1.

Which one of the following represents the configuration of the four electrons of highest energy
for the ground state of an element in Group IV?
A 1s2 2s2 B 2s1 2p3 C 1s1 2s1 2p1 3s1 D 4s2 4p2

2. Which one of the following represents the electronic configuration of the N- ion in the ground
state?
1s 2s 2p
A

3. Atoms P and Q form a compound PQ. What are the possible electronic configurations of the
atoms P and Q respectively?
P Q
A 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s2 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s1
B 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s1 1s22s22p63s23p3
C 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s1 1s22s22p6
D 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s2 1s22s22p4

4. Which equation is used to define the second ionisation of chlorine?

A Cl(g) → Cl2+ (g) + 2e- B Cl+ (g) → Cl2+ (g) + e-
C ½Cl2 (g) → Cl (g) + 2e D
2+ -
½ Cl2 (g) → Cl2+ (g) + e-
5. The electronic configurations of four elements are given. Which of these elements has the lowest
first ionisation energy?
A 1s2 2s2 2p3 C 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p3
B 1s2 2s2 2p4 D 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p4

6. The popular fermented milk drink, Yakult, requires refrigeration at temperature of 4°C and
below to prevent the formation of lactic acid which will cause the drink to taste sour. The structure of
lactic acid is shown below.
H H O z
x y
H C C C O H

H H
What would you expect the bond angles x, y and z to be, to the nearest 10 degrees, in the
molecule of lactic acid?
x y z
A 90° 90° 180°
B 90° 120° 180°
C 110° 120° 110°
D 110° 90° 110°

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7. Which one of the following molecules is polar in nature?
A SCl2 B XeF4 C SO3 D PBr5

8. X, Y and Z are organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

X is CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3
Y is CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-OH
Z is HO-CH2-CH2-CH2-OH
Based on the concept of hydrogen bonding, which of the following sequences correctly lists the
compounds above in order of increasing solubility in water?

A Z<Y<X C Y<X<Z
B Y<Z<X D X<Y<Z

9. Which solid exhibits more than one type of chemical bonding?

A ice B diamond C steel D potassium chloride

10. Aluminium chloride, AlCl3 is used as catalyst in certain reactions, in which it reacts with
chloroalkanes (RCl) to form carbocations (R+) as shown below:
AlCl3 + RCl → R+ + AlCl4-
Which property makes it possible for this reaction to occur?
A AlCl3 is a covalent molecule.
B AlCl3 exists as the dimer Al2Cl6 in the vapour.
C The aluminum atom in AlCl3 has an incomplete octet of electrons.
D The chlorine atom in RCl has a vacant p orbital.

11. In an experiment, a sample of aluminium was vapourised, ionised and passed through an electric
field. Analysis of deflection occurring at the electric field region revealed the following data for a
sample of 27Al+ charged ions. It was observed that a beam of 27Al+ gives an angle of deflection of 2°.
(Diagram not drawn to scale)

−
2 ° (27 Al+)

(i) Predict with reasoning, the angle of deflection+for a sample of doubly-charged beryllium ions.
(+ 2 )
Ratio of angle of deflection of Be2+ to Al+ =
9 =6
(+ 1 )
27
Therefore, the angle of deflection = 6 x 2o = 12o
(OR)
Angle of deflection α (charge / mass).
Since charge of Be2+ is twice that of Al+ and mass of Be2+ is 1/3 that of Al+, hence angle of
deflection for Be2+ is (2 x 3) = 6 times more than Al+
Angle of deflection of Be2+ = 6 x 2o = 12o

2
 (ii) Draw and label the orbitals containing the valence electrons in beryllium and aluminium
atoms
respectively.

Al

2s orbital 3s orbital y y
3p orbital

12. (a) (i) Explain what is meant by

Atoms/ions/species with the same no. of electrons

the term isoelectronic species.
z
x
(ii) Give examples of two molecules that are isoelectronic to each other.
(Any 2 molecules with same no. electrons) e.g. N2 & CO, H2O & NH3

(b) Some data on the atomic radii and ionic radii of five elements are shown in the table below.
Element Proton Atomic Ionic radius/nm
Number radius/nm
Oxygen, O 8 0.074 0.140
Fluorine, F 9 0.072 0.136
Neon, Ne 10 0.160 -
Sodium, Na 11 0.186 0.095
Magnesium, Mg 12 0.160 0.065

Give clear and concise explanations for the following:

(i) Na+ ion is smaller than Na atom,
Na+ has 1 less electron shell but the same nuclear charge as Na
Hence the electrons in Na+ experience stronger attraction by nucleus / the nucleus in Na+
exerts greater attraction on the electrons in Na+.

(ii) ionic radii decreases from O2− to Mg2+.

All ions from O2- to Mg2+ are isoelectronic

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 but the nuclear charge increases from O2- to Mg2+
Hence from O2- to Mg2+, the electrons get increasingly attracted to the nuclei, resulting in
decreasing ionic radii.

13. (a) Xenon is a noble gas and forms various fluorides with fluorine. One of these is xenon difluoride
(XeF2), which is a crystalline solid with melting point of 140 oC. Draw the ‘dot-and-cross’ diagram
for XeF2 and state its molecular shape.

[2]

F Shape: Linear

(b) “Noble gases are stable and Xe

tend not to form compounds with other elements. The noble
gases that react to form compounds are the bigger noble gases such as krypton and xenon and the
F
elements that react with them are electronegative elements such as fluorine and oxygen”.

In light of the statement above, and using your knowledge of covalent bond formation, explain
why XeF2 exists but HeF2 does not.

Xenon can react with fluorine as Xe is from Period 5 and has orbitals of suitable energy / low-
lying orbitals to expand its octet / accommodate more than 8 electrons in its valence
shell to form compounds.
On the other hand, helium is from Period 1 and does not have orbitals of suitable energy to
expand its octet to form compounds.

(b) Ethene, C2H4, is a colourless flammable hydrocarbon that boils at -104oC. It is a major raw material
for making many other organic chemicals.

(i) State the bond angle in C2H4. 120°

(ii) Explain why ethene has a low boiling point.

Ethene is non-polar in nature; hence weak intermolecular van der Waals’ forces of attraction exist
in ethene;
As small amount of energy is needed to overcome the weak vdw forces to separate the ethane
molecules, thus it has low boiling point.

(iii) How many σ (sigma) and π (pi) bonds are there in a molecule of ethene?
5 σ and
 1 π bonds


(iv) Using appropriate bond energies, find the enthalpy change of hydrogenation of ethene, as shown
in the equation below:
C2H4 + H2 → C2H6

Bond Bond energies / kJ mol-1

4
 C–C 350
C=C 610
C–H 435
H–H 436

Bond broken: Energy / kJ mol-1 Bond formed: Energy / kJ mol-1

1 C=C +610 1 C–C -350
4 C–H +435 × 4 = +1740 6 C–H -435 × 6 = -2610
1 H–H +436
Total energy absorbed: +2786 Total energy released: -2960

∴ Enthalpy change of hydrogenation of C2H4 = -2960 + 2786 = -174 kJ mol-1