plumiOptical isomerism and chiral centres: OCR A‑Level Chemistry A questions
OCR A-Level Chemistry A past-paper questions on 6.2.2.2 Optical isomerism and chiral centres, 2016–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
All papers
All years
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ2(c)(ii)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ21(a)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ21(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ21(c)(i)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ16(b)(iv)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFQ6(a)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ18(a)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ18(a)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ18(a)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ16(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ16(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ16(b)(v)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ4(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answer
All 23 questions on Optical isomerism and chiral centres, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q10 (1 mark): How many stereoisomers does the compound CH3CH(Br)CH=CHCH(Cl )CH3 have? A 2 B 4 C 6 D 8 Your answer [1]
- June 2024, Paper 3, Q2(c)(ii) (1 mark): How many chiral carbon atoms are there in one molecule of compound B? [1]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q21(a) (1 mark): The general formula of an α-amino acid is RCH(NH2)COOH. Most α-amino acids show optical isomerism. Explain the term optical isomerism. [1]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q21(b)(ii) (2 marks): Draw diagrams to show 3D structures of the optical isomers of valine. [2]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q21(c)(i) (1 mark): How many optical isomers are possible for compound E? [1]
- June 2023, Paper 3, Q3 (6 marks): 3* A chemist is investigating compound A, shown below, as a potential organic intermediate. O OH CN Compound A Describe the type of stereoisomerism shown by com
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q5 (1 mark): The structure of a drug is shown below: O OH HO HO F O How many chiral carbon atoms are there in a molecule of the drug? A 5 B 6 C 7 D 8 Your answer [1]
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q16(b)(iv) (2 marks): Draw 3D structures for the optical isomers of compound C. Optical isomers [2]
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q17 (6 marks): This question is about an analysis of an unknown organic Compound X. Some properties of Compound X are shown in the table. Molecular formula Functional groups C
- June 2022, Paper 3, Q6(a) (1 mark): The structure of vitamin C is shown below. Vitamin C is an optical isomer. O O H H H O O O O H Vitamin C What is the total number of optical isomers with the st
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q2 (1 mark): Which type(s) of stereoisomerism is/are shown by 2,4-dimethylhex-2-ene? A E / Z isomerism only. B Optical isomerism only. C Both E / Z isomerism and optical iso
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q18(a)(i) (1 mark): Explain the term optical isomerism. [1]
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q18(a)(ii) (2 marks): Draw 3-D diagrams to show the optical isomers of alanine. [2]
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q18(a)(iii) (1 mark): How many optical isomers does threonine have? [1]
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q16(b)(i) (1 mark): Explain the term stereoisomers and name this type of stereoisomerism. Explanation: Type of stereoisomerism: [1]
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q16(b)(ii) (2 marks): Draw 3D diagrams for the stereoisomers of (CH3)3CCHBrCH3. [2]
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q7 (1 mark): What is the number of chiral carbon atoms in the steroid molecule below? OH O A 5 B 6 C 7 D 8 Your answer [1]
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q16(b)(v) (4 marks): The structures of geraniol and citronellal are repeated below with the carbon atoms numbered. 1 1 7 7 5 4 3 5 3 2 4 8 OH 8 2 6 O 6 Geraniol Citronellal Explain
- June 2019, Paper 3, Q4(b)(i) (1 mark): α-Terpineol is a chiral compound. Show with an asterisk, (*), the chiral centre(s) in the structure of α-terpineol. OH α-terpineol [1]
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q11 (1 mark): How many straight-chain structural isomers of C7H15Cl contain a chiral carbon atom? A 1 B 2 C 3 D 4 Your answer [1]
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q17(a) (2 marks): The α-amino acid cysteine (R = CH2SH) shows optical isomerism. Draw 3-D diagrams to show the optical isomers of cysteine. [2]
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q8 (1 mark): What is the number of chiral centres in the molecule below? NH2 H N S O N HO O OH O A 2 B 3 C 4 D 5 Your answer [1]
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q4(a)(ii) (6 marks): The structure of compound A is shown below. O HO OH R compound A Compound A has four optical isomers. Using this information and the student’s results, answer t
Questions, mark schemes and examiner’s reports are © OCR, from their published past papers. Plumi isn’t affiliated with any exam board. Want whole papers? OCR A-Level Chemistry A past papers, or our free OCR-style practice pack.
The Plumi iPad app also offers exam-style questions with AI feedback on your handwritten working.