Qualifications Scotland (SQA) National 5 Chemistry Past Papers 2026

Multiple-choice + extended-response

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Researched investigation

Duration: Coursework (research stage + supervised 1 hour 30 minute write-up)

Titration calculations — using formula mass (GFM) instead of moles and concentration

Cited in both 2024 and 2025 course reports as a specific area of difficulty. In 2024 (Q8(b)(iii)) and 2025 (Q10(b)(iii)), many candidates who attempted the titration calculation used gram formula mass — the wrong concept — and could not access partial marks as a result.

Question Paper

Open-ended questions — experimental investigation and planning

Across all three years, the open-ended investigation question was one of the most demanding items, with few candidates accessing all 3 marks. In 2023 (Q12), few candidates could even access 2 marks for describing an investigation into rate of reaction. In 2025 (Q12), few candidates gained 3 marks for the reactivity series investigation.

Question Paper

Writing and interpreting chemical formulae — correct use of symbols, superscripts and subscripts

All three course reports flag formula-writing errors as a recurring cause of mark loss. Common errors include incorrect case (NaCl vs NACL), charges written inline instead of superscript, and atom counts written as superscripts instead of subscripts.

Question Paper

Redox — identifying ion-electron equations and the overall redox equation

In 2023 (Q20), only some candidates could identify the overall redox equation from two given ion-electron equations. In 2025 (Q19), only some candidates identified a reaction that was not redox. Ion-electron half-equations and the combination of oxidation and reduction half-equations are consistently challenging.

Question Paper

Organic chemistry — naming branched compounds and drawing structural formulae correctly

In 2024 (Q10(c)(i)), only some candidates gave the systematic name for a branched alkane from its structural formula. In 2024 (Q4(c)(ii)), some candidates drew butanoic acid incorrectly — either the functional group or the carbon chain was wrong. Bond connections to functional groups (carboxyl, alcohol, amine) are a recurring source of error.

Question Paper

Half-life — definition, calculation with non-standard ratios, and axis labelling

In 2023 (Q10(b)(iii)), few candidates correctly calculated the final fraction of caesium-137 remaining after 120 years. In 2025 (Q7(d)(ii)), many candidates labelled the graph axis as 'years' rather than 'time / years', losing the axis mark. Defining half-life precisely also caused difficulties in 2023.

Question Paper

Assignment underlying chemistry section — explaining the chemistry of the chosen topic

In 2024, some candidates had difficulty with the underlying chemistry section, with reports noting that inserted printed diagrams are not acceptable and that some candidates showed they did not understand the chemistry involved. In 2025, few candidates demonstrated a good understanding of the underlying chemistry.

Assignment

Assignment evaluation section — identifying a limiting factor rather than simply stating 'repeat the experiment'

Both the 2024 and 2025 course reports identify this as one of the most common weaknesses in the assignment. Many candidates in both years did not evaluate the experimental procedure at all; they instead referred only to repeating the experiment, which does not address sources of error.

Assignment