Detailed Cheat Sheet (Copy)

IGCSE / O Level Chemistry – Alternate to Practical (ATP) Cheat Sheet
Expanded Section: Drawing and Labelling Diagrams

🧪 1. General Rules for Chemistry Diagrams

• Always draw with a sharp HB pencil.
• Use clean, continuous lines — no sketching or double lines.
• No shading or coloring unless instructed (e.g. for flame tests).
• Diagrams should be large enough (minimum half the space provided).
• Label lines must be straight, horizontal, and drawn with a ruler.
• Label every part clearly using proper scientific terms.
• Avoid arrows or overlapping lines in labels.

⚗️ 2. Common Chemistry Apparatus Diagrams & Label Requirements

🔥 A. Heating and Collection Setups

1. Heating a Substance in a Test Tube

• Bunsen burner (correct flame)
• Test tube with substance
• Test tube holder
• Labels: test tube, substance, flame, holder

2. Water Bath

• Beaker filled with water
• Test tube in beaker (containing substance)
• Bunsen burner beneath
• Labels: water bath, test tube, substance, heat source

3. Gas Collection Over Water

• Trough with water
• Delivery tube from reaction flask to inverted measuring cylinder
• Gas collected by displacement
• Labels: gas, delivery tube, water trough, measuring cylinder, reaction flask

4. Downward Delivery of Gas

• Flask with delivery tube
• Gas jar
• Gas enters from the top
• Used for dense gases like chlorine or HCl
• Labels: gas, delivery tube, flask, gas jar

5. Upward Delivery of Gas

• Used for gases lighter than air (e.g. ammonia)
• Gas jar inverted over delivery tube
• Labels similar to above

💨 B. Filtration Setup

• Funnel with filter paper
• Mixture in a beaker
• Filtrate in conical flask
• Labels: filter paper, funnel, residue, filtrate, beaker, conical flask

🧂 C. Crystallisation

• Evaporating dish on a tripod
• Gauze mat and Bunsen burner
• Heating solution to evaporate water
• Watch crystals form on cooling
• Labels: tripod, Bunsen burner, evaporating dish, solution

🌡️ D. Titration Setup

• Burette fixed vertically with stand and clamp
• Pipette with filler used to transfer solution to conical flask
• Conical flask with indicator
• White tile beneath flask
• Labels: burette, acid/alkali, pipette, pipette filler, conical flask, indicator, white tile

💧 E. Simple Distillation

• Round-bottom flask with solution
• Thermometer at top of flask
• Condenser (water in at bottom, out at top)
• Beaker collecting distillate
• Labels: thermometer, condenser, distillate, heat source, flask

🌈 F. Paper Chromatography Setup

• Beaker with solvent
• Paper strip suspended so that spots stay above solvent level
• Solvent front marked
• Labels: solvent, chromatography paper, origin line, solvent front, ink spots

🔬 G. Test Tube Reactions Setup

Often required in questions about gas tests or observation tables:

• Test tube(s) with chemicals
• Delivery tubes, stoppers, glowing/burning splints
• Limewater or cobalt chloride paper setup
• Example labels: hydrogen peroxide, manganese dioxide (catalyst), oxygen gas, glowing splint

⚠️ 3. Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Drawing flames directly touching test tubes (should touch beaker or evaporating dish base only)
• Labeling gases incorrectly (e.g. ammonia upwards, CO₂ downwards)
• Misplacing thermometer bulb (must be at the neck of flask, not hanging in air)
• Forgetting arrows for water flow in condensers (water in from bottom, out from top)
• Using ink for diagrams
• Labeling support stands, clamps etc. unnecessarily unless asked

📌 4. Useful Phrases for Labeling

• Bunsen burner with safety flame (air hole closed)
• Thermometer bulb at the neck of flask (to measure boiling point of vapor)
• Condenser with water flowing in from the bottom and out from the top
• Gas collected by downward delivery/upward delivery/over water
• White tile to help observe color change in titration

🧠 5. Tips to Practice for ATP Diagrams

• Memorize all standard apparatus diagrams
• Use past paper questions to redraw setups from memory
• Time yourself: draw and label in 3–5 minutes max
• Ask: Can someone understand my setup without a question?
• Learn which setup suits which gas:
  • Hydrogen/O₂ → over water
  • Ammonia → upward delivery
  • HCl/Cl₂ → downward delivery