Home / iGCSE Chemistry (0620) Core:5.1 Exothermic and endothermic reactions: Exam Style Questions Paper 1

iGCSE Chemistry (0620) Core:5.1 Exothermic and endothermic reactions: Exam Style Questions Paper 1- New Syllabus

Question

Which reaction pathway diagram shows the largest increase in the temperature of the surroundings?
▶️ Answer/Explanation
Correct Option: C

Detailed solution:

The more exothermic a reaction is, the more heat energy it dumps into the surroundings, raising the temperature. On a reaction pathway diagram, an exothermic reaction has the products sitting lower in energy than the reactants. The bigger the energy drop from reactants to products, the more heat is given out. Diagram C shows the largest vertical gap downwards, which represents the biggest overall transfer of thermal energy to the surroundings, so it will cause the largest temperature increase.

Question

Three statements about energy changes in chemical reactions are listed.
  1. In an endothermic reaction, the temperature of the surroundings increases.
  2. In an exothermic reaction, thermal energy is taken in from the surroundings.
  3. In the reaction pathway diagram for an exothermic reaction, the energy level of the products is lower than the energy level of the reactants.
Which statements are correct?
A. 1 and 2
B. 1 only
C. 2 and 3
D. 3 only
▶️ Answer/Explanation
Correct Option: D

Detailed solution:

Statement 1 is wrong because endothermic reactions take in energy from the surroundings, making the surroundings cooler. Statement 2 is wrong because exothermic reactions transfer energy out to the surroundings; it is endothermic reactions that take in energy. Statement 3 is correct: in an exothermic reaction, the products end up with less energy than the reactants started with, so on the energy level diagram, the products are drawn lower down than the reactants. Only statement 3 is correct.

Question
When ammonium nitrate is added to water, the temperature of the mixture decreases. The ammonium nitrate can be recovered by evaporating the water. Which statement explains these observations?
A. The ammonium nitrate dissolves in the water, and the process is endothermic.
B. The ammonium nitrate reacts with the water, and the process is endothermic.
C. The ammonium nitrate dissolves in the water, and the process is exothermic.
D. The ammonium nitrate reacts with the water, and the process is exothermic.
▶️ Answer/Explanation
Correct Option: A

Detailed solution:

A temperature decrease means heat is absorbed from the surroundings, so the process is endothermic. Since the ammonium nitrate is simply recovered by evaporating water, it has dissolved, not undergone a chemical reaction. If it had reacted, you wouldn’t get the original substance back by just removing water. So, it’s a dissolving process that is endothermic.

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