Chromatography: past paper questions

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• Question 40May/June 2026, paper 13Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Four coloured substances, P, Q, R and S, are analysed by chromatography. The chromatogram is shown. Which statements are correct?

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• Question 37Oct/Nov 2025, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Four dyes, P, Q, R and S, are analysed using chromatography. Water is the solvent. The chromatogram produced is shown.

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• Question 39Oct/Nov 2024, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Dyes are coloured substances. The chromatogram of substance X and four different dyes, 1, 2, 3 and 4, is shown. Substance X contains only two of the dyes 1, 2, 3 and 4.

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• Question 39Oct/Nov 2023, paper 13Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The chromatograms of four different dyes are shown. How many different colours are present in the four dyes?

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• Question 40Oct/Nov 2025, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  W is a mixture of coloured dyes. It is thought to contain dyes P, Q, R or S.

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• Question 38Oct/Nov 2024, paper 23Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The chromatogram of substance S is shown. Some distances, W, X, Y and Z, are labelled on the diagram. How is the $R_f$ value of substance S calculated?

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• Question 38Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The painkiller paracetamol is synthesised from 4-aminophenol. Chromatography is done on an impure sample of paracetamol. The results are shown.

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• Question 38May/June 2026, paper 22Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The colours in an ink can be separated by chromatography. Which diagram shows the correct way to set up the apparatus?

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• Question 4Oct/Nov 2024, paper 61Essay6 marks

  Beetroot is a coloured vegetable. The colour is caused by a mixture of water-soluble coloured compounds. Plan an experiment to find how many water-soluble coloured compounds there are in a beetroot.

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• Question 40Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Substance Q is investigated using chromatography. The chromatogram is shown. The diagram is not drawn to scale.

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• Question 39May/June 2026, paper 23Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The diagram shows a chromatography experiment. Which label shows the solvent front?

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• Question 40Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Multiple choice1 mark

  Chromatography is used to separate and analyse mixtures of soluble substances. The first steps of the process are listed. ● apply sample to baseline ● develop chromatogram in solvent What is the next step in the process to detect soluble colourless substances?

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• Question 38May/June 2024, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Substance X and four known substances, P, Q, R and S, are analysed by chromatography. The chromatogram produced is shown. Which statement about X is correct?

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• Question 39Oct/Nov 2023, paper 23Multiple choice1 mark

  $R_{\text{f}}$ values are used to identify unknown substances using paper chromatography.

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• Question 4May/June 2024, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Which row identifies methods of testing the purity of a compound?

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• Question 1Oct/Nov 2023, paper 61Structured5 marksHas a diagram

  A student uses chromatography to analyse samples of three different dyes. The apparatus the student uses is shown in Fig. 1.1. A spot of each dye is placed on the paper and some ethanol is poured into the beaker.

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• Question 3Oct/Nov 2025, paper 32Structured10 marksHas a diagram

  Table 3.1 shows the masses of ions, in mg, present in a $500{\text{ cm}}^3$ sample of contaminated water. Table 3.1 Answer these questions using the information from Table 3.1. Name the negative ion that has the highest concentration.

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• Question 40May/June 2024, paper 21Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Which statement about chromatography is correct?

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• Question 38May/June 2023, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Chromatography is carried out on mixture Y and dyes E, F, G and H. The chromatogram is shown. Which dyes are present in mixture Y?

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• Question 38May/June 2025, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Which diagram shows the correct level of solvent at the start of a chromatography experiment?

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• Question 38May/June 2024, paper 23Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Four pure substances, P, Q, R and S, are tested using chromatography. The same solvent is used each time. The table shows the distance moved by each substance and by the solvent from the baseline.

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• Question 40May/June 2023, paper 21Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Which chromatogram shows how the $R_{\mathrm{f}}$ value of a substance is calculated?

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• Question 39May/June 2025, paper 13Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Three coloured inks, P, Q and R, are tested using paper chromatography. The chromatogram is shown. Which statement is correct?

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• Question 4May/June 2024, paper 31Structured7 marksHas a diagram

  Fig. 4.1 shows the displayed formula of a compound extracted from a plant. On Fig. 4.1, draw a circle around one functional group that makes this compound unsaturated.

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• Question 39May/June 2023, paper 22Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Two compounds, M and N, are dissolved in water and separated by chromatography. The results are shown. What is the $R_f$ value of M and which compound is most soluble in water?

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• Question 4May/June 2024, paper 32Structured7 marksHas a diagram

  Some plants produce ethene gas. Draw the displayed formula for a molecule of ethene.

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• Question 39May/June 2023, paper 23Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The chromatogram obtained from a chromatography experiment on substance S is shown. What is the $R_{\text{f}}$ value of S?

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• Question 40May/June 2025, paper 23Multiple choice1 mark

  In paper chromatography, what is the equation for the $R_{\mathrm{f}}$ value?

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• Question 4May/June 2024, paper 33Structured7 marksHas a diagram

  Chlorophyll is a coloured compound found in plants. Chlorophyll is needed for photosynthesis. Complete the word equation for photosynthesis.

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• Question 1May/June 2024, paper 41Structured7 marks

  Name the process that is used to: convert sulfur dioxide into sulfur trioxide in the manufacture of sulfuric acid

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