CSCA Chemistry Concepts & Formulas
Every concept on the syllabus with the formulas it uses — and what the real exams have actually asked.
Matter & the mole
Classification of Matter
Pure substances versus mixtures and elements versus compounds, telling apart the four inorganic classes — oxides, acids, bases and salts — and distinguishing physical from chemical change.
17 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsAmount of Substance
Converting between amount of substance, mass and molar mass, when molar gas volume applies, and using mole ratios read off a chemical equation.
11 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsSolution Composition and Concentration
What a solution is made of, saturation and solubility, calculating molar concentration and mass fraction, and the conservation of solute on dilution.
12 real-exam questions · 4 sittings
Atomic structure & periodicity
Atomic Structure
How proton, neutron and electron counts relate, the rules governing electron arrangement and how it is written down, and the ideas of isotope and nuclide.
11 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsThe Periodic Table and Periodic Law
Periods and groups in the table, how properties trend across a period and down a group, and how to compare particle radii and non-metallic character.
12 real-exam questions · 4 sittings
Bonding & structure
Chemical Bonding
How ionic and covalent bonds form and how to tell them apart, how bond type maps onto substance class, and what a Lewis structure says about bond formation.
5 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsChemical Formulae and Structural Representation
Writing formulae from valencies, and what condensed, structural and empirical formulae — and ball-and-stick versus space-filling models — each convey.
13 real-exam questions · 4 sittings
Reaction types
Redox Reactions
Recognising redox by change in oxidation number and electron transfer, identifying oxidising and reducing agents, and how redox overlaps the four basic reaction types.
15 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsIonic Reactions and Ion Coexistence
The conditions under which an ionic reaction proceeds, what an ionic equation reveals about composition, and judging whether ions can coexist under stated conditions.
4 real-exam questions · 3 sittings
Aqueous solutions
Electrolytes and Ionisation
Telling electrolytes from non-electrolytes, strong from weak, the ionisation equilibrium of a weak electrolyte, and what makes a solution conduct.
8 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsAcidity, Basicity and pH
The ionic product of water and the definition of pH, pH calculations, why salt solutions can be acidic or basic, and comparing strong with weak acids.
9 real-exam questions · 4 sittings
Rate & equilibrium
Rate of Reaction
Expressing rate as a concentration change per unit time and calculating it, and how a catalyst and other conditions change that rate.
6 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsChemical Equilibrium
What equilibrium actually is and how to test for it, and which way the position shifts when temperature, pressure or concentration changes (Le Chatelier's principle).
12 real-exam questions · 4 sittings
Electrochemistry
Inorganic substances
Properties of Common Inorganic Substances
The characteristic behaviour of sodium, concentrated sulfuric acid, sodium hydrogencarbonate, chlorine and its oxoacids, plus amphoteric substances that react with both acids and bases.
8 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsIndustrial Chemistry and the Value of Chemistry
Representative industrial processes such as the chlor-alkali industry, and what chemistry as a science has meant for human civilisation.
1 real-exam question · 1 sitting
Organic chemistry
Classifying and Naming Organic Compounds
What makes a homologous series and how to spot one, systematic naming of alkenes, and recognising oxygen-containing derivatives such as aldehydes.
8 real-exam questions · 4 sittingsTypes of Organic Reaction
Telling substitution from addition: whether an atom replaces another or adds across an unsaturated bond.
5 real-exam questions · 4 sittings
Laboratory work
Basic Laboratory Technique
Choosing and using standard apparatus, preparing, collecting, purifying and drying common gases, and separation methods such as extraction.
8 real-exam questions · 3 sittingsTesting and Identifying Substances
Flame tests and the characteristic tests for common anions and gases, plus how to design a scheme that tells substances apart.
15 real-exam questions · 4 sittings