AQA GCSE Chemistry Paper 1 Foundation June 2025 question paper 8462/1F

This question is about elements and compounds.

What is the name of the compound with the formula ZnBr₂?

Use the periodic table.

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A compound has the formula C₂H₆O

Table 1 shows information about a molecule of C₂H₆O

Complete Table 1.

Use the periodic table.

Potassium and sulfur react to produce potassium sulfide.

Write the word equation for this reaction.

Aluminium reacts with fluorine to produce aluminium fluoride.

Balance the equation for this reaction.

Metals react with acids to produce a salt and a gas.

Which salt is produced when magnesium reacts with hydrochloric acid?

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Which gas is produced when magnesium reacts with hydrochloric acid?

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A student investigated the temperature change in the reaction between metals and hydrochloric acid.

This is the method used.

1. Measure 25 cm³ of hydrochloric acid at 20 °C into a container.

2. Add 1 g of a metal.

3. Record the temperature change.

4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 using a different metal.

Draw one line from the type of variable to the name of the variable in the investigation.

Which container would be the most suitable to reduce energy transfer with the surroundings?

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Figure 1 shows part of the scale of the thermometer used in the investigation.

What is the resolution of the thermometer?

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The reaction between a metal and an acid is exothermic.

What happens to the temperature of the mixture during the reaction?

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Figure 2 shows the reaction profile for the reaction between a metal and an acid.

Which letter in Figure 2 represents the reactants?

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Which letter in Figure 2 represents the activation energy?

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Which letter in Figure 2 represents the overall energy change?

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Cells contain chemicals that react to produce electricity.

A student investigated the voltage produced by four different cells.

Figure 3 shows the apparatus.

This is the method used.

1. Measure the voltage produced by the cell using metal A as the metal electrode.

2. Repeat using different metals as the metal electrode.

Table 2 shows the results.

Which substance could be used as the electrolyte in the cell in Figure 3 ?

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Which metal A, B, C or D was copper?

Give one reason for your answer.

Use Figure 3 and Table 2.

Write the four metals A, B, C and D in order of reactivity.

Use Table 2.

A battery consists of several cells connected together in series.

Each cell has a voltage of 3.6 V.

Calculate the number of cells needed to make a battery of voltage 14.4 V.

Fuel cells can be used to power electric cars.

Complete the sentence.

Choose the answer from the box.

The overall reaction in a hydrogen fuel cell involves the oxidation of

Rechargeable cells can be recharged when an external electrical current is supplied.

Complete the sentence.

When an external electrical current is supplied to a rechargeable cell,

the chemical reaction is.

A student did an experiment to find the volume of an acid that neutralised

This is the method used.

1. Measure 25.0 cm³ of the alkali into a conical flask.

2. Add a few drops of substance X to the alkali.

3. Place the conical flask on a white tile.

4. Add the acid to the alkali until a colour change is seen.

5. Measure the volume of acid added.

6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 three more times.

What is the name of this experiment?

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Substance X is used in step 2 of the method.

What type of substance is X ?

Which piece of equipment is used to add the acid to the alkali in step 4?

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Suggest one improvement to step 4 of the method.

Table 3 shows the results.

Calculate the mean volume of the acid needed to neutralise 25.0 cm³ of the alkali.

Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

Do not include the anomalous result.

Aqueous solutions of acids and alkalis contain ions.

Draw one line from each type of aqueous solution to the ion that is always in the aqueous solution.

Type of aqueous solution Ion

This question is about electrolysis.

Table 4 shows some of the products of electrolysis of two molten compounds.

Complete Table 4.

Aluminium is extracted by electrolysis of a molten mixture of aluminium oxide and cryolite.

The products are molten aluminium and oxygen gas.

Figure 4 shows the electrolysis cell.

What is the formula of oxygen gas?

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Aluminium oxide contains the ions Al³⁺ and O^2–

Explain why aluminium is produced at the negative electrode.

The melting point of aluminium oxide is 2045 °C.

The melting point of the mixture of aluminium oxide and cryolite is 950 °C.

Explain why the electrolysis uses the mixture instead of pure aluminium oxide.

The positive electrodes in the electrolysis cell are made of carbon.

Why do the positive electrodes need to be continually replaced?

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A student investigated the electrolysis of magnesium sulfate solution.

Figure 5 shows the apparatus.

This is the method used.

1. Set the power supply to give a current of 0.05 A.

2. Measure the volume of each gas every minute for 5 minutes.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 using a current of 0.10 A in step 1.

Figure 6 shows a measuring cylinder during the electrolysis.

What is the volume of gas in the measuring cylinder?

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Hydrogen is produced instead of magnesium at the negative electrode.

Why is hydrogen produced at the negative electrode?

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Figure 7 shows the results for the volume of hydrogen collected.

Which hypothesis explains the results in Figure 7 ?

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Figure 8 is a repeat of part of the graph for current = 0.10 A in Figure 7.

Determine the gradient of the graph in Figure 8.

Use the equation

This question is about nanoparticles.

Figure 9 represents a type of nanoparticle made of carbon atoms.

What is the name of the type of nanoparticle in Figure 9 ?

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Nanoparticles of the type in Figure 9 are slippery.

Which structural feature of these nanoparticles makes them slippery?

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A nanoparticle of a metal has a diameter of 15 nm.

A fine particle of the metal has a diameter of 1500 nm.

How many times larger is the diameter of the fine particle than the diameter of the nanoparticle?

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Figure 10 represents a cubic nanoparticle.

The surface area of the cubic nanoparticle is 96 nm².

Calculate:

the volume of the cubic nanoparticle

the simplest whole number ratio of surface area: volume for the cubic nanoparticle.

The volume of a cube = (length of side)³

A substance can be used to provide a scratchproof coating on reading glasses.

The coating is a single layer of particles of the substance.

Nanoparticles are used instead of normal-sized particles.

Complete the sentences.

When using nanoparticles instead of normal-sized particles, the thickness of the

This question is about mixtures.

Draw one line from each type of mixture to the representation of that mixture.

A student had a mixture of salt and sand.

Salt is soluble in water.

Sand is insoluble in water.

Plan a method to obtain pure dry samples of salt and of sand from the mixture.

Figure 11 shows the chemicals and equipment that can be used.

A mixture of salt and sand contained 16.0 g of salt.

The student obtained 13.6 g of salt after separation from the mixture.

Calculate the percentage yield of the salt.

Use the equation

This question is about elements in the periodic table.

Describe where the non-metallic elements are found in the periodic table.

Gallium (Ga) is a metallic element in Group 3.

Which of these properties of gallium is not typical of most metals?

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A sodium atom can be represented as²³₁₁Na

Complete Figure 12 to show the electronic structure of a sodium atom.

Mendeleev created an early periodic table.

Mendeleev placed most of the elements in order of atomic weight.

Tellurium and iodine were not placed in order of atomic weight.

Why did Mendeleev not place tellurium and iodine in order of atomic weight?

Argon is an element in Group 0 of the periodic table.

Explain why argon is unreactive.

An element X consists of two isotopes.

What is meant by ‘isotopes’?

Answer in terms of subatomic particles.

Table 5 shows the mass numbers and percentage abundances of the isotopes of X.

Which is the closest estimate to the relative atomic mass of X ?

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This question is about structure and bonding.

Calcium sulfide is an ionic compound.

Figure 13 represents the structure of calcium sulfide.

Determine the empirical formula of calcium sulfide.

Calcium is in Group 2 of the periodic table.

Sulfur is in Group 6 of the periodic table.

Describe what happens when a calcium atom reacts with a sulfur atom.

Answer in terms of electrons and ions.

Figure 14 shows the structure of graphite.

Describe the structure and bonding of graphite.

Substances that consist of small molecules do not conduct electricity.

Give one reason why.

Methane consists of small molecules.

Poly(ethene) is a polymer.

Why does poly(ethene) have a higher melting point than methane?

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This question is about metals and metal oxides.

Tin (Sn) is extracted from tin oxide using carbon.

The equation for the reaction is:

Which substance is reduced in this reaction?

Give one reason for your answer.

Answer in terms of oxygen.

Substance reduced

Why can carbon be used to extract tin from tin oxide?

Cadmium (Cd) can be extracted by the reaction of cadmium oxide with carbon.

The equation for the reaction is:

Calculate the percentage atom economy for the production of cadmium in this reaction.

Relative atomic masses (A_r): C = 12 Cd = 112

Relative formula mass (M_r): CdO = 128

Tungsten is a transition metal.

Potassium is a Group 1 metal.

Give two differences between the properties of tungsten and the properties of potassium.

Tungsten oxide reacts with hydrogen to give tungsten (W) and water.

The equation for the reaction is:

The law of conservation of mass states:

‘The mass of the products equals the mass of the reactants during a chemical reaction.’

Show that the equation obeys the law of conservation of mass.

Relative atomic mass (A_r): W = 184

Relative formula masses (M_r): H₂ = 2 WO₃ = 232 H₂O = 18

The reaction producing tungsten has a high atom economy.

Why is it important to use reactions with a high atom economy in industry?