Is the VCE Chemistry data book the same as a formula sheet?

It covers both jobs. VCAA publishes one 28-page document, the Chemistry 2026 Data Book (Version 2, February 2026), with 25 numbered items. Item 3, Chemical relationships, is the formula list. The other 24 items are constants, conversions and data tables, and there is no separate Chemistry formula sheet.

Can you bring notes into the VCE Chemistry exam?

The 2025 exam cover lists one scientific calculator as the only approved material. VCAA's 2026 examination navigator also puts Chemistry on its scientific-calculator-only list. So anything the data book does not print has to be in your head.

Which formulas are not in the VCE Chemistry data book?

The 2026 book has no pH formula, no ionic product of water, no acid dissociation constant, no dilution formula, no reaction rate expression and no bond enthalpy table. Item 3 prints 16 relationships and the other items hold data, so you must know the rest and the definitions behind every symbol.

Why does my old VCE Chemistry data book not match the 2026 one?

VCAA reissues the book and does not list changes in the document. The 2024 assessor report warns that the water density of 0.997 g per mL belonged to the previous study design and Data Book, and the 2026 book prints 1.0 g per mL. Use the book that matches the year of the paper you are practising.

VCE Chemistry data booklet: what is in the 2026 data book (VCAA)

Q: Do you get a data book in the VCE Chemistry exam?

Yes. The cover of the 2025 VCE Chemistry exam lists a Data Book under materials supplied, next to the Question and Answer Book and the multiple-choice answer sheet. The 2026 Data Book says on its contents page that you may keep it.

Yes, you get one. VCAA supplies a Data Book with the VCE Chemistry exam, and the 2026 edition is a 28-page document with 25 numbered items: element data, an electrochemical series, 16 formulas, constants and conversions, then solubility, enthalpy, organic, spectroscopy and sustainability tables. It does not say which relationship a question wants, how to rearrange it or what to do with units and significant figures.

This guide describes the Chemistry 2026 Data Book, Version 2, February 2026, for the Units 3 and 4 written examination (Year 12). VCAA owns the book, so this page annotates it and links to the original on the VCAA Chemistry page instead of reprinting it. VCAA does not say what changed between Version 1 and Version 2, so we do not either.

For every past paper, see VCE Chemistry past exams (VCAA). To see which topics carry the marks, read VCE Chemistry most tested topics and VCE Chemistry hardest topics.

Do you get a data book in the VCE Chemistry exam?

Yes. The cover of the 2025 Chemistry exam lists the materials supplied as the Question and Answer Book, a Data Book and a Multiple-Choice Answer Sheet. The only approved material is one scientific calculator. It names no pre-written notes, so what the book leaves out is yours to know. The 2026 cover will list the 2026 rules, so read it when you sit the paper.

The book's contents page says "You may keep this Data Book". VCAA's 2026 examination navigator lists Chemistry among the studies that permit a scientific calculator only, never CAS. The Chemistry written exam is on Tuesday 10 November 2026, 9:00 am to 11:45 am, including the 15-minute reading period (see the VCE exam timetable). Exam format and timing are covered in the VCE exam preparation guide.

What is in the VCE Chemistry data book?

The 25 items sit in this order in the book. Page numbers are the PDF pages.

Items	Page	What they hold
1 Names of selected elements	2	Symbol, atomic number and relative atomic mass
2 Electrochemical series	3	Standard reduction potentials, 30 half-equations from fluorine at the top to lithium at the bottom
3 Chemical relationships	4	The 16 formula lines
4 to 6 Constants, unit conversions, metric prefixes	5	Avogadro, Faraday and gas constants, molar volume, water data, temperature, pressure, volume and mass conversions, giga to pico
7 Acid-base indicators	6	pH range and colour change for eight indicators (thymol blue has two changes)
8 Oxidising agents and conjugate reducing agents	7	Colours of the aqueous solution or solid for each pair
9 Formulas and charges for selected ions	8 to 9	Cations and anions grouped by charge
10 Qualitative solubilities	10 to 11	Soluble, sparingly soluble or insoluble for cation and anion pairs
11 to 14 Energy and combustion data	12 to 13	Energy content of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, molar enthalpies of combustion, fossil fuels and biofuels
15 Periodic table	14 to 15	Atomic number, relative atomic mass and electronegativity
16 to 20 Organic and biomolecule data	16 to 20	Ways to draw a molecule, functional group names, fatty acids, 2-amino acids, glycerol, glucose, starch and glycogen structures
21 to 23 Spectroscopy	21 to 23	Infrared absorption ranges, 13C-NMR and 1H-NMR shifts
24 Sustainability	24 to 25	Nine UN Sustainable Development Goals, seven green chemistry principles, linear and circular economies
25 References	26	Sources VCAA drew the data from

Show all 14 rows

As a guide to where each item is used: electrochemistry, calorimetry and the energy items belong to What are the current and future options for supplying energy?. Equilibrium and yield belong to How can the rate and yield of chemical reactions be optimised?. Items 16 to 23 serve the two organic topics, How are organic compounds categorised and synthesised? and How are organic compounds analysed and used?.

Which formulas are on the VCE Chemistry data book?

Item 3, Chemical relationships, prints 16 lines. This table names them, writes each in our own typesetting and adds the trap that goes with it. Check any line against the PDF before you copy it into your notes.

Name on the book	Relationship	What to watch
Amount of substance	$n = \frac{m}{M}$ , $n = cV$ , $n = \frac{N}{N_A}$ , $n = \frac{V}{V_m}$	One line, four forms. $V_m$ is only valid at the conditions the book gives (see the constants below)
Concentration in parts per million	$c_{ppm} = \frac{\text{mass of solute (mg)}}{\text{mass of solution (kg)}}$	Milligrams on top, kilograms below. Mass units are not both grams
Density	$\rho = \frac{m}{V}$	Water's density is printed as 1.0 g mL $^{-1}$ at 25 °C
Ideal gas equation	$pV = nRT$	$R$ is in J mol $^{-1}$ K $^{-1}$ , so pressure and volume must match
Enthalpy change of a reaction	$\Delta H = H_{products} - H_{reactants}$	Products minus reactants, so exothermic reactions are negative
Heat gained or lost	$q = mc\Delta T$	$\Delta T$ in kelvin or degrees Celsius is the same size. $c$ for water is in the constants
Molar enthalpy change	$\Delta H = \frac{q}{n}$	$q$ in kJ gives kJ mol $^{-1}$ . The sign comes from your reasoning, not the formula
Electric charge	$Q = It$	$t$ in seconds
Amount of electrons	$n(e^-) = \frac{Q}{F}$	Needs the Faraday constant
Electrical energy	$E = VIt$	Potential difference times current times time
Calibration factor, general calorimetry	$CF = \frac{E}{\Delta T}$	Found with an electrical heater, then reused
Calibration factor, reaction calorimetry	$CF = \frac{n\Delta H}{\Delta T}$	Found with a reaction of known enthalpy
Standard cell potential	$E^\ominus_{cell} = E^\ominus_{reduction} - E^\ominus_{oxidation}$	Both potentials come from item 2, which lists reduction potentials
Percentage atom economy	$\frac{\text{molar mass of desired product}}{\text{molar mass of all atoms in reactants}} \times \frac{100}{1}$	The denominator is the reactants in the balanced equation, with coefficients
Percentage yield	$\frac{\text{actual yield}}{\text{theoretical yield}} \times \frac{100}{1}$	Both yields in the same unit
Equilibrium constant	$K_c = \frac{[C]^y[D]^z \cdots}{[A]^w[B]^x \cdots}$ for $wA + xB + \cdots \rightleftharpoons yC + zD + \cdots$	The book prints it for the general equation, so you write the expression for your reaction

Show all 16 rows

We count the amount of substance row once. If you count each of its four forms separately, the total is 19.

What constants and conversions does the book give?

Items 4 to 6 share page 5. In summary, the book prints:

Constants: the Avogadro constant ( $6.02 \times 10^{23}$ mol $^{-1}$ ), the Faraday constant (96 500 C mol $^{-1}$ ), the molar gas constant (8.31 J mol $^{-1}$ K $^{-1}$ ), the molar volume of an ideal gas (24.8 L mol $^{-1}$ ), the specific heat capacity of water (4.18 kJ kg $^{-1}$ K $^{-1}$ or 4.18 J g $^{-1}$ K $^{-1}$ ), the density of water (1.0 g mL $^{-1}$ at 25 °C) and the molar latent heat of vaporisation of water at both 25 °C and 100 °C.
Conversions: 0 °C as 273 K, 100 kPa as 0.987 atm, the litre in dm $^3$ , m $^3$ , cm $^3$ and mL, and the tonne in kg and g.
Prefixes: giga, mega, kilo, deci, centi, milli, micro, nano and pico.

The molar volume is stated at SLC, which the book defines as 25 °C and 100 kPa. That is not the 22.4 L mol $^{-1}$ you may have met elsewhere. Item 2 and item 12 also quote SLC, so the same conditions run through the electrochemical series (with every soluble species at 1.00 M) and the combustion enthalpies.

The molar volume and the ideal gas equation agree at SLC. With $T = 298$ K and $p = 100$ kPa, $V_m = \frac{RT}{p} = \frac{8.31 \times 298}{100} = 24.8$ L mol $^{-1}$ , the number the book prints.

What is not in the VCE Chemistry data book?

Checked against all 28 pages of the 2026 book, these are things students often assume are printed and are not:

pH and acid-base constants. Item 7 lists indicator ranges and colours, but there is no pH definition, no ionic product of water and no acid dissociation constant.
Dilution. There is no relationship for diluting a solution, only $n = cV$ for a single solution.
Molar mass. You build $M$ from the relative atomic masses in items 1 and 15, and the book does not print the sum.
Reaction rates. No rate expression and no collision theory content.
Bond enthalpies. There is no bond enthalpy table in the 2026 book. The 2024 assessor report describes a question where students compared the bonds in two compounds and used Data Book data to predict the enthalpy change (p. 2), so check the book for the paper you are practising.
Oxidation numbers and half-equation rules. Item 2 prints half-equations, but nothing explains how to balance one.
How to write an expression. $K_c$ is printed in general form only, with no worked equation.
Standard enthalpies of formation. Item 12 lists combustion data only.

If it is on neither the book nor this list, treat it as yours to know. We have not read every VCE Chemistry question against this list, so use it as a starting point, not a guarantee.

Where do the symbols and units trip people up?

Letters that do double duty. $E$ is electrical energy in $E = VIt$ and the calibration factor line, while $E^\ominus$ is a potential in item 2 and the cell potential line. Write what each symbol is in your working before you substitute.
Enthalpy sign. Item 12 prints combustion enthalpies as negative values for exothermic reactions, and notes that $\Delta H$ values depend on the equation: ethane is $-1560$ kJ for one mole, and $-3120$ kJ when the equation is doubled. Match the coefficient in your equation to the amount you use.
Energy content per gram versus per mole. Item 11 gives kJ g $^{-1}$ for fats, proteins and carbohydrates, item 12 gives kJ mol $^{-1}$ for pure fuels, item 13 gives kJ g $^{-1}$ and kJ mL $^{-1}$ for fossil fuel mixtures, and item 14 gives kJ g $^{-1}$ for biofuels. Check the unit column before you multiply.
Two printed specific heat capacities. The same value of 4.18 is printed per kilogram in kJ and per gram in J. Use the pair that matches your mass unit.
Temperature. The book gives 0 °C as 273 K, so add 273 to a Celsius temperature before using the ideal gas equation.
Versions. The 2024 assessor report notes that a water density of 0.997 belonged to the previous study design and Data Book (p. 14). The 2026 book prints 1.0 g mL $^{-1}$ .

How do VCAA assessors expect you to use the book?

The 2024 and 2025 VCAA external assessment reports comment on what students do after they find a value, not on finding it.

Quote the unit. The 2024 report says that where the stem gives no unit, a correct unit must be quoted with the calculated value (p. 2). The 2025 report lists failing to quote a unit, or quoting an incorrect one, among the common errors (p. 6).
Significant figures are marked. In the 2024 calorimetry question the second mark was awarded for a value to three significant figures (p. 14).
Answer in what the stem asks for. In 2025, the most common mistake on one question was leaving the final value as a concentration instead of the amount in mol that the stem specified (p. 12).
Use the book's own labels. In 2024 a mark for identifying a bond type required students to name it as O-H and say it was due to an alcohol "as shown in the Data Book" (p. 15). Item 21 lists the O-H bond separately for alcohols and acids.
Use the right box. The 2024 report says responses outside the specified location may not be identified as an answer, and working should not go in the response boxes (pp. 2 and 8).

A weak and a strong version of the same working look like this:

Weak	Strong
Writes the answer with a formula name beside it	Writes the relationship, the values with units, then the answer with units and significant figures
Looks up a value but not the condition it is quoted at	States that the molar volume is at 25 °C and 100 kPa before using it
Leaves the final answer as a concentration	Converts to the amount in mol the stem asked for
Uses a remembered value for water's density or heat capacity	Uses the values printed in item 4 of the 2026 book

Worked uses of the book

These are our own illustrations of combining items, not VCAA questions.

Common mistakes with the book

How do I practise with the data book?

Do calculation questions with the 2026 book open beside the paper and write each answer the way the strong column above does. The VCE Chemistry past exams page has the marked questions from the VCAA papers grouped by topic, so you can drill the items you use least. Start with the item you could not place on a page from the table near the top.

For past papers across every VCE study, see VCE past exams (VCAA), and for how VCAA uses command words in questions, see the VCE command terms guide. The same kind of sheet for a different study is covered in the VCE Physics formula sheet guide.

Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is reproduced by permission, © VCAA. See our VCAA licensing notice. The VCAA does not endorse or make any warranties regarding this study resource. VCE® is a registered trademark of the VCAA.