Cambridge International AS & A Level

CHEMISTRY 9701/32
Paper 3 Advanced Practical Skills 2 May/June 2023
MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 40

Published

This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the
examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the
details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have
considered the acceptability of alternative answers.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for
Teachers.

Cambridge International will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.

Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2023 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge International A and AS Level and Cambridge Pre-U components, and some
Cambridge O Level components.

This document consists of 11 printed pages.

© UCLES 2023 [Turn over

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
Generic Marking Principles

These general marking principles must be applied by all examiners when marking candidate answers. They should be applied alongside the
specific content of the mark scheme or generic level descriptors for a question. Each question paper and mark scheme will also comply with these
marking principles.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 1:

Marks must be awarded in line with:

 the specific content of the mark scheme or the generic level descriptors for the question
 the specific skills defined in the mark scheme or in the generic level descriptors for the question
 the standard of response required by a candidate as exemplified by the standardisation scripts.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 2:

Marks awarded are always whole marks (not half marks, or other fractions).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 3:

Marks must be awarded positively:

 marks are awarded for correct/valid answers, as defined in the mark scheme. However, credit is given for valid answers which go beyond
the scope of the syllabus and mark scheme, referring to your Team Leader as appropriate
 marks are awarded when candidates clearly demonstrate what they know and can do
 marks are not deducted for errors
 marks are not deducted for omissions
 answers should only be judged on the quality of spelling, punctuation and grammar when these features are specifically assessed by the
question as indicated by the mark scheme. The meaning, however, should be unambiguous.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 4:

Rules must be applied consistently, e.g. in situations where candidates have not followed instructions or in the application of generic level
descriptors.

© UCLES 2023 Page 2 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 5:

Marks should be awarded using the full range of marks defined in the mark scheme for the question (however; the use of the full mark range may
be limited according to the quality of the candidate responses seen).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 6:

Marks awarded are based solely on the requirements as defined in the mark scheme. Marks should not be awarded with grade thresholds or
grade descriptors in mind.

© UCLES 2023 Page 3 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
Science-Specific Marking Principles

1 Examiners should consider the context and scientific use of any keywords when awarding marks. Although keywords may be present, marks
should not be awarded if the keywords are used incorrectly.

2 The examiner should not choose between contradictory statements given in the same question part, and credit should not be awarded for
any correct statement that is contradicted within the same question part. Wrong science that is irrelevant to the question should be ignored.

3 Although spellings do not have to be correct, spellings of syllabus terms must allow for clear and unambiguous separation from other
syllabus terms with which they may be confused (e.g. ethane / ethene, glucagon / glycogen, refraction / reflection).

4 The error carried forward (ecf) principle should be applied, where appropriate. If an incorrect answer is subsequently used in a scientifically
correct way, the candidate should be awarded these subsequent marking points. Further guidance will be included in the mark scheme
where necessary and any exceptions to this general principle will be noted.

5 ‘List rule’ guidance

For questions that require n responses (e.g. State two reasons …):

 The response should be read as continuous prose, even when numbered answer spaces are provided.
 Any response marked ignore in the mark scheme should not count towards n.
 Incorrect responses should not be awarded credit but will still count towards n.
 Read the entire response to check for any responses that contradict those that would otherwise be credited. Credit should not be
awarded for any responses that are contradicted within the rest of the response. Where two responses contradict one another, this
should be treated as a single incorrect response.
 Non-contradictory responses after the first n responses may be ignored even if they include incorrect science.

© UCLES 2023 Page 4 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
6 Calculation specific guidance

Correct answers to calculations should be given full credit even if there is no working or incorrect working, unless the question states ‘show
your working’.

For questions in which the number of significant figures required is not stated, credit should be awarded for correct answers when rounded
by the examiner to the number of significant figures given in the mark scheme. This may not apply to measured values.

For answers given in standard form (e.g. a  10n) in which the convention of restricting the value of the coefficient (a) to a value between 1
and 10 is not followed, credit may still be awarded if the answer can be converted to the answer given in the mark scheme.

Unless a separate mark is given for a unit, a missing or incorrect unit will normally mean that the final calculation mark is not awarded.
Exceptions to this general principle will be noted in the mark scheme.

7 Guidance for chemical equations

Multiples / fractions of coefficients used in chemical equations are acceptable unless stated otherwise in the mark scheme.

State symbols given in an equation should be ignored unless asked for in the question or stated otherwise in the mark scheme.

© UCLES 2023 Page 5 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
Question Answer Marks

1(a) I Unambiguous headings and units for four weighings 5

 (Mass of) crucible, lid (empty)
 (Mass of) crucible, lid and FB 1 (or “contents before heating”)
 (Mass of) crucible, lid and residue / MO / contents after first heating
 (Mass of) crucible, lid and residue / MO / contents after 2nd heating
 Units must be ‘ / ’ or ‘in’ or “()” AND g or ‘grams’ in column headings or with every entry

II Four weighings are recorded in space provided

 All weighings recorded to same decimal places (2 or 3)
 Fourth weighing is within +0.02 and -0.04 g of third weighing

III Correct subtractions to give masses of FB 1 and MO / residue.

 These values (with unambiguous headings) must be on page 2

Accuracy marks
Calculate supervisor’s mass ratio (to 2 d.p.) = mass FB 1 / mass of residue
Calculate candidate’s mass ratio (to 2 dp) = mass FB 1 / mass of residue
Difference () between the candidate’s mass ratio and the supervisor’s mass ratio

IV if  is within 25% of the supervisor ratio

V if  is within 10% of the supervisor ratio

1(b)(i) MCO3•M(OH)2 (s)  2MO (s) + CO2 (g) + H2O (g) 1

1(b)(ii) Correctly calculates amount of CO2 produced 1

n(CO2) = mass lost / (44 + 18)
AND answer to 2–4 significant figures

1(b)(iii) Correct use of (b)(ii) to calculate Mr 1

Mr = mass of FB 1 used / mol of CO2 produced
AND answer to 2–4 significant figures

1(b)(iv) Correct use of Mr to calculate Ar 1

Ar = [Mr – (60  34)] / 2
AND answer to 2–4 significant figures

© UCLES 2023 Page 6 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
Question Answer Marks

1(c) relative atomic mass will be lower 1

AND mass loss will be greater OR amount (in mol) of CO2 (and water) will be greater
AND amount (in mol) of basic carbonate (calculated) will be greater OR Mr lower

1(d) student is not correct 1

AND sulfuric acid will not show if the metal hydroxide is still present

OR

student is correct
AND if decomposition was not complete, residue would fizz with acid OR if decomposition was complete, residue would
not fizz with acid OR carries out experiment and gives correct conclusion based on observation

© UCLES 2023 Page 7 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
Question Answer Marks

2(a) I Data from weighings of FB 3 recorded in space provided 8

 three masses recorded, with unambiguous headings and unit
 subtraction correct (for mass of FB 3)
 mass of FB 3 used is between 0.80 and 1.80 g (from weighings)

II All the following data are recorded

 two burette readings AND titre for the rough titration
 initial and final burette readings for two (or more) accurate titrations

III Appropriate headings and units in the accurate titration table and titre values recorded for accurate titrations
 initial / start AND (burette) reading / volume
 final / end AND (burette) reading / volume
 titre or volume / FB 2 AND used / added
 unit: / cm3 or (cm3) or “in cm3” (for each heading) or cm3 unit given for each volume recorded

IV All accurate burette readings are recorded to the nearest 0.05 cm3

V The final accurate titre recorded is within 0.10 cm3 of any other accurate titre

Accuracy marks
The Examiner should round all burette readings to the nearest 0.05 cm3. Check and correct subtractions.
Then select the “best” titres using the hierarchy:
 two (or more) accurate identical titres (ignoring any that are labelled “rough”), then
 two (or more) accurate titres within 0.05 cm3, then
 two (or more) accurate titres within 0.10 cm3, etc
These best titres should be used to calculate the mean titre, expressed to nearest 0.01 cm3.

Calculate the Supervisor’s ratio (mean titre / mass of FB 3) to two decimal places.
Calculate the candidate’s ratio (mean titre / mass of FB 3) to two decimal places.
Calculate the difference () between the candidate’s ratio and the supervisor’s ratio.

Award VI if  ⩽ 0.80
Award VII if  ⩽ 0.50
Award VIII if ⩽ 0.30 (cm3 g-1)

© UCLES 2023 Page 8 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
Question Answer Marks

2(b) Correctly calculates the mean titre 1

 Candidate must take the average of two (or more) titres that are within a total spread of not more than 0.20 cm3.
 Working / explanation must be shown or ticks must be shown next to the two (or more) accurate readings selected.
 The mean should be quoted to 2 dp and be rounded to nearest 0.01 cm3 (e.g. 26.625 cm3 must be rounded to 26.63 cm3)

2(c)(i) All answers to parts (c)(ii), (c)(iv), (c)(v) and (c)(vi) given to 3 or 4 significant figures. 1

2(c)(ii) Correct calculation of number of moles of HCl 1

number of moles = vol in (b) x 0.046 / 1000

2(c)(iii) Ionic equation correct (including state symbols) 1

CO32– (aq) + 2H+ (aq)  CO2 (aq) + H2O(l)

2(c)(iv) Correct use of (b), (c)(ii) and (c)(iii) to calculate concentration of X2CO3 1
[X2CO3] = 0.5  (c)(ii)  1000 / 25 mol dm–3

2(c)(v) Calculation of Mr of FB 3 1
Mr of X2CO3 = 4  mass FB 3 used / (c)(iv)

2(c)(vi) Calculation of Ar from Mr 1

Ar of X = (Mr – 60) / 2

2(c)(vii) Appropriate name / symbol of X 1

X must be in Group 1 and have nearest Ar to value calculated in (c)(vi)

© UCLES 2023 Page 9 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
Question Answer Marks

FB 6 is MgSO4, FB 7 is NaNO2, FB 8 is AgNO3, FB9 is ethanol and FB 10 is CH3COOH

3(a)(i) No mark for reagents (NaOH and NH3) 2

M1 NaOH: white ppt AND insoluble in excess (NaOH)

M2 NH3: white ppt AND insoluble in excess (ammonia)

3(a)(ii) M1 Add (aq) BaCl 2 or Ba(NO3)2 AND gives a white ppt 2

M2 ppt is insoluble in excess (dil) HCl or (dil) HNO3 (not H2SO4)

OR FB 6 does not decolourise KMnO4 / KMnO4 remains purple

3(a)(iii) MgSO4 1

3(b) For each part award one mark for suitable reagent(s) to distinguish between the suggested identities.
Then award one mark for correct observation and conclusion.

3(b)(i) FB 7 2
M1 Add (a few drops of) (acidified) KMnO4
M2 KMnO4 goes colourless / decolorised AND FB 7 is (sodium) nitrite / NaNO2

3(b)(ii) FB 8 2
M1 M2
Add dilute HCl or BaCl2  white ppt
OR add aq Na2CO3  white / beige / pale-brown / off white / cream ppt
OR add (aq) NaOH  brown ppt
OR add Mg  black ppt
AND FB 8 is silver nitrate / AgNO3

3(b)(iii) FB 9 2
Add (aqueous) iodine AND (aqueous) NaOH
Gives (pale) yellow / cream / off-white precipitate
AND FB 9 is ethanol / CH3CH2OH / C2H5OH

© UCLES 2023 Page 10 of 11

9701/32 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme May/June 2023
PUBLISHED
Question Answer Marks

3(b)(iv) FB 10 2
Add Mg (strip) OR Na2CO3 OR named indicator OR warm with (a few drops of) (acidified) KMnO4

Fizzing OR correct final colour of indicator OR KMnO4 stays purple (or no change)
AND FB 10 is ethanoic acid / CH3COOH / CH3CO2H

© UCLES 2023 Page 11 of 11