Content of the SAT II Chemistry Test
The SAT II Chemistry test is written to test your understanding
of the topics of chemistry that are typically taught in a one-year
college-preparatory-level high school chemistry course.
Well, math and chemistry go hand in hand, right? You might
be surprised, then, to learn that you aren’t allowed to use a calculator
on the SAT II Chemistry test. The math you’ll need to do on the
test never goes beyond simple arithmetic and manipulation of equations, which
is good news for you—you won’t be a victim of careless errors made
on your calculator.
That said, you should be able to solve problems using
ratios, direct and inverse proportions, scientific notation, and
some simpler exponential functions. Since the test is an hour long,
this means you have an average of 42 seconds to answer each of the
85 questions—the people at ETS realize that isn’t enough time to
delve into problems involving simultaneous equations or complex
algebra. They’re more interested in testing your grasp of the basic concepts
of chemistry. If you’ve grasped these concepts, your weakness in
math problem solving isn’t going to hurt you. You will, however,
be provided with a simple periodic table. This periodic table will
probably look more bare-boned than the one you’re used to using:
it will have only the symbols of the elements along with their atomic
numbers and masses.
Now let’s get into the nuts and bolts of what you’ll see
on the exam. ETS provides the following breakdown of the test, covering
eight basic categories, and as you can see, we’ve arranged the content
review in this book according to ETS’s outline:
| Their Topic |
Our Section |
Approximate % of the test devoted to these
topics. |
Approximate no. of questions you’ll see on these
topics. |
| Structure of Matter
Includes atomic theory and structure, chemical bonding, and molecular structure;
nuclear reactions |
Structure of Matter |
25 |
21 |
| States of Matter
Includes kinetic molecular theory of gases, gas laws, liquids, solids,
and phase changes; solutions, concentration units, solubility, conductivity, and
colligative properties |
States of Matter |
15 |
13 |
| Reaction Types
Includes acids and bases, oxidation-reduction, and precipitation |
Reaction Types |
14 |
12 |
| Stoichiometry
Includes the mole concept, Avogadro’s number, empirical and molecular formulas,
percentage composition, stoichiometric calculations, and limiting
reagents |
Stoichiometry |
12 |
10 |
| Equilibrium and
Reaction Rates
Including gas equilibria, ionic equilibria, Le Chatelier’s principle, equilibrium
expressions; factors affecting rate of reaction |
Equilibrium and Reaction Rates |
7 |
6 |
| Thermodynamics
Includes energy changes in chemical reactions and physical processes,
Hess’s law, and randomness |
Thermodynamics |
6 |
5 |
| Descriptive Chemistry Includes
physical and chemical properties of elements and their more familiar
compounds, chemical reactivity and products of chemical reactions,
simple examples from organic chemistry and environmental chemistry |
Descriptive Chemistry |
13 |
11 |
| Laboratory
Includes equipment, measurement, procedures, observations, safety, calculations,
and interpretation of results |
Laboratory |
8 |
7 |
The fact that this book is organized according to these
basic categories will give you the ability to focus on each topic
to whatever degree you feel necessary: if you know you’re weak on
gas law questions, take extra time going through “The States of
Matter” section, for example. Also, each question in the practice
tests at the back of this book has been categorized according to
these eight categories so you can precisely identify your weaknesses and
then concentrate on the areas you need to study most.
