Chemistry

What CSCA Chemistry covers

CSCA Chemistry checks whether an applicant has the chemical knowledge and problem- solving foundation needed for undergraduate study. It may be requested for medicine, pharmacy, chemistry, materials, environmental science, engineering, and related programs, but it is not automatically required for every candidate. Check the current requirements of each university and program before choosing your examination subjects.

The paper is available in Chinese and English. Candidates should prepare with the official syllabus and become comfortable with bilingual chemical names, laboratory terms, symbols, equations, and units. Translation alone is not enough: many questions depend on correctly interpreting conditions, observations, graphs, structures, or an experimental setup.

Exam format

Item	Official format
Duration	60 minutes
Questions	48
Question type	Single-answer multiple choice
Language	Chinese and English
Score	0–100

The format allows little more than a minute per question on average. Timed preparation should therefore train rapid classification: identify the chemistry area, extract the given conditions, choose an appropriate law or reaction, calculate only what is necessary, and check the answer against chemical plausibility.

Official syllabus modules

Basic Chemical Concepts and Calculations

This module includes matter and its classification, chemical symbols and equations, amount of substance, molar relationships, solution concentration, stoichiometry, gas calculations, and other quantitative foundations. Keep units visible, balance equations before using ratios, and distinguish particles, moles, mass, volume, and concentration.

Properties and Reactions of Substances

This area organizes important inorganic and organic substances through their properties, preparation, transformations, and uses. Preparation should link observable evidence—colour, gas, precipitate, acidity, conductivity, or heat change—to particles and balanced reactions instead of memorising isolated facts.

Chemical Theories and Laws

Theories and laws include atomic structure, the periodic law, chemical bonding, reaction energy, reaction rate, chemical equilibrium, ionic equilibrium, and electrochemistry. Learn the conditions and limits of each model, and practise explaining how a change in conditions affects a system before selecting a numerical answer.

Chemical Experiments and Applications

This module assesses apparatus, operations, safety, separation, purification, preparation, identification, measurement, data interpretation, and experimental design. Candidates should be able to choose a valid procedure, control variables, identify an error source, and infer a conclusion from observations or results.

The official syllabus defines these four modules but does not provide percentage weights for them. Unofficial weighting tables should not be used to omit an area.

How to prepare

1. Turn the official syllabus into a checklist and diagnose which concepts, calculations, reactions, and experiment skills need work.
2. Build a bilingual glossary that connects each term to its formula, symbol, property, apparatus, or representative reaction.
3. Practise balancing equations, mole calculations, concentration problems, and equilibrium reasoning without hiding units or intermediate assumptions.
4. Review experiments visually: name the apparatus, state the purpose of each step, predict observations, and explain safety precautions.
5. Complete mixed 48-question sets in 60 minutes. Classify every error as knowledge, interpretation, equation setup, calculation, experiment logic, language, or pacing.

Common mistakes

• Choosing Chemistry from a general impression instead of a verified program rule.
• Treating named substances and reactions as disconnected facts.
• Using an unbalanced equation or the wrong limiting quantity in calculations.
• Ignoring reaction conditions, units, significant constraints, or laboratory safety.
• Memorising unofficial topic percentages that the official syllabus does not publish.

Related guidance

Use the CSCA exam overview to understand subject combinations. Compare Mathematics and Physics with the requirements of your target program. The Chemistry preparation guide offers a longer study workflow.

Source note

This independent guide summarizes the official CSCA exam introduction, the 2025 Chemistry syllabus, and the official Chemistry glossary retrieved on 17 August 2026. Always recheck the current official documents and university requirements before registration.