AQA GCSE Combined Science Chemistry 8464
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
Bonding, Structure, and the Properties of Matter
Chemical Analysis
Chemical Changes
Chemistry of the Atmosphere
Energy Changes
Organic Chemistry
Quantitative Chemistry
The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change
Quantitative Chemistry
- 6 subtopics
- 18 things to know
- Chemistry Paper 1
What Quantitative Chemistry covers
Quantitative Chemistry is examined in Chemistry Paper 1. It covers conservation of mass and balanced chemical equations, relative formula mass and concentration of solutions, mass changes when a gas is involved, and measurement uncertainty, moles, amounts of substances in equations, and balancing using moles and limiting reactants.
Where it is assessed
Chemistry Paper 1
Combined Science: Trilogy, Chemistry Paper 1: 1 hour 15 minutes, 70 marks, 16.7% of the qualification.
Check the AQA specification ↗The 6 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Conservation of mass and balanced chemical equationsThe law of conservation of mass, calculating masses in sealed reactions, why reactions are shown by balanced equations, balancing the equations for hydrogen and methane burning, the difference between balancing numbers and subscripts, and counting atoms in formulae such as 3H₂SO₄ and 2Ca(OH)₂.Open →
- Relative formula mass and concentration of solutionsDefining and calculating relative formula mass, showing both sides of a balanced equation total the same, percentage by mass of an element, and concentration in g/dm³ from the mass of solute and the volume of solution.Open →
- Mass changes when a gas is involved, and measurement uncertaintyWhy a metal gains mass when heated in air and a carbonate loses mass when decomposed, apparent breaches of conservation of mass explained with particles, the effect of sealing the container, uncertainty from the range of repeats, accuracy, precision, repeatability and reproducibility, random and systematic errors, anomalous results, resolution and reading scales, and mean, median and mode.Open →
- MolesThe mole as the unit of chemical amount, why it is used, the mass of one mole from relative formula mass, the Avogadro constant, and converting between mass and moles.Open →
- Amounts of substances in equations, and balancing using molesThe steps of a reacting mass calculation, mole ratios from balancing numbers, worked masses for magnesium oxide, carbon dioxide and ammonia, deducing a balanced equation from reacting masses, and rearranging the moles formula.Open →
- Limiting reactantsWhat the limiting reactant is, why one reactant is used in excess and what happens to it, which reactant fixes the mass of product, and worked examples with magnesium, oxygen, acid and ammonia.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Describe how a reacting mass calculation is carried out, why the equation must be balanced first, and apply it to 4.8 g of magnesium burning.
24 g of magnesium reacts completely with oxygen to form 40 g of magnesium oxide. What mass of oxygen reacted?
Calculate the percentage by mass of oxygen in CO₂, given relative atomic masses C = 12 and O = 16.
In which unit are chemical amounts measured, and what is the symbol for that unit?
Why is one of the two reactants often used in excess?
Explain why the total mass inside a sealed container does not change when a reaction happens in it.
Calculate the percentage by mass of nitrogen in NH₄NO₃, given relative atomic masses N = 14, H = 1 and O = 16.
Explain why the mass of solid increases when a metal is heated in an open crucible in air.
Which contains more molecules, one mole of oxygen or one mole of ammonia?
What two pieces of information are needed to calculate the mass of a product from the mass of a reactant?
What happens to the reactant that is present in excess?
Give the balancing numbers needed for the equation H₂ + O₂ → H₂O.
In which unit is the concentration of a solution given when it is measured as a mass in a given volume?
Explain why the mass of solid falls when a metal carbonate is thermally decomposed in an open container.
What name is given to the number of particles in one mole of a substance?
Outline the steps used to calculate the mass of a product from a given mass of reactant.
Which of two reactants decides the maximum amount of product that can form?
Take Quantitative Chemistry further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Limiting reactant vs Excess reactant
Limiting reactant: the one completely used up, fixing how much product forms. Excess reactant: the one with some left over unreacted at the end.
Relative formula mass vs Mole
Relative formula mass: the sum of the atomic masses of every atom shown for a compound. Mole: the unit of chemical amount, containing the Avogadro constant of particles.
Concentration in g/dm³ vs Concentration in mol/dm³
Concentration in g/dm³: the mass of solute dissolved in each cubic decimetre of solution. Concentration in mol/dm³: the amount in moles of solute dissolved in each cubic decimetre of solution.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
State the law of conservation of mass.
Model answer
No atoms are lost or made during a chemical reaction, so the total mass of the products equals the total mass of the reactants.
- 2
In a reaction carried out in a sealed flask, 8 g of one reactant reacts completely with 12 g of another to give a single product. What mass of product forms?
Model answer
20 g, because the mass of the product must equal the total mass of the reactants.
- 3
24 g of magnesium reacts completely with oxygen to form 40 g of magnesium oxide. What mass of oxygen reacted?
Model answer
16 g, since the mass of the product equals the total mass of the reactants.
- 4
Explain why the total mass inside a sealed container does not change when a reaction happens in it.
Model answer
The atoms present are only rearranged into new substances, and none are lost or made, so the total mass stays the same.
- 5
Explain why chemical reactions can be represented by balanced symbol equations.
Model 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.
- 6
What does it mean to say that a symbol equation is balanced?
Model answer
There are the same numbers of atoms of each element on the left-hand side as on the right-hand side.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Quantitative Chemistry revision questions
- What does Quantitative Chemistry cover in AQA GCSE Combined Science Chemistry?
- 6 subtopics: conservation of mass and balanced chemical equations, relative formula mass and concentration of solutions, mass changes when a gas is involved, and measurement uncertainty, moles, amounts of substances in equations, and balancing using moles and limiting reactants. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Quantitative Chemistry organised?
- By the AQA 8464 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Quantitative Chemistry, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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