AQA · OCR A · practical skills

Practical chemistry questions

Practise the decisions that cost marks: what to measure, how accurately to record it, which results to trust and what a graph shows.

Start mixed practice Practise graphs

104hand-built question families 100,000+generated practical variants 24AQA/OCR practical contexts

Rate experiment Time / sGas / cm³ 2018 4031 6040 8046

When I look at a practical data table, I immediately ask what decision comes next: choose the axes, spot an anomaly, draw the right fit, calculate something, or improve the method. The numbers are often only the start of the question.

Choose a practical skill

Pick the skill you want to work on. Mixed practice moves between them.

Measurements & apparatusChoose suitable apparatus, record measurements correctly and practise the measurement decisions behind reliable practical data. apparatus choicerecording datameasurement languagestandard solutions Practise Titration techniqueRinsing, burette setup, pipette delivery, endpoints, concordant titres and the effect of practical mistakes. rinsingburette setupendpointconcordance Practise Percentage uncertaintyCalculate percentage uncertainty, handle differences between two readings and choose improvements that address the actual limitation. percentage uncertaintytwo readingsdominant uncertaintytargeted improvements Practise Graphs & dataChoose axes and scales, plot data, recognise anomalies, judge best fit, interpolate and use tangents and gradients. axes and scalesplottingbest fitanomaliesgradients Practise Rates experimentsChoose how to follow a reaction, plan initial-rate work and extract rates from experimental data. monitoring methodsinitial ratescolorimetrytangents Practise CalorimetryChoose the measurements you need, correct temperature changes from graphs and judge heat-loss and uncertainty improvements. temperature changeheat losscooling correctionuncertainty Practise Qualitative analysisChoose reagents, use observations to identify ions and design test sequences that avoid misleading results. reagentsobservationsion teststest sequence Practise Plan & evaluateChoose variables, diagnose weak methods and match an improvement to the experimental problem it actually fixes. variablesmethod designevaluationtargeted improvements Practise Organic methodsReflux, distillation, functional-group tests, separating funnels, drying, recrystallisation, filtration and purity checks. refluxdistillationpurificationrecrystallisation Practise Unfamiliar practicalsTransfer familiar practical skills into experiments you may not have seen before, then decide what to measure, control or change. transfermethod judgementplanningevaluation Practise Investigation builderBuild an investigation one decision at a time: variable, measurement, apparatus, controls, repeats and data processing. experimental designvariablesapparatusdata processing Practise Mixed practical skillsMove between measurements, titration, uncertainty, graphs, rates, calorimetry, qualitative analysis, organic methods and planning. mixed retrievalmethod judgementdata handlingexam technique Practise

Following a named practical?

AQA required practicals 1–12Open the required practical you are revising.

Need the titration calculation as well?

Practise concentration, mole-ratio, redox and composition calculations in the full titration set.

Open titration questions

Start with a 12-question diagnostic

Answer 12 mixed practical questions and use the result to choose the practical skill that needs another pass.

Take the practical skills check

Know why each step is there

When the chemical context changes, ask what the practical step is controlling: measurement, mixing, heat loss, endpoint, gas collection, separation or uncertainty. The practice deliberately moves between different experiments so you have to recognise the underlying decision.

View practical technique diagrams