Which WACE Chemistry past paper do students score lowest on?

The 2025 Exam, averaging 47.1% across 324 marked attempts on AusGrader. The 2022 Exam is the highest on 67.4%.

Which WACE Chemistry dot points give the best return on revision time?

3.3.2.11 (2.9 marks at risk per 100), 4.2.2.9 (2.8 marks at risk per 100) and 4.2.2.8 (1.8 marks at risk per 100). Marks at risk combines a dot point's share of paper marks with the marks students drop on it, so it ranks by recoverable marks and not by score alone.

How many attempts is each WACE Chemistry figure based on?

36,929 marked attempts overall, with the per-row count shown in every table. Any cut below 50 attempts is withheld instead of published.

Do these averages show how the SCSA cohort performed?

No. They are AusGrader users' marked attempts, a self-selected group practising when they chose to and often without exam timing. They corroborate what SCSA publishes about this subject and do not replace it.

WACE Chemistry hardest topics

Across 36,929 marked attempts on AusGrader, WACE Chemistry students average 57.6% on questions taken from board external papers. The lowest average of any command verb is draw on 53.7%, and the verb that costs the most marks is explain, which carries 13.1% of the paper against 3.6% for draw. These are self-selected users practising when they chose to, not the SCSA cohort under exam conditions.

How to read these numbers

The figures are AusGrader users' marked attempts, not SCSA results. They corroborate what the board publishes about this subject and do not stand in for it.
Any cut with fewer than 50 attempts is withheld, which on this page is 1 subtopics, 8 dot points and 19 verbs. Every figure shown carries its attempt count.
Scores cover questions mapped to the WACE Chemistry syllabus from any board's external papers, which is why the sample is larger than the 6 SCSA papers alone. The paper table below is the exception and uses SCSA papers only.
Internal assessment and school-uploaded exams are excluded throughout, so these averages differ from the ones on WACE Chemistry performance stats, which count every attempt.

Score by past paper

Year	Exam	Average	Attempts
2025	Exam	47.1%	324
2024	Exam	59.1%	727
2023	Exam	59.5%	324
2022	Exam	67.4%	494
2021	Exam	63.7%	260
2020	Exam	60.0%	301

The lowest average belongs to the 2025 Exam on 47.1% from 324 attempts, and the highest to the 2022 Exam on 67.4% from 494 attempts. A paper's average reflects both how hard it was and who chose to sit it, so treat the spread as a guide to which papers make demanding practice.

Score by question type

Question type	Average	Attempts
Extended response	44.2%	79
Multiple choice	56.1%	32,377
Short answer	62.6%	4,473

Score by unit

Unit	Average	Attempts
Unit 3: Equilibrium, acids and bases, and redox reactions	56.6%	22,524
Unit 4: Organic chemistry and chemical synthesis	59.3%	15,744

An attempt counts once per unit, so a question assessed across two units appears in both rows and the column adds to slightly more than 36,929.

The priority list: heavy topics with low scores

Topic	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
Properties and structure of organic materials	28.2%	58.8%	11,380	11.6
Chemical equilibrium systems	16.5%	56.9%	7,799	7.1
Oxidation and reduction	14.7%	53.3%	10,925	6.9
Acids and bases	17.3%	62.8%	2,794	6.4
Chemical synthesis	13.9%	62.5%	4,461	5.2
Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 3)	7.7%	60.1%	3,127	3.1
Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 4)	1.7%	54.8%	2,929	0.8

Properties and structure of organic materials tops the list on 11.6 marks at risk per 100 paper marks, 4.5 ahead of Chemical equilibrium systems.

The same cut at subtopic level

Subtopic	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
Science Understanding (Properties and structure of organic materials)	28.1%	58.8%	11,379	11.6
Science Understanding (Chemical equilibrium systems)	15.5%	56.7%	7,322	6.7
Science Understanding (Oxidation and reduction)	13.8%	51.9%	9,615	6.6
Science Understanding (Acids and bases)	16.7%	61.9%	2,684	6.4
Science Understanding (Chemical synthesis)	13.3%	58.7%	3,301	5.5
Science as a Human Endeavour (Oxidation and reduction)	0.9%	58.6%	3,854	0.4
Science as a Human Endeavour (Chemical equilibrium systems)	1.0%	64.2%	495	0.4
Science as a Human Endeavour (Chemical synthesis)	0.5%	72.2%	1,591	0.1
Science as a Human Endeavour (Acids and bases)	0.6%	80.3%	151	0.1

The same cut at dot-point level

Dot point	Content	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
3.3.2.11	data obtained from acid-base titrations can be used to calculate the masses of substances and concentrations and volumes of solutions involved	6.3%	54.8%	869	2.9
4.2.2.9	empirical and molecular formulae can be determined by calculation and the structure of an organic compound established from the chemical reactions they undergo, and other analytical data	5.3%	47.5%	2,139	2.8
4.2.2.8	organic compounds display characteristic physical properties, including boiling point and solubility in water and organic solvents; these properties can be explained in terms of intermolecular forces (dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions and hydrogen bonds) which are influenced by the nature of the functional groups	3.8%	52.2%	2,156	1.8
3.2.2.9	the effects of changes in temperature, concentration of species in solution, partial pressures of gases, total volume and the addition of a catalyst on equilibrium systems can be predicted using Le Châtelier’s Principle	4.2%	57.0%	2,113	1.8
4.3.2.2	quantities of products in a chemical synthesis reaction can be calculated by comparing stoichiometric quantities with actual quantities and by determining the limiting reagent	3.8%	53.0%	697	1.8
3.1.0.1	use science inquiry skills to design, conduct, evaluate and communicate investigations into the properties of acids and bases, redox reactions and electrochemical cells, including volumetric analysis	4.0%	58.5%	2,213	1.7
3.2.2.1	collision theory can be used to explain and predict the effects of concentration, temperature, pressure, the presence of catalysts and surface area of reactants on the rates of chemical reactions	3.7%	59.1%	1,822	1.5
3.1.0.3	communicate, predict and explain chemical phenomena using qualitative and quantitative representations in appropriate modes and genres	3.7%	63.3%	1,124	1.4
3.4.2.2	oxidation involves the loss of electrons from a chemical species, and reduction involves the gain of electrons by a chemical species; these processes can be represented using half-equations and redox equations (acidic conditions only)	2.4%	48.7%	1,649	1.2
3.4.2.10	corrosion of iron is an electrochemical process that can be prevented by a range of techniques, including by exclusion of oxygen and/or water and through cathodic protection and sacrificial anodes	2.1%	47.8%	243	1.1
3.2.2.3	observable changes in chemical reactions and physical changes can be described and explained at an atomic and molecular level	2.1%	51.6%	117	1.0
3.3.2.5	buffer solutions are conjugate in nature and resist changes in pH when small amounts of strong acid or base are added to the solution; buffering capacity can be explained qualitatively; Le Châtelier’s Principle can be applied to predict how buffers respond to the addition of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions	2.6%	61.7%	171	1.0
3.4.2.9	electrochemical cells can be described in terms of the reactions occurring at the anode and cathode, the role of the electrolyte, salt bridge (galvanic cell), ion migration, and electron flow in the external circuit	2.1%	53.2%	3,506	1.0
3.4.2.3	a range of reactions involve the oxidation of one species and reduction of another species, including metal and halogen displacement reactions, and combustion in both limited and excess oxygen environments	1.9%	52.9%	1,498	0.9
4.2.2.19	the tertiary structure of a protein (the overall three-dimensional shape) is a result of folding due to interactions between the side chains of the $\alpha$ -amino acid in the polypeptide, including disulfide bridges, hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole interactions, dispersion forces and ionic interactions	1.7%	55.1%	836	0.8
4.2.2.2	structural formulae (condensed or showing bonds) can be used to show the arrangement of atoms and bonding in organic molecules that contain the following functional groups: alkenes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amines and amides	1.9%	61.3%	1,496	0.7
4.2.2.6	all alcohols can undergo complete combustion; with oxidising agents, including acidified $MnO_4^-$ or $Cr_2O_7^{2-}$ oxidation of primary alcohols produces aldehydes and carboxylic acids, while the oxidation of secondary alcohols produce ketones; these reactions have characteristic observations and can be represented with equations	2.1%	66.5%	714	0.7
3.2.2.8	the effects of changes in concentration of solutions and partial pressures of gases on chemical systems initially at equilibrium can be predicted and explained by applying collision theory to the forward and reverse reactions	1.4%	51.0%	700	0.7
4.2.2.15	the characteristic properties of $\alpha$ -amino acids include the formation of zwitterions and the ability to react to form amide (peptide) bonds through condensation reactions	1.5%	57.0%	257	0.7
3.2.2.7	the effect of changes of temperature on chemical systems initially at equilibrium can be predicted by considering the enthalpy changes for the forward and reverse reactions; this can be represented on energy profile diagrams and explained by the changes in the rates of the forward and reverse reactions	1.4%	58.5%	1,720	0.6

Which command verbs cost the most marks

Verb	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
explain	13.1%	58.3%	1,307	5.5
calculate	10.3%	65.1%	505	3.6
state	8.7%	62.6%	234	3.3
write	8.8%	65.0%	394	3.1
determine	6.3%	59.7%	493	2.5
justify	5.6%	54.9%	170	2.5
identify	5.8%	60.0%	689	2.3
draw	3.6%	53.7%	356	1.7

Draw has the lowest average on the page at 53.7%, and it is not where the marks go. Explain averages 58.3% but carries 13.1% of the paper against 3.6%, so it puts 5.5 marks per 100 at risk against 1.7. Each verb above is practised in the WACE Chemistry question bank, where the marking criteria show what SCSA expects the answer to do.

What this does not measure

Where to practise

Work the priority list from the top: Properties and structure of organic materials and Chemical equilibrium systems first, then the dot points above. Each topic page holds real SCSA questions with marking criteria attached. For what the papers actually cover, read WACE Chemistry most tested topics.

Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is used under licence, © School Curriculum and Standards Authority. See our SCSA licensing notice. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority does not endorse this publication or product.