Why is hydrogen, and not sodium, produced when sodium chloride solution is electrolysed?
Sodium ions are too large to reach the negative electrode
Sodium is more reactive than hydrogen, so hydrogen forms
Sodium formed reacts with the water as soon as it is made
Sodium ions carry a smaller charge than the hydrogen ions
40 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Chemistry 4.3 Electrolysis, covering 4.3.1a The process of electrolysis, 4.3.1b Half equations in electrolysis, 4.3.2 Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds, 4.3.3 Using electrolysis to extract metals, 4.3.4 Electrolysis of aqueous solutions, and 4.3.5 Representation of reactions at electrodes as half equations. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.