Chemistry Paper 1
AQA Combined Science Higher. Counted from 4 real June exams: 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024, 280 marks in all.
Every topic on the specification can be examined, including ones listed here as not examined.
| Topic | How often | Share of marks |
|---|---|---|
| Group 7 | Came up 4 of the last 4 years | 6% of marks |
| Electrolysis of aqueous solutions | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 6% of marks |
| Relative formula mass | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 5% of marks |
| Mass changes when a reactant or product is a gas | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 5% of marks |
| Group 1 | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 5% of marks |
| The pH scale and neutralisation | Came up 4 of the last 4 years | 4% of marks |
| Concentration of solutions | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 4% of marks |
| Energy transfer during exothermic and endothermic reactions | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 4% of marks |
| Soluble salts | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| Properties of ionic compounds | Came up 4 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| Properties of metals and alloys | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| Amounts of substances in equations | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| Covalent bonding | Came up 4 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| Properties of small molecules | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| Reaction profiles | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| The reactivity series | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| Graphene and fullerenes | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 3% of marks |
| Metals and non-metals | Came up 4 of the last 4 years | 2% of marks |
| Ionic bonding | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 2% of marks |
| Size and mass of atoms | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 2% of marks |
| Strong and weak acids | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 2% of marks |
| Using electrolysis to extract metals | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 2% of marks |
| Neutralisation of acids and salt production | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 2% of marks |
| The process of electrolysis | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 2% of marks |
| Chemical bonds | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| The energy change of reactions | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Conservation of mass and balanced chemical equations | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Atoms, elements and compounds | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Reactions of acids with metals | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Relative atomic mass | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Metallic bonding | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Metals as conductors | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Diamond | Not examined since 20181 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Moles | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Representation of reactions at electrodes as half equations | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Ionic compounds | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Oxidation and reduction in terms of electrons | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Mixtures | Came up 3 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Electronic structure | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Development of the periodic table | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| Group 0 | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| State symbols | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| The development of the model of the atom | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | under 1% of marks |
| The periodic table | Not examined since 20181 of the last 4 years | under 1% of marks |
| Using moles to balance equations | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | under 1% of marks |
| Extraction of metals and reduction | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | under 1% of marks |
| Relative electrical charges of subatomic particles | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | under 1% of marks |
| Limiting reactants | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | under 1% of marks |
| Metal oxides | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | under 1% of marks |
| The three states of matter | Not examined in the last 4 years | |
| Polymers | Not examined in the last 4 years | |
| Giant covalent structures | Not examined in the last 4 years | |
| Graphite | Not examined in the last 4 years | |
| Chemical measurements | Not examined in the last 4 years |
Required practicals
2018 and 2019 mark schemes rarely name the practical, so those years are undercounted here.
| Topic | How often | Share of marks |
|---|---|---|
| preparation of a pure, dry sample of a soluble salt from an insoluble oxide or carbonate, using a Bunsen burner to heat dilute acid and a water bath or electric heater to | Came up 2 of the last 4 years | 2% of marks |
| investigate what happens when aqueous solutions are electrolysed using inert electrodes | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | 1% of marks |
| investigate the variables that affect temperature changes in reacting solutions such as, eg acid plus metals, acid plus carbonates, neutralisations, displacement | Came up 1 of the last 4 years | under 1% of marks |