SAT Subject Test: Chemistry

The Chemistry Subject Test covers a wide range of material that includes and may go beyond the content covered in a typical one-year high school chemistry course.
Any math required on the Chemistry test tends to be straightforward arithmetic; calculators are not permitted.

Test Calendar

Students can take the Chemistry Subject Test on any of the six official SAT Subject Test dates: October, November, December, January, May, and June.
Usually, students are concurrently enrolled in a chemistry course at school and take the official test in May or June, near the end of that course.
Less frequently, students elect to take the test in October or November of the fall following the end of a high school course. In such cases, preparation should begin no later than the beginning of July and continue throughout the summer.

Test Format

Section	Approximate Number of Questions	Type of Question	Content	Time
1	25 Multiple Choice	Classification and Identification	Atomic theory and structure States of matter Reaction types, including acids, bases, and oxidation-reduction reactions Stoichiometry Equilibrium and kinetics Thermodynamics Nuclear chemistry Organic chemistry Descriptive chemistry and laboratory methods	1 Hour
2	15 True/False	Analysis of causal relationship between two statements
3	45 Multiple Choice	Conceptual/Theoretical or Calculation using memorized formulas and equations

Please see our general information about the SAT Subject Tests for details about test scoring and other topics.

Our Approach

Content of Program

The diagnostic test results help tutors assess a student's familiarity with the particular material relevant to the Chemistry test, as well as the student's ability to apply this knowledge while following the test's distinctive guidelines. Because the subject of chemistry is so broad, there will likely be topics that are not covered, or are only briefly discussed, in a student’s school curriculum. Such topics may include nuclear chemistry, acidic and basic anhydrides, salt hydrolysis, and orbital hybridization

In addition to reviewing familiar concepts and possibly teaching new content, tutors help students develop analytical skills in interpreting graphs and charts. Furthermore, tutors help strengthen relevant reasoning skills so that students can interpret certain indirect questions on the test; for example, rather than simply asking for the pH of a solution, a question may require the student to solve for the pH as an intermediate step toward reaching a more general conclusion about acid/base theory. Students are given homework, quizzes, and timed practice tests to reinforce concepts and monitor progress.

Further Information

Please see our general information about the SAT Subject Tests for details about the length of the program and other topics.

For additional information about preparing and registering for the Chemistry Subject Test, follow the link below to the College Board’s website:
http://www.collegeboard.com.