Grade 9 · CAPS

Grade 9 Combustion

Natural Sciences and Technology practice questions with answers

Grade 9 Combustion is part of the CAPS Natural Sciences and Technology curriculum, covering what combustion is and how substances such as sulphur, magnesium and carbon burn in oxygen. Learners practise naming combustion as a rapid, heat-and-light-producing reaction with oxygen, identifying which part of the air makes burning possible, and describing the products formed when different elements burn. The practice questions below are drawn from ReClass's own question bank, based on real Grade 9 CAPS assessments, giving learners a chance to work through combustion questions in the same style they will meet in a test.

Worked example

What term describes what happens when an element burns in oxygen?

Answer & explanation

Combustion

You'll also practise

  • 2.3 The substance formed when carbon is burnt completely in the presence of oxygen
  • 2.7 A reaction which takes place in the presence of oxygen to produce heat.
  • Give the correct term: a rapid chemical reaction with oxygen that produces heat and light.
  • Give the correct term: reactions that involve the burning of substances.
  • Which part of the air is responsible for combustion reactions taking place?
  • A yellow powder is heated over a flame in air and burns with a bluish-purple flame. Give the name of this yellow powder.
  • A yellow powder (sulfur) is burnt in air. Classify sulfur as a metal or a non-metal.
  • When a yellow powder (sulfur) is burnt in air, name the gaseous product that forms.
  • Sulfur burns in air to form sulfur dioxide gas. Write the balanced chemical equation for this reaction.
  • When carbon is burnt completely in air, a colourless gas is formed. Give the word equation for this reaction.
  • Magnesium burns rapidly in air, producing heat and light. Give the correct term for this type of rapid chemical reaction.

Common mistakes

  • Confusing combustion (a rapid reaction producing heat and light) with slower oxidation processes like corrosion.
  • Forgetting that combustion specifically needs oxygen from the air, not air in general.
  • Mixing up the substance being burnt with the product it forms.

Aligned to CAPS Grade 9 Natural Sciences and Technology — Combustion.

Check your own understanding

Start a personalised Grade 9 Combustion practice session on ReClass.

Practise this topic