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IB Diploma · session May 2027

Chemistry

Guide first taught September 2023 and first assessed May 2025.

22 subtopics189 diagrams109,807 words

Mocks: in the future, hold tight!

0 of 22 read

The higher-level subtopics are hidden, and so is the higher-level material inside the rest.

Structure 1 Models of the particulate nature of matterTest setThe theoryWorked examplesPractice testMark scheme

  1. S1.1 Introduction to the particulate nature of matter how can we model the particulate nature of matter? 9 diagrams
  2. S1.2 The nuclear atom how do the nuclei of atoms differ? +1 HL 7 diagrams
  3. S1.3 Electron configurations how can we model the energy states of electrons in atoms? +2 HL 9 diagrams
  4. S1.4 Counting particles by mass: The mole how do we quantify matter on the atomic scale? 7 diagrams
  5. S1.5 Ideal gases how does the model of ideal gas behaviour help us to predict the behaviour of real gases? 6 diagrams

Structure 2 Models of bonding and structure

  1. S2.1 The ionic model what determines the ionic nature and properties of a compound? 7 diagrams
  2. S2.2 The covalent model what determines the covalent nature and properties of a substance? +7 HL 17 diagrams
  3. S2.3 The metallic model what determines the metallic nature and properties of an element? +1 HL 6 diagrams
  4. S2.4 From models to materials what role do bonding and structure have in the design of materials? +1 HL 7 diagrams

Structure 3 Classification of matter

  1. S3.1 The periodic table: Classification of elements how does the periodic table help us to predict patterns and trends in the properties of elements? +4 HL 10 diagrams
  2. S3.2 Functional groups: Classification of organic compounds how does the classification of organic molecules help us to predict their properties? +6 HL 10 diagrams

Reactivity 1 What drives chemical reactions?

  1. R1.1 Measuring enthalpy changes what can be deduced from the temperature change that accompanies chemical or physical change? 6 diagrams
  2. R1.2 Energy cycles in reactions how does the law of conservation of energy let us predict the energy change of a reaction we have never measured? +3 HL 8 diagrams
  3. R1.3 Energy from fuels what are the challenges of using chemical energy to meet our energy needs? 7 diagrams
  4. R1.4 Entropy and spontaneity what determines the direction of chemical change? HL only 7 diagrams

Reactivity 2 How much, how fast and how far?

  1. R2.1 How much? The amount of chemical change how are chemical equations used to calculate reacting ratios? 7 diagrams
  2. R2.2 How fast? The rate of chemical change how can the rate of a reaction be controlled? +4 HL 10 diagrams
  3. R2.3 How far? The extent of chemical change how can the extent of a reversible reaction be influenced? +3 HL 8 diagrams

Reactivity 3 What are the mechanisms of chemical change?

  1. R3.1 Proton transfer reactions what happens when protons are transferred? +5 HL 9 diagrams
  2. R3.2 Electron transfer reactions what happens when electrons are transferred? +4 HL 10 diagrams
  3. R3.3 Electron sharing reactions what happens when a species possesses an unpaired electron? 8 diagrams
  4. R3.4 Electron-pair sharing reactions what happens when reactants share their electron pairs with others? +7 HL 14 diagrams

The course in one page

The course in one page. Standard and higher level, for the guide first taught September 2023 and first assessed May 2025 — the guide May 2027 candidates sit.

What changed, and why it matters

This is a rewritten course. The old numbering (Topics 1–21) and the four options — including Biochemistry and Medicinal chemistry — no longer exist, and neither does Paper 3. Some of the option content did not vanish: materials and energy topics moved into the examinable core at Structure 2.4 and Reactivity 1.3. Anything you revise from must be dated 2023 or later.

Content is organised under two organising questions:

Structure — what things are made of

Structure 1Models of the particulate nature of matter — atoms, electrons, the mole, gases
Structure 2Models of bonding and structure — ionic, covalent, metallic, and what follows from each
Structure 3Classification of matter — periodicity and the organic families

Reactivity — what things do

Reactivity 1What drives chemical reactions? — enthalpy, entropy, Gibbs energy
Reactivity 2How much, how fast and how far? — stoichiometry, kinetics, equilibrium
Reactivity 3What are the mechanisms of chemical change? — acids and bases, redox, organic mechanisms

The pairing is deliberate. Structure 2 tells you a molecule is polar; Reactivity 3 tells you what that means for how it reacts. Questions that cross the two halves are normal.

The papers

Standard levelHigher level
Paper 190 min, 55 marks120 min, 75 marks
Paper 290 min, 50 marks150 min, 90 marks

There is no Paper 3 and there are no options.

Paper 1A is multiple choice; Paper 1B is data-based, built on an unfamiliar experiment you must read, interrogate and draw conclusions from. Paper 2 is short and extended response.

The data booklet is provided in every paper. Learning to find things in it quickly is worth real marks — constants, bond enthalpies, standard electrode potentials, IR and NMR data are all there, and time spent hunting is time not spent answering.

How it is marked

Point-based schemes, one mark per distinct idea. Three habits decide grades:

Show the working in calculations. Method marks survive an arithmetic slip; a bare wrong answer scores zero. Method marks also carry forward, so an error in part (a) need not cost part (b).

Units and significant figures. A numerically correct answer with no unit, or with the wrong unit, loses the final mark. Give answers to the same number of significant figures as the least precise data in the question.

States and balancing. Chemical equations must balance, and state symbols are required whenever the question implies them — particularly in thermochemistry and ionic equations.

Assessment objectives

Roughly
AO1Knowledgestate, list, outline — recall
AO2Applicationapply to an unfamiliar substance or situation
AO3Analysis and evaluationinterpret data, evaluate a method, construct an argument

Command terms, and what each one obliges you to write

TermWhat must appear on the page
State / ListThe answer alone.
OutlineA brief account, main points only.
DescribeWhat happens. No why.
ExplainThe reason or mechanism. Description alone scores nothing.
DeduceA conclusion reached from the information given, with the reasoning shown.
DetermineA value obtained by calculation or from data, with working.
CalculateA numerical answer, with working, units and correct significant figures.
DistinguishDifferences set against each other.
Compare and contrastSimilarities and differences.
SuggestA plausible answer for an unfamiliar case; reasoning, not recall.
SketchA graph with correct shape, axes labelled, key features marked. Not plotted.
DiscussA balanced account.

Deduce is the term students most often under-answer. It is not "state" — the evidence you used must be on the page.

Educerie · written from the published IB Diploma Programme structure for Chemistry, first assessment 2025. Original text. Paper durations and mark totals checked against the May 2027 examination schedule. Last reviewed 5 September 2026.