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Chemical cells and fuel cells: Edexcel GCSE Chemistry questions

Every Edexcel GCSE Chemistry exam question on Chemical cells and fuel cells (specification points 5.25–5.27), 2018–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

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1,880 questions

  1. Q1(a)(i)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Higher

    1 markChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(a)(i): State what type of compound must be present in the electrolyte. (1)

  2. Q1(a)(ii)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Higher

    1 markChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(a)(ii): When the two metal electrodes are placed in the electrolyte, a voltage is produced. The bigger the difference in reactivity of the metals, the larger the voltag

  3. Q1(a)(iii)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Higher

    1 markChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(a)(iii): State what happens to the voltage when one of the reactants is used up. (1)

  4. Q1(b)(ii)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Higher

    1 markChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(b)(ii): Hydrogen‑oxygen fuel cells are used in spacecraft. Suggest one advantage of using fuel cells rather than chemical cells in spacecraft. (1)

  5. Q2(a)(i)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

    1 markChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1 Foundation, question 2(a)(i): Complete Figure 3 by adding a suitable piece of apparatus to show that a voltage is produced. (1)

  6. Q2(a)(ii)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1 Foundation, question 2(a)(ii): Use words from the box to complete labelling of Figure 3. electrolyte magnesium salt solution carbon rod distilled water iron (2)

  7. Q2(a)(iii)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1 Foundation, question 2(a)(iii): Describe what happens to the cell's voltage over a long period of time. (2)

  8. Q2(b)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1 Foundation, question 2(b): One type of fuel cell is the hydrogen‑oxygen fuel cell. Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells produce water only. Write the word equation for the reaction. (2) + →

  9. Q1(a)

    June 2024 · Paper 1 Higher

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(a): Chemical cells produce a voltage. A chemical cell can be made by placing the metals copper and iron in a beaker of sodium chloride solution as shown in Figure 1

  10. Q1(b)

    June 2023 · Paper 1 Higher

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(b): Hydrogen gas and oxygen gas are used in a hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell. Separate containers of hydrogen and oxygen are used to supply the gases. A student tests th

  11. Q1(c)

    June 2023 · Paper 1 Higher

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(c): A chemical cell is made by placing two electrodes into an aqueous electrolyte. Figure 3 shows a chemical cell. V electrode electrode electrolyte Figure 3 State

  12. Q1(a)

    June 2022 · Paper 1 Higher

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(a): Chemical cells produce a voltage. A chemical cell can be made by placing the metals copper and zinc in a beaker of sodium chloride solution. Figure 1 shows a di

  13. Q8(a)

    November 2021 · Paper 1 Higher

    1 markChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 1 Higher, question 8(a): Give one advantage of using a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell, rather than using a chemical cell, to power a vehicle. (1)

  14. Q8(b)

    November 2021 · Paper 1 Higher

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 1 Higher, question 8(b): Complete the half-equation for the reaction taking place at one of the electrodes in a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. (2) O2 + H+ + → H2O

  15. Q3(a)

    November 2021 · Paper 1 Foundation

    1 markChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 1 Foundation, question 3(a): Hydrogen and oxygen are reactants in some fuel cells. Which word equation shows the overall reaction that occurs in these fuel cells? (1) A hydrogen + oxygen →

  16. Q3(b)

    November 2021 · Paper 1 Foundation

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 1 Foundation, question 3(b): A torch contains a chemical cell. The torch is turned on and then left on for many hours. Describe what you would see happen when the torch is turned on and the

  17. Q3(c)

    November 2021 · Paper 1 Foundation

    1 markChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 1 Foundation, question 3(c): A chemical cell can be made by placing two metals into an electrolyte. Figure 3 shows how the voltage of a simple chemical cell can be measured. V rod P copper

  18. Q7(b)

    November 2020 · Paper 1 Higher

    6 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2020 Paper 1 Higher, question 7(b): Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells can be used to provide electrical energy in a spacecraft. The reaction that takes place in the fuel cell is hydrogen + oxygen → water

  19. Q5(d)

    November 2020 · Paper 1 Foundation

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2020 Paper 1 Foundation, question 5(d): Many transition metals are used to make the reactants in chemical cells. Figure 8 shows a graph of the voltage produced by a chemical cell as it is used in a to

  20. Q1(a)

    June 2019 · Paper 1 Higher

    2 marksChemical cells and fuel cells
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2019 Paper 1 Higher, question 1(a): The overall reaction occurring in this fuel cell is a reaction of hydrogen with oxygen. Write the balanced equation for this reaction. (2)
All 24 questions on Chemical cells and fuel cells, as a list
  1. June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(a)(i) (1 mark): State what type of compound must be present in the electrolyte. (1)
  2. June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(a)(ii) (1 mark): When the two metal electrodes are placed in the electrolyte, a voltage is produced. The bigger the difference in reactivity of the metals, the larger the voltag
  3. June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(a)(iii) (1 mark): State what happens to the voltage when one of the reactants is used up. (1)
  4. June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(b)(ii) (1 mark): Hydrogen‑oxygen fuel cells are used in spacecraft. Suggest one advantage of using fuel cells rather than chemical cells in spacecraft. (1)
  5. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(i) (1 mark): Complete Figure 3 by adding a suitable piece of apparatus to show that a voltage is produced. (1)
  6. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(ii) (2 marks): Use words from the box to complete labelling of Figure 3. electrolyte magnesium salt solution carbon rod distilled water iron (2)
  7. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(iii) (2 marks): Describe what happens to the cell's voltage over a long period of time. (2)
  8. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b) (2 marks): One type of fuel cell is the hydrogen‑oxygen fuel cell. Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells produce water only. Write the word equation for the reaction. (2) + →
  9. June 2024, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(a) (2 marks): Chemical cells produce a voltage. A chemical cell can be made by placing the metals copper and iron in a beaker of sodium chloride solution as shown in Figure 1
  10. June 2023, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(b) (2 marks): Hydrogen gas and oxygen gas are used in a hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell. Separate containers of hydrogen and oxygen are used to supply the gases. A student tests th
  11. June 2023, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(c) (2 marks): A chemical cell is made by placing two electrodes into an aqueous electrolyte. Figure 3 shows a chemical cell. V electrode electrode electrolyte Figure 3 State
  12. June 2022, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(a) (2 marks): Chemical cells produce a voltage. A chemical cell can be made by placing the metals copper and zinc in a beaker of sodium chloride solution. Figure 1 shows a di
  13. November 2021, Paper 1 Higher, Q8(a) (1 mark): Give one advantage of using a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell, rather than using a chemical cell, to power a vehicle. (1)
  14. November 2021, Paper 1 Higher, Q8(b) (2 marks): Complete the half-equation for the reaction taking place at one of the electrodes in a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. (2) O2 + H+ + → H2O
  15. November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(a) (1 mark): Hydrogen and oxygen are reactants in some fuel cells. Which word equation shows the overall reaction that occurs in these fuel cells? (1) A hydrogen + oxygen →
  16. November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(b) (2 marks): A torch contains a chemical cell. The torch is turned on and then left on for many hours. Describe what you would see happen when the torch is turned on and the
  17. November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(c) (1 mark): A chemical cell can be made by placing two metals into an electrolyte. Figure 3 shows how the voltage of a simple chemical cell can be measured. V rod P copper
  18. November 2020, Paper 1 Higher, Q7(b) (6 marks): Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells can be used to provide electrical energy in a spacecraft. The reaction that takes place in the fuel cell is hydrogen + oxygen → water
  19. November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(d) (2 marks): Many transition metals are used to make the reactants in chemical cells. Figure 8 shows a graph of the voltage produced by a chemical cell as it is used in a to
  20. June 2019, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(a) (2 marks): The overall reaction occurring in this fuel cell is a reaction of hydrogen with oxygen. Write the balanced equation for this reaction. (2)
  21. June 2019, Paper 1 Higher, Q1(b)(i) (1 mark): State why iron is not a suitable metal for the electrodes of the cell. (1)
  22. June 2019, Paper 1 Foundation, Q7(c) (1 mark): Hydrogen can also be used in a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. Give the name of the product formed in this fuel cell. (1)
  23. Specimen, Paper 1 Higher, Q5(b) (1 mark): The voltage of a cell is 1.5 V. Give a reason why this voltage of the cell decreases when the cell is left connected in a circuit. (1)
  24. Specimen, Paper 2 Foundation, Q8(c) (6 marks): Diesel is the fuel used in most bus engines. Research is being carried out into the use of hydrogen, instead of diesel, as a fuel for buses. Discuss the advanta

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