Virtual Lessons

Topic 1 Atomic Structure and The Periodic Table, taught by a specialist chemistry teacher.

This lesson comes with the full course

The Virtual Lessons come with the Topic 1 Atomic Structure and The Periodic Table course, with every MCQ and exam practice paper, marked by a specialist chemistry teacher. Already bought it? Log in.

Lesson 5 of 5

Exam Practice

This virtual lesson works through exam-style questions on atomic structure, electronic configuration, mass spectrometry, and ionisation energy, consolidating the key concepts and skills from this area of the course.

The lesson works through a range of past paper and exam-style questions drawn from across this topic. Questions cover subatomic particles, atomic number and mass number, the composition of atoms and ions, and the meaning and significance of isotopes. Mass spectrometry questions address deducing isotopic composition, calculating relative atomic mass from abundance data, interpreting molecular mass spectra, and predicting spectra for diatomic molecules such as chlorine.

Questions on orbitals and electronic configuration are also covered, including writing configurations in s, p, d notation and electrons-in-boxes notation for atoms and ions from hydrogen to krypton. Ionisation energy questions address trends across periods and down groups, the interpretation of successive ionisation energy data as evidence for quantum shells and sub-shells, and the explanation of specific anomalies within periods.

Full worked solutions are provided throughout, with careful attention to mark scheme language and the precise terminology required to gain full marks. This session is designed to identify and close any remaining gaps before progressing further through the course.

Specification points for Topic 1

1know the structure of an atom in terms of electrons, protons and neutrons
2know the relative mass and relative charge of protons, neutrons and electrons
3know what is meant by the terms atomic (proton) number and mass number
4be able to determine the number of each type of sub-atomic particle in an atom, molecule or ion from the atomic (proton) number and mass number
5understand the term isotopes
6be able to define the terms relative isotopic mass and relative atomic mass, based on the ¹²C scale
7understand the terms relative molecular mass and relative formula mass, including calculating these values from relative atomic masses. The term relative formula mass should be used for compounds with giant structures.
8be able to analyse and interpret data from mass spectrometry to calculate relative atomic mass from relative abundance of isotopes and vice versa
9be able to predict the mass spectra, including relative peak heights, for diatomic molecules, including chlorine
10understand how mass spectrometry can be used to determine the relative molecular mass of a molecule. Limited to the m/z value for the molecular ion, M⁺, giving the relative molecular mass of the molecule.
15understand how ideas about electronic configuration developed from:
16know the number of electrons that can fill the first four quantum shells
17know that an orbital is a region within an atom that can hold up to two electrons with opposite spins
18know the shape of an s-orbital and a p-orbital
19know the number of electrons that occupy s, p and d sub-shells
20know that electrons fill sub-shells singly, before pairing up, and that two electrons in the same orbital must have opposite spins
21be able to predict the electronic configurations, using 1s notation and electrons-in-boxes notation, of:
22know that elements can be classified as s, p and d-block elements
23understand that electronic configuration determines the chemical properties of an element
11be able to define the terms first ionisation energy and successive ionisation energies
12understand how ionisation energies are influenced by the number of protons, the electron shielding and the electron sub-shell from which the electron is removed
13understand reasons for the general increase in first ionisation energy across a period
14understand reasons for the decrease in first ionisation energy down a group
24understand periodicity in terms of a repeating pattern across different periods
25understand reasons for the trends in the following properties of the elements from periods 2 and 3 of the Periodic Table:
26be able to illustrate periodicity using data, including electronic configurations, atomic radii, melting and boiling temperatures and first ionisation energies

Exam Practice

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