Science — AI-generated practice question

(a) A bee sting injects an acidic substance (formic acid/methanoic acid). The acid involved in nettle sting is methanoic acid (formic acid).

(b) Baking soda is sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO₃), which is a base (mild alkali). When applied to the bee sting, it neutralises the acid injected, thereby relieving the pain and irritation.

(c) The dock leaf must be basic (alkaline) in nature. Since rubbing it relieves the acidic nettle sting, it must contain a basic substance that neutralises the methanoic acid present in the sting.

(d) This illustrates neutralisation: when an acid and a base react together, they cancel each other's effect to form salt and water.
$$\text{Acid} + \text{Base} \rightarrow \text{Salt} + \text{Water}$$
Both cases show that the opposite substance (base for acid sting) removes the effect of the sting by neutralising it.

Source: Chapter 2 (Acids, Bases and Salts), Sections 2.2 and Introduction

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• (a) Bee sting = acidic; nettle sting acid = methanoic (formic) acid — both are standard textbook facts from this chapter.
• (b) Baking soda is a base; the key word examiners want is neutralisation.
• (c) This is a deduction question — since an acidic sting is relieved, the remedy must be basic. Say so clearly.
• (d) Always write the word equation for neutralisation; it fetches marks. The principle is: acid + base → salt + water, which nullifies the effect of either substance.
• For a 5-mark question, each sub-part carries roughly 1–1.5 marks, so keep each answer to 1–2 lines.