Exam Focus

🎯 Exam Focus

Frequently Examined

Ionic compound properties are examined very frequently. Key question patterns:

• Explain the high melting point of an ionic compound — always reference "many strong electrostatic forces" and "large amount of energy needed" (2-3 marks)
• Explain conductivity — distinguish between solid (no conduction, fixed ions) and molten/dissolved (conducts, free ions) — 2 marks
• Compare two ionic compounds — which has higher melting point and why (ion charges and size) — 2-3 marks
• Brittleness — explain in terms of layer displacement and repulsion — 2 marks

The critical phrase examiners want to see is: "ions are free to move and carry charge" for conductivity questions.

Edexcel 1CH0: Examined in Paper 1 (1CH0/1). Edexcel tests ionic compound properties through explain questions — high melting point (strong electrostatic forces), electrical conductivity (ions free to move when molten or dissolved), and brittleness (layer shift causes repulsion). Distinguishing solid vs molten/dissolved conductivity is a common 2-mark question. In Edexcel-style questions, the command word "Suggest" appears frequently — use your chemistry knowledge to apply to an unfamiliar context.