HSC Chemistry Year 11 practice exams and worked solutions

What the course asks of you

Properties and structure of matter

Atomic structure, periodicity and bonding, argued from the model.

Quantitative chemistry

The mole, stoichiometry, concentration and the gas laws.

Reactive chemistry

Reaction types, metal reactivity and the rates of reaction.

Drivers of reactions

Enthalpy, Hess's law, entropy and Gibbs free energy.

Sample questions

Written for this site, in the style of the exam. Answer first, then see the model response and what the marks were for.

1. Question 1

   1 mark

   Which sample contains the greatest number of atoms?
   A. 1.0 mol of H₂OB. 1.0 mol of CO₂C. 1.0 mol of CH₄D. 1.0 mol of NH₃
   Check answer

2. Question 2

   5 marks

   A 0.500 g sample of magnesium is added to excess hydrochloric acid. a. Write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction, including states. b. Calculate the volume of hydrogen gas produced at 25 °C and 100 kPa. (M(Mg) = 24.31 g/mol, molar volume at these conditions = 24.79 L/mol)
   Show the model answer

3. Question 3

   3 marks

   Using bond energies, explain why the combustion of methane is exothermic.
   Show the model answer

4. Question 4

   3 marks

   A reaction has ΔH = −92 kJ/mol and ΔS = −198 J/K/mol. Determine whether the reaction is spontaneous at 25 °C.
   Show the model answer

What Year 11 Chemistry asks of you

Chemistry becomes quantitative in Year 11. The reasoning is the same as Year 10; the arithmetic behind it is not, and it is marked step by step.

Moles run through everything

Almost every calculation starts by converting to moles and ends by converting back. Students who are fluent here find the rest of the course arithmetic; students who are not find every topic hard for the same reason.

Working is marked, not just the answer

Set out what you have, the ratio from the balanced equation, then the quantity asked for. Method marks survive an arithmetic slip; an unexplained number does not.

Equations need balancing and states

An unbalanced equation loses the mark whatever the chemistry behind it, and state symbols are marked wherever they were asked for.

Explanations name the species

Saying which particle is doing what is usually where the second and third marks are. A general statement about the reaction is a one-mark answer.

Where Year 11 Chemistry marks are lost

In rounding partway through. A value rounded at step one and carried through three more lands outside the accepted range, and without visible working there is nothing left to credit.

In units and significant figures, which are marked and are the cheapest marks in the course to stop losing.

And in describing the observation when the question asked for the chemistry — answering what was seen rather than what was happening.

Common questions

What makes Year 11 Chemistry harder than Year 10 science?

The quantitative work. Moles, ratios and concentration run through every topic, and a student who is not fluent with them experiences the whole course as difficult for a single underlying reason.

How should I set out calculations?

In the order the marks are awarded: what you have in moles, the ratio from the balanced equation, then the quantity asked for, with units throughout. Do not round until the final line.

Is a data sheet provided?

Reference material is provided in the senior exams, which is why practising with it beside you matters more than memorising values — the marks are for choosing and using the right one.