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WAEC WASSCE Chemistry 2010 past questions and answers

This 2010 WAEC WASSCE Chemistry set has 40 practice questions. Try these 5 free sample questions, tap a question to reveal the answer and explanation. Then practise the whole 2010 set with instant marking.

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Sample WAEC WASSCE Chemistry 2010 questions

1. When methane reacts with chlorine in ultraviolet light, what is the main product of the first substitution step?
  1. Chlorine gas and carbon
  2. Chloromethane and hydrogen chloride
  3. Dichloromethane and water
  4. Methanol and hydrogen chloride

Answer: B. Chloromethane and hydrogen chloride

A chlorine atom replaces one hydrogen atom in methane, forming chloromethane and hydrogen chloride.

2. What happens when propene is shaken with bromine water in the absence of ultraviolet light?
  1. The bromine water turns blue-black.
  2. A white precipitate forms and the gas is unchanged.
  3. The mixture becomes alkaline.
  4. The bromine water is decolourised as bromine adds across the double bond.

Answer: D. The bromine water is decolourised as bromine adds across the double bond.

Propene undergoes an addition reaction with bromine at its carbon-carbon double bond, removing bromine's colour.

3. Which observation distinguishes ethanoic acid from ethanol when each is treated with aqueous sodium carbonate?
  1. Ethanoic acid produces bubbles of carbon dioxide, while ethanol does not.
  2. Ethanol produces bubbles of carbon dioxide, while ethanoic acid does not.
  3. Both liquids produce a blue precipitate.
  4. Both liquids immediately turn limewater milky.

Answer: A. Ethanoic acid produces bubbles of carbon dioxide, while ethanol does not.

Ethanoic acid reacts with carbonate ions to release carbon dioxide, whereas ethanol does not react this way.

4. Which pair of substances can be heated together with concentrated sulfuric acid to prepare ethyl ethanoate?
  1. Ethene and water
  2. Ethanal and oxygen
  3. Ethanol and ethanoic acid
  4. Ethane and carbon dioxide

Answer: C. Ethanol and ethanoic acid

Ethyl ethanoate is formed by esterification of ethanol with ethanoic acid using concentrated sulfuric acid as a catalyst.

5. Which structural change occurs when many ethene molecules form poly(ethene)?
  1. The carbon atoms are replaced by oxygen atoms.
  2. The C=C double bond opens and links the molecules into a chain.
  3. Each molecule loses two carbon atoms as carbon dioxide.
  4. The molecules join by eliminating water.

Answer: B. The C=C double bond opens and links the molecules into a chain.

In addition polymerisation, the double bond in each ethene molecule opens so the units join into a long carbon chain.

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