Name: ________________________ Class: ___________________ Date: __________

ID: A

Chemistry 1st Semester Benchmark Assessment

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
6. The unit m3 is used to express
a. length.
b. mass.
c. volume.
d. density.

1. The dimensions of a rectangular solid are measured

to be 1.27 cm, 1.3 cm, and 2.5 cm. The volume
should be recorded as
a. 4.128 cm3.
b. 4.12 cm3.
c. 4.13 cm3.
d. 4.1 cm3.

7. Which of these statements about the scientific

method is not true?
a. All experiments must follow the same
step-by-step procedure.
b. Experiments may be repeated several times.
c. Some unexpected results can be beneficial.
d. Experimental results may or may not support
the hypothesis.

2. Three samples of 1.12 g, 1.8 g, and 1.562 g are

mixed together. The combined mass of the three
samples, expressed to the correct number of
significant figures, would be recorded as
a. 4.4 g.
b. 4.48 g.
c. 4.482 g.
d. 4.5 g.

8. Ten plants are grown in equal amounts of sunlight

with equal amounts of water and varying amounts
of fertilizer. Sunlight, water, and fertilizer are
a. controls.
b. experiments.
c. systems.
d. variables.

3. The speed of light is 300 000 km/s. In scientific

notation, this speed is written to one significant
figure as
a. 3 105 km/s.
b. 3.0 105 km/s.
c. 3. 106 km/s.
d. 3.0 106 km/s.

9. An experiment was designed to measure the effect

of sulfur dioxide emissions from a power plant on
the pH of rain falling downwind of the plant. In this
experiment, the average pH of rainwater upwind
from the plant would be considered
a. a model.
b. a variable.
c. the hypothesis.
d. the control.

4. The most appropriate SI unit for measuring the

length of an automobile is the
a. millimeter.
b. kilometer.
c. meter.
d. liter.
5. If some measurements agree closely with each
other but differ widely from the actual value, these
measurements are
a. both accurate and precise.
b. neither precise nor accurate.
c. precise but not accurate.
d. accurate but not precise.

10. The relationship between the mass m of a material,

its volume V, and its density D is
a. D = mV.
b. D = V/m.
c. D = m/V.
d. D = m + v.

Name: ________________________

ID: A

11. Using a metric ruler with 1 mm divisions, the sides

of a rectangular piece of plywood were measured as
3.54 cm and 4.85 cm, which corresponds to an area
of 17.1690 cm2. Which of these shows the area
expressed correctly?
a. 17.1 cm2.
b. 17.169 cm2.
c. 17.17 cm2.
d. 17.2 cm2.

15. A scientist hypothesizes that a colorless gas

produced during a chemical reaction is carbon
dioxide. Which observation would confirm this
hypothesis?
a. The gas will react violently with water.
b. A glowing splint placed in the gas will burn
brighter.
c. Buring the gas in presence of oxygen will
produce water.
d. Bubbling the gas through lime water will make
the lime water cloudy.

12. The average distance between the sun and Earth is

about 150 million km. Light travels at a speed of
3.0 10 8 m/s. Dividing the distance by the speed
and then multiplying by the number of meters in a
kilometer will result in units of
a. seconds.
b. meters per second.
c. kilometers squared.
d. kilometers per second.

16. A three-dimensional region around a nucleus where

an electron may be found is called a(n)
a. spectral line.
b. electron path.
c. orbital.
d. orbit.
17. A spherical electron cloud surrounding an atomic
nucleus would best represent
a. an s orbital.
b. a px orbital.
c. a combination of px and py orbitals.
d. a combination of an s and a px orbital.

13. In an experiment, onion plants of different ages

were exposed to various amounts of caffeine to
determine the effect of caffeine on cell growth.
Temperature, amount of water, and light were kept
constant. Which of these statements about the
experiment is definitely true?
a. The results may not be valid because there were
two variables.
b. The amount of caffeine used was a control.
c. Temperature, water, and light were the only
variables.
d. Onion plants can be used to model the effects
of caffeine on living things.

18. What is the maximum number of electrons that a

single orbital can hold?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
19. For each successive electron removed from an
atom, the ionization energy
a. increases.
b. decreases.
c. remains the same.
d. shows no pattern.

14. A student recorded the following while completing

an experiment.
Color of substance: yellow, shiny powder
Effect of magnet: yellow, shiny powder was
attracted

20. The force of attraction by Group 1 metals for their

valence electrons is
a. weak.
b. zero.
c. strong.
d. greater than that for inner shell electrons.

The student should classify the substance as a(n)

a. element.
b. compound.
c. mixture.
d. plasma.

Name: ________________________

ID: A

21. The electrons available to be lost, gained, or shared

when atoms form compounds are called
a. ions.
b. valence electrons.
c. d electrons.
d. electron clouds.

28. Which of the following processes always decreases

the number of protons by an even number?
a. fusion
b. beta decay
c. alpha decay
d. fission

22. Within a group of elements, as the atomic number

increases, the atomic radius
a. increases.
b. remains approximately constant.
c. decreases regularly.
d. varies unpredictably.

29. Which of the following forms of radiation has the

greatest penetrating power?
a. alpha particles
b. beta particles
c. gamma rays
d. positrons

23. In the alkaline-earth group, atoms with the smallest

radii
a. are the most reactive.
b. have the largest volume.
c. are all gases.
d. have the highest ionization energies.

30. Which of the following lists ranks nuclear radiation

from most massive to least massive?
a. alpha, beta, and gamma
b. beta, gamma, and alpha
c. gamma, alpha, and beta
d. gamma, beta, and alpha

24. As you move down Group 14 in the periodic table

from carbon through lead, atomic radii
a. generally increase.
b. generally decrease.
c. do not change.
d. vary unpredictably.

31. The half-life of an isotope is the time required for

half the nuclei in a sample to
a. undergo radioactive decay.
b. undergo nuclear fission.
c. undergo nuclear fusion.
d. react chemically.

25. The process that changes the identity and number

of protons in a nucleus is
a. fusion.
b. transmutation.
c. fission.
d. All of the above

32. To use radioactive dating for a substance, you must

know the substance's
a. melting point.
b. half-life.
c. rate of weathering or erosion.
d. enthalpy of reaction.

26. The energy released in a nuclear reaction comes

from
a. electrons.
b. bonds.
c. positrons.
d. the binding energy of the nucleus.

33. What fraction of a radioactive sample remains after

the decayed of two half-lives elapsed?
1
a.
4
1
b.
2
2
c.
3
d. The whole sample has decayed.

27. What device uses controlled nuclear fission to

produce new radioactive substances and energy?
a. synchrotron
b. nuclear reactor
c. nuclear bomb
d. linear accelerator

Name: ________________________

ID: A

34. Oxidation numbers are used to indicate the

a. charge on an ion.
b. number of atoms or ions in a compound.
c. type of bond holding particles together in a
compound.
d. distribution of electrons among the bonded
particles in a compound.

41. Which best explains the observation that metals are

malleable and ionic crystals are brittle?
a. their chemical bonds
b. their London forces
c. their enthalpies of vaporization
d. their net change

35. Atoms have an oxidation number of zero in a(n)

a. pure element.
b. acid.
c. ionic compound.
d. molecular compound.

42. The equal but opposite charges present in the two

regions of a polar molecule create a(n)
a. electron sea.
b. dipole.
c. crystal lattice.
d. ionic bond.

36. How many electrons must be shown in the Lewis

structure of the hydroxide ion, OH ?
a. 1
b. 8
c. 9
d. 10

43. Which statement about the hardness of diamond

and graphite is correct?
a. Diamond is very soft, and graphite is very hard.
b. Diamond is very hard, and graphite is very soft.
c. Both diamond and graphite are very hard.
d. Both diamond and graphite are very soft.

37. What is the formula for barium hydroxide?

a. BaOH
b. BaOH2
c. Ba(OH)2
d. Ba(OH)

44. The atoms in graphite

a. form a tetrahedral network.
b. are arranged in squares.
c. are arranged in layers that form thin hexagonal
plates.
d. form a face-centered cube.

38. Name the compound Ni(ClO3)2.

a. nickel(II) chlorate
b. nickel(II) chloride
c. nickel(II) chlorite
d. nickel(II) peroxide

45. Which of the following statements is false?

a. Not all carbon-containing compounds are
classified as organic.
b. All organic compounds contain carbon.
c. Hydrocarbons are the simplest organic
compounds.
d. Not all organic compounds contain covalent
bonds.

39. Name the compound Fe(NO3)2.

a. iron(II) nitrate
b. iron(II) nitrite
c. iron(III) nitrate
d. iron(III) nitride

46. Hydrocarbons in which carbon atoms are connected

by only single bonds in straight chains or branched
chains are called
a. aromatic hydrocarbons.
b. alkynes.
c. alkenes.
d. alkanes.

40. The forces of attraction between molecules in a

molecular compound are
a. stronger than the forces among formula units in
ionic bonding.
b. weaker than the forces among formula units in
ionic bonding.
c. approximately equal to the forces among
formula units in ionic bonding.
d. zero.

47. The hydrocarbon, C 6H12, is an example of a(n)

a. alkane.
b. cycloalkane.
c. alkyne.
d. aromatic.

Name: ________________________

ID: A

48. The straight-chain alkane with six carbon atoms is

called
a. butane.
b. pentane.
c. hexane.
d. heptane.
49. The number of atoms in 1 mol of carbon is
a. 6.022 1022.
b. 6.022 1023.
c. 5.022 1022.
d. 5.022 1023.
50. The molecular mass of CO2 is 44.01 amu. What is
the mass of 2.0 mol of CO2?
a. 44.01 amu
b. 44.01 g
c. 88.02 amu
d. 88.02 g
51. What is the mass of 3.56 mol of glucose, C6H12O6?
(The molar mass of`C6H12O6 is 180.18 g/mol.)
a. 50.6 g
b. 641 g
c. 0.0198 g
d. 2.14 1024 g