A-level Chemistry 2027: data sheet, papers, exam dates and grade boundaries

A-level Chemistry data sheet and periodic table

Every board gives you a clean copy in the exam, so you never need to memorise the periodic table or spectroscopy values. What you do need is to know where everything is, so practise with the same sheet.

Download the OCR A-level Chemistry data sheet and the AQA A-level Chemistry data booklet and keep a copy beside you whenever you practise.

A-level Chemistry papers by board

AQA A-level Chemistry specification

The AQA A-level Chemistry specification splits the content into physical, inorganic and organic chemistry. Paper 1 is physical and inorganic, Paper 2 is physical and organic, and Paper 3 can test anything.

OCR A-level Chemistry

OCR Chemistry B (Salters) has the same timings with Fundamentals of chemistry (110 marks), Scientific literacy in chemistry (100 marks) and Practical skills in chemistry (60 marks).

Edexcel A-level Chemistry

Edexcel (9CH0) sets Paper 1, Advanced Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, and Paper 2, Advanced Organic and Physical Chemistry, at 1 hour 45 minutes each, then Paper 3, General and Practical Principles in Chemistry, at 2 hours 30 minutes. The three add up to 300 marks. WJEC A-level Chemistry is the Welsh board's version, with its own papers.

A-level Chemistry exam dates 2027

Dates are from the final timetables of AQA, OCR and Edexcel. Results day is Thursday 12 August 2027, and Wednesday 23 June is the contingency day (JCQ).

A-level Chemistry grade boundaries

Boundaries are set on your total across all three papers and change every year. These are from June 2026 (AQA, OCR and Edexcel).

AQA A-level Chemistry grade boundaries in percentages: an A* took 85.0%, an A 73.3%, a C 47.3% and an E 22.0%. In June 2026 chemistry boundaries sat higher than biology's, so dropped marks on routine calculations cost more.

Required practicals and the Practical Endorsement

The Department for Education's rules require at least 12 practical activities for the Practical Endorsement. Your teacher assesses it, and it is reported separately from your grade. The written papers also test practical skills, so expect questions on titrations, rates, enthalpy changes and organic preparations. Analyse results in the Practical Data Lab, or run a virtual titration in the Titration Lab.

A-level Chemistry calculations, worked through

At least 20% of the marks test maths at GCSE standard or above, more than biology's 10%. We wrote these questions for this guide.

Titration

Question: 25.0 cm³ of 0.100 mol dm⁻³ sodium hydroxide is neutralised by 21.40 cm³ of hydrochloric acid. Find the concentration of the acid.

1. Moles of NaOH = 0.100 × 25.0 ÷ 1000 = 0.00250 mol.
2. The ratio NaOH : HCl is 1 : 1, so moles of HCl = 0.00250 mol.
3. Concentration = 0.00250 ÷ (21.40 ÷ 1000) = 0.117 mol dm⁻³ to 3 significant figures.

Divide cm³ by 1000 to get dm³ before you use c = n ÷ V. Check it with the Molarity Calculator.

pH of a weak acid

Question: a weak acid HA has Ka = 1.74 × 10⁻⁵ mol dm⁻³. Find the pH of a 0.100 mol dm⁻³ solution.

So pH = −log(1.32 × 10⁻³) = 2.88. This assumes so little HA dissociates that [HA] stays at 0.100. For comparison, a strong acid at 0.0200 mol dm⁻³ has pH = −log 0.0200 = 1.70, because it dissociates completely. Try more with the pH Calculator.

The ideal gas equation

Question: 0.0500 mol of gas is held at 298 K in a 1.20 dm³ container. Find the pressure. R = 8.314 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ is on the OCR data sheet.

The volume must be in m³: 1.20 dm³ is 1.20 × 10⁻³ m³. Leaving it in dm³ gives an answer 1000 times too big, the most common slip with this equation.

Rate equations

If rate = k[A]²[B] and you double [A] and triple [B], the rate goes up by 2² × 3 = 12 times. The orders come from experiments, never from the balanced equation. Now try a rate equation question from our Reaction Kinetics course and press Mark.

A-level Chemistry past papers

Past papers, mark schemes and examiners' reports are free from AQA, OCR and Edexcel, though the newest are often kept back for teachers to use as mocks. Read the examiners' reports: they show which explanations lost marks, which a mark scheme alone doesn't tell you.

Common A-level Chemistry mistakes

• Unit slips: cm³ to dm³ in concentration, dm³ to m³ in pV = nRT, and kJ to J in energy questions.
• Orders from the equation. Rate equation orders come from experimental data.
• Curly arrows from the wrong place. Arrows start at a lone pair or a bond and point to where the electrons go.
• "Stronger bonds" in boiling points when the question is about intermolecular forces. Say which forces, and between which particles.
• Rounding mid-calculation. Keep full values and round only the final answer, to the number of significant figures in the data.
• Vague observations. "It changed colour" scores nothing: give the start and end colours.

Use a daily paper as a short timed mock

Year 13 mocks run through the winter, and a full chemistry paper takes 2 hours or more. On busier days, sit today's Year 1 or Year 2 paper instead, with your data sheet beside you. For dates and whether mocks count, see the A-level mocks guide.

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