How Many GCSE Chemistry Papers Are There?

Preparing for your GCSE Chemistry exams can be overwhelming. It's hard to know how many papers you'll need to sit and how they're structured. This article will cover the GCSE chemistry exams for AQA, Edexcel, OCR, and WJEC. By the end, you'll know how each exam board organises its assessments. This will help you focus your revision and tackle your exams with confidence.

GCSE Chemistry Exam Boards

The GCSE Chemistry exam boards covered in this article are:

• AQA

• Edexcel (Pearson)

• OCR (Gateway Science and Twenty First Century Science)

• WJEC (primarily in Wales)

The exam boards organise their GCSE Chemistry exams in distinct ways. So, it's important to know what to expect based on your exam board. Each exam board splits its course into a set of papers. They have different formats, time limits, and content coverage. 

We'll break down the number of papers for each board. We'll explain their structure and give a basic overview of the Chemistry they cover. Let’s begin with AQA, where we’ll explore how many papers you’ll sit and what they include.

AQA GCSE Chemistry Papers

Number of Papers

AQA GCSE Chemistry students will sit 2 papers: paper 1 and paper 2. 

Papers 1 and 2 both have Foundation tier and Higher tier versions. 

Foundation tier students can achieve grades 1 to 5, and Higher tier students can achieve grades 3 to 9.

Format and Structure

Paper 1: 

Paper 1 is a 1 hour 45 minute exam, which is worth 100 marks and contributes to half (50%) of your final grade. 

The paper will have multiple choice, structured, and short answer questions. It will also have open response questions. These will cover from the following topics:

• Atomic structure and the periodic table 

• Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter 

• Quantitative chemistry 

• Chemical changes 

• Energy changes 

Paper 2: 

Paper 2 is also a 1 hour 45 minute exam, which is worth 100 marks and contributes to half (50%) of your final grade. 

The paper will have a mix of question types. It will include multiple choice, structured, closed short answers, and open response questions. These will cover from the following topics:

• The rate and extent of chemical change 

• Organic chemistry 

• Chemical analysis 

• Chemistry of the atmosphere 

• Using resources 

Paper 2 can also include content and ideas from:

• Atomic structure and the periodic table 

• Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter 

• Quantitative chemistry

Overview of the AQA GCSE Chemistry exam and papers

Required practicals

You must complete the eight required practicals, which are:

1. Making salts

2. Neutralisation

3. Electrolysis

4. Temperature changes

5. Rates of reaction

6. Chromatography

7. Identifying Ions

8. Water Purification

You complete these practicals at school. Keep a set of notes for each experiment. 

Your school must submit a practical science statement to AQA to confirm that you have completed the required practicals.

All papers can assess your knowledge of the eight Required Practical experiments. The exam questions will test your knowledge from the required practicals. They will count for at least 15% of your GCSE Chemistry marks.

The Save My Exams website has revision notes, topic questions, flashcards, and past papers for the AQA GCSE Chemistry course.

Edexcel GCSE Chemistry Papers

Number of Papers

Edexcel GCSE Chemistry students will sit 2 papers: paper 1 and paper 2. 

Papers 1 and 2 both have Foundation tier and Higher tier versions. 

Foundation tier students can achieve grades 1 to 5, and Higher tier students can achieve grades 4 to 9.

Format and Structure

Paper 1: 

Paper 1 is a 1 hour 45 minute exam, which is worth 100 marks and contributes to half (50%) of your final grade. 

The paper has ten questions. They are a mix of multiple choice, short answer, calculations, and long, open-response questions. These will cover from the following topics:

• Key concepts in chemistry

• States of matter and mixtures

• Chemical changes

• Extracting metals and equilibria

• Separate chemistry 1

Paper 2: 

Paper 2 is also a 1 hour 45 minute exam, which is worth 100 marks and contributes to half (50%) of your final grade. 

The paper has ten questions. They are a mix of multiple choice, short answer, calculations, and open-response questions. These will cover from the following topics:

• Key concepts in chemistry

• Groups in the periodic table

• Rates of reaction and energy changes

• Fuels and Earth science

• Separate chemistry 2

Overview of the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry exam and papers

Mandatory core practicals

You must complete the eight mandatory core practicals, which are:

1. Simple distillation and paper chromatography

2. pH changes

3. Preparing copper sulfate crystals

4. Electrolysis of copper sulfate solution

5. Acid-alkali titration

6. Rates of reaction

7. Identify ions 

8. Calorimetry

You complete these practicals in your school. Keep a set of notes for each experiment. 

Your school completes and submits a Practical Science Statement to confirm that you have completed the mandatory core practicals.

All papers may assess your knowledge of any of the eight Required Practical experiments.

The Save My Exams website has revision notes, topic questions, flashcards, and past papers for the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry course.

OCR (Gateway Science) Chemistry A GCSE Papers

Number of Papers

OCR (Gateway Science) Chemistry A GCSE students sit 2 papers. 

Foundation tier students can achieve grades 1 to 5 by sitting papers 1 and 2. 

Higher tier students can achieve grades 3 to 9 by sitting papers 3 and 4. 

Format and Structure

Papers 1 (Foundation) and 3 (Higher): 

Papers 1 and 3 are 1 hour 45 minute exams, which are worth 90 marks and contribute to half (50%) of your final grade. 

Papers 1 and 3 include content from the following topics:

• Particles

• Elements, compounds and mixtures

• Chemical reactions

• Practical skills

Papers 2 (Foundation) and 4 (Higher): 

Papers 2 and 4 are also 1 hour 45 minute exams, which are worth 90 marks and contribute to half (50%) of your final grade. 

Papers 2 and 4 assume knowledge of all topics. They must include content from the following topics:

• Predicting and identifying reactions and products

• Monitoring and controlling chemical reactions

• Global challenges

• Practical skills

All papers are split into:

• Section A contains only multiple choice questions. It is worth 15 marks.

• Section B has short answer questions and a six-mark, extended response question. It is worth 75 mark

Overview of the OCR (Gateway Science) Chemistry A GCSE exam and papers

Practicals skills

You must complete the eight practical activity groups (PAGs), which are:

1. Reactivity trend

2. Electrolysis

3. Separation techniques

4. Distillation

5. Identification of species

6. Titration

7. Production of salts

8. Measuring rates of reaction

You complete these practicals in your school. Keep a set of notes for each experiment. 

Your school must submit a Practical Science Statement. It must confirm that you have completed the practical activity groups.

All papers can assess your knowledge of any of the eight practical activity groups. Such exam questions will test your knowledge from the practicals. They will count for at least 15% of your GCSE Chemistry grade.

The Save My Exams website has revision notes, topic questions, and past papers for the OCR (Gateway Science) Chemistry A GCSE course.

OCR (Twenty First Century Science) Chemistry B GCSE Papers

Number of Papers

OCR (Twenty First Century Science) Chemistry B GCSE students sit 2 papers. 

The papers are:

• Breadth in chemistry (Components 01 and 03) 

• Depth in chemistry (Components 02 and 04). 

Foundation tier students can achieve grades 1 to 5 by taking the Breadth in chemistry paper 01 and the Depth in chemistry paper 02. 

Higher tier students can achieve grades 3 to 9 by taking the Breadth in chemistry 03 paper and the Depth in chemistry 04 papers. 

Format and Structure

Breadth in chemistry (Components 01 and 03) paper: 

The Breadth in chemistry paper is a 1 hour 45 minute exam. It is worth 90 marks and counts for 50% of your final grade. 

This paper contains short answer questions, multiple choice, and line drawings.

The Breadth in chemistry (01 or 03) paper includes all topics:

• Air and water

• Chemical patterns

• Chemicals of the natural environment

• Material choices

• Chemical analysis

• Making useful chemicals

• Ideas about Science

• Practical Skills

Depth in chemistry (Components 02 and 04) paper: 

The Depth in chemistry paper is a 1 hour 45 minute exam. It is worth 90 marks and counts for 50% of your final grade. 

This paper goes deeper into the content. It has longer questions, including two Level of Response ones.

The Depth in chemistry (02 or 04) paper includes content from all topics:

• Air and water

• Chemical patterns

• Chemicals of the natural environment

• Material choices

• Chemical analysis

• Making useful chemicals

• Ideas about Science

• Practical Skills

Overview of the OCR (Twenty First Century Science) Chemistry B GCSE exam and papers

Practicals skills

You must complete the eight practical activity groups (PAGs), which are:

1. Reactivity trend

2. Electrolysis

3. Separation techniques

4. Distillation

5. Identification of species

6. Titration

7. Production of salts

8. Measuring rates of reaction

You complete these practicals in your school. Keep a set of notes for each experiment. 

Your school must submit a Practical Science Statement. It must confirm that you have completed the practical activity groups.

All papers can assess your knowledge of any of the eight practical activity groups. Such exam questions will test your knowledge from the practicals. They will count for at least 15% of your GCSE Chemistry grade.

The Save My Exams website has past papers for the OCR (Twenty First Century Science) Chemistry B GCSE course.

WJEC GCSE Chemistry Papers

Number of Papers

WJEC GCSE in Chemistry students sit 3 papers.

The papers are:

• Unit 1: Chemical Substances, Reactions And Essential Resources

• Unit 2: Chemical Bonding, Application Of Chemical Reactions and Organic Chemistry 

• Unit 3: Practical Assessment

There are English and Welsh language versions of this qualification.

Foundation tier students can achieve grades C to G. 

Higher tier students can achieve grades A* to D. 

Format and Structure

Unit 1: Chemical Substances, Reactions And Essential Resources paper: 

The unit 1 paper is a 1 hour 45 minute exam, which is worth 80 marks and contributes to 45% of your final grade. 

This paper has a mix of question types, some in a practical context. They include short answer, structured, extended writing, and data response questions. These will cover from the following topics:

• The nature of substances and chemical reactions

• Atomic structure and the Periodic Table

• Water

• The ever-changing Earth

• Rate of chemical change

• Limestone

Unit 2: Chemical Bonding, Application Of Chemical Reactions and Organic Chemistry paper: 

The unit 2 paper is a 1 hour 45 minute exam, which is worth 80 marks and contributes to 45% of your final grade. 

This paper has a mix of question types, some in a practical context. They include short answer, structured, extended writing, and data response questions. These will cover from the following topics:

• Bonding, structure and properties

• Acids, bases and salts

• Metals and their extraction

• Chemical reactions and energy

• Crude oil, fuels and organic chemistry

• Reversible reactions, industrial processes and important chemicals

The unit 2 paper also includes content on formulae, equations, and calculations from the nature of substances and chemical reactions topic. It also includes all the chemical tests from Unit 1.

Unit 3: Practical Assessment paper: 

Unit 3 is a 30-mark, externally marked practical test. It is worth 10% of your final grade. It is completed in school. It often takes place in the first half of the spring term (January – February) of the final year of study.

Unit 3 is a practical task that is split into 2 sections:

• Section A - Obtaining results (6 marks) 

• Section B - Analysing and evaluating results (24 marks)

Each section is expected to be completed in 1 hour.

In section A, students may work in groups of up to three. They gather results from the given experiment. This is done under limited control. Students can work together to find the answers. But, they must submit their own answers to any questions. 

In section B, students are examined on their ability to analyse and evaluate the data from their section A practical. This is carried out under high control, i.e. exam conditions, and is completed individually.

Overview of the WJEC GCSE Chemistry exam and papers

The Save My Exams website has revision notes, topic questions and past papers for the WJEC GCSE in Chemistry course.

Key Differences Between Exam Boards

Each exam board has slight differences in the content that is examined and which paper(s) contain content from the specification topics, as already outlined.

Exam papers

For AQA GCSE Chemistry, Edexcel GCSE Chemistry, OCR Gateway Science GCSE Chemistry A and OCR Twenty First Science GCSE Chemistry B you will sit two 1 hour 45 minutes exam papers. 

For WJEC GCSE Chemistry, you will sit two 1 hour 45 minute exams. You will also complete a 1 hour practical assessment and sit a 1 hour exam based on it.

Marks and topics

The AQA Chemistry papers are worth 100 marks each. 

• Paper 1 includes content from topics 1 - 5.

• Paper 2 includes content from topics 6 - 10.

• Content from fundamental topics 1 - 3 also features in Paper 2.

The Edexcel Chemistry papers are worth 100 marks each. 

• Paper 1 includes content from topics 2 - 5.

• Paper 2 includes content from topics 6 - 9. 

• Content from topic 1 features in both papers.

The OCR Gateway Science GCSE Chemistry A papers are worth 90 marks each. 

• Paper 1 includes content from topics 1 - 3.

• Paper 2 includes content from topics 4 - 6. 

• Content from topic 7 on Practical Skills features in both papers.

The OCR Twenty First Science GCSE Chemistry B papers are worth 90 marks each. Unlike other courses:

• These papers have specific names: Breadth in Chemistry and Depth in Chemistry.

• They include content from all topics.

• The Higher and Foundation tier papers are called components and have different codes.

WJEC GCSE Chemistry is the only exam that has 3 papers. Papers 1 and 2 are worth 80 marks each. 

• Paper 1 includes content from topics 1.1 - 1.6.

• Paper 2 includes content from topics 2.1 - 2.6. 

• Paper 3 is a practical exam worth 30 marks. It has 6 marks for a practical experiment. It has 24 marks for a traditional exam on that experiment.

Practical skills

For AQA GCSE Chemistry, Edexcel GCSE Chemistry, OCR Gateway Science GCSE Chemistry A and OCR Twenty First Science GCSE Chemistry B you must complete a specified set of 8 experiments. 

• AQA calls them required practicals. 

• Edexcel calls them mandatory core practicals.

• Both OCR courses call them practical activity groups.

AQA and both OCR courses say that at least 15% of both exam papers will be about the specified experiments. Edexcel says both papers will assess the experiments but gives no percentage.

For WJEC GCSE Chemistry, the main specification includes a variety of experiments. WJEC is clear that you must complete one given experiment. You will then be assessed and formally examined on the experiment.

Grades

For AQA GCSE Chemistry, Edexcel GCSE Chemistry, OCR Gateway Science GCSE Chemistry A and OCR Twenty First Science GCSE Chemistry B:

• If you sit the Higher tier papers, you can achieve grade 9 to grade 3.

• If you sit the Foundation tier papers, you can achieve grade 5 to grade 1.

• If you do not score enough marks to qualify for a grade, you are awarded a U.

For WJEC GCSE Chemistry:

• If you sit the Higher tier papers, you can achieve grade A* to grade D.

• If you sit the Foundation tier papers, you can achieve grade C to grade G.

• If you do not score enough marks to qualify for a grade, you are awarded a U.

Question types 

According to each specification, the official question types in each paper are:

• AQA GCSE Chemistry Papers 1 and 2

  • A mix of multiple choice, structured, closed short answers and open response questions

• Edexcel GCSE Chemistry Papers 1 and 2 

  • A mix of multiple choice, short answer, calculations, and open response questions.

• OCR Gateway Science GCSE Chemistry A papers 1 and 2

  • Section A - multiple choice questions 

  • Section B - short answer questions and a six-mark Level of Response question.

• OCR Twenty First Science GCSE Chemistry B

  • Breadth in chemistry paper - short answer questions, multiple choice, and line drawings

  • Depth in chemistry paper - longer questions, including two Level of Response questions

• WJEC GCSE Chemistry

  • A mixture of short answer, structured, extended writing and data response questions

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Explore Our GCSE Chemistry Revision Resources

References

• AQA GCSE Chemistry

• Edexcel GCSE Chemistry

• OCR (Gateway Science) Chemistry A

• OCR (Twenty First Century Science) Chemistry B

• WJEC GCSE Chemistry

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