metal
Metal
Non-metal

b C 3
A
B

c Since Group 0 elements have fully filled valence shells / stable 2

electronic configuration and are inert, they do not gain or lose
electrons to form compounds while the table shows the most
common os of elements in their compounds.
The oxidation states of Group 0 elements would always be 0,
while the elements in the table have non-zero oxidation states.

A2 The more reactive the metal, the greater the minimum 1

(ai) temperature needed for reduction. / the temp is proportional to
the reactivity of the metal.

aii 500 800 oC (students are not to give a range) 1

Irons reactivity is in between zinc and lead. 1

Reject: iron is in between zinc and lead / iron oxide is more

reactive than lead oxide but less reactive than zinc oxide (talking
about reactivity of oxides)

b Magnesium and Silver oxide 1

c Zinc oxide 1
hydrogen gas 1
A3a ethene 5
crude oil / petroleum
cracking

poly(ethene), addition polymerization

 Addition, steam
Fermentation

Oxidation

A3bi They both produce salt and water in a neutralization reaction. 1

bii Dilute hydrochloric acid is a strong acid. It dissociates more 1

completely than ethanoic acid to produce a greater concentration
of H+ ions.
When there are more H+ ions / particles per unit volume, there is 1
a greater frequency of collisions, a greater frequency of effective
collisions and a faster rate of reaction.

A4a 600 690 (students are not to give a range) 1

b More energy is needed during extraction to maintain 1

temperatures at 900oC, compared to 700oC during recycling.

The electrolysis process also requires electrical energy. 1

c Concentrated sodium hydroxide will cause pH of water bodies to 1

increase and harm aquatic life / will affect the pH of the soil and
too alkaline for plant growth.

CO2 is a greenhouse gas, in large amounts it causes global 1

warming.

d Metal ores are a finite resource, hence there is a need to

conserve them.

ei alloy 1
eii It is stronger and harder than pure aluminium. (as the different 1
sized atoms disrupt the regular arrangement of atoms in it, hence
it is more difficult for layers of atoms to slip past one another)

A5 a Cathode: 2H+ (aq) + 2e H2 (g) 1

Anode: 4OH- (aq) 2H2O (l) + O2 (g) + 4e 1

bi Overall eqn: 2H2O (l) 2 H2 (g) + O2 (g) 1

For gases, mole ratio = volume ratio. 1
bii As oxygen more soluble, less oxygen will be collected. 1
This causes the ratio of H2: O2 to be greater than 2:1 1
biii After some time, the solution is saturated with oxygen gas. Less 1
oxygen dissolves and the ratio becomes closer to 2:1.

c It increases. Water is electrolyzed / decomposed to form O 2 and 1

H2 so there is lesser water left.
d Similarity: both produce hydrogen gas at the cathode. 1
Difference: For dilute NaCl, at the anode, oxygen gas is 1
produced but for concentrated NaCl, chlorine gas is produced.
e It is an inert electrical conductor. 1
A6 (a) Limestone is insoluble in water while slaked lime and quicklime 1
are both soluble in water.
Limestone is not an alkali and does not produce hydroxide ions 1
in water unlike quicklime and slaked lime which do.

bi Waste materials are used productively instead of being discarded 1

and hence natural resources are conserved.

ii Group IV and V elements are non-metals, they form oxides that 1

are either neutral or acidic. 1
(Neutral oxides do not neutralize acidity. Acidic oxides increase
the acidity rather than neutralize it.)

c %Ca in quicklime = 40 / 56 = 71.4% 1

%Ca in limestone = 40 / 100 = 40% 1
%Ca in slaked lime = 40 / 74 = 54.1% 1

d No of mol of limestone = 25 000 000 / 100 = 250 000 mol 1

1 mol of CaCO3 produces 1 mol of CO2.
No of mol of CO2 = 250 000 mol 1
Vol of CO2 = 6 000 000 dm3 1
B7(a) In Table and Graph 1, as the number of C atoms per molecule 1
(x-axis) increases, the boiling point increases and the melting
point increases.
b Propane. As the number of C atoms increases, the melting point 1
increases. It is expected to have a higher mp than ethane,
however its mp is lower than ethanes.
c Mp = - 80 to -76oC 1
Bp = 95 105oC (not 100 bp of water)
(use graph)
d As the number of C atoms in the molecule increases, the 1
flashpoints and boiling points of the alkanes increases.

e The more branches there are in the alkane, the lower the flash 1
point.
From straight-chained pentane to branched alkane 1 to branched 1
alkane 2, the flash point decreased from -49 oC to -57 oC to -65
o
C.
From straight-chained octane to branched alkane 3, the flash 1
point decreased from 13 oC to 4 oC.

Explain more branched chains, lesser surface area in contact, 1

less energy required to overcome weak intermolecular forces of
attraction.

fi Pentane and branched alkane 2 have lower flash points than 1

octane.
In winter, temperatures are lower. Decreasing the flashpoints of
the mixture allows it to be burnt at lower temperatures (lesser 1
energy) during winter.

ii How: When the weather is hot, the petrol evaporates very quickly 1
from the winter blend.
Why: At higher temperatures, there is more energy to overcome 1
the weak intermolecular forces of attraction, causing the petrol to
be evaporated quickly.

B8(a) A lean burn engine produces less CO as there is more complete 3

combustion due to a higher air to fuel ratio / more oxygen
present.
It produces less NO as the running temperature is lower, so less
N2 and O2 react to produce NO.
[1] less CO & less NO
[1] CO explanation
[1] NO explanation
(b) 2CO + 2 NO N2 + 2 CO2 1
(CO is oxidized, NO is reduced)

ci (Describe) Increased amounts of air causes % of NO removed to 3

decrease and % of CO removed to increase.
(Explain) Increased amounts of air increases the amount of O 2
present to react with CO to form CO2. This increases the % of
CO removed. With the decreased amount of CO present to react
with NO, the % of NO removed decreased.

ii When the % of NO removed is high, the % of CO removed is low. 1

This shows that CO is reacting with other substances which is
not NO. /
If NO and CO are only reacting with each other, the graphs for
both gases ought to be identical instead of being so different.

B9 E
a When LiCl is dissolved, energy change is negative and 2
temperature decreases while when NaCl is dissolved, energy
change is positive while temperature increases.
The positive energy change when NaCl is dissolved is lesser 1
than the negative energy change when LiCl is dissolved.
There is greater decrease in temperature when LiCl is dissolved 1
than the increase in temperature when NaCl is dissolved.

bi There was a temperature drop which means the energy change 1

is positive as the reaction is endothermic.

ii No of mol of KCl = 4/74.5 3

Enthalpy change = 720 / (4/74.5) = 13410 J/mol = 13.4 kJ/mol

iii The particles moved faster, sliding over neighbouring particles, 1

as opposed to vibrating about fixed positions in solid state.
They are no longer bound in fixed positions with a regularly 1
arranged pattern but the ions are more randomly arranged.

B9 O
ai F2 (g) + 2Br- (aq) Br2 (aq) + 2F- (aq) 1
The more reactive halogen, fluorine, displaces the less reactive 1
halogen from its halide solution, ie bromine from its bromide
solution, to form aqueous bromine which is brown. 1
ii Jet of chlorine gas: the solution turns brown.
Jet of iodine gas: There is no visible reaction. 1
The more reactive halogen, chlorine, displaces the less reactive
halogen from its halide solution, ie bromine from its bromide
solution. 1
Iodine is a less reactive halogen than bromine, hence is unable
to displace bromine from its bromide solution. 1
bi 2Fe (s) + 3F2 (g) 2FeF3 (s) 2
ii The oxidation state of F in F2 was 0, it decreased to -1 in iron (III) 1
fluoride. Fluorine was reduced.
Fluorine gained electrons to form iron (III) fluoride. Fluorine was 1
reduced, showing it is an oxidizing agent.