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🇬🇧 Scottish National 4 (Nat 4) · flashcards
Scottish National 4 (Nat 4) Chemistry (National 4) Flashcards
50 question-and-answer cards covering Chemistry (National 4) as it is examined in Scottish National 4 (Nat 4). 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Chemistry (National 4) deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
What two products form when an acid reacts with a metal carbonate?
A salt, water and carbon dioxide gas, e.g. acid + carbonate $\rightarrow$ salt + water + $\ce{CO2}$.
What happens to the pH of an acid when water is added to dilute it?
The pH rises towards $7$ as the acid becomes more dilute (less concentrated).
What is combustion?
Combustion is the reaction of a substance with oxygen, releasing energy (it is an exothermic reaction); burning fuels in oxygen is combustion.
What is a fossil fuel? Name three examples.
A fuel formed over millions of years from the remains of dead organisms; examples are coal, oil and natural gas.
What two products are formed when a hydrocarbon burns completely in plenty of oxygen?
Carbon dioxide and water, e.g. $\ce{CH4 + 2O2 -> CO2 + 2H2O}$.
Why is incomplete combustion dangerous?
When there is not enough oxygen, the poisonous gas carbon monoxide ($\ce{CO}$) and soot (carbon) are produced instead of only carbon dioxide.
Name two pollutants released by burning fossil fuels and a problem each causes.
Sulfur dioxide ($\ce{SO2}$) and nitrogen oxides cause acid rain; carbon dioxide ($\ce{CO2}$) contributes to the greenhouse effect / global warming.
What is a hydrocarbon?
A compound containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon, e.g. methane $\ce{CH4}$.
What is a plastic (polymer) and how is it made?
A plastic is a synthetic material made of very large molecules (polymers) formed by joining together many small molecules called monomers in a process called polymerisation.
What is the difference between a thermoplastic and a thermosetting plastic?
Thermoplastics soften when heated and can be reshaped repeatedly; thermosetting plastics set hard on heating and cannot be re-melted or reshaped.
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of plastics.
Advantage: they are light, cheap, waterproof and easily moulded. Disadvantage: most are non-biodegradable and made from finite crude oil, causing pollution.
What does "biodegradable" mean?
A biodegradable material can be broken down naturally by microorganisms (bacteria/fungi) in the environment.
What is corrosion, and what is the special name for the corrosion of iron?
Corrosion is a chemical reaction at the surface of a metal with substances in the air; the corrosion of iron is called rusting.
What two substances are needed for iron to rust?
Both oxygen (from the air) and water must be present for iron to rust.
State the chemical reactivity order of these metals from most to least reactive: copper, magnesium, zinc, iron.
Magnesium $>$ zinc $>$ iron $>$ copper (magnesium most reactive, copper least).
What do reactive metals like magnesium and zinc produce when they react with dilute acid?
A salt and hydrogen gas, e.g. $\ce{Mg + 2HCl -> MgCl2 + H2}$.
How can you test for hydrogen gas?
A lighted splint held at the mouth of the test tube gives a squeaky "pop" with hydrogen gas.
What is the reaction of a metal with oxygen called, and what is the product?
It is called oxidation; the metal forms a metal oxide, e.g. $\ce{2Mg + O2 -> 2MgO}$.
Name two methods used to prevent iron from rusting.
Any two of: painting, oiling/greasing, coating with plastic, galvanising (coating with zinc), or electroplating.
What is an alloy? Give an example.
An alloy is a mixture of a metal with one or more other elements to improve its properties, e.g. steel (iron + carbon) or brass (copper + zinc).
Why are fertilisers added to soil?
They replace essential elements (such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) used up by crops, helping plants grow faster and increasing crop yield.
What environmental problem can be caused by fertilisers washing into rivers and lochs?
Algal bloom / eutrophication — excess nutrients cause rapid algae growth that uses up oxygen in the water, killing fish and other aquatic life.
What is the difference between a dependent (measured) and an independent (changed) variable in an experiment?
The independent variable is the one you deliberately change; the dependent variable is the one you measure as a result. All other variables are kept constant (controlled).
Why should an experiment be repeated and an average taken?
Repeating measurements and averaging improves reliability and reduces the effect of random errors, giving more trustworthy results.
What this deck covers
The Chemistry (National 4) deck follows the Scottish National 4 (Nat 4) Chemistry (National 4) syllabus — 4 chapters and 13 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 12.5 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 117 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Chemistry (National 4) flashcards FAQ
How many Chemistry (National 4) flashcards are in this Scottish National 4 (Nat 4) deck?
50 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these Scottish National 4 (Nat 4) flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 50-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Chemistry (National 4) cards cover?
They follow the Scottish National 4 (Nat 4) Chemistry (National 4) syllabus — 4 chapters and 13 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.