Science Practice Tests 1

Topics Assessed: Mixtures, Solubility, Concentration.

Time Allowed: 2.5 hours

Instructions:

1. Answer all questions.

2. Multiple choice questions are worth 1 mark each.
3. Structured response questions are worth 10 marks each.
4. Show working where required.

Page 1 of 15
Section A - Multiple Choice (40 marks)

1. Which mixture consists of large particles that 5. How could you make a saturated salt
settle out over time? solution?

a) Solution a) Heat it

b) Suspension b) Add more solute

c) Colloid c) Cool it down

d) Compound d) Dilute it with water

2. What is solubility? 6. What is the solvent in a solution?

a) Ability of a liquid to dissolve a) Minor component

b) Amount of solute that can dissolve in a b) Major component

solvent
c) Liquid component
c) Process of forming a solution
d) Solid component
d) Type of solution formed

7. Which change is a chemical change?

3. How does solubility change as temperature
a) Melting ice
increases for most solid solutes?
b) Cutting wood
a) Increases
c) Burning paper
b) Decreases
d) Bending metal
c) Stays the same

d) Dissolving becomes impossible

8. What is the best way to separate sand mixed
with salt?
4. What happens when you add more solute to
a) Evaporation
a saturated solution at constant temperature?
b) Distillation
a) The excess solute dissolves
c) Filtration
b) An unsaturated solution forms
d) Condensation
c) Solubility increases

d) The excess solute remains undissolved

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9. How does solubility change with temperature 13. Compared to a dilute solution, a
for most gaseous solutes? concentrated solution has:

a) Increases a) More solvent and less solute

b) Decreases b) More solute and less solvent

c) Stays the same c) Equal solute and solvent

d) No fixed pattern d) Solvent as the solute

10. What causes a transparent solution to turn 14. What happens when a concentrated acid is
cloudy white upon cooling? added to water?

a) Dissolving of more solute a) Dilution occurs

b) Precipitation of solute b) Solubility increases

c) Evaporation of solvent c) pH increases

d) Separation of molecules d) Evaporation occurs

11. Which mixture can easily be separated by 15. How does solubility change when solution
filtration? temperature is decreased?

a) Sugar dissolved in water a) Increases

b) Soil mixed with pebbles b) Decreases

c) Carbon dioxide in air c) Remains the same

d) Ethanol mixed with water d) Reaches zero

12. Which change is a physical change? 16. Which solution has the greatest
concentration?
a) Rusting of iron
a) 10 g sugar in 1 L water
b) Burning wood
b) 5 g salt in 500 mL water
c) Milk turning sour
c) 1 g dye in 50 mL alcohol
d) Melting wax
d) 0.1 g protein in 1 mL water

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17. What is the solvent in vinegar? 21. What is a saturated solution?

a) Acetic acid a) Maximum amount of solvent added

b) Water b) Minimum amount of solute added

c) Sodium acetate c) Excess undissolved solute remains

d) Carbon dioxide d) Maximum amount of solute dissolved

18. Why does stirring help speed up the rate of 22. How can you make an unsaturated solution
dissolving? saturated?

a) Changes solvent temperature a) Increase temperature

b) Increases solvent volume b) Decrease temperature

c) Brings fresh solvent in contact with solute c) Add more solute at same temperature

d) Decreases number of solute particles d) Dilute with more solvent

19. Which mixture forms a suspension when 23. What is the solvent in a colloid?
combined?
a) Small particles
a) Chalk dust and water
b) Large particles
b) Sand and water
c) Continuous phase
c) Sugar and water
d) Scattered phase
d) Alcohol and water

24. Which change represents a chemical

20. How does solubility change with pressure change?
for gaseous solutes?
a) Cutting wood
a) Increases
b) Melting ice cream
b) Decreases
c) Grinding coffee beans
c) Stays the same
d) Burning candle wax
d) No fixed pattern

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25. Which solution has the lowest
concentration?
a) 5 g dye in 1 L solution
b) 2 g sugar in 100 mL solution
c) 10 g salt in 500 mL solution
d) 0.5 g protein in 50 mL solution
26. How does particle size affect solubility?
a) Smaller particles dissolve faster
b) Larger particles dissolve faster
c) Particle size does not affect solubility
d) Solubility increases then decreases with size
27. What happens when you add more solvent
to a saturated solution?
a) Solution becomes supersaturated
b) Solute precipitates out
c) Additional solute can dissolve
d) Solubility decreases
28. What is a colloid?
a) Heterogeneous mixture
b) Homogeneous mixture
c) Solution with intermediate particle size
d) Cloudy suspension
29. Which mixture can be separated by
evaporation?
a) Salt dissolved in water
b) Iron filings mixed with sand
c) Alcohol dissolved in water
d) Carbon dioxide mixed with air
30. How does temperature affect solubility of
most gaseous solutes?
a) Solubility increases with increasing
temperature
b) Solubility decreases with increasing
temperature
c) Temperature has no effect on solubility
d) Solubility first increases then decreases
31. Why does chalk powder form a suspension
and not a solution when mixed with water?
a) Chalk is insoluble in water
b) Chalk particles are too large
c) Water temperature is too low
d) Suspensions cannot be filtered
32. What happens when you add a small
amount of salt to a saturated salt solution?
a) No change, still saturated
b) Becomes supersaturated
c) Salt dissolves to make unsaturated solution
d) Causes more salt to precipitate out
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33. How does a dilute solution compare with a
concentrated solution?

a) More solute, less solvent

37. What is the solvent in carbonated water?
b) Less solute, more solvent
a) Carbon dioxide
c) Lower freezing point
b) Oxygen
d) Slower rate of dissociation
c) Carbonic acid

d) Water
34. Which statement is true about a solution?

a) Cannot be separated by filtration

38. How can concentration of a solution be
b) Particles do not scatter light expressed?

c) Contains particles greater than 1000 nm a) Moles solute per liter

d) Appears transparent b) Mass solute per volume solution

c) Mass solute per mass solution

35. What happens when a colloid is filtered? d) All of the above

a) Particles pass through the filter

b) Particles are trapped by the filter
c) Solvent evaporates away
d) The mixture becomes diluted
39. Why does ink dissolve better in water than
oil?
a) Lower viscosity of water
b) Higher density of water

c) Higher polarity of water

36. How does molarity change upon dilution of
a solution? d) Lower boiling point of water

a) Increases

b) Decreases 40. Which mixture can be classified as a colloid?

c) Remains the same a) Fog

d) Reaches zero b) Muddy water

c) Sand in water

d) Salt in water

Page 6 of 15
Section B - Structured Response Questions (60 marks)

1. a) Define solubility. (2 marks)

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b) Describe how solubility changes with temperature. (4 marks)

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c) A saturated NaCl solution at 70°C contains 50 g of NaCl dissolved in 100 g water. If solubility of NaCl is
30 g/100 g water at 30°C, what mass of NaCl would precipitate out if the solution was cooled to 30°C?

(2 marks)

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d) Why does the solubility of most gases in water decrease as temperature increases? (2 marks)

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Total 10 marks

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2. a) Define a dilute solution. (2 marks)

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b) Define a concentrated solution. (2 marks)

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c) Describe how concentration is related to the rate of dissolution. (4 marks)

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d) Explain why dilute solutions are preferred for dissolving reactants in many chemical reactions.

(2 marks)

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Total 10 marks

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3. a) What is a suspension? (2 marks)

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b) How could you separate a mixture of sand and water? Explain. (4 marks)

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c) How do particles in a suspension scatter light compared to a solution? Explain. (2 marks)

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d) Classify the following as a solution, colloid or suspension: fog, jelly, muddy water. (2 marks)

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Total 10 marks

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4. a) Define saturation. (2 marks)

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b) On a solubility curve, what does the flat region indicate? (3 marks)

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c) Describe how a solubility curve can be used to determine solubility at a given temperature. (3 marks)

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d) Why does solubility increase with temperature for most solid solutes? (2 marks)

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Total 10 marks

Page 10 of 15
5. a) Define mass percent concentration. (2 marks)

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b) What is the mass percent concentration of a solution made with 10 g salt dissolved in 100 g water?

(3 marks)

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c) How is mass percent concentration useful for preparing solutions in the laboratory? (3 marks)

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d) What are the units of mass percent concentration? (2 marks)

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Total 10 marks

Page 11 of 15
6. a) Define colloid and give an example. (2 marks)

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b) Describe the Tyndall effect shown by colloidal mixtures. (3 marks)

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c) Explain why colloids cannot be separated by filtration or sedimentation. (3 marks)

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d) How can colloids be coagulated to form suspensions? (2 marks)

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Total 10 marks

END OF TEST

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Answer Key

1. B 6. B 11. B 16. C 21. D 26. A 31. B 36. B

2. B 7. C 12. D 17. B 22. C 27. C 32. A 37. D
3. A 8. C 13. B 18. C 23. C 28. C 33. B 38. D
4. D 9. B 14. A 19. B 24. D 29. C 34. D 39. C
5. B 10. B 15. B 20. A 25. C 30. B 35. B 40. A

Section B - Structured Response Questions (60 marks)

1. a) Define solubility. (2 marks)

Solubility is the maximum amount of solute that will dissolve in a given amount of solvent at a given
temperature.

b) Describe how solubility changes with temperature. (4 marks)

For most solid solutes, solubility increases with increasing temperature. As temperature rises, the kinetic
energy of particles increases. The particles move faster and collide more often, which breaks
intermolecular attractions between particles, allowing more solute to dissolve.

c) A saturated NaCl solution at 70°C contains 50 g of NaCl dissolved in 100 g water. If solubility of NaCl is
30 g/100 g water at 30°C, what mass of NaCl would precipitate out if the solution was cooled to 30°C?

(2 marks)

Solubility at 30°C is 30 g NaCl per 100 g water

Solution contains 50 g NaCl dissolved at 70°C

On cooling to 30°C, excess NaCl precipitates:

Precipitated NaCl = NaCl in solution - Solubility at 30°C

= 50 g - 30 g = 20 g NaCl

d) Why does the solubility of most gases in water decrease as temperature increases? (2 marks)

At higher temperatures, gas molecules have higher average kinetic energy. The higher energy
molecules can more easily escape from solution, decreasing gas solubility.

2. a) Define a dilute solution. (2 marks)

A dilute solution contains a low concentration of solute dissolved in solvent.

b) Define a concentrated solution. (2 marks)

A concentrated solution contains a high concentration of solute dissolved in solvent.

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c) Describe how concentration is related to the rate of dissolution. (4 marks)

A concentrated solution dissolves solute slowly since it is close to saturation. A dilute solution can
dissolve solute faster as more particles can be further added before reaching saturation.

d) Explain why dilute solutions are preferred for dissolving reactants in many chemical reactions.

(2 marks)

Dilute solutions allow reactants to fully dissolve and dissociate into ions quickly. This increases the
reaction rate by bringing more reactive particles in contact for successful collisions.

3. a) What is a suspension? (2 marks)

A suspension is a mixture containing visible particles dispersed in a liquid but not dissolved. The
particles will settle out over time.

b) How could you separate a mixture of sand and water? Explain. (4 marks)

Filtration could be used to separate the sand and water. The sand particles are trapped by the filter
while the water passes through, separating the components.

c) How do particles in a suspension scatter light compared to a solution? Explain. (2 marks)

Particles in a suspension are too large to scatter light. A solution does not scatter light since the
dissolved particles are very small.

d) Classify the following as a solution, colloid or suspension: fog, jelly, muddy water. (2 marks)

- Fog: colloid

- Jelly: colloid

- Muddy water: suspension

4. a) Define saturation. (2 marks)

Saturation is the point at which no more solute can dissolve in a solution at a given temperature.

b) On a solubility curve, what does the flat region indicate? (3 marks)

The flat region indicates the saturated solution, where solubility is constant at the saturation point. No
more solute can dissolve above this.

c) Describe how a solubility curve can be used to determine solubility at a given temperature. (3 marks)

The solubility curve shows the relationship between solubility and temperature. The solubility at a
particular temperature can be found by reading the value off the curve at that temperature.

d) Why does solubility increase with temperature for most solid solutes? (2 marks)

At higher temperatures, the particles have higher kinetic energy and motion, causing more particle
collisions. This breaks intermolecular attractions allowing more particles to dissolve.

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5. a) Define mass percent concentration. (2 marks)

Mass percent concentration is the mass of solute divided by total mass of solution, expressed as a
percentage.

b) What is the mass percent of a solution made with 10 g salt dissolved in 100 g water? (3 marks)

Mass of solute (salt) = 10 g

Mass of solution (salt + water) = 10 g + 100 g = 110 g

Mass percent = Mass solute/Mass solution x 100

= 10 g/110 g x 100 = 9.1%

c) How is mass percent concentration useful for preparing solutions in the laboratory? (3 marks)

Mass percent only requires measuring out the masses of solute and solution directly, avoiding molar
mass and volume conversions. This makes it simpler to determine and mix quantities when preparing
solutions.

d) What are the units of mass percent concentration? (2 marks)

The units are % by mass (or % m/m). It is a dimensionless quantity.

6. a) Define colloid and give an example. (2 marks)

A colloid is a heterogeneous mixture in which the dispersed phase particles have diameters between 1-
1000 nm. Example: milk

b) Describe the Tyndall effect shown by colloidal mixtures. (3 marks)

Colloids scatter light passing through and make the path of light visible due to the small size of the
dispersed particles.

c) Explain why colloids cannot be separated by filtration or sedimentation. (3 marks)

The colloidal particles are too small to be trapped by filter paper. The particles do not settle out on
standing because the gravitational force is not enough to overcome their motion.

d) How can colloids be coagulated to form suspensions? (2 marks)

Adding electrolytes neutralizes the charge on colloidal particles, reducing the repulsive forces and
allowing the particles to aggregate and precipitate out of solution.

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