Revision Notes MCQ Bank SAQ Bank Study Cards Courses Teachers Blog
OCR A Level Chemistry A – Module 6 Organic Chemistry and Analysis

6.3.2
Spectroscopy

Section 6.3.2 covers NMR spectroscopy: analysing carbon-13 and high resolution proton NMR spectra to find the number and types of environment, relative peak areas and spin–spin splitting, predicting spectra, the use of TMS and deuterated solvents, proton exchange with D₂O, and combining NMR with elemental analysis, mass spectra and IR spectra to deduce structures.

Exam Paper
Paper 2 & 3
H432/02 and H432/03
Learning Outcomes
6.3.2 (a) – (e)
5 learning outcomes
Sub-topics
2 lessons
Revision notes available
Exam Board
OCR
H432 (2015 onwards)

Revision Notes

2 revision notes, in the order the specification teaches them.

A magnet with a sample tube and NMR peaks
1

Carbon-13 NMR Spectroscopy

¹³C NMR spectroscopy: carbon environments, number of peaks, chemical shift and deducing structures.

Start revising
A doublet, a triplet and a quartet of thin peaks
2

Proton NMR Spectroscopy

¹H NMR spectroscopy: chemical shift, integration, the n + 1 rule and splitting patterns, and deducing structures from spectra.

Start revising

Summary Map

Download, print and revise the key facts of this topic at a glance.

Summary map

Download, print and revise the key facts of this topic at a glance.

Illustration of a summary map: compounds joined by reaction arrows
Summary map · PDF

Spectroscopy Map

OCR A Level Chemistry A · 6.3.2 Spectroscopy

The whole section on one A4 page: ¹³C NMR, TMS, solvents and D₂O, ¹H shifts and areas, splitting, combining techniques and deducing a structure.

Download the map6 key ideas + a data table · A4 portrait · print ready

© 2026 Online Learning System. For personal study: printing is allowed; editing, copying and redistribution are not.

Virtual Lessons

Recorded video lessons that teach the topic step by step.

Coming soon

The Virtual Lessons for 6.3.2 Spectroscopy are being recorded.

MCQ Bank

Multiple-choice papers on this topic, marked the moment you submit.

Coming soon

The MCQ papers for 6.3.2 Spectroscopy are being written.

Open the MCQ Bank

SAQ Bank

Written, drawn and worked exam practice on this topic.

Coming soon

The exam practice papers for 6.3.2 Spectroscopy are being written.

Open the SAQ Bank

Revision Game

Match reagents to products, with your board's reagents and conditions.

Coming soon

The revision game for 6.3.2 Spectroscopy is being built.

Study Cards

Pick a deck, then turn each card to check what you remember.

Specification

Every specification point in this topic, in the exam board's own words. Rate how confident you are with each one.

Official OCR documentsSpecification (opens the OCR website in a new tab)Data sheet (opens the OCR website in a new tab)

Self-assessment · 18 points

Sign in to rate how confident you feel about each point. Your ratings are saved to your account, follow you to any device, and appear beside your KASP analytics, kept apart from your marks.

Sign in to rate yourself
0 Confident0 Getting there0 Not yet18 Not rated

6.3.2

  1. a (i)

    analysis of a carbon-13 NMR spectrum of an organic molecule to make predictions about the number of carbon environments in the molecule

    Revise
  2. a (ii)

    analysis of a carbon-13 NMR spectrum of an organic molecule to make predictions about the different types of carbon environment present, from chemical shift values

    Revise
  3. a (iii)

    analysis of a carbon-13 NMR spectrum of an organic molecule to make predictions about possible structures for the molecule

    Revise
  4. b (i)

    analysis of a high resolution proton NMR spectrum of an organic molecule to make predictions about the number of proton environments in the molecule

    Revise
  5. b (ii)

    analysis of a high resolution proton NMR spectrum of an organic molecule to make predictions about the different types of proton environment present, from chemical shift values

    Revise
  6. b (iii)

    analysis of a high resolution proton NMR spectrum of an organic molecule to make predictions about the relative numbers of each type of proton present from relative peak areas, using integration traces or ratio numbers, when required

    Revise
  7. b (iv)

    analysis of a high resolution proton NMR spectrum of an organic molecule to make predictions about the number of non-equivalent protons adjacent to a given proton from the spin–spin splitting pattern, using the n + 1 rule

    Revise
  8. b (v)

    analysis of a high resolution proton NMR spectrum of an organic molecule to make predictions about possible structures for the molecule

    Revise
  9. c i

    prediction of a carbon-13 NMR spectrum for a given molecule

    Revise
  10. c ii

    prediction of a proton NMR spectrum for a given molecule

    Revise
  11. d (i)

    the use of tetramethylsilane, TMS, as the standard for chemical shift measurements

    Revise
  12. d (ii)

    the need for deuterated solvents, e.g. CDCl3, when running an NMR spectrum

    Revise
  13. d (iii) a

    the identification of O–H protons by proton exchange using D2O

    Revise
  14. d (iii) b

    the identification of N–H protons by proton exchange using D2O

    Revise
  15. e (i)

    deduction of the structures of organic compounds from different analytical data including elemental analysis (see also 2.1.3 c)

    Revise
  16. e (ii)

    deduction of the structures of organic compounds from different analytical data including mass spectra (see also 4.2.4 f–g)

    Revise
  17. e (iii)

    deduction of the structures of organic compounds from different analytical data including IR spectra (see also 4.2.4 d–e)

    Revise
  18. e (iv)

    deduction of the structures of organic compounds from different analytical data including NMR spectra

    Revise