HSC Chemistry 2024: Calculation-heavy exam leaves Year 12 students down to the wire

Almost 10,000 Year 12 students attempted the HSC Chemistry exam on Monday – some more successfully than others. Try your luck with real questions from the test, and see how students reacted.

There were dozens of calculations, titrations, equations and more than a few frustrations for the almost 10,000 Year 12 students who attempted the HSC Chemistry exam on Monday – one of the toughest tests in the exam period so far.

Chemistry is often described as one of the more challenging HSC courses, requiring students to be adept both at mathematical calculations and excellent communicators in explaining the theories behind them.

The 2024 final exam was not as universally criticised as chemistry exams of years gone by, however some students were disappointed to find the 39-question exam heavily weighted towards running numbers and formulas.

“Why did I even study for chem if it was all calculations,” one bemoaned on social media.

“WTF was that chem exam, why was there so many questions,” another wrote.

Killara High School students Marcus Leung, Amber Ling, Cai Berman and Canny Wong agreed the exam felt long, but said it was less difficult overall than some of their past papers.

Cai was stumped by the final question, a four-mark problem involving a solution of bromoacetic acid and its “equilibrium constant” that forced students to run multiple solutions to find the best fit.

Killara High School HSC students Marcus Leung, Amber Ling, Cai Berman and Canny Wong after their Chemistry exam. Picture: Rohan Kelly

“I misinterpreted the information given … usually it’s the most interesting (question),” he said.

“The hard part was definitely just interpreting what it was saying … once you get that, the math is not that hard,” Marcus added.

Amber, on the other hand found Question 39 almost “too easy” for a final question, leaving her doubtful of her answer.

Instead it was question 20 of the multiple choice section that brought on the biggest headache for Amber, while Cai considered it “a good question”.

“I didn’t even know to do it,” Amber said.

File image: Curious students watching chemical reaction, conducting scientific experiment in laboratory classroom. HSC Chemistry is one of the most mathematically challenging courses outside of the maths subjects.

Their teacher and relieving head of science Dr Tu Anh Tran said overall her students’ feedback was that while the exam was long, everyone was able to complete it.

“We train them that even if you don’t know all the answers, at least present some information so you can get some marks, and show how much you understand the topic,” she said.

To make the most of seven-mark questions like Question 35, which asked students to “justify” their answer, the best students will be able to respond within the number of lines given – rather than opening an extra writing booklet Dr Tran said.

“In a Band 6 answer, you have to explain well and concisely,” she said.