Here's a basic rundown of the structure and scoring of the Chemistry SAT Subject Test (also known as the Chemistry SAT II):

60 minutes long

85 multiple-choice questions

Scores range from 200 to 800

Note that subject tests still have quarter-point deductions for incorrect answers even though this policy has been abolished on the regular SAT. Calculator use is not permitted, but you'll have a periodic table to use for reference.

The Chemistry SAT Subject Test is offered in October, November, December, January, May, and June. In other words, you can take it on every regular SAT test date except the one in March.

What’s on the Chemistry SAT II?

Here’s a brief content overview of the Chemistry SAT Subject Test. I’ve listed the topics in descending order according to their prevalence on the test:

Topic Percentage of Test

Structure of matter (atomic structure, molecular structure, bonding) 25%

States of matter (gases, liquids and solids, solutions) 16%

Reaction types (acids and bases, oxidation-reduction, precipitation) 14%

Stoichiometry (mole concept, chemical equations) 14%

Descriptive chemistry (periodic trends, nomenclature, predicting products of reactions) 12%

Lab practices (equipment and measurements, scientific method, data interpretation) 8%

Thermochemistry (calorimetry, enthalpy and phase changes, entropy) 6%

Equilibrium and reaction rates (equilibrium systems, rates of reactions) 5%

The College Board also breaks down questions by skill on this Subject Test:

Skill Percentage of Test

Application of knowledge 45%

Synthesis of knowledge 35%

Fundamental concepts and knowledge 20%

 

The most common questions, at 45 percent of the test, are application of knowledge questions. These questions ask you to apply your knowledge of chemistry to scenarios presented on the test.

Synthesis of knowledge questions, at 35 percent of the test, will ask you to draw conclusions based on data provided by the test as well as your background knowledge of chemistry. 

Only twenty percent of questions test fundamental concepts and knowledge. These questions are focused on basic factual recall.  

To break down these skills even further, questions will test your:

Understanding of the major concepts of chemistry and ability to apply principles to solve specific problems

Ability to organize and interpret results from observation and experimentation, and to draw conclusions or make inferences from experimental data, including data presented in graphs and/or tables

Laboratory experience and familiarity with the metric system

Ability to handle simple algebraic relationships and apply these to solving word problems

Familiarity with the concepts of ratio, direct and inverse proportions, exponents, and scientific notations

 

Most of the test involves analysis and data interpretation. As I mentioned earlier, eighty percent of questions require either application or synthesis of knowledge, and only twenty percent are straightforward “what is this” type questions. In the next section, I’ll provide examples of the various question formats you'll see on the test.

 

Question Formats on the Chemistry Subject Test

The College Board groups questions on the Chemistry SAT Subject Test into three different formats:

 

Format 1: Five-Choice Completion

These are what I would consider “normal” multiple choice questions. They're stand-alone questions that simply ask you to choose the correct answer out of five choices. In some cases, you'll get a list of three statements labeled with roman numerals and will be asked to decide which ones are true (if any). Here’s an example of a question in that format:

 

Before looking at the answer choices, we need to go through each of the statements and decide which ones are true based on the diagram:

Statement I appears to be true because the exposed mercury surface is open to the air. There wouldn't be any pressure besides atmospheric pressure pushing down on that side.

Statement II also appears to be true because the mercury level on the right side of the manometer is higher than the level on the left side. 

Statement III is not true because the pressure of the gas wouldn’t be equal to h, it would be equal to the atmospheric pressure PLUS h. H is just the difference between the two pressures. 

Now that we’ve decided only I and II are true, we can bubble in answer choice C!

 

Format 2: Classification

For these types of questions, you'll see one list of choices that applies to a group of several questions. Each choice can be used more than once or not at all. In other words, your answer to any individual question could also be the answer to other questions in a given group. Here’s an example:

 

 

As you can see, questions that are formatted this way tend to be more straightforward. They're just identification questions. For this one, you need to understand how compounds are named and what their atomic symbols are.

Answers:

A

C

A

In this case, one of the choices was used twice. This happens frequently, so don’t freak out if you think a choice applies to more than one question in the group.

 

Format 3: Relationship Analysis

This is the weirdest type of question you’ll see on the test. Each question is comprised of two statements that are connected to each other by the word “BECAUSE.” The format is “This process or property occurs because of this fundamental chemical fact.” Here’s an example:

 

The first step is deciding whether each part of the statement is true or false. If both or either of the statements are false, you can ignore the Correct Explanation (CE) circle. If they're both true, you may have to fill in the special CE circle. However, that will not always be the case, so consider the logic of the full statement carefully even if both parts are true! 

There will be a special section labeled “Chemistry” in the lower left-hand corner of your answer sheet where you can fill in your responses to these questions. It looks like this:

 

Your responses will look something like this:

 

As you can see, for sample question 103, both statements are true, but the CE circle is left un-bubbled. Potassium has a lower first ionization energy than lithium, meaning it’s easier for the one electron in its outer shell to get pulled away. Lithium’s unpaired electron is closer to the nucleus, so it’s held more tightly by the nucleus' gravitational pull. The first statement is definitely true.

Now let’s look at the second statement in isolation: “potassium has more protons in its nucleus than lithium has.” This is also true. Potassium has 19 protons, and lithium only has three.

Both statements are true on their own, but now we have to decide whether the second statement is a correct explanation of the first. In this case, it isn't! 

The ionization energy doesn’t increase based on the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom. It’s a factor of how loosely held and how far away from the nucleus the outermost electrons of the atom are. Atoms that hold unpaired electrons that are farther away from the nucleus will have lower first ionization energies. 

For lithium and potassium, both have unpaired electrons in their outermost orbitals, but potassium has a lower ionization energy because its electrons are farther away from the nucleus (4s orbital vs. 2s orbital). It’s about proximity to the nucleus, not number of protons. The CE oval should stay blank!

5 SAT Chemistry Study Tips

This section lists five study strategies that are critical for this test. You should have these tips in the back of your mind at all times as you review the material!

Tip #1: Identify Your Weaknesses

The Chemistry SAT II may test some information that your teacher didn’t cover in class. Review all the content areas listed above to make sure you have a handle on everything. It’s a smart idea to take a diagnostic test before you start studying to form a clearer picture of where your knowledge is lacking. I'd recommend using one that comes directly from the College Board so that the content and format of the test is represented accurately. 

Tip #2: Replicate Test Conditions

When you answer practice questions and take practice tests, adhere to the same standards as the real test environment. Don't use a calculator, and have a periodic table on hand for reference. If you’re taking a full practice test, you should also time yourself. Sticking to appropriate test conditions is the only way to reliably estimate your score level! 

Tip #3: Plan Your Time Wisely

Your studying timeline should be informed by how recently you learned the material in class and how well you perform on an initial diagnostic test. If you find that you need to improve by 150 points or more, plan to spend some extra time reviewing the material. I'd estimate about 20 hours of study time to get yourself up to speed - if you start two months in advance, that's just two hours a week. Not so bad!

If you're already within 50 points or so of where you want to be, a quicker review should suffice. You could probably spend less than ten hours going over the material. Make sure you get to a point where you feel very confident with the question formats in case nervousness interferes with your performance (which brings me to the next tip). 

Tip #4: Practice Relationship Analysis Questions

Make sure you understand how these questions work prior to the test. They take a little bit of getting used to if you’ve never encountered them before. Try to use some practice resources that include these types of questions in addition to five-choice completion and classification questions. It's especially important to practice interpreting the statements together and on their own and keeping the two processes separate. That CE circle is a little bit tricky!

Tip #5: Don't Go Overboard

You should only study concepts that you know will be tested. There's no need to memorize a year's worth of material for an hour-long multiple-choice test. I'd recommend dividing your time equally between reviewing topics in your notes and doing practice questions that replicate the format of the subject test.

The biggest challenge for you may be time rather than background knowledge, especially if you're fresh out of a chemistry class. You shouldn't focus too much on memorizing all your chemistry notes and 

doing involved practice problems. Remember, you can't even use a calculator on this test, so you won't have to solve any elaborate math problems.

4 Test-Taking Tips for SAT Chemistry

This section lists four additional tips that you can implement as you take practice tests (and, ultimately, when you sit down for the real thing).

 

Tip #1: Stay Calm

Since you can’t use a calculator on the test, many of these questions involve combining common sense with basic chemistry knowledge. If you come across a question about a diagram or experimental scenario that you’ve never seen before, don’t freak out. Just read the question carefully. In almost all of these cases, you’ll find that your existing knowledge is enough to guide you to the correct answer. Even if you don't fully understand what’s going on in the experiment, if you have a solid understanding of chemistry, you can make deductions to arrive at the solution.

 

Tip #2: Do the Easiest Classification Questions First

When you get to a group of classification questions, answer the ones that seem obvious first so you're using your time efficiently. Don’t feel like you have to complete them in order. If you get the easy ones out of the way in ten seconds, you’ll have more time to think about the questions in the group that are more challenging for you.  

 

Tip #3: Read Relationship Analysis Questions Methodically

Relationship Analysis questions are different from most questions on SAT Subject Tests, so they can be confusing. Read carefully, and decide whether each stand-alone statement is true before thinking about whether the second statement is a correct explanation of the first. You'll save yourself some time if you find that one of the statements is false (and makes the CE bubble irrelevant)!

 

Tip #4: Don’t Guess Randomly

As I mentioned in the first section of this article, the guessing penalty still exists on SAT Subject Tests. This means that you need to avoid guessing if you have no clue which answer choice is correct. Guessing is only advisable if you can narrow down your choices to two possibilities. Otherwise, you’re better off leaving the question blank.

Conclusion

The SAT Chemistry Subject Test is an hour-long multiple-choice exam that contains 85 questions and is scored out of 800. It's offered on all the regular SAT test dates except March.

Topics on the test include:

Structure of matter

States of matter

Reaction types

Stoichiometry

Descriptive chemistry

Lab practices

Thermochemistry

Equilibrium and reaction rates 

Most questions will test your ability to analyze different experimental scenarios and draw conclusions. The questions come in three formats:

Five-choice completion

Classification

Relationship analysis 

When you study for the test, five tips to keep in mind are:

1. Identify your weaknesses

2. Replicate real testing conditions

3. Plan out your studying wisely

4. Practice lots of relationship analysis questions

5. Don't over-study 

When you take the test (or a full practice test), you should be sure to:

1. Stay calm

2. Do easier classification questions first

3. Read carefully on relationship analysis questions

4. Avoid guessing unless you're down to just two choices