2021 Junior Division

Years 7 and 8 • Ages 12 - 14

Rules
• Do not open the book until told to do so by your
teacher. The quiz consists of 30 multiple-choice
questions to be answered in one hour.

• Calculators and rough-working paper are permitted.

• Record all your answers on the computer sheet

provided, in the way indicated on the back of the
book using a soft lead pencil.

© RACI 2021 - No part of this paper may be reproduced without

permission from the RACI

ORGANISED BY
 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8

2021 RACI INTERNATIONAL CHEMISTRY QUIZ

YEARS 7 & 8

DATA

The names and symbols of some elements are given below:

aluminium Al hydrogen H oxygen O

barium Ba iodine I phosphorus P
boron B iridium Ir plutonium Pu
bromine Br iron Fe potassium K
calcium Ca lithium Li silicon Si
carbon C magnesium Mg sodium Na
chlorine Cl nickel Ni sulfur S
copper Cu nitrogen N uranium U

The structure of molecules:

Molecules are two or more atoms chemically joined (“bonded”). Structural formulas show the arrangement of atoms in molecules.
Single () and double (═) strokes represent bonds joining atoms together. Hydrogen atoms only have one bond joining them to other
atoms, oxygen atoms have a total of two bonds and carbon atoms have a total of four bonds.

H-H O=O

Hydrogen molecule (H2) Oxygen molecule (O2) Methane molecule (CH4)

Units of measure

Symbol Name Value

m milli 1/1000
c centi 1/100
k kilo 1000

Metric units

Quantity Equivalent metric unit

1L 1 dm3
1 mL 1 cm3

Image Acknowledgements:

The images below have been reproduced with permission from the following sources:

• Q12: Compound Interest 2016 – www.compoundchem.com

• Q14: MaximKhabur/Wikimedia Commons (lithium-ion battery)
• Q14: Tntflash/Wikimedia Commons (lead-acid battery)
• Q22: BQUB17-ONadal/Wikimedia Commons
• Q25: Malachite from Zaire - Dlloyd/Wikimedia Commons
• Chemical structures constructed using http://molview.org
 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Question 1.
Which of the following groups of elements have symbols that ALL start with the same letter?

A. potassium, phosphorus, plutonium C. sodium, nitrogen, nickel

B. copper, uranium, plutonium D. iron, iodine, iridium

Question 2.
Which piece of equipment will give the most accurate measure of 40 mL of hydrochloric acid?

100 mL measuring cylinder 100 mL beaker 100 mL conical flask 50 mL test tube
A. B. C. D.

Information for the next 2 questions:

Benzoic acid is widely used as a food preservative. The arrangement of atoms in benzoic acid may be represented as:

Question 3.
Benzoic acid can be represented by the formula
A. COH B. C6OH6 C. C7O2H5 D. C7O2H6

Question 4.
In 100 grams of benzoic acid there are about 69 grams of carbon and 5 grams of hydrogen.

What is the approximate mass of oxygen in 200 grams of benzoic acid?

A. 13 grams B. 26 grams C. 52 grams D. 104 grams

Question 5.
A chemical change involves at least one new substance being formed while a physical change may result in a change of state, but
no new substances are formed. Cooking with heat usually makes new chemicals in food.

A student wrote down some physical and chemical changes around their home:
1. Boiling an egg 3. Ice melting in a glass 5. Baking bread
2. A piece of iron rusting 4. Water boiling in a kettle 6. Wood burning

The physical changes were

A. 1, 2, 5 and 6 only. B. 3 and 4 only. C. 3, 4 and 6 only. D. 1, 3 and 5 only.
 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Question 6.
A student placed a mixture of sugar in two flasks. She then added some yeast (used in making some types of bread) to Flask 1 only
and placed a balloon over the top of both flasks. She left the flasks together in a warm place and when she came back she recorded
her results.

Flask 1: Flask 2: Control

Sugar + water + yeast (Sugar + water)
Flask 1 Flask 2
At the start After 24 hours

What would be the best explanation for the different result observed in the flasks?

A. Flask 2 was in a hotter place than Flask 1.

B. The air pressure was higher outside the balloon of Flask 1.
C. More sugar evaporated in Flask 1 to make more gas.
D. The yeast caused a chemical reaction to make gas.

Information for the next 2 questions:

Wildfire is a fictional explosive chemical from the books and mini-series Game of Thrones. A student wanted to reproduce the green
flame when wildfire burns. To do this, he followed the following method:

1. Pour a bit of methanol (CH3OH) into a heat-proof evaporating basin.

2. Stir in a drop of green food colouring.
3. Stir a spoonful of borax (Na₂[B₄O₅(OH)₄].8H₂O) into the liquid mixture.
4. Light the mixture and you have the pretty green fire.

Question 7.
How many different elements are in borax?

A. 4 B. 7 C. 8 D. 43

Question 8.
Which is the LEAST important safety warning when conducting this experiment?

A. Be careful with flames, as you might get burnt.

B. Do not drink methanol, as it is poisonous.
C. Do not spill methanol on your skin, as it can poison you.
D. Wipe up any food colouring spilled on the bench.

Question 9.
Alloys are usually mixtures of metals but some contain small amounts of non-metals. Some examples are listed below.

Alloy Elements in alloy

Pig iron Carbon, iron
Alumel Aluminium, manganese, nickel, silicon
Zamak Aluminium, copper, magnesium, zinc
Guanin Copper, iron, manganese, sulfur

Which alloy above contains ONLY metals?

A. Pig iron B. Alumel C. Zamak D. Guanin
 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Question 10.
An aim of Chemistry is to study properties of substances. A property can be defined as how substances appear to our senses and
how substances can be changed. Which statement describes correctly one property of a chemical substance, using this definition?

A. Iron is a solid at room temperature. C. Carbon dioxide is a common substance.

B. Water can be represented by the formula H2O. D. Water is the most abundant element on Earth.

Question 11.
Dead ocean fish can smell more fishy than dead freshwater fish. After the ocean fish dies, a chemical called trimethylamine oxide
(TMAO) breaks down to make smelly trimethylamine. Trimethylamine has three times as many carbon atoms as it has nitrogen atoms
and it has three times as many hydrogen atoms as it has carbon atoms. None of the hydrogens are attached to the nitrogen.

Which of the following molecules is trimethylamine?

A. B. C. D.

Question 12.
Different metals may produce different coloured flames when solutions containing the metals are sprayed as a mist through a hot
flame. Some examples of the colours produced are given below.

(Yellow-orange) (Light green) (Light purple) (Green-blue) (Orange-red)

sodium barium potassium copper calcium

Three different powders (salt of tartar, bicarb soda and chalk dust) were added to three different test tubes and 10 mL of hydrochloric
acid was added to each test tube. After reacting, some of the remaining solution in each test tube was sprayed through a hot flame
and the colours recorded.

Powder Salt of tartar Bicarb soda Chalk dust

Flame colour Purple Yellow-orange Orange-red

The metal in each solution was

Salt of Tartar Bicarb soda Chalk dust

A. Potassium Sodium Barium
B. Copper Sodium Barium
C. Potassium Sodium Calcium
D. Copper Calcium Sodium

Question 13.
The diagrams on the right represent
atoms of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen,
and also a molecule of water, H2O. It also
shows how many other atoms can bond
to each atom.

Which of the diagrams below represents a molecule of methane, CH4?

A. B. C. D.
 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Question 14.
The 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was jointly awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for
their contributions to the development of the lithium-ion battery. There are many types of batteries available today, but the lithium-ion
battery is often compared to the lead-acid battery. Each is composed of individual cells joined together.

Example of a lithium-ion battery Example of a lead-acid battery

One company compared the two batteries for use with solar panels.

Property Lead-Acid Batteries Lithium-Ion Batteries

Rechargeable Yes, after 50% of charge is used Yes, after 80% of charge is used

Cost of batteries $3,000 $13,000

Mass (kg) 440 170

Battery warranty 3 years 10 years

Maintenance Yes No

A young person is looking to move to a country town in Australia, which has plenty of sunshine. She has a limited budget to build a
small house with solar panels. Which of the following identifies benefits of both lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries?

Benefit of lead-acid batteries Benefit of lithium-ion batteries

A. They are rechargeable Shorter warranty
B. Cheaper initial cost Less maintenance
C. Extra building support needed for weight More expensive initial cost
D. Less recharging needed They do not need to be recharged

Question 15.
The three main components of liquified air by volume are nitrogen, oxygen and argon. Their respective boiling points are:

Component nitrogen argon oxygen

Boiling Point (°C) –196 –186 –183
Abundance 78% 1% 21%

Liquified air can be separated into its three main components by careful distillation. The graph shows the temperature of a liquified
air mixture as it is heated, going through Section L then all the way to Section R. In Section L, all three components are liquid.

R The liquid in Section P of the graph is

Q
O P
Temperature (°C)

M N
A. nitrogen only.
L
B. oxygen only.
C. nitrogen and argon only.
D. oxygen and argon only.

Time (minutes)
 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Question 16.

Which set of diagrams (A, B, C, or D) represents one molecule of each of ammonia, NH3, nitrogen dioxide, NO2, and dihydrogen
monoxide, H2O?

A. B. C. D.

Information for the next 4 questions:

The Periodic Table is a special arrangement of the elements from lowest atomic number to highest atomic number, allowing different
trends to be seen. Below is part of the Periodic Table showing two groups of metals and two groups of non-metals. The top number
is the atomic number, the bottom number is the radius of an atom of that element, in picometres (1 pm = 10-12m).

Group 1 Group 2 Group 16 Group 17

(Metals) (Metals) (Non-Metals) (Non-Metals)

3 4 8 9

Li Be O F

182 153 152 147

11 12 18 19

Na Mg S Cl

227 173 180 175

19 20 34 35

K Ca Se Br

275 231 190 185

Question 17.
Which statement about elements from the table above is TRUE, based on the properties of metals and non-metals?

A. Oxygen is a colourless solid at room temperature.

B. Calcium can easily conduct electricity.
C. Magnesium will not conduct electricity.
D. Chlorine is a shiny grey solid at room temperature.

Question 18.
Elements across a row are said to belong to the same period. Which of the following statements is TRUE, based on the information
in the table? As the atomic number increases along a period,

A. the radius of each atom always increases.

B. the radius of each atom generally increases.
C. the radius of each atom generally decreases.
D. the radius of each atom always stays the same.

Question 19.
The next period (row) down in the Periodic Table (underneath K, Ca, Se and Br) is

37 38 52 53

Rb Sr Te I

? 249 206 198

Based on the trends in the rest of the table, the radius for Rb would be

A. 182 pm B. 220 pm C. 270 pm D. 303 pm

 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Question 20.
When atoms become charged they can become positive or negative ions, depending on the element. Below is some information on
the radius of some ions.

Group 1 Group 2 Group 16 Group 17

(Metal Ions) (Metal Ions) (Non-Metal Ions) (Non-Metal Ions)

3 4 8 9

Li+ Be2+ O2- F-

76 45 140 181

11 12 18 19

Na+ Mg2+ S2- Cl-

102 72 184 181

Compared to the radius of their atoms,

A. metal ions always have a smaller radius. C. non-metal ions always have a smaller radius.
B. all ions always have a smaller radius. D. the radius of each ion is generally the same.

Question 21.
If marble chips are added to hydrochloric acid, a reaction occurs and carbon dioxide gas is produced. A student weighed some acid
and marble chips before they were mixed, then weighed the remains after the mixture stopped bubbling and there was no solid left.
The gas given off was collected and its volume measured. The measurements are given in the table.

Mass of hydrochloric acid solution 80.0 grams

Mass of marble chips 5.0 grams
Mass of remaining material after bubbling stopped 81.0 grams
Volume of carbon dioxide gas formed 2.5 litres

Based on the student’s results, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. 2.5 litres of carbon dioxide gas weigh 4 grams.

B. The total mass of all reacting chemicals was 86.0 g.
C. 4 grams of marble chips were used up in the reaction.
D. The total mass of all chemicals at the end was 81.0 g.

Question 22.
Universal indicator can be used to measure the acidity or pH of common substances. It has the following colour range:

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue

The following substances were tested and each colour was recorded below.

Substance Stomach acid Toothpaste Bananas

Colour

Red Green-Blue Orange-Yellow

The pH of the substances, in order, form the number of countries recognised by the United Nations.

How many countries are there?

A. 191 B. 195 C. 215 D. 292

 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Information for the next 3 questions:
A wooden splint can be very useful in identifying common gases. If the splint has been lit but is only glowing, putting the splint into
oxygen gas should cause it to burst into flame. However, if the splint is on fire and it is put into carbon dioxide gas, helium gas or
nitrogen gas, it will go out. If the same splint on fire is brought near hydrogen gas, it will cause a small explosion that can be heard
as a loud ‘pop’. The gases also have different densities. A gas with a lower density is often said to be “lighter” than a gas with a higher
density.

Gas Density (g/L)

Carbon dioxide 1.94

Oxygen 1.41

Nitrogen 1.23

Helium 0.18

Hydrogen 0.09

Question 23.
An unknown sample of gas is believed to be mainly a mixture of two of the gases above. The density of the gas is measured and
found to be 1.27 g/L.

Which of the following gas mixtures would have a density closest to the unknown mixture?

A. 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen; C. 80% oxygen and 20% carbon dioxide;
B. 80% carbon dioxide and 20% oxygen; D. 80% nitrogen and 20% helium.

Question 24.
If a balloon containing a gas has a low density and it is suspended in a container full of a gas of higher density, the balloon will float
to the top of the container. Similarly, if the balloon contains a gas with a higher density compared to the gas filling the container, the
balloon will sink to the bottom. If the gas in the balloon and the gas in the container are about the same density, the balloon will sit
somewhere in between the top and bottom.

Three different balloons are labelled P (blue), Q (red) and R (green), each filled with a different gas and placed into two different
containers, one containing pure oxygen gas, the other containing helium gas. The results are below.

P Q Q

Oxygen gas Helium gas

R P R

The possible gas in each balloon is

P Q R
A. Hydrogen Helium Carbon Dioxide
B. Nitrogen Hydrogen Carbon dioxide
C. Hydrogen Helium Nitrogen
D. Oxygen Hydrogen Nitrogen
 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Question 25.
Malachite is a mineral containing copper. It has been mined in the past for jewellery, because of the beautiful patterns that can be
seen in the rock, such as the sample from Zaire below.

Malachite from Zaire Reaction set-up Testing the gas

A sample of malachite was ground into a powder. It was added to a test tube and 5 mL of hydrochloric acid was added to it. It bubbled
and the gas was captured. The test tube was inverted and a lit match was placed into the mouth of the test tube. The match went out.

The gas produced by the reaction was

A. hydrogen. B. carbon dioxide. C. oxygen. D. air.

Question 26.
The table compares some properties of ammonia gas and oxygen gas.

Ammonia Oxygen
Colourless Colourless
Less dense than air More dense than air
High solubility in water Low solubility in water gas
Pungent smell Odourless
Reactant

The apparatus on the right would be suitable for water

collecting

A. ammonia but not oxygen.

B. oxygen but not ammonia.
C. both oxygen and ammonia.
The diagram shows apparatus for collecting some gas.
D. neither ammonia nor oxygen.

Question 27.
When steel wool rusts, the iron reacts with oxygen in the air, but not the nitrogen.
Ashwyn placed some steel wool in a test tube and then clamped the test tube upside down in a beaker of water, as shown. The
original water level in the test tube was at line D. The test tube contained air above Line D.

After 10 days the steel wool was covered in rust.

B
Which line indicates the most probable water level in the test tube?

A. Line A
B. Line B
C. Line C

C D. Line D

D
 ICQ 2021 YEARS 7 & 8
Question 28.
Bacon is a popular meat in Australia. One of the reasons for its popularity is its smell when cooking. There are a number of
chemicals which are thought to be responsible for the aroma. One group is called the pyrazines and two structures of pyrazines are
shown below.

2,5-dimethyl pyrazine 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl pyrazine

Below are four other chemicals that are thought to enhance the bacon smell. Which one is also a pyrazine?

A. C.

B. D.

Question 29.
In a darkened room, a student painted a piece of paper with a solution of potassium chloride (KCl). He dried the paper and then
painted the paper with a solution of silver nitrate (AgNO3). After drying the paper, the student took the paper outside into the sunlight.
He noticed that the paper had gone yellow due to silver chloride (AgCl) forming on the paper. After a few minutes a reaction occurred,
as the yellow colour turned into a browny-grey and the silver chloride decomposed, that is, it broke down into its component elements.
What gas was also given off by the decomposition reaction of silver chloride?

A. Water B. Chlorine C. Oxygen D. Potassium

Question 30.
Esters are used as flavours. The reaction shows the formation of the ester, methyl propanoate, that has the odour of rum.

+ X → +

Substance X is

A. B. C. D.

Questions compiled & typeset by Andrew Eaton, Wollondilly Anglican College, NSW, with thanks for advice and assistance from Jim Sturgiss, Martin Sormus
and Thomas Hart, NSW; and Michael Healy and Roger Stapleford, Vic.
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