A comprehensive question bank of 100 General Knowledge questions covering essential concepts in Chemistry—including Atomic Structure, Periodic Table, Chemical Bonding, Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Everyday Chemistry.

Chemistry GK Question Bank

Atomic Structure & Periodic Table (Q1–Q20)

1. What subatomic particle carries a negative electric charge?
2. Which scientist proposed the planetary model of the atom after his famous gold foil experiment?
3. What is the lightest element in the periodic table?
4. What is the total number of periods in the standard modern periodic table?
5. Which element has the highest electronegativity value on the Pauling scale?
6. What term describes atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons?
7. What group of elements in the periodic table includes Helium, Neon, and Argon?
8. Which element has the chemical symbol Fe?
9. What element is the primary component of all organic compounds?
10. What is the term for the minimum energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion?
11. Which subatomic particle has no electric charge and is located in the nucleus of an atom?
12. What element has the highest atomic number among naturally occurring elements?
13. Which element is represented by the chemical symbol W?
14. What block of the periodic table contains the transition metals?
15. What group of elements in Group 17 (VIIA) includes Fluorine, Chlorine, and Iodine?
16. Who is credited with creating the first widely accepted periodic table of elements?
17. What law states that chemical properties of elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers?
18. What is the term for a positively charged ion?
19. What is the term for a negatively charged ion?
20. Which element has the chemical symbol Na?

Chemical Bonding & Reactions (Q21–Q35)

21. What type of chemical bond forms when electrons are transferred from one atom to another?
22. What type of chemical bond involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms?
23. What chemical process involves the loss of electrons during a reaction?
24. What chemical process involves the gain of electrons during a reaction?
25. What law states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction?
26. What type of reaction absorbs energy from its surroundings, usually in the form of heat?
27. What type of reaction releases energy to its surroundings, usually in the form of heat?
28. What substance speeds up a chemical reaction without being permanently changed or consumed?
29. What intermolecular force accounts for the surprisingly high boiling point of water?
30. What type of reaction occurs when an acid reacts with a base to form water and a salt?
31. What scale measures the acidity or alkalinity of a water-based solution?
32. What type of chemical bond holds the atoms together within a metal crystal?
33. What term describes a substance that changes color in response to a change in pH?
34. What rule states that main-group elements tend to bond in such a way that each atom has eight electrons in its valence shell?
35. What is the numerical value of Avogadro’s constant?

States of Matter & Physical Chemistry (Q36–Q50)

36. What process describes a solid changing directly into a gas without passing through the liquid state?
37. What process describes a gas changing directly into a solid without becoming a liquid?
38. What state of matter consists of an ionized gas containing free electrons and positive ions?
39. What law states that for a given mass of gas at constant temperature, volume is inversely proportional to pressure?
40. What law states that the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature at constant pressure?
41. What is the theoretical temperature at which all molecular motion ceases ($0\text{ K}$)?
42. What physical property measures a liquid’s resistance to flow?
43. What is the SI unit of pressure?
44. What term describes a solution that contains the maximum amount of dissolved solute at a given temperature?
45. What effect causes the scattering of light by colloidal particles in a mixture?
46. What property describes a liquid’s ability to resist external force due to cohesive forces between molecules?
47. What process separates components of a mixture based on differences in their boiling points?
48. What type of mixture has a uniform composition throughout?
49. What type of mixture has a non-uniform composition where individual components remain distinct?
50. What law states that the total pressure exerted by a mixture of non-reacting gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of individual gases?

Inorganic Chemistry & Minerals (Q51–Q65)

51. What is the chemical formula for table salt?
52. What gas makes up approximately 78% of Earth’s atmosphere by volume?
53. What allotrope of carbon is the hardest naturally occurring substance?
54. What allotrope of carbon consists of stacked sheets of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice?
55. What chemical compound forms the primary constituent of limestone, chalk, and marble?
56. What common gas produces a pop sound when tested with a burning splint?
57. What gas turns limewater milky when bubbled through it?
58. What is the chemical formula for ozone?
59. Which metal is liquid at room temperature and standard pressure?
60. Which non-metal element is a reddish-brown liquid at room temperature?
61. What acid is present in battery acid used in lead-acid automotive batteries?
62. What compound is commonly known as “laughing gas”?
63. What ore is the primary commercial source of aluminum?
64. What chemical element gives the blue color to lapis lazuli and copper sulfate crystals?
65. What alloy is composed primarily of copper and zinc?

Organic Chemistry & Biochemistry (Q66–Q80)

66. What is the simplest alkane hydrocarbon, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms?
67. What functional group characterizes carboxylic acids?
68. What class of organic compounds gives fruits and flowers their characteristic pleasant odors?
69. What functional group contains an oxygen atom bonded to two alkyl or aryl groups ($\text{R-O-R’}$)?
70. What hydrocarbon ring structure consists of six carbon atoms with alternating single and double bonds ($\text{C}_6\text{H}_6$)?
71. What process converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide using yeast or bacteria?
72. What class of organic molecules serves as the building blocks of proteins?
73. What suffix is used in IUPAC nomenclature to denote an alkene?
74. What organic acid gives vinegar its distinctive sour taste and pungent smell?
75. What general term describes organic compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms?
76. What functional group characterizes alcohols ($\text{-OH}$)?
77. What process converts unsaturated vegetable oils into solid fats by adding hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst?
78. What long-chain polymer is made from repeating monomers of ethylene?
79. What isomerism occurs when molecules have the same molecular formula but different structural arrangements of atoms?
80. What functional group is present in aldehydes ($\text{-CHO}$)?

Everyday & Applied Chemistry (Q81–Q100)

81. What chemical compound is added to municipal water supplies and toothpaste to prevent tooth decay?
82. What chemical chemical process causes iron to corrode into reddish-brown hydrated iron(III) oxide?
83. What is the chemical name for household baking soda?
84. What is the chemical name for washing soda?
85. What chemical substance is known as “Plaster of Paris”?
86. What gas is released when baking powder reacts with moisture and heat in baking?
87. What chemical compound gives red chili peppers their spicy heat?
88. What chemical preservative is commonly added to processed meats to prevent bacterial growth and maintain color?
89. What chemical reagent turns starch solutions to a deep blue-black color?
90. What polymer is commercially known under the trade name Teflon?
91. What acid is present in human gastric juice to aid digestion?
92. What chemical compound gives onions their tear-inducing property when chopped?
93. What metal is used to coat iron in the process of galvanization to prevent rusting?
94. What primary gas constituent makes up compressed natural gas (CNG)?
95. What chemical compound is used as a disinfectant and bleaching agent under the common name “bleaching powder”?
96. What acid is found in sour milk and yogurt?
97. What acid is found in ant stings and stinging nettles?
98. What green gas was used as the first chemical weapon in World War I?
99. What chemical compound is commonly used as a commercial cooling agent in older refrigerators and aerosols, noted for damaging the ozone layer?
100. What chemical process turns fat or oil into soap by reacting it with an alkali?

Answer Key

1. Electron
2. Ernest Rutherford
3. Hydrogen ($\text{H}$)
4. 7 periods
5. Fluorine (3.98)
6. Isotopes
7. Noble gases (or Inert gases)
8. Iron
9. Carbon
10. Ionization energy
11. Neutron
12. Uranium ($\text{Z} = 92$)
13. Tungsten (from Wolfram)
14. d-block
15. Halogens
16. Dmitri Mendeleev
17. Modern Periodic Law
18. Cation
19. Anion
20. Sodium (from Natrium)
21. Ionic bond
22. Covalent bond
23. Oxidation
24. Reduction
25. Law of Conservation of Mass
26. Endothermic reaction
27. Exothermic reaction
28. Catalyst
29. Hydrogen bonding
30. Neutralization reaction
31. pH scale
32. Metallic bond
33. Acid-base indicator (or pH indicator)
34. Octet Rule
35. $6.022 \times 10^{23}\text{ mol}^{-1}$
36. Sublimation
37. Deposition (or Desublimation)
38. Plasma
39. Boyle’s Law ($P \propto 1/V$)
40. Charles’s Law ($V \propto T$)
41. Absolute zero ($-273.15^\circ\text{C}$)
42. Viscosity
43. Pascal ($\text{Pa}$)
44. Saturated solution
45. Tyndall effect
46. Surface tension
47. Fractional distillation (or Distillation)
48. Homogeneous mixture
49. Heterogeneous mixture
50. Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures
51. $\text{NaCl}$ (Sodium chloride)
52. Nitrogen ($\text{N}_2$)
53. Diamond
54. Graphite
55. Calcium carbonate ($\text{CaCO}_3$)
56. Hydrogen gas ($\text{H}_2$)
57. Carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$)
58. $\text{O}_3$
59. Mercury ($\text{Hg}$)
60. Bromine ($\text{Br}$)
61. Sulfuric acid ($\text{H}_2\text{SO}_4$)
62. Nitrous oxide ($\text{N}_2\text{O}$)
63. Bauxite
64. Copper (in copper sulfate)
65. Brass
66. Methane ($\text{CH}_4$)
67. Carboxyl group ($\text{-COOH}$)
68. Esters
69. Ether group
70. Benzene
71. Fermentation
72. Amino acids
73. -ene
74. Acetic acid (Ethanoic acid, $\text{CH}_3\text{COOH}$)
75. Hydrocarbons
76. Hydroxyl group
77. Hydrogenation
78. Polyethylene (Polythene)
79. Structural isomerism (or Constitutional isomerism)
80. Carbonyl group (specifically Aldehyde group)
81. Fluoride (Sodium fluoride)
82. Rusting (Oxidation)
83. Sodium bicarbonate ($\text{NaHCO}_3$)
84. Sodium carbonate ($\text{Na}_2\text{CO}_3 \cdot 10\text{H}_2\text{O}$)
85. Calcium sulfate hemihydrate ($\text{CaSO}_4 \cdot \frac{1}{2}\text{H}_2\text{O}$)
86. Carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$)
87. Capsaicin
88. Sodium nitrite (or Sodium nitrate)
89. Iodine solution
90. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
91. Hydrochloric acid ($\text{HCl}$)
92. Syn-propanethial-S-oxide
93. Zinc ($\text{Zn}$)
94. Methane ($\text{CH}_4$)
95. Calcium hypochlorite ($\text{Ca(ClO)}_2$)
96. Lactic acid
97. Formic acid (Methanoic acid)
98. Chlorine gas ($\text{Cl}_2$)
99. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
100. Saponification