Placement exams

Here you'll find answers to some common questions about the Chemistry Placement Exam at Wayne State University.

Practice problems

You will be given the periodic table, the value of R, the Ideal Gas Constant and N_A, Avogadro's number.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there a chemistry placement exam?

University-level chemistry is an important area of study for many disciplines and chemistry courses are an essential part of many degree programs. Engineering, pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, physics, nutrition and food science, nursing, physical and occupational therapy and chemistry are a few of the disciplines and programs that require chemistry.

Thus, taking chemistry is necessary for many students as they prepare for scientific and/or professional careers. However, learning chemistry is not easy nor should university chemistry be approached flippantly or without preparation. Transcripts have become important documents of your success in college. While one should not be obsessed with getting high grades, you should take your coursework seriously and ensure that you obtain grades that reflect your ability and knowledge. Taking, failing and retaking courses can become an expensive path toward a degree strategy that we neither recommend nor encourage.

Being adequately prepared for important classes greatly increases your chances of success. Taking a course for which you are not adequately prepared can require much more work than is normally expected or can lead to an unsatisfactory and unacceptable level of performance. We want your experience in chemistry to be a fruitful and enjoyable one. We attempt to direct you into a course that is both appropriate for your professional goals and consistent with your knowledge and skills. The reason we give the Chemistry Placement Exam is to increase the likelihood that you will enter a course where you will succeed - an outcome that satisfies both you and our teaching staff.

What is the function of the Chemistry Placement Exam?

The Chemistry Placement Exam gives us a quick measure of your chemistry knowledge and of your skills at "doing chemistry." These measures of your skills and knowledge will be useful only if they accurately reflect your background and abilities. Assuming that they do, based on your exam score, we place you into one of three groups:

Group I: score below the "pass level"

Group II: score above the pass level

Group III: score significantly above the pass level

Group I students are advised to take CHM 1040 a course with limited objectives that can increase your chemistry knowledge and sharpen your skills to prepare you for CHM 1100, the first general chemistry course for science majors. Students in Group I or those who, for whatever reason, fail CHM 1040, will not be allowed to enter CHM 1100 unless and until they complete CHM 1040 with a grade of C- or better.

Group II students may register for CHM 1100 and 1130 in any of the next four semesters.

Group III students having shown a superior knowledge in chemistry are invited to enroll in an honors section of CHM 1100.

What do we assume about you and your goals?

We assume that you take college courses to increase your knowledge, to prepare for higher-level courses, to obtain a degree and/or to enter into another program. We also assume that you want high-quality courses, wish to keep expenses to a minimum and plan to finish in a reasonable time. Following our placement policies is an expedient way to any or all of these goals.You should ensure that your performance on the placement exam reflects your knowledge and skills. It is the best way to avoid languishing in a lower-level course or struggling in a course that is at too high a level.

CHM 1100 assumes some prior knowledge of chemistry. To complete the course goals in the 14-week term, we need to begin CHM 1100 several chapters into the assigned textbook. It is the material in these chapters that we assume you know and which, not surprisingly, are the primary topics of the Chemistry Placement Exam and of CHM 1040.

What do we assume about your knowledge of chemistry?

The topics we assume you've learned include:

(References in parentheses correspond to the relevant chapter in Zumdahl's Basic Chemistry, the textbook for CHM 1040. It is on reserve in the library.)

Measurement and calculations

(Chapter 2)

Applying significant figures to problem solutions

Conversion among units such as mg and g and kg or K and C

Using the density equation to solve for an unknown

Chemical foundations: Elements, atoms, and ions

(Chapter 4)

Determining the number of protons, electrons and neutrons in a given atom

Determining the number of valence electrons in an atom

Nomenclature

(Chapter 5)

Determining the formula of a compound given its name

Naming nonmetal-nonmetal compounds

Naming ionic compounds with either a fixed charge metal or a variable charge metal

Chemical reactions

(Chapter 6)

Balancing chemical equations with lowest possible whole number coefficients

Chemical composition

(Chapter 8)

Converting mass to moles of a substance

Converting mass of an element to atoms of the element

Stoichiometry

(Chapter 9)

Completing stoichiometry problems, this includes limiting reactant, excess and percent yield

Solving stoichiometry problems (Chapter 9: Chemical Quantities, Chapter 13: Gases, and Chapter 15: Solutions)

Given

For solids moles or mass

For solutions moles or volume and concentration

For gases moles or pressure, volume and temperature

Finding the unknown

For solids and moles or mass

For solutions moles, mass or volume (given concentration)

For gases the moles, mass or volume at a given pressure and temperature

Applying the concept of limiting reactant for any of the above

Thermodynamics

(Chapter 10)

Understanding and applying laws of thermodynamics such as enthalpy change, internal energy, enthalpy of a reaction, Hess's Law, heat and work

Chemical modern atomic theory

(Chapter 11)

Giving the electron configuration of an atom or given the configuration to determine the atom

Predicting atomic trends such as atomic size and ionization energy

Chemical bonding

(Chapter 12)

Determining the Lewis structure of a compound or ion

Determining the molecular structure (shape) of a compound

Gases

(Chapter 13)

Applying the Ideal Gas Law to solve for an unknown variable

Solutions

(Chapter 15)

Calculating the molarity of a solution given mass of solute and volume of solution

Calculating the new molarity of a solution after dilution

Acids and bases

(Chapter 16)

Calculating the pH of a solution given the hydronium ion concentration ([H+] or [H3O])

Calculating the hydronium ion concentration given pH