CSCA Chemistry Syllabus 2026–27: Official Topics, Format and Prep

What is on the CSCA chemistry syllabus?

The official CSCA Chemistry Examination Syllabus (2025 edition) names four content modules and lists 17 topics under them. The list below is translated faithfully from the official Chinese version. Treat it as your checklist: if a topic is not here, it should not take up much of your study time, even if a prep site includes it.

• Basic chemical concepts and calculations (5 topics): classification of substances and changes of state; chemical notation and writing equations; solution concentration and pH calculations; calculations with the amount of substance (moles); applications of the ideal gas equation
• Properties of substances and reactions (4 topics): properties of common inorganic substances (elements, oxides, acids, bases, salts); basic organic compounds (hydrocarbons and their derivatives); identifying redox reactions; ionic reactions and testing methods
• Chemical theories and principles (4 topics): atomic structure and the periodic law; chemical bonds and intermolecular forces; reaction rate and chemical equilibrium; electrolyte solution theory
• Chemical experiments and applications (4 topics): laboratory safety and use of apparatus; preparation and testing of common gases; methods of separation and purification; analysis of industrial chemical processes (for example, ammonia synthesis)

Some prep sites list electrochemistry, hybridization or advanced organic mechanisms as separate CSCA topics. None of these is named in the official 2025 syllabus. Basic ideas such as salt hydrolysis fit under electrolyte solution theory, but deep university-level material does not. Cover the 17 listed topics thoroughly before you look at anything extra. To see how Chemistry fits with the other papers, dates and fees, read our CSCA exam 2026–27 guide.

How is the CSCA chemistry exam structured?

Every question is single-choice, with one correct answer. There is no written working, so you are judged only on the option you select. With 48 questions in 60 minutes, you have 75 seconds per question on average. Many chemistry questions are quick recall (which gas turns limewater milky?), which buys you extra time for mole and pH calculations. The physics paper uses the same format, as our CSCA physics syllabus guide shows, so the same pacing habits work for both.

• Chemistry: 48 single-choice questions, 60 minutes, Chinese or English, scored 0–100. Required only if your major asks for it.
• Physics: 48 single-choice questions, 60 minutes, Chinese or English, scored 0–100. Required only if your major asks for it.
• Mathematics: 48 single-choice questions, 60 minutes, Chinese or English, scored 0–100. Required for all applicants.
• Professional Chinese: 80 single-choice questions, 90 minutes, Chinese only, scored 0–100. Required only for Chinese-taught programs.

Plan to work without a calculator. The official home-based test rules allow only your ID, admission ticket, computer, keyboard, mouse and scratch materials on the desk. The syllabus also does not say whether relative atomic masses are printed on the paper, so memorize the common ones: H 1, C 12, N 14, O 16, Na 23, Mg 24, Al 27, S 32, Cl 35.5, K 39, Ca 40, Fe 56 and Cu 64.

What should you know for each CSCA chemistry module?

The checklist below is our summary of the core ideas behind each official topic, at the level of a typical senior high school chemistry course. It is not an official list of question content. To learn these ideas step by step, our CSCA chemistry course splits the subject into units, short lessons and mini tests.

• Moles and concentration: n = m/M, n = N/Nᴀ, c = n/V; one mole of gas occupies 22.4 L at standard conditions (0 °C, 101 kPa)
• pH: pH = −log[H⁺]; at 25 °C a neutral solution has pH 7 and Kw = 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁴; 0.01 mol/L HCl has pH 2
• Gas law: pV = nRT, with temperature in kelvin
• Inorganic chemistry: typical reactions of metals, non-metals, oxides, acids, bases and salts, such as sodium, aluminum, iron, chlorine, sulfur and nitrogen compounds
• Organic chemistry: alkanes, alkenes, alkynes and benzene; functional groups in alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic acids and esters; substitution versus addition reactions
• Redox: assign oxidation numbers; the oxidizing agent is reduced and the reducing agent is oxidized
• Ion tests: Cl⁻ gives a white precipitate with AgNO₃ that does not dissolve in dilute HNO₃; SO₄²⁻ gives a white precipitate with BaCl₂ after acidifying with HCl; Fe³⁺ turns blood red with KSCN; NH₄⁺ with NaOH and heat releases a gas that turns damp red litmus blue
• Periodic trends: atomic radius decreases across a period and increases down a group; electronegativity increases across a period
• Bonding: ionic, covalent and metallic bonds; polar and non-polar molecules; hydrogen bonds and intermolecular forces
• Rate and equilibrium: temperature, concentration, surface area and catalysts change the rate; Le Chatelier's principle predicts shifts; a catalyst does not shift equilibrium
• Electrolytes: strong versus weak electrolytes, ionization of weak acids, salt hydrolysis
• Lab work: preparing O₂, CO₂, H₂, NH₃ and Cl₂; collecting gases by water or air displacement; filtration, evaporation, distillation and extraction
• Industry: the Haber process, N₂ + 3H₂ ⇌ 2NH₃, which is exothermic and favored by high pressure

Which CSCA chemistry topics deserve the most time?

The official syllabus publishes no weighting, and third-party estimates based on recalled papers disagree with each other, so treat any percentage you see online as a guess. A safer rule is to rank topics by how many other topics depend on them. Mole calculations, equation writing and redox sit underneath almost everything else, so master those first.

Next, focus on ion tests and gas preparation. They are pure recall, so a single revision table can win you several quick marks. Then move to equilibrium and periodic trends, which need understanding rather than memory. Leave organic chemistry until you are comfortable with the rest, but do not skip it: the syllabus names hydrocarbons and their derivatives directly. If you are applying for medicine, our guide to the CSCA exam for MBBS in China shows how Chemistry fits your application.

How should you prepare for CSCA chemistry?

During your practice weeks, start with our CSCA Chemistry practice questions with eight worked answers. The solutions explain mole calculations, pH, gas laws, redox, equilibrium and a laboratory test, including the common traps. Use the free Chemistry topic sets to drill any weak area, then switch to a timed mixed set once your accuracy improves.

What are the most common CSCA chemistry mistakes?

• Using 22.4 L/mol for a substance that is not a gas at standard conditions, such as water
• Using 22.4 L/mol at room temperature instead of at 0 °C and 101 kPa
• Forgetting that chlorine, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are diatomic (Cl₂, O₂, N₂, H₂)
• Unbalanced equations, which make every mole ratio afterward wrong
• Treating a weak acid as fully ionized when working out pH
• Thinking a catalyst increases the yield at equilibrium; it only helps the system reach equilibrium faster
• Mixing up which species is oxidized and which is the oxidizing agent
• Misreading questions that ask which statement is incorrect

Should you take CSCA chemistry in English or Chinese?

Pick the language your university accepts first, and then the one you read fastest. Chemistry has a lot of naming vocabulary, so a student who learned chemistry in English will usually lose time decoding Chinese compound names. If you already studied chemistry in Chinese, or your program asks for the Chinese paper, take it in Chinese. Mathematics is required for every applicant too, so keep up with CSCA math practice while you study chemistry.

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