2021 WASSCE CHEMISTRY THEORY SOLUTION

1.
(a) Distinguish between molecular formula and structural formula.
Answer: Molecular formula gives the actual number of atoms in a molecule of a compound while structural
formula is a graphic representation of a molecule of a compound showing how the atoms in the molecule
are linked together.
OR
Molecular formula shows the total number of atoms in a molecule of a compound while structural formula
shows the arrangement of atoms/relative position of atoms/atoms and bonds in a molecule of a
compound.

(b) List three factors that determine the ionization energy of an atom.
Answer:
▪ Nuclear charge
▪ Shielding effect/screening effect
▪ Electron configuration
▪ Penetration effect
▪ Atomic size

(c) State two conditions necessary for the establishment of chemical equilibrium.
Answer:
▪ The rate of forward reactions and backward reactions must be equal
▪ Change in Free energy (ΔG) must be zero.
▪ The reaction must take place in a closed system
▪ The system must be dynamic and all species must be represented
▪ The temperature must be constant

(d) Consider the following table.

Element A B C
Ionization energy kJ/mol 619 518 594

(i) State which of the elements is the strongest reducing agent.

Answer: Element B
(ii) Give the reason for the answer stated in 1(d)(i).
Answer: Of the three elements given, element B has the lowest ionization energy, hence it loses electrons
more readily.

(e) State Graham’s law of diffusion.

Answer: The rate of diffusion of a gas is inversely proportional to the square root of its vapour
density/molar mass provided the temperature and pressure are kept constant.

(f) Consider the following salts:

Mg(NO3)2, CaCO3, Na2SO4.
State which of the salts is/are:
(i) readily soluble in water;
Answer: Mg(NO3)2, Na2SO4.
(ii) insoluble in water
Answer: CaCO3

(g) Classify each of the following products as addition polymer or condensation polymer:
(i) Protein
Answer: condensation polymer
(ii) Perspex
Answer: Addition polymer
(iii) Nylon
Answer: condensation

(h) Define atomic radius

Answer: Atomic radius is half the distance between the nuclei of any two close atoms in molecule. Atomic
radius is also defined as the measure of the size of an atom – the mean distance from the nucleus of an
atom to the outermost shell of the atom.

(i) Explain briefly why ethanol has a higher boiling point than propane even though they both have
comparable molar masses.
Answer: The intermolecular forces in ethanol are hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen bond is stronger than the
van der Waal’s forces which are the intermolecular forces in propane.
(j) State three significance of the pH value in everyday life.
Answer:
▪ The pH of soil has implications for agricultural practices
▪ Digestion of food in the stomach
▪ Plays role in self-defence for the survival of animals
▪ pH changes as the cause of tooth decay
▪ treatment of eater for public use
▪ in pharmaceuticals
▪ treatment of industrial effluent/liquid waste
▪ determination of the pH of body fluid in medicine

2
(a) (i) State two characteristics of a homologous series.
Answer:
▪ All members share the same general molecular formula
▪ Each member differs from the next member by a constant/fixed number of atoms – CH2 or mass of
14
▪ All members have similar chemical properties/functional group.
▪ The physical properties change gradually as the number of carbon atoms increases along the series
▪ All members can be prepared by the same general method.
(ii) Explain briefly why there are differences in the reactions of ethane and ethene.
Answer: Ethane is a saturated hydrocarbon containing only single bonds, hence it undergoes mainly
substitution reaction while ethene contains double bond and it is, therefore, unsaturated, hence it
undergoes an addition reaction.

(b) When crystals of sodium chloride was warmed with concentrated tetraoxosulphate(VI), a gas was
evolved.
(i) Name the gas.
Answer: Hydrogen chloride gas
(ii) State two properties of the gas.
Answer:
▪ Colourless
 ▪ Has chocking smell/irritating odour
▪ Denser than air
▪ Soluble in water
▪ Fumes in moist air
(iii) Write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction.
Answer:
2NaCl(s) + H2SO4(aq) → Na2SO4(aq) + 2HCl(g)
Or
H2SO4(aq) + NaCl(s) → NaHSO4(aq) + HCl(g)

(c) (i) What are hydrocarbons?

Answer: Hydrocarbons are compounds containing carbon and hydrogen only.
(ii) State two natural sources of hydrocarbons.
Answer:
▪ Coal
▪ Petroleum/crude oil
▪ Natural gas

(iii) A hydrocarbon contains 83% of carbon by mass. Calculate its empirical formula. [H = 1.0, C = 12.0]
Solution:
Carbon, C = 83.0%
Hydrogen, H2 = 100-83 = 17%
Carbon Hydrogen
83 17
12 1
6.92 17.0
6.926 17
6.926 6.92
1.00 2.46 ≈ 2.5
1x2 2.5 x 2
2 5
Therefore the empirical formula of the hydrocarbon is C2H5.
(d) Draw and label a diagram of a set-up that could be used to electroplate a copper ornament with silver.
Answer:

3
(a) In an experiment, 25.0 cm3 of H2SO4 completely neutralized 24.0 cm3 of a 0.150 moldm-3 aqueous KOH
using a suitable indicator.
(i) Write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction.
Answer:
2KOH(aq) + H2SO4(aq) → K2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)
(ii) Calculate the concentration of the acid solution.
Answer:
𝐶𝐴 𝑉𝐴 1
⇒ =
𝐶𝐵 𝑉𝐵 2

𝐶𝐵 𝑉𝐵 𝑥 1 0.15 𝑥 24 𝑥 1
⇒ CA =
2 𝑥 𝑉𝐴
=
2 𝑥 25

= 0.072 mol dm-3

Alternatively;
24×0.150
Amount of KOH used =
1000
= 0.0036 moles
Since the mole ratio of acid to base is 1:2.
0.0036
Amount of H2SO4 used =
2
= 0.0018 moles
0.0018
Therefore the concentration of the acid =
0.025
= 0.072 mol dm-3

(b) (i) A burning magnesium ribbon was placed in a gas jar containing carbon (IV) oxide.
(I) Write an equation for the reaction.
Answer:
2Mg(s) + CO2(g) → 2MgO(s) + C(s)
(II) Explain briefly why the magnesium ribbon burns in carbon (IV) oxide although the gas does not
support combustion.
Answer:
The heat of the reaction is high enough to decompose CO2 to produce oxygen which then reacts with
magnesium to form magnesium oxide.
(ii) Calculate the percentage by mass of nitrogen in magnesium trioxonitrate(V).
[N =14.0, O = 16.0, Mg = 24.0].
Answer:
Molar mass of Mg(NO3)2
= 24 + 2 x [14 + (3×16)]
= 148g mol-1
Mass of N2 = 2 x 14 = 28
28 x 100
%Nitrogen =
148
= 18%

(c) Consider the following organic compound:

CH3CH2CH=CHCOOH
(i) State two chemical reactions which could be used to identify the compound.
Answer:
▪ Reaction with bromine water/bromine in CCl4
▪ Reaction with acidified KMnO4(aq)
 ▪ Reaction with acidified K2Cr2O7(aq)
▪ Reaction with NaHCO3/Na2CO3or reaction with alkanol + conc. H2SO4
(ii) What would be observed in the reactions stated in 3(c)(i)?
Answer:
▪ The compound will decolourize bromine water/bromine in CCl4.
▪ The compound will decolourize acidified KMnO4(aq)
▪ The compound will change the colour of acidified K2Cr2O7(aq) from orange to green
▪ The reaction with NaHCO3/Na2CO3 will result in effervescence/evolution of gas.
▪ The reaction with alkanol + conc. H2SO4 will result in the production of a sweet-smelling/fruity
odour.
(Note that the observation must correspond with the reaction from which the observation is made).

(d) Describe briefly how soap is manufactured using pellets of sodium hydroxide and vegetable oil.
Answer:
Dissolve the pellets of NaOH in sufficient water, and add the resulting solution to vegetable oil. Stir and
boil. Then cool it to precipitate the soap. Filter off the soap.

(e) Define the term electronegativity.

Answer:
The ability of an atom in a covalent bond to pull/attract shared pair of electrons to itself.

4
(a) (i) What is the structure of:
(I) Graphite
Answer: hexagonal
(II) Diamond
Answer: tetrahedral/octagonal
(ii) Explain briefly why diamond is hard and a non-conductor of electricity while graphite is soft and an
electrical conductor.
Answer:
In diamond, each carbon atom is covalently bonded to four other carbon atoms forming an interlocking
three-dimensional network. This makes diamond a hard substance. Each of the four valence electrons in
carbon atoms in diamond is localized, making it have no free electron, as such, diamond does not conduct
electricity.
In graphite, each carbon atom is bonded to three other carbon atoms, with one electron free which can act
as a conduction electron. The bonding of each carbon atom to three other carbon atoms results in the
formation of large sheets with van der Waal’s forces between the sheets which can slide over one another.
OR
Diamond is a hard substance with a rigid three-dimensional structure. It has no free electrons so it cannot
conduct electricity. Graphite has a layered structure held by van der Waal’s forces, hence it is soft. Each
carbon atom in graphite has a free electron and is able to conduct electricity.

(b) (i) State what is achieved at each of the following stages in the purification of water for town supply:
(I) aeration
Answer: Removes odour/kills bacteria
(II) Screening
Answer: Removes large debris
(III) Sedimentation
Answer: Removes suspended dirt particles after coagulation
(ii) Name two substances responsible for hardness in water.
Answer:
▪ Calcium hydrogen trioxocarbonate(IV)
▪ Magnesium hydrogen trioxocarbonate (IV)
▪ Magnesium chloride
▪ Calcium tetraoxosulphate(VI)
▪ Magnesium tetraoxosulphate(VI)
▪ Iron (II) hydrogen trioxocarbonate(IV)
▪ Calcium chloride
▪ Iron (II) chloride
▪ Iron (II) tetraoxosulphate(IV)
(iii) State two methods for removal of hardness in water
Answer:
▪ Adding Ca(OH)2/slaked lime
▪ Adding washing soda (Na2CO3)
▪ Boiling/distillation
▪ Using ion-exchange resin/permutit/zeolite
(iv) Give one disadvantage of hard water
Answer:
▪ Cannot be used in paper manufacturing
▪ Not suitable for laundry
▪ Cannot be used in dyeing/tanning
▪ Wastes soap/forms scums
▪ Causes furring of kettles
▪ Not suitable for the textile industry

(c) (i) Describe briefly the extraction of tin from its ore.
Answer:
The ore is crushed and washed with water after which it is roasted in air to remove impurities. The
product is mixed with charcoal/carbon/coke and heated to reduce the oxide. It is then refined to obtain
pure tin.
(ii) Write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction.
Answer:
SnO2(s) + 2C(s) → Sn(s) + 2CO2(g)
(iii) Write an equation for reaction of tin with
I. oxygen
Answer:
Sn(s) + O2(g) → SnO2(s)
II. chlorine
Answer:
Sn(s) + 2Cl2(g) → SnCl4(s)

(a) (i) With the aid of an equation, explain briefly why aluminium metal is not affected by air.
Answer:
Aluminium first reacts with oxygen in the air to form a layer of oxide.
4Al(s) + 3O2(g) → 2Al2O3(s)
The layer formed is not porous and insoluble in water and resistant to attack by air. This layer coats the
metal and protects it from further attack.
(ii) In the extraction of aluminium from bauxite, state the
(I) substance used for purifying the ore
Answer:
Aqueous sodium hydroxide i.e. caustic soda solution.
(II) Composition of the mixture electrolysed
Answer:
▪ Cryolite/Na3AlF6
▪ Alumina/Al2O3

(b) ZnO is an amphoteric oxide. Write an equation to illustrate this statement.

Answer:
ZnO(s) + 2HCl(aq) → ZnCl2(aq) + H2O(l)
ZnO(s) + 2NaOH(aq) → Na2ZnO2(aq) + H2O(l)

(c) (i) List three uses of sodium trioxocarbonate(IV).

Answer:
▪ In the manufacture of glass
▪ Used for softening hard water/water treatment
▪ In the manufacture of washing soda which is used in making soap
▪ In making paper
▪ In making NaHCO3
▪ Preparation of baking powder
▪ Removal of SO2 in power stations
▪ As food additive
▪ As an anlytical reagent
▪ In textile industry
▪ Petroleum refining
▪ Production of other compounds
(ii) Explain briefly why a solution of trioxonitrate(V) acid turns yellowish on storage for sometime.
Answer:
The acid decomposes slowly producing nitrogen(IV) oxide gas. The dissolution of this gas back into the
acid gives it a yellowish colour.
(iii) Describe briefly how trioxonitrate(V) ions could e tested for in the laboratory.
Answer:
To the solution, add freshly prepared Iron (II) tetraoxosulphate(VI) followed by concentrated H2SO4, a
brown ring is observed

(d) (i) Write a balanced chemical equation for the preparation of hydrogen chloride:
(I) using H2SO4;
Answer:
H2SO4(aq) + 2NaCl(s) → 2HCl(g) + Na2SO4(aq) OR
H2SO4(aq) + 2KCl(s) → 2HCl(g) + K2SO4(aq)
(II) Direct combination of its constituent elements
Answer:
H2(g) + Cl2(g) 2HCl(g)
(ii) State one use of hydrogen chloride.
Answer:
▪ Manufacturing of drugs
▪ Cleaning
▪ Pickling
▪ Electroplating of metals
▪ Tanning leather
▪ Refining
▪ Production of other chemicals/plastics