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GCSE Combined Science

Required Practicals

100 questions17 subtopicsAQAEdexcelEduqasOCRWJEC
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What's covered

Microbiology — antiseptics and antibiotics8
Titration8
Food tests7
Microscopy7
Osmosis in plant tissue7
Electrolysis6
I-V characteristics6
Photosynthesis rate6
Rates of reaction6
Hooke's Law5
Making soluble salts5
Paper chromatography5
Refraction of light5
Specific heat capacity5
Temperature change (calorimetry)5
Waves5
Resistance in circuits4

Key facts

1

A catalyst speeds up a reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower activation energy.

2

Potato strips are blotted dry before weighing to remove surface water, which would otherwise add to the mass.

3

At the anode (positive electrode), ions lose electrons — this is called oxidation.

4

In brine electrolysis, chlorine gas is produced at the anode.

5

A calorimetry experiment measures the heat energy released or absorbed in a chemical reaction by recording the temperature change of the solution.

6

A gas syringe is used to measure the volume of gas produced in a rates-of-reaction experiment.

7

Beyond the elastic limit, a spring is permanently (plastically) deformed and does not return to its original length.

8

A diode allows current to flow in one direction only (forward bias); in reverse bias it has very high resistance and almost no current flows.

9

Aseptic technique is a set of methods used to prevent contamination of cultures by unwanted microorganisms.

10

Actual size = image size ÷ magnification; a 4 mm image at ×400 represents an actual size of 0.01 mm.

Sample questions

A taste of the 100 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.

1Electrolysis

What happens at the cathode during electrolysis?

  • Negative ions are attracted and gain electrons
  • Oxidation — negative ions lose electrons
  • Positive ions are repelled away from the electrode
  • Reduction — positive ions gain electrons to form atoms
2Food tests

What does Benedict's reagent test for?

  • lipids (fats and oils)
  • proteins
  • reducing sugars
  • starch
3Hooke's Law

State Hooke's Law.

  • Extension increases by a constant amount for each unit of force
  • Extension is directly proportional to force, up to the elastic limit
  • Force and extension are inversely proportional at all loads
  • Force is directly proportional to the square of the extension
4I-V characteristics

What does an I-V characteristics practical investigate?

  • charge vs time relationship
  • current vs voltage relationship
  • power vs current relationship
  • resistance vs temperature relationship
5Making soluble salts

What is the first step when making a pure salt from an acid and an insoluble metal oxide?

  • Add excess solid metal oxide to the acid until no more dissolves
  • Add the acid to the solid until the solid disappears
  • Add water to dilute the acid before adding the solid
  • Heat the acid until it evaporates
6Microbiology — antiseptics and antibiotics

What is aseptic technique?

  • identifies the type of bacteria present
  • kills all bacteria on an agar plate
  • measures the growth rate of bacteria
  • prevents contamination of cultures

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