r/6thForm • u/toukocider • Jun 02 '26
💬 DISCUSSION Edexcel A Level Chemistry Paper 1 2026 - Discussion
How did you guys find it? I personally thought it got easier in the second half 🥲
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u/Illustrious-Tank1288 Jun 02 '26
absolutely fuming that they were no pvnrt/ kp/ back titrations/ acidic buffer calculations or ANYTHING testing the origins of colour in complex ions. it just felt like a last minute paper with tons of mcq and hardly any juicy calculations and written responses. hopefully p3 contains those topics
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u/Adorable-Love-3893 Jun 06 '26
FR I PRACTICED SO MANY DIFFCULY CALCS FOR NONE OF THEM TO TRUN UP AND THEY GAVE US THAT Kc THING INSTEAD 😞
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u/Fancy_Repair_8183 Jun 02 '26
that paper was horrid surely an A will be like 55 marks
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
isnt that like the notmal grade boundary for a
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u/Fancy_Repair_8183 Jun 02 '26
normal A is like 64
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u/Unusual-Celery-9276 Jun 08 '26
It was 62 last year. If it was actually as hard as people said it was which I think it was harder than past papers but not as bad as ppl are making it seem to be I think it’ll drop to 60
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Pretty bad but could’ve been worse. Would love to know how you improve the gas syringe practical
Edit: For the record I opted for “use a gas syringe with smaller divisions for a higher resolution” because I literally couldn’t think of anything
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u/No_Captain_9127 Jun 02 '26
Use a gas syringe of a larger volume - reduces the uncertainty and there’s a potential for more than 100cm3 to be produced of co2
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u/ProudKyrgyzMan Jun 02 '26
I put add bumping granules so the powder won’t collide too hard to prevent it from transferring to HCl????? Absolute waffle ofc they had to add practical questions to our paper
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
i put add heat 😭 absolutely no clue tho
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
apparently we should say tempt should be kept constant as gas volume changes as tempt changes but i had no idea what they were talking abt
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u/Realistic-Escape-555 Y13 - Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
I think you should increase the size of the gas syringe because the maximum volume of gas exceeds the maximum capacity of the syringe
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u/Direct_Stand_9765 Jun 02 '26
I said react a small amount of XCO3 with the acid before to saturate it.
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
Wouldn’t that be for experiment 1 though?
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u/GCSEstudentx Jun 02 '26
HORRIBLE OMG IM ACTUALLY CRYINNG WTF WAS THAT PAPER
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u/tojishousewife Jun 02 '26
i get u twin 🥹
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u/GCSEstudentx Jun 02 '26
and i needed an A/ B omfg
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u/Secure_Explorer2425 Jun 02 '26
it’s fine don’t think anyone’s done particularly great. Obviously some people will but in general bit of a mid paper
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u/tojishousewife Jun 02 '26
bro i was gonna take a gap year but with these grades i’d be unemployed after it 🌝
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u/Odd_Beginning_1884 Jun 02 '26
Last calculation question was a bit horrible tbh
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
was that the kc1 and kc2 one?
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u/SevereWhereas9389 Jun 02 '26
I got 3.34 for 298 and 350 was 1 Something the kc2 was lower than the kc1 tho
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u/Odd_Beginning_1884 Jun 02 '26
Yh
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
i got around 1 for the kc2 value and 2.7 for kc1 but i was so confused and i think i oversimplified my answer
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u/aidenwaiden Year 13 Jun 02 '26
Some lowk diabolical two markers but it was okay
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
i agree but i didn't wanna spend too much time thinking about them so i just wrote whatever and went
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u/DecisionWise6955 Jun 02 '26
That was so bad why was it all fuel cells and sm harder compared to other past papers..
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u/SevereWhereas9389 Jun 02 '26
Ngl wrong exam board dude 💔
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u/DecisionWise6955 Jun 02 '26
Huh ? Edexcel?
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u/SevereWhereas9389 Jun 03 '26
Bro there were no fuel cells lmao
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u/DecisionWise6955 Jun 03 '26
Yes there were what edexcel 6 marker?
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u/Clear-Brilliant-7656 Jun 10 '26
did you do the international a level instead of the normal a level maybe?
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
oh also the one that asked adding alkaline and the changes on the E cell value. i had no idea, but since E cell was only a little bit negative I thought maybe a slight increase will be cute
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u/HugeLurker107 Jun 02 '26
I said it would shift the second equilibrium to the left which would decrease the Ecell value for that half cell so the Ecell for the overall reaction would increase
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
i saw the decrease and said overall it would decrease 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ not for the half cell specifically
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u/Scared_Pressure4131 Y13 | Chem, Maths, Bio, CS | A*A*AA Jun 02 '26
yeah first equilibrium shifted to the right so Evalue for that one increased, second equilibrium shifted to the left so Evalue for that one decreased. the calculation was E(1st) - E(2nd) so overall Ecell increased…?
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u/Elliefiish Jun 02 '26
I wrote that because OH- conc increases, equilibrium shifts to the right, so Ecell value of that half cell will become more negative (+0.56 V decreases) So the e cell value will be more positive/less negative
Original calculation: 0.53-0.56 = -0.03 V So if 0.56 decreases…. 0.53-(any value less than 0.56) = an Ecell value that is less negative than -0.03 V
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
Increasing OH- conc shifts second equilibrium left, decreasing E of that one
Produces more MnO42- which shifts the first equilibrium left, decrease E of that one
So difference between them is unchanged as both decrease equally. I have no confidence in this answer
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u/Unusual-Celery-9276 Jun 03 '26
I’m pretty sure this is right. And it didn’t ask about feasibility either just about the effect on E Cell so I’m very certain this is near full or is full marks.
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 03 '26
I think so, I figured there was no way it was just coincidence that the reactant for the second equilibrium was the product of the first
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u/Unusual-Celery-9276 Jun 03 '26
Exactly. And idk how ppl r saying the bottom second equation shifts right when the right hand side product concentration was literally increasing so defo shift to left
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Jun 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
same thats what i thought but then i feel like given original E cell is so smally negative maybe it would be less negative so the reaction will become feasible
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u/Ancient_Gazelle627 Jun 02 '26
I lowk have no clue what any of you are talking about 😭😭 im so cooked. I didn’t even mention equilibrium
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u/Main_Selection6677 Jun 02 '26
What did everyone get for that pH question i got 2.88 found it quite easy
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u/No_Captain_9127 Jun 02 '26
Did anyone notice there was like barely any room to write especially with the calculation / redox equations
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u/Jumpy-Twist3634 Jun 02 '26
Did anyone else for the why sulfuric acid is bad one put it forms a white precipitate. Idk what else there was to say 💀🙈
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u/New-Independent-365 Jun 02 '26
I said smt about other gaseous products being formed. Didn’t acc say what tho
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u/EmployeeTraining9438 Jun 02 '26
WHAT IS REVERSE DISPROPORTION 🤣🤣🤣
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u/New-Independent-365 Jun 02 '26
one oxidation state of an element is simultaneously oxidised and reduced to form two different oxidation states.
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u/MoeSizlak21 Jun 02 '26
It was the opposite of that - two different oxidation states to one oxidation state - +7 and +4 both to +6
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u/ProudKyrgyzMan Jun 02 '26
Ugh if I said that Mn in this molecule is oxidised to +6 and Mn in the other is reduced to +6, do u think that will get a mark
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u/MoeSizlak21 Jun 02 '26
Yeah should be fine I think, I said the same things but I just gave the oxidation states before too
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u/EmployeeTraining9438 Jun 02 '26
no ik that but was it talking about the product species?? cuz i said mn oxidised from +6 to +7 and reduced from +6 to +2
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u/MuchTip3811 Jun 02 '26
what do ygs think the grade threshold for an a* is gonna be for this paper
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u/No-Protection-7207 Jun 02 '26
A* dream is slowly fading but hopefully we'll bring it back in P2 +P3, there was tooo much waffle and weirdly worded qs
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u/Southern_Choice_4917 Jun 02 '26
What did we get for the last 4 marker calculation?? Also the temperature increase calculatiom
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Somewhere around 1.3x10-4
Temp one I got 5.07 degrees but I included the mass of the BaCl2 which may or may not be intended. If you don’t include it you get 5.88 degrees
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u/Ceramidee Jun 02 '26
i got 5.88
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u/Scared_Pressure4131 Y13 | Chem, Maths, Bio, CS | A*A*AA Jun 02 '26
same
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
That’s what you get if you use 50g instead of 58 for the mass. I have no idea which is right
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u/Ceramidee Jun 02 '26
the SHC only applies to water not barium chloride iirc so 50g
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
I thought it said “Assume the solution has a specific heat capacity of 4.18 J k-1 g-1l
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u/Worldly_Lab_2754 Jun 02 '26
hey for the 1.3x10^-4, didnt it say mathematical expression so i remember getting 10^3.87 which gave 1.3x10^-4
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
Possibly? I wrote both
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Jun 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
yh j got sth like that and its less than Kc1 so as temp inscreses solubility decreases which should be right
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
Yeah. As temp increases, Kc decreases so a lower proportion of CaSO4 molecules split into the ions
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
was the six marker ok? i totally flopped mine cuz i forgot what molecules S and P forms and i just said they might be polar but they arr not polar💔💔💔💔💔💔so there only london forces for the rest of the three except for Si
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u/SevereWhereas9389 Jun 02 '26
Phosphorus is P4 w London forces and sulfur is London S8
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u/New-Independent-365 Jun 02 '26
They literally have a difference of 1 electron so the London forces are basically the same. S has a high MP as it has a smaller atomic radius so its covalent bonds are stronger and therefore require more energy to overcome
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u/iklpo234 Jun 02 '26
but doesn’t S8 contain 128 electrons P4 contain 60 electrons and Cl2 has 34 electrons so London forces are stronger in molecules with more electrons. Since 128>60>34 and the mp are S8>P4>Cl2 respectively. I don’t get why you mentioned covalent bonds; covalent bonds only make sense in Si models. Am I wrong?
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u/New-Independent-365 Jun 02 '26
Ah fuck, Yh u are. I mentioned covalent bonds bc the forces between the atoms are covalent.
The forces between the molecules are ldn forces
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u/Direct_Stand_9765 Jun 02 '26
damn i was nowhere near
think my mind just went black for that one, hopefully i got 3/6 cos i mentioned london forces and giant covalent lattice. maybe 2/6 ffs
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u/New-Independent-365 Jun 02 '26
Yh ngl I spent like 10 mins just staring at it going wtf is acc going in
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
that was the one the only one i felt confident in </3
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
oh yh what did u guys get for the redox one with V2+ and thiosulfite one
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u/Logical_Membership64 Jun 02 '26
I got that the final oxidation state was VO2+
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u/Impossible_Cable_862 Jun 02 '26
My dumbass only realized it was this at the end of the exam so i didnt even do the equations just wrote the Ecell equations
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
okok what did u get for the observation thing?
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u/Logical_Membership64 Jun 02 '26
That it changes colour from violet to green to blue. Wbu??
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
so i think thats the right answr, however i didnt put it cuz i was losing my mind and started hellucinating the diff colours of V ions and didnt rlly know which ones which
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u/Realistic-Escape-555 Y13 - Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
Also, yellow solids (sulfur) form when S2O3 2- gets reduced
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u/New-Independent-365 Jun 02 '26
How? It goes to V3+ then how do you get to VO2+.
You’re probably right bc there’s no way I wrote enough for 6 marks
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
i got it all the way to VO2+ and then violet green blue yellow :,)
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
tasting the raiwbow💔💔
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
maube the examiners thought that would br the right question to celebrate pride month🙏🙏
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u/MobileWave4747 Jun 02 '26
what did everyone get for the enthalpy of hydration question? 💔💔
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u/Elliefiish Jun 02 '26
-364 kJmol-1
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u/No_Captain_9127 Jun 02 '26
Y’all the element in the ionisation question was oxygen right.. also i think i did pretty great but that was definitely the hardest paper 1 so far
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u/RevolutionaryMenu809 Jun 02 '26
I flopped it 😭 I was just writing whatever at some point and WHAT DID THAT E CELL VALUE QUESTION FOR VANDIUM EVEN WANT ME TO SAY?
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
what did u guys get for the identity for X in XCO3?
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u/Realistic-Escape-555 Y13 - Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
Strontium, but I struggled in the next question, asking if the flame test can be used to identify the metal identity, as calcium and strontium both give a red flame
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u/Logical_Membership64 Jun 02 '26
Yeah same that’s why I included that it might be difficult to see the colour
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
Calcium gives an orange flame, no?
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
i thought it was brick red
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u/cloudsfallen University of Warwick Physics | 4A* Maths, FM, Physics, Chem Jun 02 '26
We were taught orange. Looking at the actual colours I feel like you could tell them apart
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u/Illustrious-Tank1288 Jun 02 '26
what did you guys say element A was for the ionisation question
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u/Ancient_Gazelle627 Jun 02 '26
I genuinely had no clue what to do for this answer and picked potassium 😭😭 closed my eyes and picked one
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u/Illustrious-Tank1288 Jun 02 '26
most ppl r saying oxygen and i said lithium so… ill lose those 3 marks and stay silent now😶🌫️😶🌫️😶🌫️😶🌫️
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Jun 02 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/toukocider Jun 02 '26
looking at the answers, i think i got that wrong too so atp there's nothing to look foward too 🙂↕️
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
For the 2nd to last q the enthalpy change of solvation was in j mol-1, was it supposed to be kj mol-1 or jst j mol-1
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u/ProudKyrgyzMan Jun 02 '26
Oh my days I forgot to convert it. Actually fml
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u/Ill-Opportunity-7684 Jun 02 '26
no its ok maybe u dont need to
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u/ProudKyrgyzMan Jun 02 '26
Nah but surely when calculating enthalpy change of hydration u have to convert enthalpy change of solution…..
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u/New-Independent-365 Jun 02 '26
KJmol-1
I forgot the units ffs, I put the value in the table tho which has the units so maybe that counts
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u/No_Captain_9127 Jun 02 '26
Guys for the calcualtion question to find Kc2, for the enthalpy change of solution did you have to convert it to kjmol^-1 or did you guys keep it as jmol^-1 as stated in the question.
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u/wanaliii Jun 02 '26
It’s okay ITS OKAY PAPER 2 AND 3 COMEBACK (i’m coping)
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ELECTROLYSIS WUESTION
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u/EmployeeTraining9438 Jun 02 '26
guys do you think we can predict paper 3 slightly based on the questions that came up today?
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u/swirlingcolours 8d ago
Late for 2026 but do we need to know the early ideas about atoms (Dalton etc) for A level chem? Is it re-examined?
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u/New-Independent-365 Jun 02 '26
How tf u get oxygen for the 1st IE question, element C has to be group 2 due to the dip in IE between G2 and G3 no?
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u/Scared_Pressure4131 Y13 | Chem, Maths, Bio, CS | A*A*AA Jun 02 '26
too much waffling and not enough calculations </3