GCSE Chemistry (AQA) chapter 7: Organic chemistry MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

37 exam-style questions on Organic chemistry, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

37 questions · 3 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 7 covers

Ten Organic chemistry questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

1. Which conditions are used to make ethanol by fermentation?

  1. A
    sugar and yeast heated to 100 °C with plenty of air passing through
  2. B
    sugar solution and yeast kept warm, at about 30 °C, in the absence of air
  3. C
    ethene and steam passed over a phosphoric acid catalyst at about 300 °C
  4. D
    glucose solution heated with a nickel catalyst at high pressure
Show answer

Answer: B. Yeast enzymes work best when warm, are denatured at high temperatures, and without air the ethanol is not oxidised to ethanoic acid. The ethene and steam route is a different method.

2. 4.4 g of propane, C3H8, burns completely in excess oxygen. What is the maximum mass of carbon dioxide formed? (Ar H = 1, C = 12, O = 16)

  1. A
    4.4 g
  2. B
    8.8 g
  3. C
    13.2 g
  4. D
    44 g
Show answer

Answer: C. Moles of propane = 4.4 ÷ 44 = 0.10 mol. C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O, so 0.30 mol CO2 forms. Mass = 0.30 × 44 = 13.2 g.

3. Which group of atoms is the functional group of the alcohols?

  1. A
    the carboxyl group, –COOH
  2. B
    the ester link, –COO–
  3. C
    the carbon–carbon double bond, C=C
  4. D
    the hydroxyl group, –OH
Show answer

Answer: D. Alcohols contain –OH. –COOH is the carboxylic acid group, –COO– is in esters and C=C is in alkenes.

4. A polyester is made from a diol and a dicarboxylic acid. Why must each monomer have two functional groups?

  1. A
    so that no water or other small molecule is lost when they join
  2. B
    so that the monomers can be alkenes and join by opening a double bond
  3. C
    so that the polymer chain contains C=C double bonds like an alkene
  4. D
    so that each monomer can link at both ends and the chain can keep on growing
Show answer

Answer: D. A monomer with one functional group could react at one end only and would stop the chain. Two groups per monomer allow linking at both ends.

5. Which products form when ethanoic acid reacts with sodium carbonate?

  1. A
    sodium ethanoate, water and hydrogen
  2. B
    the salt sodium ethanoate, water and carbon dioxide
  3. C
    ethyl ethanoate, water and carbon dioxide
  4. D
    ethanol, sodium hydroxide and carbon dioxide
Show answer

Answer: B. Carboxylic acids react with carbonates like other acids: salt + water + carbon dioxide. The salt is an ethanoate.

6. How does fractional distillation separate crude oil into fractions?

  1. A
    the vaporised oil is passed through a catalyst, which holds back the largest hydrocarbon molecules
  2. B
    the hydrocarbons burn at different temperatures, so they can be collected in turn as they ignite
  3. C
    the vapours condense at different heights in the column according to their boiling points
  4. D
    the oil is cracked inside the column, so large molecules break into smaller ones with lower boiling points
Show answer

Answer: C. The column is hot at the bottom and cool at the top. Each fraction condenses where the temperature falls below its boiling point range. No chemical change happens.

7. What forms when ethene reacts with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst?

  1. A
    ethanoic acid
  2. B
    poly(ethene)
  3. C
    ethane
  4. D
    ethanol
Show answer

Answer: C. Hydrogen adds across the double bond: C2H4 + H2 → C2H6. Adding steam gives ethanol.

8. Which is the balanced equation for the complete combustion of propane?

  1. A
    C3H8 + 4O2 → 3CO2 + 2H2O
  2. B
    C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO + 4H2O
  3. C
    C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O
  4. D
    C3H8 + 3O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O
Show answer

Answer: C. 3 C gives 3CO2; 8 H gives 4H2O. Oxygen atoms on the right: 6 + 4 = 10, so 5O2 are needed. CO is incomplete combustion.

9. Why are long-chain hydrocarbons cracked?

  1. A
    to separate the hydrocarbons in crude oil into fractions by boiling point
  2. B
    to make smaller, more useful alkanes and alkenes to meet demand
  3. C
    to make crude oil less viscous so that it flows more easily through the column
  4. D
    to remove sulfur impurities from the hydrocarbons before they are burned
Show answer

Answer: B. There is more demand for short-chain fuels such as petrol than supply from distillation. Cracking also makes alkenes for polymers.

10. What are the monomers that make up DNA?

  1. A
    nucleotides
  2. B
    amino acids
  3. C
    glucose
  4. D
    fatty acids
Show answer

Answer: A. DNA is made of two polymer chains of four different nucleotides, twisted into a double helix. Amino acids make proteins.

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How many Organic chemistry MCQs are there?

37, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 3 topics: 4.7.1 Crude oil, alkanes, fractional distillation and cracking, 4.7.2 Alkenes, alcohols and carboxylic acids, 4.7.3 Synthetic and naturally occurring polymers. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the GCSE Chemistry (AQA) chapter 7 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

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