WJEC A-level Chemistry data booklet: 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 contents follow WJEC's data booklet, in our own layout and words.
A-level Chemistry: Year 1
Values and conversions
Also: temperature in kelvin = temperature in °C + 273; 1 dm³ = 1000 cm³; 1 m³ = 1000 dm³; 1 tonne = 1000 kg; 1 atm = 1.01 × 10⁵ Pa. SI prefixes from nano to giga.
| Quantity | Symbol | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avogadro constant | NA | 6.02 × 10²³ | mol⁻¹ |
| molar gas constant | R | 8.31 | J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ |
| molar gas volume at 273 K and 1 atm | V_m | 22.4 | dm³ mol⁻¹ |
| molar gas volume at 298 K and 1 atm | V_m | 24.5 | dm³ mol⁻¹ |
| Planck constant | h | 6.63 × 10⁻³⁴ | J s |
| speed of light | c | 3.00 × 10⁸ | m s⁻¹ |
| density of water | d | 1.00 | g cm⁻³ |
| specific heat capacity of water | c | 4.18 | J g⁻¹ K⁻¹ |
| ionic product of water at 298 K | K_w | 1.00 × 10⁻¹⁴ | mol² dm⁻⁶ |
| fundamental electronic charge | e | 1.60 × 10⁻¹⁹ | C |
Infrared absorption values
Wavenumbers are in cm⁻¹.
| Bond | Wavenumber / cm⁻¹ |
|---|---|
| C-Br | 500 to 600 |
| C-Cl | 650 to 800 |
| C-O | 1000 to 1300 |
| C=C | 1620 to 1670 |
| C=O | 1650 to 1750 |
| C≡N | 2100 to 2250 |
| C-H | 2800 to 3100 |
| O-H (carboxylic acid) | 2500 to 3200 (very broad) |
| O-H (alcohol, phenol) | 3200 to 3550 (broad) |
| N-H | 3300 to 3500 |
NMR chemical shifts
Two tables relative to TMS = 0: carbon-13 chemical shifts by type of carbon and proton chemical shifts by type of proton. Shifts marked with an asterisk are variable, depending on concentration and solvent.
What the WJEC booklet does not give
- No electrode potentials and no formulae.
- No periodic trends beyond the table.
- No kinetic or equilibrium data: the booklet stops at constants, spectroscopy and the periodic table.
A booklet shared by AS and A
The WJEC booklet we read is the Wales version used with the 2410 units. It opens with Avogadro's constant, the gas constant, two molar gas volumes (22.4 at 273 K and 24.5 at 298 K, both dm³ mol⁻¹), Planck's constant and the speed of light.
Then come the ionic product of water at 298 K, the specific heat capacity of water and conversions such as 1 atm = 1.01 × 10⁵ Pa. The infrared table lists carboxylic acid O-H as very broad, 2500 to 3200 cm⁻¹.
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: pH from K<sub>w</sub>
Find the pH of 0.010 mol dm⁻³ sodium hydroxide at 298 K.
The sheet gives K_(w) but not the pH definition, so recall that pH = −log[H⁺].
The WJEC 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 | 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 (this guide) | 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 |
WJEC's constants match Eduqas's, but WJEC runs separate units for AS and A in Wales. CCEA has a different value, 4.2, for water's specific heat capacity.
Exam answers
After marking, the worked answers appear on this site. They are ours and not WJEC's.
Daily practice with the WJEC booklet
Both Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2 suit it.
WJEC sheet slips
- Using 22.4 at 298 K.
- Treating K_(w) as temperature independent.
- Reading an alcohol O-H from the acid row.
Common questions
Is the WJEC chemistry booklet the same one for every unit?
Which molar gas volume should a WJEC candidate use?
Does WJEC give the ionic product of water?
How is the carboxylic acid O-H band described?
Revision cards
Say the answer first, then flip the card to check it.
Where to go next
- Solve it
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UK · A-levelWJEC A-level Chemistry: units, practical, grades, 2027 datesWJEC A-level Chemistry explained: AS and A2 units, the Unit 5 practical, UMS grades, 2027 dates, worked examples and short daily timed mocks.