Chemistry Placement Exam
List of Topics
Measurement
 Know metric system prefixes
 Understand the difference between accuracy and precision
 Understand the concept of uncertainty
 Ability to read glassware, thermometer, etc to the correct number of significant figures
 Ability to determine the correct number of significant figures in a measurement and complete
calculations to the correct number of significant figures
 Ability to use significant figures to communicate precision and accuracy
 Ability to convert between metric system prefixes
 Ability to convert between metric and English system (given conversion factors)
 Understand the concept of density
 Ability to complete calculations involving density
Matter
 Ability to identify the building blocks of matter and know the difference between the terms used
to describe matter (i.e. the difference between atom and element)
 Knowledge of the basic organization of the periodic table including the names and location of
groups, families, etc…)
 Ability to draw and explain the structure of the an atom including number and location of the
subatomic particles
 Ability to distinguish between atomic number, mass number and atomic mass
 Understand the difference between a chemical and physical property
 Ability to predict how atoms will ionize based on their position in the periodic table
 Ability to distinguish between ionic and molecular compounds
 Ability to predict ionic compound formulas from individual ions
 Ability to name basic molecular and ionic compounds
Quantifying chemical reactions
 Understand the Mole concept (including Avogadro’s Number)
 Understand and be able to calculate Molar mass for atoms and molecules
 Ability to perform the following conversions:
o Gram to moles, moles to grams, moles to molecules, molecules to moles, grams to
molecules, molecules to grams
 Understand the difference between empirical formula and molecular formula
 Ability to calculate % composition
 Ability to represent chemical reactions with a chemical equation
 Ability to balance a chemical equation and understand that this allows us to represent an
understanding of the Law of Conservation of Mass
 Ability to determine mol ratios from chemical equations
 Ability to perform Stoichiometric Calculations (Given the quantity in grams of one substance in
a reaction, be able to calculate the quantity of another substance in the reaction)
 Understand the concept of a limiting reactant and ability to determine which reactant in a
chemical reaction will determine how much product could be produced
 Ability to calculate a % yield
Concentrations of Reactants in Solution
 Understand the concept and definition of Molarity
 Understand how molarity is used as a conversion factor
 Ability to perform calculations involving Molarity
 mols to Liters, Liters to mols, grams to Molarity, etc.
 Ability to describe how to prepare a solution from a solid
 Ability to describe and calculate how to prepare a solution from another solution (dilution)
 M1V1 = M2V2
 Ability to solve solution stoichiometry problems including limiting reactant and determining
amounts of reactants left over
 Understand how a titration works, what’s going on in solution during a titration, and the concept
of the “end-point”
 Perform calculations regarding Titrations
Aqueous Reactions and Metathesis
 Understand electrolytes vs. non-electrolytes
 Understand weak vs. strong electrolyte
 Understand the concept of dissociation
 Ability to write the molecular, complete ionic and net ionic equations for both precipitation and
neutralization reactions
 Ability to determine spectator ions
 Ability to predict the products of a metathesis reaction
Acids, Bases and Neutralization Reactions
 Understand and know the definition of an acid and a base
 Understand and know the difference between weak and strong acids and bases
 Predict the products of a reaction between an acid and a base
 Ability to write the molecular, complete ionized and net ionic equation for neutralization
reactions