OxfordAQA CH05 chemistry: practical and synoptic
Practise choosing a method, explaining a measurement and evaluating the result. CH05 can draw on any part of the course, so revise the chemistry behind each practical.
CH05 · 85 minutes · 60 marks · 18% of the full A-level
January exam: 15 January 2027. Check the timetable and local starting time.
What to revise for CH05
- All CH01–CH04 subject content and links between topics
- Planning, variables, apparatus choice and recording results
- Graph choice, gradients, calculations and uncertainties
- Interpreting observations, judging evidence and evaluating procedures
- The ten required practical activities and their underlying skills
You’ll need hands-on experience of the ten required practicals. The written papers test the methods and the chemistry behind them.
The ten required practicals
- Volumetric solution and acid–base titration
- Enthalpy measurement
- Group 2, ammonium and specified anion tests
- Distillation of a reaction product
- Tests for alcohols, aldehydes, alkenes and carboxylic acids
- Electrochemical cell EMF
- pH changes during weak/strong acid–base titrations
- Initial-rate and continuous-monitoring methods
- Transition-metal ion tests
- Preparation and purity of an organic solid
Evaluate a titration result
A student repeats a titration three times using a burette with a calibration error. Explain why close agreement between the titres does not show that the concentration is accurate.
Compare your explanation
A calibration error can affect every titre in the same way. Close agreement shows good repeatability, but repeating the titration does not remove a systematic error. You’d need to check the burette against a reliable reference.
About these resourcesMade by Dr T. Smith · Chemistryhelp.co.uk