Cambridge AS & A Level Chemistry 9701/32 is the May/June 2026 Paper 3 (Advanced Practical Skills), variant 2. It is the AS Level practical paper, lasts 2 hours and is worth 40 marks. It had three compulsory questions done at the bench: a thermometric experiment, a gravimetric experiment and a qualitative analysis. The thermometric experiment carried 16 marks. This guide goes through the paper question by question and shows what the official mark scheme gave marks for. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of all five 9701 papers from this series, see A Level Chemistry 9701 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

9701/32 at a glance

Question	Experiment	Marks	What you do
1	Thermometric: copper(II) sulfate (FB 1) with an excess of metal M (FB 2)	16	Record, plot and extrapolate, test, calculate
2	Gravimetric: heating hydrated copper(II) sulfate (FB 3) to find x	11	Weigh, tabulate, calculate, observe, evaluate
3	Qualitative analysis of the mixture FB 4	13	Observe, test, identify ions
	Total	40

Three marks on the paper depend on how close your results are to the supervisor’s (two in Question 1, one in Question 2). Your own readings decide most of the numerical answers, so the mark scheme gives methods rather than single values for those.

Question-by-question walkthrough

Question 1: copper(II) sulfate and metal M (16 marks)

You put 25.0 cm³ of 0.95 mol dm⁻³ copper(II) sulfate in a cup, read the temperature every 30 seconds up to 1.5 minutes, added all of metal M at 2.0 minutes, and read the temperature every 30 seconds from 2.5 to 10.0 minutes.

• Results table (3 marks): one mark for every temperature recorded to .0 or .5 °C. A table in which every reading ended in .0, or every reading ended in .5, was rejected. The other two marks are for accuracy: the examiner works out your ΔT (highest temperature in the table minus the starting temperature) and compares it with the supervisor’s. The tolerance grows with the size of the rise. For a supervisor ΔT between 10.0 and 19.5 °C, for example, you needed to be within 2.0 °C for one mark and within 1.0 °C for both.
• Graph (4 marks):
  • Temperature on the y-axis and time on the x-axis, both labelled with names or units, with numbers on the scales. “C” alone for temperature and “m” for minutes were rejected.
  • Linear scales based on 1, 2 or 5 units per large square (4, 10 and 20 were accepted, but 3, 7 or 9 were not), with room for 10.0 °C above your highest temperature, and points covering more than half of each axis.
  • Every point plotted within half a small square.
  • Two lines of best fit, both extrapolated to 2.0 minutes. The line before the addition must be straight and the line after the maximum must be a smooth curve, not an S-shape. You may circle or label up to two anomalous points.
• ΔT from the graph (1 mark): working must be shown on the grid, at minimum a vertical line at t = 2.0 minutes joining the two lines, and the answer must be to 1 decimal place. An integer was rejected.
• Filtering (1 mark): the filtrate is colourless and the residue is pink-brown. Pink, brown, black and dark grey were all accepted for the residue; red and grey on its own were rejected.
• Identifying M (3 marks): test the diluted filtrate with aqueous sodium hydroxide and with aqueous ammonia (1). Both give a white precipitate that dissolves in excess (1), so M is zinc (1). The zinc mark depended on those observations, with no error carried forward from wrong tests or observations.
• Ionic equation (1 mark): Zn(s) + Cu²⁺(aq) → Zn²⁺(aq) + Cu(s). State symbols were required. If you identified M wrongly, the equation could still score for a metal more reactive than copper.
• Energy change (1 mark): 25 × 4.18 × ΔT, in joules, to 2 to 4 significant figures. Using c = 4.2 was rejected; the paper prints 4.18 J g⁻¹ K⁻¹.
• Enthalpy change (2 marks): amount of CuSO₄ = 0.95 × 25 ÷ 1000 = 0.02375 mol (1); writing 0.02 to one significant figure was rejected. Then ΔHr = −(energy change) ÷ 23.75 kJ mol⁻¹, with the negative sign shown and 2 to 4 significant figures (1). The copper(II) sulfate is the limiting reagent here, since the metal is in excess.

Question 2: water of crystallisation in copper(II) sulfate (11 marks)

You weighed a crucible and lid, added FB 3 (CuSO₄·xH₂O), heated gently for about a minute with the lid on, then strongly for five minutes, cooled and weighed. You then heated for two more minutes, cooled and reweighed.

• Results table (4 marks):
  • All data in a single table with unambiguous headings and units for seven entries: crucible and lid; crucible, lid and FB 3; after the first heating; after the second heating; mass of FB 3; mass of residue; and mass lost. Units had to be shown as /g, (g) or “in g”. “Weight” was rejected for mass, and the two heated readings had to be told apart.
  • All balance readings to the same 2 or 3 decimal places, and the final reading within +0.02 g to −0.05 g of the previous one, which shows you heated to near constant mass.
  • Correct subtractions for the mass of FB 3, the residue and the water lost.
  • Accuracy: your ratio of mass of FB 3 to mass of residue had to be within 10% of the supervisor’s.
• Amount of CuSO₄ (1 mark): mass of residue ÷ 159.6, to 2 to 4 significant figures.
• Water and x (2 marks): amount of water = (mass of FB 3 − mass of residue) ÷ 18 (1), then x = amount of water ÷ amount of CuSO₄, given as an integer (1). Non-integer values and x = 0 were rejected. Your x comes from your own masses, so there is no single printed answer.
• Adding water to the residue (2 marks): creditable observations were a white or grey solid, the solid turning blue, a blue (or blue-green) solution forming, and steam, the crucible warming up or a fizzing or popping sound. Every two observations scored one mark. Fizzing on its own was ignored.
• The black residue (1 mark): copper oxide forms, or the anhydrous copper(II) sulfate decomposes further. “It burns” or “it oxidises” was rejected.
• Effect on x (1 mark): the mass loss is greater, so x comes out higher. Saying the change is too small to alter the integer value was also accepted. “More water is lost” was rejected, because the extra mass lost is not water.

Question 3: qualitative analysis of FB 4 (13 marks)

FB 4 was a mixture of two salts, each with two ions from the qualitative analysis notes. The mark scheme confirms they were copper(II) carbonate and iron(II) sulfate. Most marks were for observations, with every two creditable observations (marked with a star in the scheme) earning one mark.

• Heating FB 4 (3 marks, 8 observations available): a green solid of powder and crystals; it turns black; condensation forms; the solid jumps around on stronger heating; the gas turns damp blue litmus red; white specks or the solid turning grey; white fumes. A limewater result here was credited in 3(b) instead.
• Dissolving and filtering (3 marks): one mark for a colourless or pale green filtrate FB 6 (yellow, yellow-green and dark green were rejected). Adding hydrochloric acid to the residue FB 5 gave rapid effervescence, a gas that turns limewater milky (a white precipitate), and a blue, blue-green or green solution: two marks from these.
• Tests on FB 6 (5 marks, 11 observations available):
  • Test 1, sodium hydroxide in excess: a green precipitate, insoluble in excess. On warming, damp red litmus stays red (no ammonia) and the precipitate turns brown at the surface. Adding aluminium gives effervescence, and the gas pops with a lighted splint. Grey-green was rejected for the precipitate.
  • Test 2, aqueous ammonia: a green precipitate, insoluble in excess, turning brown at the surface.
  • Test 3, barium nitrate or chloride: a white precipitate. Off-white and cream were rejected, and adding another reagent such as hydrochloric acid in this test was rejected.
  • Test 4, your own test: add hydrochloric or nitric acid to the precipitate from Test 3; the white precipitate does not dissolve (no change). The observation only scored with the right test, and reagents had to be named or given correct formulae; “H⁺” was rejected. A potassium manganate(VII) test was ignored.
• Identifying the ions (2 marks): FB 5 is Cu²⁺ and CO₃²⁻; FB 6 is Fe²⁺ and SO₄²⁻. All four correct scored 2, and two or three scored 1. Ions only counted if you had recorded the observations they came from, with no error carried forward.

Where the marks are on 9701/32

• Tests and observations carried 17 marks: filtering and identifying M in 1(c) (4), adding water to the residue in 2(c) (2), and the whole of Question 3 except the final identification (11).
• Recording results and accuracy carried 7 marks: the temperature table (3) and the mass table (4), including the three marks judged against the supervisor’s results.
• Calculations carried 7 marks: the ionic equation, energy change and enthalpy change in 1(d) (4), and the moles and x in 2(b) (3).
• The graph carried 5 marks: plotting and lines (4) and reading ΔT (1).
• Evaluation carried 2 marks (2(d)), and identifying the ions in FB 5 and FB 6 carried 2 (3(d)).

How to self-mark 9701/32 with the mark scheme

1. Learn the abbreviations first. A slash separates alternatives, A means accept, R means reject, I means ignore, ecf means error carried forward, ora means “or reverse argument”, AW means alternative wording and a star marks one creditable observation.
2. Check your recording before your chemistry. Temperatures to .0 or .5, balance readings all to the same 2 or 3 decimal places, units in every heading, and one table for all seven masses.
3. Compare with a known result if you can. The accuracy marks need a supervisor’s value; if your teacher ran the experiment, use their ΔT and mass ratio as the reference.
4. Be strict with the graph. Straight line before the addition, smooth curve after the maximum, both extrapolated to 2.0 minutes, and a construction line at t = 2.0 minutes.
5. Count significant figures. Every calculated answer in 1(d) and 2(b) had to be to 2 to 4 significant figures, and x had to be a whole number.
6. Count stars, then halve. In 2(c), 3(a), 3(b) and 3(c), tally your creditable observations and give yourself one mark per two, rounding down, up to the maximum.
7. Check the colour words. Grey-green, red, cream and off-white were all rejected somewhere on this paper.

Sit 9701/32 as a timed mock

The paper allows 120 minutes for 40 marks, but Question 2 has two cooling periods of at least five minutes, and the paper suggests using that time to start Question 3. A workable plan:

Block	Marks	Time
Question 1: experiment and table	3	20 minutes
Question 1: graph, filtering, tests and calculations	13	25 minutes
Question 2: weighing and heating (start Question 3 while it cools)	4	25 minutes
Question 3: heating FB 4, filtering and the tests on FB 6	13	30 minutes
Question 2: calculations, adding water, evaluation	7	12 minutes
Check significant figures, units and headings	–	8 minutes

Read the whole method before you start, and draw both results tables before you pick up any apparatus.

Other May/June 2026 9701 papers

• 9701 Paper 12 (Multiple Choice)
• 9701 Paper 22 (AS Level Structured Questions)
• 9701 Paper 42 (A Level Structured Questions)
• 9701 Paper 52 (Planning, Analysis and Evaluation)

Practise and download

• Download 9701/32 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 9701 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free A Level Chemistry quiz

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Frequently asked questions

What experiments were on 9701 Paper 32 May/June 2026? +

Three: a 16-mark thermometric experiment in which 0.95 mol dm⁻³ copper(II) sulfate reacted with an excess of metal M, an 11-mark gravimetric experiment to find x in CuSO₄·xH₂O, and a 13-mark qualitative analysis of the mixture FB 4.

How many marks is 9701/32 and how long is it? +

It is out of 40 marks and lasts 2 hours. It is the AS Level practical paper, and every question is compulsory.

What was metal M on 9701/32 2026? +

Zinc. With both aqueous sodium hydroxide and aqueous ammonia the diluted filtrate gave a white precipitate that dissolved in excess. The mark for naming zinc depended on recording those observations; there was no error carried forward from wrong tests.

What was in FB 4 on 9701/32? +

FB 4 was a mixture of copper(II) carbonate and iron(II) sulfate. The insoluble residue FB 5 contained Cu²⁺ and CO₃²⁻, and the filtrate FB 6 contained Fe²⁺ and SO₄²⁻. All four correct scored 2 marks; two or three scored 1.

How was the enthalpy change calculated on 9701/32? +

The energy change was 25 × 4.18 × ΔT in joules. The amount of copper(II) sulfate was 0.95 × 25 ÷ 1000 = 0.02375 mol, so ΔHr was minus the energy change divided by 23.75, in kJ mol⁻¹, with a negative sign and 2 to 4 significant figures. Using c = 4.2 was rejected.

Where can I download 9701/32 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge AS & A Level Chemistry 9701 past papers page.

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