Edexcel A-level Chemistry data booklet (9CH0): what is on it and what is not
A-level Chemistry: Year 1
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Formula sheet
The card below opens today's A-level Chemistry paper with this sheet in the drawer, so you practise the way you will sit the exam. The drawer holds the constants, infrared ranges, electronegativities, indicators and electrode potentials in our own layout and words; the two NMR charts are described, not redrawn. Check against Pearson's Data Booklet (Issue 2) before you rely on anything here.
A-level Chemistry: Year 1
Physical constants
Also: 1 dm³ = 1000 cm³ = 0.001 m³.
| Quantity | Symbol | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avogadro constant | L | 6.02 × 10²³ | mol⁻¹ |
| elementary charge | e | 1.60 × 10⁻¹⁹ | C |
| gas constant | R | 8.31 | J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ |
| molar volume of a gas at room temperature and pressure | V_m | 24 | dm³ mol⁻¹ |
| ionic product of water | K_w | 1.00 × 10⁻¹⁴ | mol² dm⁻⁶ |
Infrared spectroscopy: wavenumber ranges
Wavenumbers are in cm⁻¹.
| Vibration | Group | Wavenumber / cm⁻¹ |
|---|---|---|
| C-H stretching | Alkane | 2962-2853 |
| C-H stretching | Alkene | 3095-3010 |
| C-H stretching | Alkyne | 3300 |
| C-H stretching | Arene | 3030 |
| C-H stretching | Aldehyde | 2900-2820 and 2775-2700 |
| C-H bending | Alkane | 1485-1365 |
| C-H bending | Arene, 5 adjacent H atoms | 750 and 700 |
| C-H bending | Arene, 4 adjacent H atoms | 750 |
| C-H bending | Arene, 3 adjacent H atoms | 780 |
| C-H bending | Arene, 2 adjacent H atoms | 830 |
| C-H bending | Arene, 1 isolated H atom | 880 |
| N-H stretching | Amine | 3500-3300 |
| N-H stretching | Amide | 3500-3140 |
| O-H stretching | Alcohols and phenols | 3750-3200 |
| O-H stretching | Carboxylic acids | 3300-2500 |
| C=C stretching | Isolated alkene | 1669-1645 |
| C=C stretching | Arene | 1600, 1580, 1500, 1450 |
| C=O stretching | Aldehydes, saturated alkyl | 1740-1720 |
| C=O stretching | Ketones, alkyl | 1720-1700 |
| C=O stretching | Ketones, aryl | 1700-1680 |
| C=O stretching | Carboxylic acids, alkyl | 1725-1700 |
| C=O stretching | Carboxylic acids, aryl | 1700-1680 |
| C=O stretching | Acid anhydrides | 1850-1800 and 1790-1740 |
| C=O stretching | Acyl chlorides | 1795 |
| C=O stretching | Acyl bromides | 1810 |
| C=O stretching | Esters, saturated | 1750-1735 |
| C=O stretching | Amides | 1700-1630 |
| Triple bond stretching | C≡N | 2260-2215 |
| Vibration | Group | Wavenumber / cm⁻¹ |
|---|---|---|
| Triple bond stretching | C≡C | 2260-2100 |
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Two charts: carbon-13 chemical shifts and proton chemical shifts, both relative to tetramethylsilane (TMS), over a scale of 0 to 12 ppm for protons.
Pauling electronegativities
The Pauling electronegativity index for the elements, one row per period of the periodic table, from 0.7 for caesium to 4.0 for fluorine. The same page holds the table of ten indicators, with pKin, colours and pH range.
Standard electrode potentials at 298 K
The standard electrode potential of each aqueous system, measured against the hydrogen half-cell.
| Half-equation | E° / V |
|---|---|
| Na⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ Na | −2.71 |
| Mg²⁺ + 2e⁻ ⇌ Mg | −2.37 |
| Al³⁺ + 3e⁻ ⇌ Al | −1.66 |
| V²⁺ + 2e⁻ ⇌ V | −1.18 |
| Zn²⁺ + 2e⁻ ⇌ Zn | −0.76 |
| Cr³⁺ + 3e⁻ ⇌ Cr | −0.74 |
| Fe²⁺ + 2e⁻ ⇌ Fe | −0.44 |
| Cr³⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ Cr²⁺ | −0.41 |
| V³⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ V²⁺ | −0.26 |
| Ni²⁺ + 2e⁻ ⇌ Ni | −0.25 |
| H⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ ½H₂ | 0.00 |
| S₄O₆²⁻ + 2e⁻ ⇌ 2S₂O₃²⁻ | +0.09 |
| Cu²⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ Cu⁺ | +0.15 |
| Cu²⁺ + 2e⁻ ⇌ Cu | +0.34 |
| VO²⁺ + 2H⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ V³⁺ + H₂O | +0.34 |
| O₂ + 2H₂O + 4e⁻ ⇌ 4OH⁻ | +0.40 |
| S₂O₃²⁻ + 6H⁺ + 4e⁻ ⇌ 2S + 3H₂O | +0.47 |
| Cu⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ Cu | +0.52 |
| I₂ + 2e⁻ ⇌ 2I⁻ | +0.54 |
| O₂ + 2H⁺ + 2e⁻ ⇌ H₂O₂ | +0.68 |
| Fe³⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ Fe²⁺ | +0.77 |
| Ag⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ Ag | +0.80 |
| NO₃⁻ + 2H⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ NO₂ + H₂O | +0.80 |
| ClO⁻ + H₂O + 2e⁻ ⇌ Cl⁻ + 2OH⁻ | +0.89 |
| VO₂⁺ + 2H⁺ + e⁻ ⇌ VO²⁺ + H₂O | +1.00 |
| Br₂ + 2e⁻ ⇌ 2Br⁻ | +1.09 |
| O₂ + 4H⁺ + 4e⁻ ⇌ 2H₂O | +1.23 |
| Cr₂O₇²⁻ + 14H⁺ + 6e⁻ ⇌ 2Cr³⁺ + 7H₂O | +1.33 |
| Half-equation | E° / V |
|---|---|
| Cl₂ + 2e⁻ ⇌ 2Cl⁻ | +1.36 |
| MnO₄⁻ + 8H⁺ + 5e⁻ ⇌ Mn²⁺ + 4H₂O | +1.51 |
| H₂O₂ + 2H⁺ + 2e⁻ ⇌ 2H₂O | +1.77 |
What Edexcel's booklet omits
- No specific heat capacity of water and no Arrhenius equation, which OCR's sheet does give.
- No equations of any kind. The booklet is constants and tables.
- No periodic trends beyond the electronegativity table and the electrode potentials.
The richest sheet of the set
Edexcel's Issue 2 booklet is data from the Nuffield Advanced Science Revised Book of Data, and it is the only one here that gives electronegativities and standard electrode potentials. Learn where the electrode table is: 31 half-equations ordered from −2.71 V up to +1.77 V.
The infrared table distinguishes C-H stretching from C-H bending, and lists arenes by the number of adjacent hydrogen atoms. Few other boards go that far.
Work out the relative atomic mass of an element from its isotopes and their abundances.
Press Mark to have your answer marked in the Atomic Structure course.
Worked example: a cell potential
A cell uses Zn²⁺/Zn and Cu²⁺/Cu. Find the standard cell potential.
Copper is the positive electrode. Students lose the mark by adding the two potentials instead of subtracting.
The Edexcel sheet and the other boards
| Board | Sheet | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| AQA | A-level Chemistry Data Booklet (7405), June 2023 series insert | Periodic table, an element list, three data tables (A infrared, B proton NMR, C carbon-13 NMR) and tables for phosphate and sugars, bases and amino acids; no table of constants |
| Edexcel (this guide) | Data Booklet (9CH0), Issue 2, Summer 2017 | Physical constants, infrared, NMR, Pauling electronegativities, standard electrode potentials and the periodic table |
| OCR A | Data Sheet for Chemistry A (H032, H432), 4 pages | General information including the Arrhenius equation, infrared, NMR charts and the periodic table |
| Eduqas | GCE AS/A level Chemistry Data Booklet (B410U10-1A) | Constants and conversions, infrared, carbon-13 and proton NMR, and the periodic table |
| WJEC | GCE AS/A level Chemistry Data Booklet | The same opening constants as Eduqas, then infrared, NMR and the periodic table |
| CCEA | Chemistry Data Sheet, GCE A/AS examinations (subject code 1110) | General information, infrared and proton NMR tables, and the periodic table |
Edexcel's booklet gives electrode potentials, which OCR, AQA, Eduqas, WJEC and CCEA do not. It does not give the Arrhenius equation or the specific heat capacity of water.
Exam answers
You can see our answers once a daily paper is marked. They are written here, not by Edexcel.
Using the Edexcel booklet in practice
Try Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2 with the sheet open. They are short papers, so you can run one in a lunch break and check each data lookup.
Edexcel booklet traps
- Subtracting electrode potentials the wrong way round.
- Using the C-H bending ranges for stretching.
- Missing that the molar volume is given as 24 dm³ mol⁻¹, to two figures.
Common questions
Do you get a data booklet in Edexcel A-level Chemistry?
What is in the Edexcel chemistry data booklet?
Does the Edexcel booklet have electrode potentials?
What is the molar volume on the Edexcel sheet?
Where does the Edexcel data come from?
Revision cards
Say the answer first, then flip the card to check it.
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UK · A-levelA-level Chemistry data booklet: every board comparedWhat is in the A-level Chemistry data sheet for AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, WJEC and CCEA, what is not, and how to use it in the exam.