CHEMISTRY CST Practice Questions 1-20 of 90Released California State Chemistry Test Questions. © California Department of Education. "Permission is granted in advance for reproduction of these resources for educational purposes. The content must remain unchanged and in its entirety as published by the California Department of Education. "

A weather balloon with a 2-meter diameter at ambient temperature holds 525 grams of helium. What type of electronic probe could be used to determine the pressure inside the balloon?
1. calorimetric
2. barometric
3. thermometric
4. spectrophotometric
Which would be most appropriate for collecting data during a neutralization reaction?
1. a thermometer
2. a graphing program
3. a statistics program
4. a pH probe
A scientist observed changes in the gas pressure of one mole of a gas in a sealed chamber with a fixed volume. To identify the source of the changes, the scientist should check for variations in the
1. molecular formula of the gas.
2. isotopes of the gas.
3. temperature of the chamber.
4. air pressure outside the chamber.
Electrical fires cannot be safely put out by dousing them with water. However, fire extinguishers that spray carbon dioxide on the fire work very effectively. This method works because carbon dioxide
1. displaces the oxygen.
2. forms water vapor.
3. renders the fire's fuel non-flammable.
4. blows the fire out with strong wind currents.
In the cubic crystal shown, if each edge is 2.0 angstroms in length, what is the diagonal distance, d, between atoms 1 and 3? (Assume that the Pythagorean theorem can be used to solve this problem.)
3. 2.5 Å
In order to advance to the level of a theory, a hypothesis should be
1. repeatedly confirmed by experimentation.
2. in alignment with past theories.
3. obviously accepted by most people.
4. a fully functional experiment.
Matter is made of atoms that have positive centers of neutrons and protons surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. This statement is
1. a hypothesis.
2. an observation.
3. an inference.
4. a theory.
The model of ideal gases shown above is useful because it
1. gives precise explanations for nonideal gas behavior.
2. predicts the behavior of other phases of matter.
3. shows a linear relation between gas pressure and volume.
4. accurately approximates the properties of most gas molecules.
When a metal is heated in a flame, the flame has a distinctive color. This information was eventually extended to the study of stars because
1. a red shift in star color indicates stars are moving away.
2. the color spectra of stars indicate which elements are present.
3. it allows the observer to determine the size of stars.
4. star color indicates absolute distance.
Which of the following ordered pairs of elements shows an increase in atomic number but a decrease in average atomic mass?
1. Ag to Pd
2. Cr to Mo
3. Ge to Sn
4. Co to Ni
Why is cobalt (Co) placed before nickel (Ni) on the periodic table of the elements even though it has a higher average atomic mass than nickel?
1. Cobalt has a lower density.
2. Nickel has fewer electrons.
3. Nickel has one more proton.
4. Cobalt was discovered first.
Generally, how do atomic masses vary throughout the periodic table of the elements?
1. They increase from right to left and top to bottom.
2. They increase from left to right and bottom to top.
3. They increase from left to right and top to bottom.
4. They increase from right to left and bottom to top.
Iodine would have chemical properties most like
1. manganese (Mn).
2. chlorine (Cl).
3. xenon (Xe).
4. tellurium (Te).
Which of the following elements is classified as a metal?
1. helium
2. bromine
3. lithium
4. sulfur
The chart above shows the relationship between the first ionization energy and the increase in atomic number. The letter on the chart for the alkali family of elements is
1. Z
2. Y
3. X
4. W
Which of the following atoms has the largest atomic radius?
1. iodine (I)
2. magnesium (Mg)
3. chlorine (Cl)
4. barium (Ba)
Which of the following atoms has six valence electrons?
1. silicon (Si)
2. argon (Ar)
3. magnesium (Mg)
4. sulfur (S)
Which statement best describes the density of an atom’s nucleus?
1. The nucleus occupies most of the atom’s volume and contains most of its mass.
2. The nucleus occupies most of the atom’s volume but contains little of its mass.
3. The nucleus occupies very little of the atom’s volume but contains most of its mass.
4. The nucleus occupies very little of the atom’s volume and contains little of its mass.
What information do the experimental results above reveal about the nucleus of the gold atom?
1. The nucleus is small and is the densest part of the atom.
2. The nucleus contains small positive and negative particles.
3. The nucleus contains less than half the mass of the atom.
4. The nucleus is large and occupies most of the atom’s space.
Why are enormous amounts of energy required to separate a nucleus into its component protons and neutrons even though the protons in the nucleus repel each other?
1. The interactions between neutrons and electrons neutralize the repulsive forces between the protons.
2. The electrostatic forces acting between other atoms lowers the force of repulsion of the protons.
3. The force of the protons repelling each other is small compared to the attraction of the neutrons to each other.
4. The forces holding the nucleus together are much stronger than the repulsion between the protons.

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