

A complete AQA A-level Chemistry Required Practical 2 worksheet: measure the temperature change of a neutralisation in a polystyrene cup, extrapolate a cooling curve and calculate the enthalpy change, with full mark scheme.
Two separate files
- Worksheet (9 pages): the student copy, print-ready in black and white
- Mark scheme (11 pages): the same worksheet completed with every answer written in red, with marks shown, plus teacher and technician notes and marking guidance
Use it during the practical, as a follow-up lesson or as homework. Students who don’t get results can still draw the cooling curve and do every calculation using the full practice data set.
What students do
- Label the polystyrene cup calorimeter
- Work out moles, solution mass and the limiting reactant before the practical
- Follow the method, with a “why?” prompt for each key step
- Spot which calorimeter set-up is right (insulation and thermometer position)
- Put the cooling-curve method in order
- Read three thermometer close-ups to 0.1 °C
- Record their own timed temperatures in a blank table
- Draw best-fit lines on a practice graph and extrapolate to the mixing time
- Calculate the enthalpy change of neutralisation, one step at a time
- Calculate percentage uncertainties for the thermometer and measuring cylinder
- Sort 7 changes by their effect on the temperature rise, then explain two
- Answer 10 exam-style questions (21 marks), including Hess’s law, zinc and copper sulfate, and a 6-mark extended response
- Finish with an “I can” self-check
For teachers
- Quantities per group, timings and safety notes
- Common slips to watch for
- Which tasks to set before the practical
All questions are original. This is an independent resource, not endorsed by AQA.
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