The exam questions which would stump Big Bang Theory brainiacs: year 12 students reveal hardest SACE chemistry exam questions

It’s a tough exam – complicated by a statewide glitch – but these year 12 students are still smiling. Here they share the highs and lows of the 2024 SACE chemistry exam.

This year’s SACE chemistry exam had a question or two that might even have stumped The Big Bang Theory’s resident physicists Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter.

But overall, year 12 students at one South Australian school say it was easier than they’d expected despite an early interruption in which the exam was halted while directions to change a question were given.

Questions on “atomic absorption spectroscopy”, a parts per billion calculation and a nanogram conversion were identified by students as among the hardest.

Five Pulteney Grammar Students shared their thoughts, including the impact of the flawed question, with The Advertiser post exam.

Still smiling post exam are Pulteney Grammar School year 12 chemistry students, James Bradley, Sarah Ninio, Oscar Mitchell, Mackenzie Weaver, and Emerson McClurg. Picture: Matt Loxton

James Bradley, 17, who is currently considering a career in physiotherapy or optometry, said it was the “atomic absorption spectroscopy” question he struggled most with.

However, he said overall the exam was what he’d expected, in terms of its difficulty.

He said while the glitch was a “surprise”, it didn’t put him off too much.

“It was a bit confusing at first as I wasn’t sure what had happened … (I wasn’t) shocked but a bit surprised that it had happened,” he said.

“(Our teacher) just came in, stopped the timer and said ‘change these two words’, so that was fine.”

Sarah Ninio, 18, who plans to pursue a career in occupational therapy, also found the “atomic absorption spectroscopy” question the hardest.

“(Overall) the exam was as I expected; an exam is supposed to have hard parts and there were definitely hard parts but I think all the questions were fair and clearly related to topics in the course,” she said.

For Emerson McClurg, 18, who hopes to study medicine, it was a question relating to converting “something into nanograms” which caused her to hesitate.

“I completely forgot how to do it … but apart from that, I honestly found the exam easier than I had expected – I was pleasantly surprised,” she said.

Mackenzie Weaver, 17, who is also considering a career in the health space, agreed the exam was “very reasonable, fair and valid”.

“I think overall the exam was very reasonable … chemistry is definitely not my strongest subject but I feel every question, apart from the last, I had seen before and revised,” she said.

MacKenzie says while the exam glitch didn’t worry her too much it did disrupt her train of thought.

“I was just a bit unexpected … it kind of stopped the flow for the question I was on,” she said.

Oscar Mitchell, 18, agreed the biggest impact was on his train of thought but still he found the exam easier than he had anticipated.

“It was appropriate if not slightly easier than what I was expecting ... there were only limited questions on some of the really difficult topics,” the aspiring astronaut said.

“I have really enjoyed (chemistry), I think it is a really fun science … there are definitely easier aspects as well as many more challenging aspects but I think it is really enjoyable.”

Pulteney’s year 12 chemistry students James Bradley, Mackenzie Weaver, Oscar Mitchell, Sarah Ninio and Emerson McClurg share the highs and lows of today’s exam. Picture: Matt Loxton

Head of science Nadia Maglica said she was proud of the school’s approach to STEM, with students in year 2 to 12 exposed to “diverse topics”.

“It is really about getting them to engage in experiential learning, so they learn through doing, learn through experiencing the world around them ... so they start to engage with their place in the world and how they can make an impact on the world around them ... and how they can work, eventually, to improve the lives of others, and hopefully come up with amazing inventions and initiatives that will help everybody moving forward,” she said.

“(Our senior) students love to be challenged, they love for things to be a little bit tricky and to have that sense of achievement when they work something out and see an experiment come to life in front of them ... it is really rewarding for them.”

James Bradley, Mackenzie Weaver, Oscar Mitchell, Sarah Ninio and Emerson McClurg reflect on today’s SACE chemistry exam at Pulteney Grammar School. Picture: Matt Loxton