WASSCE Chemistry · Paper 1 style

Nitrogen and its compounds

One sample question with the full working. 4 more in the app, with instant feedback and repair sessions for the traps below.

The fountain experiment demonstrates that ammonia is

Adenser than air
Bvery soluble in water
Cinsoluble in water
Dacidic

Show the answer and working

Answer: B

Rapid dissolution creates a partial vacuum.

Trap A Picks a related substance or process with a different role: Learn reagents and processes as one-line 'name → job' cards and contrast neighbours in a table (process | product | catalyst | conditions). Match the job in the stem, not just the topic.

Trap C Reverses a trend, direction or effect: State the rule with its direction before looking at the options (down group 1 reactivity INCREASES; exothermic forward reaction: heating shifts LEFT). An option that is the mirror image of the rule is the trap.

Trap D Uses everyday or macroscopic thinking instead of particles: Ask what the particles, ions or electrons are doing. Properties of a substance come from its particles and bonds, not from how it looks or feels.

Traps in Nitrogen and its compounds

Picks a related substance or process with a different role
Learn reagents and processes as one-line 'name → job' cards and contrast neighbours in a table (process | product | catalyst | conditions). Match the job in the stem, not just the topic.
Reverses a trend, direction or effect
State the rule with its direction before looking at the options (down group 1 reactivity INCREASES; exothermic forward reaction: heating shifts LEFT). An option that is the mirror image of the rule is the trap.
Uses everyday or macroscopic thinking instead of particles
Ask what the particles, ions or electrons are doing. Properties of a substance come from its particles and bonds, not from how it looks or feels.
Mixes up a pair of similar chemical terms
Keep a list of confusable pairs with one defining feature each and a hook. Underline the key word in the stem and check it against the definition, not the sound of the name.
Industrial process confusions
Haber: N₂ + 3H₂ ⇌ 2NH₃, iron catalyst, ~450 °C, ~200 atm. Contact: 2SO₂ + O₂ ⇌ 2SO₃, V₂O₅ catalyst, ~450 °C; SO₃ absorbed in conc. H₂SO₄ to form oleum.
Over-generalises a rule beyond where it holds
Every rule in chemistry has conditions. Before applying one, check the conditions in the stem (electrode type, concentration, moles of gas on each side, metal position).
Chooses a true but irrelevant statement
Re-read the question word (why, which, what causes). A true fact that answers a different question is still wrong.

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