Spot the correct spelling of early film base compound.

Correct — B. Build the word from its two parts.

Nitro- is the chemical prefix, spelt with an o, as in nitroglycerin and nitrobenzene.

Cellulose has one double l followed by one single l: c-e-l-l-u-l-o-s-e.

Join the two with nothing changed: Nitrocellulose → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Nitrocelulose — Nitrocelulose has a single l in cellulose. Cellulose opens cell-, with the double l of cell.
• (c)
  Nitracellulose — Nitracellulose changes the prefix to nitra-. The chemical prefix is nitro-, with an o, as in nitroglycerin.
• (d)
  Nitrocellullose — Nitrocellullose doubles the second l as well. Cellulose has one double l, not two: cel-lu-lose.

Technical spelling items reward breaking a compound into its parts. Nitrocellulose is nitro- plus cellulose, and each part keeps its own spelling.

The word names cellulose treated with nitric acid, also called cellulose nitrate. It was the base of early photographic and cinema film, and it is highly flammable.

Key facts

• Nitrocellulose is also called cellulose nitrate.
• It was the base of early photographic and motion-picture film.
• Nitrate film is highly flammable.
• Cellulose is spelt with one double l: c-e-l-l-u-l-o-s-e.

Common traps

• Doubling every l because the word looks long, which gives Nitrocellullose
• Writing nitra- by analogy with nitrate

No directly related past PYQ was found.