Chemistry Placement Exam 2024

JavaScript isn't enabled in your browser, so this file can't be opened. Enable and reload.

Welcome to the Chemistry Placement Exam!

When you are finished, be sure to click the Submit button.

If you have a problem taking the exam, please contact Prof. Cindy Strong at cstrong@cornellcollege.edu.

1. Before you begin the exam, open the Periodic Table and Constants here: https://tinyurl.com/Periodic2021. You may print this page, or keep it open in a separate browser window while you take the exam.

2. Please allow yourself up to 55 minutes to take the exam. Be sure to take it at a time when you will not be disturbed. Please do not rush; most students find that they have an adequate amount of time to complete all of the questions.

3. If you need to request testing accommodations, contact Hannah Ganzel at hganzel@cornellcollege.edu.

4. You will find it helpful to have a pencil and scratch paper handy. You will need a calculator with scientific notation; a graphing calculator is fine but not necessary. If you have an equation solver on your calculator, do not use it during the exam.

5. Other than the periodic table and list of constants, do not refer to books, websites, friends, or other sources of assistance during the exam.

6. Please complete the exam to the best of your ability to help us place you into the appropriate chemistry course. Your score will be the number of correct answers; there is no penalty for guessing.

Email *

First and last name: *

1. Express the number 68,400 in scientific notation.

a) 6.84 x 10²

b) 6.84 x 10⁴

c) 684 x 10²

d) 6.84 x 10³

Clear selection

2. Solve the following equation for x:

a) 12

b) 18

c) 36

d) 48

Clear selection

3. If a = 5, then a² - 3a + 5 =

a) 105

b) 0

c) 15

d) 45

Clear selection

4. Find the value of the following equation when a = 3 and b = -3.

a) -3/4

b) 3/4

c) -1/2

d) 1/2

Clear selection

5. According to the following equation, how does E change when λ is doubled?

a) E is squared

b) E does not change

c) E doubles

d) E becomes one-half of the original value

Clear selection

6. Which of the following relationships indicates that a is directly proportional to b? “k” represents a constant.

a) a = kb

b) a = k/b

c) ab = k

d) a + b = k

Clear selection

7. Which figure includes a 120 degree bond angle?

Clear selection

8. Find the sum of 3.44 x 10² and 8.2 x 10¹.

a) 11.64

b) 262

c) 426

d) 2.82 x 10⁴

Clear selection

9. If an item that normally costs $7.00 is on sale for 20% off, what will it cost?

a) $5.60

b) $6.30

c) $6.60

d) $6.80

Clear selection

10. Solve the following equation for c.

Clear selection

11. The kinetic energy (E) of an object is equal to one half of its mass (m) times the square of its speed (v): E = ½ mv²

If two objects, A and B, have the same kinetic energy, but A is traveling at twice the speed of B, how are their masses related?

a) A has twice the mass of B

b) A has four times the mass of B

c) B has twice the mass of A

d) B has four times the mass of A

Clear selection

12. Use the graph to estimate the absorbance of a solution containing 5.2 mg/mL of lead.

a) 0.09

b) 0.12

c) 0.15

d) 0.18

Clear selection

13. Use the formula below to convert 99°F to K.

a) 0.24 K

b) 189 K

c) 310 K

d) 390 K

Clear selection

14. Find the value of the following expression when a = 2 and b = 5.

a) 0.21

b) 0.29

c) -21

d) -0.05

Clear selection

15. The average height of 5 students is 195 cm. If four of the students are 181, 210, 169 and 194 cm tall, how tall is the fifth student?

a) 201.5 cm

b) 195 cm

c) 169 cm

d) 221 cm

Clear selection

16. Twenty-four is three-fourths of what number?

a) 32

b) 18

c) 36

d) 16

Clear selection

17. Arrange these numbers in order from smallest to largest:

Clear selection

18. (x + 4)(2x - 3) =

a) x² + 3x + 12

b) x² + 3x - 12

c) 2x² + 3x - 12

d) 2x² + 5x - 12

Clear selection

19. Pressure (P) can be defined as the force (F) per unit area (A). Which formula correctly expresses this relationship?

a) F = P/A

b) P = F/A

c) P = F x A

d) P = F + A

Clear selection

20. If –log x = 3.49, what is the value of x?

a) 3090

b) 3.2 x 10⁻⁴

c) 0.543

d) -0.543

Clear selection

21. If the prefix “kilo” is attached to a unit, it means:

a) 1/1000 of the unit

b) 1000 of the units

c) 1/100 of the unit

d) 100 of the units

Clear selection

22. If an oxygen atom has an atomic number of 8 and an atomic mass (mass number) of 18, it contains:

a) 10 protons and 8 neutrons

b) 8 protons and 18 neutrons

c) 8 protons and 10 neutrons

d) 10 protons and 18 neutrons

Clear selection

23. Which represents a pair of isotopes?

Clear selection

24. When one unit of Mg(NO₃)₂ dissolves in water, what ions are formed?

a) One Mg²⁺ ion and one NO₃²⁻ ion

b) One Mg²⁺ ion, two N⁵⁺ ions, and six O²⁻ ions

c) One Mg²⁺ ion and one NO₃⁻ ion

d) One Mg²⁺ ion and two NO₃⁻ ions

Clear selection

25. When HNO₃ is mixed with KOH, one of the products is:

a) NO₂

b) KNO₂

c) H₂O

d) KH

Clear selection

26. Which of the following statements about a gas in a closed container is not true?

a) As temperature increases, volume decreases, if pressure is constant.

b) As temperature increases, pressure increases, if volume is constant.

c) As pressure increases, volume decreases, if temperature is constant.

d) The molecules of a gas are in constant, random motion.

Clear selection

27. One mole of calcium phosphate (Ca₃(PO₄)₂) contains how many moles of oxygen atoms?

a) 1

b) 2

c) 4

d) 8

Clear selection

28. Which of the following atoms tends to form a cation (positive ion) with a charge of +2?

a) Al

b) O

c) Ba

d) Rb

Clear selection

29. Which of the following is not a chemical compound?

a) chlorine

b) methanol

c) methane

d) ammonia

Clear selection

30. In a chemical reaction, there is always:

a) a release of energy

b) a gas involved

c) a new substance formed

d) none of these are necessarily involved

Clear selection

31. What is the oxidation state of Mn in the compound KMnO₄?

a) +1

b) +3

c) +7

d) -3

Clear selection

32. Which of the following is a physical change?

a) Rusting of an iron nail

b) A candle burning

c) Water freezing

d) Digestion of a candy bar

Clear selection

33. The following are properties of copper. Which one is a chemical property?

a) Copper melts at 1284°C.

b) The density of copper is 8.96 g/cm³.

c) Copper is a good conductor of heat.

d) Copper develops a greenish coating when exposed to chlorine.

Clear selection

34. In which state – solid, liquid, or gas – do the molecules of water have the highest average kinetic energy?

a) solid

b) liquid

c) gas

d) all are the same

Clear selection

35. The most metallic element in the nitrogen group is:

a) N

b) P

c) Sb

d) Bi

Clear selection

36. How many grams of carbon are there in 6 mol of carbon?

a) 12 g

b) 72 g

c) 6 g

d) 6.02 x 10²³ g

Clear selection

37. What mass of tin will contain 1.85 x 10²³ atoms?

a) 2.20 x 10²⁵ g

b) 36.5 g

c) 1.56 x 10⁻² g

d) 2.20 x 10² g

Clear selection

38. Given the following information, how many calories are in one electron volt?

1 cal = 4.184 J

1 eV = 1.602 x 10⁻¹⁹ J

cal = calorie

J = joule

eV = electron volt

a) 4.184 cal

b) 2.61 x 10¹⁹ cal

c) 6.7 x 10⁻¹⁹ cal

d) 3.8 x 10⁻²⁰ cal

Clear selection

39. Which of the following would be a good oxidizing agent?

a) H₂

b) Cl₂

c) Fe

d) N₂

Clear selection

40. Reduction of Fe⁺² could lead to the formation of:

a) Fe

b) Fe³⁺

c) FeH₂

d) Fe(OH)₂

Clear selection

41. The elements in one column of the periodic table all have the same:

a) number of outer electrons

b) physical state (solid, liquid, or gas)

c) size

d) electronegativity

Clear selection

42. Which sample of gas contains the largest number of gas molecules?

a) 1.0 L of H₂ at 0°C and 1.0 atm

b) 1.0 L of H₂ at 0°C and 1.5 atm

c) 1.0 L of H₂ at 25°C and 1.0 atm

d) 1.0 L of H₂ at 25°C and 1.5 atm

Clear selection

43. When an H₂ molecule breaks into two hydrogen atoms, the force that is disrupted is called a(n):

a) ionic bond

b) covalent bond

c) hydrogen bond

d) network force

Clear selection

44. When liquid water vaporizes to form gaseous water, the forces that must be disrupted are called:

a) ionic bonds

b) covalent bonds

c) hydrogen bonds

d) network forces

Clear selection

45. A bottle with a volume of 470.0 mL has a mass of 70.1 g when empty and a mass of 441 g when filled with isopropanol. What is the density of isopropanol?

a) 0.789 g/mL

b) 1.27 g/mL

c) 1.09 g/mL

d) 371 g

Clear selection

46. Which of the following elements is a metal?

a) Re

b) Se

c) Xe

d) Ne

Clear selection

47. What are the smallest whole number coefficients in this equation when balanced? __C₃H₈ + __O₂ ⟶ __CO₂ + __H₂O

a) 1, 1, 1, 1

b) 11, 2, 3, 3

c) 1, 2, 3, 4

d) 1, 5, 3, 4

Clear selection

48. When this equation is balanced, what is the sum of the smallest set of whole number coefficients? __UO₂ + __HF ⟶ __UF₄ + __H₂O

a) 6

b) 8

c) 4

d) 16

Clear selection

49. What is the molar mass of aspirin, C₉H₈O₄?

a) 180 g/mol

b) 21 g/mol

c) 29 g/mol

d) 108 g/mol

Clear selection

50. Iron (III) oxide is:

a) Fe₂O₃

b) Fe₂O₂

c) FeO

d) Fe₃O₂

Clear selection

51. The formula for the sulfate ion is:

a) HS⁻

b) HSO₃⁻

c) SO₃²⁻

d) SO₄²⁻

Clear selection

52. Which compound contains the highest percentage by mass of chlorine?

a) FeCl₃

b) Hg₂Cl₂

c) BaCl₂

d) MgCl₂

Clear selection

53. Which of the following elements has the outer electron configuration ns²np²?

a) C

b) O

c) Mg

d) Ne

Clear selection

54. How many grams of zinc react completely with 50.0 mL of 0.0600 M HCl according to the following equation?

Zn(s) + 2HCl(aq) ⟶ ZnCl₂(aq) + H₂(g)

a) 3.00 g

b) 0.196 g

c) 0.0981 g

d) 3.92 g

Clear selection

55. What volume of 16 M sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) must be used to prepare 1.5 L of a 0.10 M sulfuric acid solution?

a) 1.5 L

b) 0.15 L

c) 9.4 x 10⁻² L

d) 9.4 x 10⁻³ L

Clear selection

56. Calculate the molarity of a solution prepared by dissolving 11.5 g of solid NaOH in enough water to make 1.50 L of solution. (The molar mass of NaOH is 40.0 g/mol.)

a) 1.59 M

b) 7.67 M

c) 0.192 M

d) 0.289 M

Clear selection

57. A type of stainless steel contains 12.3% chromium. Samples of the stainless steel were analyzed for their Cr content. Which set of results below is highly accurate but not very precise?

a) 12.0%, 11.0%, 11.2%

b) 11.5%, 12.7%, 12.8%

c) 12.3%, 12.4%, 12.1%

d) 13.2%, 13.0%, 13.1%

Clear selection

58. How many grams of chloride ion are present in 17.5 mL of a 0.10 M solution of AlCl₃?

a) 0.19 g

b) 0.21 g

c) 0.062 g

d) 5.25 g

Clear selection

59. Lithium hydroxide will react with carbon dioxide according to the reaction: 2LiOH(s) + CO₂(g) ⟶ Li₂CO₃(s) + H₂O(l)

If 2.0 mol of LiOH are mixed with 2.0 mol of CO₂, the reaction will produce:

a)1.0 mol of Li₂CO₃ and 1.0 mol of H₂O, with 1.0 mol of LiOH left over

b) 1.0 mol of Li₂CO₃ and 1.0 mol of H₂O, with 1.0 mol of CO₂ left over

c) 1.0 mol of Li₂CO₃ and 1.0 mol of H₂O, with nothing left over

d) 1.0 mol of Li₂CO₃ and 2.0 mol H₂O, with nothing left over

Clear selection

60. Methanol (CH₃OH) can be formed by the reaction below. If 8.60 g of H₂ reacts with an excess of CO, and 35.7 g of CH₃OH is produced, what is the percent yield?

2H₂(g) + CO(g) ⟶ CH₃OH(l)

a) 52.2%

b) 24.1%

c) 6.0%

d) 68.4%

Clear selection

Submit

Clear form

Never submit passwords through Google Forms.

This form was created inside of Cornell College.

Does this form look suspicious? Report

Forms