Cambridge Professional Development

Marking guidance

AS & A Level Chemistry 9701

Terminology and abbreviations used in the mark scheme

• / or OR These designate two alternative and independent ways to gain the marks. They occur
in many of the marking points in the mark schemes. For example:
- in Paper 2, 4ai red / orange / yellow precipitate / ppt / solid. This means that red, orange or
yellow can be awarded together with the words precipitate, ppt or solid.
- in Paper 4, 2aii, 1 mol liquid and 2 mol gas formed from 3 mol solid OR two solid
compounds converted to a liquid and a gas. So, the mark can be awarded if either of these
statements are given in the answer.

• () If brackets are seen in the mark scheme, the information in the brackets is not necessarily
required for the answer. In Paper 2, question 2ci, you can see this marking point:
(bonding =) covalent, because it is hydrolysed. This means that the candidate only needs to
write ‘covalent, because it is hydrolysed’ to gain the mark.

• AND This separates two parts of an answer and both parts must be included in the candidate’s
response if you are to award the mark. You can see this in several places in the mark scheme.
In Paper 2, 3ei, the M2 marking point is correct dipole (δ+H—Brδ–) AND curly arrow from H—Br
to Br. This means that the dipole must be correctly shown and there must be a curly arrow on
H—Br, as shown in the mechanism diagrams.

• ignore This means that the answer should be marked as if the words or phrase to be ignored
were not there. You can see this in the table in Paper 3, 3bi:

If a candidate writes ‘no change to litmus and effervescence is seen’, the ‘effervescence’
observation is ignored.
• ecf This means error carried forward. A mistake is made early in the answer to a question and
the rest of the marks are then awarded based on the error that has been made. ecf is used
most often in questions involving calculations. However, in Paper 4, 3dv, it states:
isomer 1 AND cis isomer drawn by candidate ecf. This means that if the candidate has written
isomer 1 and drawn an incorrect polar structure in 3div, this structure would still gain the mark.

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Marking scripts
• Correct chemistry should always be rewarded, even if the answer is not mentioned in the
mark scheme.

• If a candidate uses words that are not on the mark scheme but mean the same thing as
the words on the mark scheme, award the mark.

• Do not withhold marks for inaccurate grammar if the underlying chemistry is correct.

• Ignore statements that are irrelevant, even if they are incorrect.

• Spellings do not have to be correct, unless the spellings are given for words that may be
confused, e.g. ethene is not acceptable when ethane is the required answer. If the word is
close to the required word and could not mean anything else chemically then allow benefit
of doubt, BOD. If in doubt, ask yourself ‘What else could it be?’ For example, for “sulfuric
acid” accept “sulffric acid”.

• In the mark scheme, if a word or phrase is underlined then this word or phrase is essential
for the award of the mark.

• If a word or phrase is given in bold in the mark scheme then this, or an equivalent word or
phrase, is required to the award the mark.

• In equations:

- do not allow missing signs e.g. Na2O H2O → 2NaOH should not be credited.

- do not allow the same species on both sides of the equation e.g.
2NO + O2 → NO2 + ½O2. This suggests that oxygen is a product as well as a reactant.

- accept multiples, including fractions and ignore state symbols, unless required in the
answer e.g. NO(l) + ½O2(g) → NO2(s) or 4NO + 2O2 → 4NO2 are both marked correct
in the equation for the reaction of NO and oxygen.

• Give candidates benefit of doubt, BOD, if this can be justified. In answering Paper 2, 2ai,
candidates are asked to Define a reducing agent. The mark scheme states species that
donates electrons. A candidate answers substance which helps to reduce a molecule by
losing electrons. This is given BOD because a reducing agent does lose electrons and so
reduces a species, in this case a molecule.

• If there are two alternative answers given in a candidate’s response, and one is correct and
the other is incorrect, do not choose between them. This is called a contradiction, CON.
For example, in answer to question 2diii, if a candidate writes the position of equilibrium
shifts to the right producing more reactants then this is a CON.

• If the answer to a question part is crossed out and not replaced, then you should mark
what has been written. If only part of an answer has been crossed out, then the crossed
out part should be ignored and the rest of the answer marked.

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 Accuracy marks on Paper 3
On Paper 3 there are ‘accuracy marks’. These compare the supervisor’s results with the
candidate’s results.

For Question 1a, you need to calculate the supervisor’s greatest temperature change, ΔT, from the
table of results. The expected temperature change is between 10.5 oC − 15.0 oC.

• If the candidate’s temperature change, δ, from the table, is less than or equal to 1.5 oC
then 2 marks are awarded.

• If the temperature is ⩽ 2.0 oC, but above 1.5 oC, then 1 mark is given.

For Question 2a, you should check that the subtraction of the initial and final volumes to give the
titres are correct. If they are not, then please calculate the correct mean titre. This value is then
compared with the supervisor’s mean titre and the difference, δ, calculated.

• If δ is less than or equal to 0.50 cm3 then 1 mark is awarded.

• If δ is ⩽ 0.3 cm3 then 2 marks are awarded.

• If δ is ⩽ 0.2 cm3 then 3 marks are awarded.

The supervisor’s readings directly affect the candidate’s final marks. This is why it is so important
that the supervisor takes care to obtain accurate results.

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