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Edexcel A-level Chemistry core practicals: all 16

Pearson sets sixteen core practicals for A-level Chemistry and prints each one beside the content it belongs to. This page gathers them by number, each under a short name of ours, and links each one to where its method is taught. Some are described in a lesson’s text rather than set out as a method, and those rows say so.

From the Edexcel Chemistry specification, Issue 3 (February 2024).

Paper 3 sets questions on experimental methods that draw on the core practicals, so learn the method of each, including any your school ran in a different way.

Number	Core practical	Where the method is taught
CP1	Molar volume of a gas	Edexcel core practical 1: the molar volume of a gas, a method set out in the lesson Gases and the ideal gas equation, without a separate guide
CP2	Standard solution of a solid acid; NaOH concentration	Make up a standard solution and titrate it against an acid, in the lesson Concentration, volumetric solutions and titration calculations Acid–base titration: making and using a standard solution, the full practical guide Other boards: parts per million and a solid acid standard, in the lesson Concentration, volumetric solutions and titration calculations, described in the text rather than set out as a method Pearson’s practical makes a standard solution of a solid acid and uses it to find the concentration of sodium hydroxide. The method here makes a standard solution of sodium carbonate; the solid acid is discussed in the same lesson.
CP3	Concentration of hydrochloric acid	Make up a standard solution and titrate it against an acid, in the lesson Concentration, volumetric solutions and titration calculations Acid–base titration: making and using a standard solution, the full practical guide The method makes a standard solution of sodium carbonate and uses it to find the concentration of hydrochloric acid.
CP4	Rates of hydrolysis of halogenoalkanes	Which halogenoalkane reacts fastest, in the lesson Halogenoalkanes: nucleophilic substitution and rates of hydrolysis, described in the text rather than set out as a method The lesson compares the halogens, and then primary, secondary and tertiary halogenoalkanes, by the time a silver halide takes to appear.
CP5	Oxidation of ethanol	Oxidise an alcohol and distil the aldehyde off as it forms, in the lesson Oxidation and elimination of alcohols Distilling propanal from propan-1-ol, the full practical guide Oxidation and elimination of alcohols, described in the lesson’s text rather than set out as a method The method distils an aldehyde from propan-1-ol. Pearson’s practical oxidises ethanol, which the same lesson describes.
CP6	Chlorination of 2-methylpropan-2-ol	Oxidation and elimination of alcohols, described in the lesson’s text rather than set out as a method Purifying a liquid, in the lesson Preparing, purifying and testing an organic solid and liquid, described in the text rather than set out as a method
CP7	Inorganic and organic unknowns	Identify cations and anions in solution with test-tube reactions, in the lesson Halide ions, the silver nitrate test, concentrated sulfuric acid, and chlorine in water Identifying ions in solution: anions, Group 2 and ammonium, the full practical guide Tell an alcohol, aldehyde, alkene and carboxylic acid apart by test, in the lesson Test-tube reactions for functional groups, and high-resolution mass spectrometry Functional group tests: alkenes, acids, aldehydes and alcohols, the full practical guide Other boards: flame tests, and heating the carbonates and nitrates, in the lesson Group 2 compounds: solubility, uses and the sulfate test, described in the text rather than set out as a method The inorganic tests are in the halide lesson’s method and the organic tests in the functional group method.
CP8	Enthalpy change by Hess's law	Hess's law and enthalpy cycles, described in the lesson’s text rather than set out as a method Measure an enthalpy change in solution with a polystyrene cup, in the lesson Measuring an enthalpy change: calorimetry An enthalpy change in solution: zinc and copper(II) sulfate, the full practical guide The Hess cycle and its calculation are in the Hess’s law lesson; each of its two measurements is made the way the calorimetry method measures an enthalpy change.
CP9	Ka of a weak acid	Follow a titration with a pH meter and plot the curve, in the lesson Titration curves and choosing an indicator Measuring pH curves, the full practical guide Half-neutralisation: pKa from the curve, in the lesson Titration curves and choosing an indicator, described in the text rather than set out as a method Ka from a measured pH, in the lesson Weak acids, Ka and pKa; Kw and strong bases, described in the text rather than set out as a method The method measures the whole pH curve. Reading pKa at the half-neutralisation point is explained in the same lesson, and the lesson on Ka compares that route with Ka from a single pH.
CP10	Electrochemical cells	Build two half-cells and a salt bridge and measure the EMF, in the lesson Electrode potentials and the standard hydrogen electrode Measuring the EMF of a cell, the full practical guide
CP11	Redox titration	Redox titrations: manganate(VII) and thiosulfate, described in the lesson’s text rather than set out as a method The lesson works the iron in a tablet from titre to mass, and covers iodine and thiosulfate titrations as well.
CP12	Preparing a transition metal complex	Other boards: Edexcel core practical 12, preparing a complex, a method set out in the lesson Ligands, the shapes of complexes, isomerism and ligand substitution, without a separate guide
CP13	Rates: 13a iodine–propanone by titration; 13b a clock reaction	Find an order by initial rates and by continuous monitoring, in the lesson Finding orders from initial rates, half-lives and graphs Orders of reaction: iodine and propanone, the full practical guide The initial-rates method, in the lesson Finding orders from initial rates, half-lives and graphs, described in the text rather than set out as a method Part a follows iodine and propanone by titration, and the method here follows the same reaction with a colorimeter. Part b, the iodine clock, is explained under the initial-rates method in the same lesson.
CP14	Activation energy of a reaction	The ln k against 1/T graph, in the lesson The Arrhenius equation and the rate-determining step, described in the text rather than set out as a method Plotting ln k against 1/T and finding the activation energy are taught; the runs at several temperatures are not set out as a method.
CP15	Inorganic and organic unknowns	Identify transition metal ions with hydroxide, ammonia and carbonate, in the lesson Reactions of aqua ions with hydroxide, ammonia and carbonate Identifying metal ions in solution: iron, copper and aluminium, the full practical guide Tell an alcohol, aldehyde, alkene and carboxylic acid apart by test, in the lesson Test-tube reactions for functional groups, and high-resolution mass spectrometry Functional group tests: alkenes, acids, aldehydes and alcohols, the full practical guide Other boards: flame tests, and heating the carbonates and nitrates, in the lesson Group 2 compounds: solubility, uses and the sulfate test, described in the text rather than set out as a method The transition metal ion tests are in the aqua ions method and the organic tests in the functional group method.
CP16	Preparation of aspirin	Prepare, purify and test an organic solid and an organic liquid, in the lesson Preparing, purifying and testing an organic solid and liquid Organic preparation and purification: aspirin and ethyl ethanoate, the full practical guide Aspirin is the organic solid in this method and in its guide.

Core practical 1: Molar volume of a gas

Its method is taught in Gases and the ideal gas equation.

Core practical 2: Standard solution of a solid acid; NaOH concentration

Its method is taught in Concentration, volumetric solutions and titration calculations, and worked in full in Acid–base titration: making and using a standard solution.

Core practical 3: Concentration of hydrochloric acid

Its method is taught in Concentration, volumetric solutions and titration calculations, and worked in full in Acid–base titration: making and using a standard solution.

Core practical 4: Rates of hydrolysis of halogenoalkanes

Its method is taught in Halogenoalkanes: nucleophilic substitution and rates of hydrolysis.

Core practical 5: Oxidation of ethanol

Its method is taught in Oxidation and elimination of alcohols, and worked in full in Distilling propanal from propan-1-ol.

Core practical 6: Chlorination of 2-methylpropan-2-ol

Its method is taught in Oxidation and elimination of alcohols.

Core practical 7: Inorganic and organic unknowns

Its method is taught in Halide ions, the silver nitrate test, concentrated sulfuric acid, and chlorine in water, and worked in full in Identifying ions in solution: anions, Group 2 and ammonium.

Core practical 8: Enthalpy change by Hess's law

Its method is taught in Hess's law and enthalpy cycles, and worked in full in An enthalpy change in solution: zinc and copper(II) sulfate.

Core practical 9: Ka of a weak acid

Its method is taught in Titration curves and choosing an indicator, and worked in full in Measuring pH curves.

Core practical 10: Electrochemical cells

Its method is taught in Electrode potentials and the standard hydrogen electrode, and worked in full in Measuring the EMF of a cell.

Core practical 11: Redox titration

Its method is taught in Redox titrations: manganate(VII) and thiosulfate.

Core practical 12: Preparing a transition metal complex

Its method is taught in Ligands, the shapes of complexes, isomerism and ligand substitution.

Core practical 13: Rates: 13a iodine–propanone by titration; 13b a clock reaction

Its method is taught in Finding orders from initial rates, half-lives and graphs, and worked in full in Orders of reaction: iodine and propanone.

Core practical 14: Activation energy of a reaction

Its method is taught in The Arrhenius equation and the rate-determining step.

Core practical 15: Inorganic and organic unknowns

Its method is taught in Reactions of aqua ions with hydroxide, ammonia and carbonate, and worked in full in Identifying metal ions in solution: iron, copper and aluminium.

Core practical 16: Preparation of aspirin

Its method is taught in Preparing, purifying and testing an organic solid and liquid, and worked in full in Organic preparation and purification: aspirin and ethyl ethanoate.

The same methods filed by technique, with the calculations and the errors to avoid: A-level Chemistry practicals

Every numbered statement of this specification, matched to the lessons that teach it: Edexcel route map

Pearson’s specification and practical guidance decide how each core practical is run and how the Science Practical Endorsement is assessed.

List checked against the specification on 31 October 2026.