What the board asks

We went through the ISC board papers, question by question, and matched each question to a topic. Here is what was asked, how often, and what was never asked.

Chemistry: 384 topics in the 2027 syllabus, across 10 units. The board has asked 252 of them at least once. 132 were never asked in the papers we checked.

Pick a unit

C3 Chemical Kinetics

This unit carries about 8 marks in the paper. We split it into 34 topics: each is one thing an examiner can ask, and you can practise it on paper in 5 to 25 minutes. The board has asked 19 of them. 15 were never asked. The top 5 topics make 48% of all the times this unit was asked. Last asked: Specimen 2027.

The syllabus says: Integrated rate equations and half-life only for zero and first order reactions. Collision theory: elementary idea, no mathematical treatment.

19asked by the board at least once

15in the syllabus, never asked

48times a topic of this unit was asked

4.9hours for one attempt at every topic

What the papers ask most

  • Order and rate law from initial-rate data table5 times, last Specimen 2027
  • First order: rate constant and time for x% completion5 times, last Specimen 2027
  • Activation energy from rates at two temperatures5 times, last Specimen 2027
  • First order: half-life, amount left, radioactive decay4 times, last Specimen 2027
  • Change in rate when concentrations are changed4 times, last 2026
  • Units of rate constant and order from units4 times, last 2026
  • Rate constant and new rate from initial-rate data3 times, last 2025 improvement
  • Overall order from a given rate law, including fractional2 times, last Specimen 2027
  • Pseudo order when one reactant is in large excess2 times, last 2026
  • Molecularity: meaning; order and molecularity of a reaction2 times, last 2026

In the syllabus, never asked (15)

They can still come, because they are in the syllabus. Give each one clean attempt. Your plan has two practice questions for each.

  • Slow and fast reactions explained by bonds brokenGive reason
  • Rate of reaction: definition, units, average and instantaneousStatement
  • Rate in terms of each reactant and productNumericals
  • Average and instantaneous rate from a concentration-time graphGraph
  • Give reasons: factors affecting rate of reactionGive reason
  • Law of mass action: statement, active mass, exampleStatement
  • Zero order: rate equation, unit of k, half-life, graphStatement
  • Zero order: k, time or concentration leftNumericals
  • Derive the integrated rate equation for first orderDerivation
  • Derive half-life of a first order reactionDerivation
  • Plots for zero and first order; order from plot shapeGraph
  • Energy profile diagrams: exothermic, endothermic, with catalystGraph
  • Collision theory: conditions for effective collisionsGive reason
  • Rate law from a mechanism and its slowest stepGive reason
  • Why rate rises sharply with temperatureGive reason

All the topics in Chemistry: Chemical Kinetics →

The 10 topics Chemistry papers ask most

Counted on the board papers from 2018 to the 2027 specimen paper, which every unit has been checked against.

  1. 1.IUPAC names of coordination compounds from formulaC5 Coordination Compounds · asked 8 times since 2018
  2. 2.Faraday's first law: mass, charge, current or timeC2 Electrochemistry · asked 7 times since 2018
  3. 3.Give reasons: transition metal ions are coloured, some colourlessC4 d- and f-Block Elements · asked 7 times since 2018
  4. 4.Alcohols from Grignard reagent: 1, 2, 3 degreeC7 Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers · asked 7 times since 2018
  5. 5.Williamson's synthesis of ethersC7 Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers · asked 7 times since 2018
  6. 6.Identify A, B, C, D in a given reagent chainC8 Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids · asked 7 times since 2018
  7. 7.Identify compounds from formula and test results (case problem)C8 Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids · asked 7 times since 2018
  8. 8.Identify A, B, C: amide, Hoffmann and amine-test chainsC9 Organic Compounds containing Nitrogen · asked 7 times since 2018
  9. 9.Gibbs energy and maximum work from cell emfC2 Electrochemistry · asked 6 times since 2018
  10. 10.Coordination number and oxidation state of the central metalC5 Coordination Compounds · asked 6 times since 2018

See when each unit comes in your plan