The subject matter that you are required to learn in order to take the examination is outlined in the WAEC syllabus for Chemistry. This document details the aims and objectives, as well as the format, for the Chemistry examination.
Your preparation for the examination absolutely requires that you read over the Chemistry syllabus. You can use it as a reference to find out what kinds of things you should read about. In addition, there are some notes on different ideas that you ought to focus on mastering.
Preparing for an exam without using the Chemistry syllabus is like to working on a farm without the proper agricultural equipment. You will find that you are unable to accomplish anything.
Make using the syllabus the first thing you do when getting ready for the exam.
This post provides the West African Examination Council’s Chemistry curriculum, as well as a list of texts that are suggested for the course (WAEC).
If you have any queries, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. I am quite interested in your response.
Contents
WAEC Chemistry Course Outline
This curriculum is meant to be tested, so the topics aren’t necessarily in the order that they should be taught.
When making the syllabus, the following were taken as givens:
That candidate must have covered the Integrated Science/Basic Science or General Science and Mathematics syllabuses at the Junior Secondary School (JSS)/Junior High School (J.H.S) level; That candidate would do as many of the suggested activities and project work as possible, thus developing the intended competencies and skills as outlined in the relevant Chemistry teaching syllabuses; That schools that offer the subject have well-equipped laboratories.
Note: Candidates must know about significant figures, SI units, and the conventional/IUPAC nomenclature system.
The goals and aims of the curriculum are to test candidates.
understanding of basic chemistry concepts, level of laboratory skills, including awareness of hazards and safety measures, level of awareness of the relationship between chemistry and another field, level of awareness of the relationship between chemistry and industry, the environment, and everyday life in terms of benefits and risks, and skills in critical and logical thinking.
Examination Scheme
There will be three papers, which must all be taken: papers 1, 2, and 3.
Papers 1 and 2 will be combined into one test that will be taken at the same time.
Paper 1 will have fifty objective multiple-choice questions from Section A of the course outline (ie the portion of the syllabus which is common to all candidates).
For 50 points, candidates will have one hour to answer all of the questions.
Paper 2
It will be a two-hour essay that covers the whole course and is worth 100 points. The paper will be split into two parts, A and B.
Section A will have ten short, structured questions from the common part of the course outline. (That is, Section A of the course outline).
For 25 points, candidates will have to answer all of the questions.
Section B will have two questions from Section A, which is the common part of the syllabus, and two questions from the part of the syllabus that is specific to the candidate’s country (i.e. either Section B or C of the syllabus).
Any three of the questions will have to be answered by the candidates. Each question is worth 25 points.
Paper 3
This will be a practical test that takes 2 hours for school candidates or 1 hour and 30 minutes as an alternative for private candidates.
Each version of the paper must have at least three questions and is worth 50 points.
The questions will be about these parts of the curriculum:
One question on quantitative analysis; One question on qualitative analysis;
The third question will see how well the candidates know the activities that are suggested in their teaching plans.
WAEC Syllabus for Chemistry
Getting Started with Chemistry
Measurement of physical quantities.
How important scientific measurements are in chemistry.
How science works
How the atom is put together
Gross things about the atom
Atomic number and proton number, number of neutrons, isotopes, atomic mass and mass number
Based on the Carbon-12 scale, relative atomic mass (Ar) and relative molecular mass (Mr)
Matter’s traits and how it works.
Changes in the physical and chemical properties of matter at the particle level
Electron Configuration
Orbitals
There are rules and guidelines for filling in electrons.
Methods for separating mixtures that are usually used
Sorting mixtures into groups.
Separation techniques
Standards for being clean
Chemistry by the Periods
How often things happen.
In the periodic table, there are different groups of elements.
Periodic law
Changes in the table of elements
Elemental changes over time in the third period (Na – Ar)
How acids and metals, their oxides, and trioxocarbonates react with each other (IV)
Periodic gradation of the halogens (F, Cl, Br, and I), which are in Group 7
Parts of the first series of transitions 21Sc – 30Zn
Bonds in chemistry
Bonding between atoms
Ionic bonds and compounds are made.
Ionic compounds have certain qualities.
How ionic compounds are given names.
Covalent bonds and compounds are made.
Covalent compounds have certain qualities.
Coordinate (dative) covalent bonding
Shapes of compounds made of molecules.
Bonding of metals
Things that led to its formation.
Metals have certain traits.
Bonding between molecules
Forces between the molecules in covalent compounds
Hydrogen bonding
van der Waals forces
A look at all types of bonds
Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry
Symbols, equations, and math formulas.
symbols for chemicals
Empirical and molecular formulae
Names of chemical compounds and their chemical equations
Laws of how chemicals mix
How much something weighs
Mole ratios
Solutions
Terms for focusing
The usual answers.
The method of dilution is used to make solutions from liquid solutes.
How things work
The theory of how things move.
Changes in the way things behave.
Diffusion
Gases
How gases work and what they are made of
The laws on gas
How some gases are made in the lab and what their properties are.
Liquids vapour and gases.
Solids
How things are and what they are
Different kinds and shapes
Solids have certain traits.
How diamonds and graphite are made and what they are used for.
figuring out the melting points of solids that stick together.
Changes in Energy and in Energy
Enthalpy and energy
Changes in energy and their effects are explained, defined, and shown.
Salts, bases, and acid
How to explain what acids and bases are.
How acids and bases look and how they work chemically.
Electrolytes include acids, bases, and salts.
Putting acids and bases into groups.
The idea of pH
Salts
Salts are made in the lab and in factories.
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Uses
Water breaks down salt.
Deliquescent, efflorescent and hygroscopic compound.
Acid-Base indicators
Titration of acid-base
How well things dissolve
General principles
How solubility works in real life
Kinetics and equilibrium in chemistry System
How fast things happen:
Things that affect rates
Theories of how fast things happen
Analysis of graphs and how to read them
Equilibrium: General Principle
Le Chatelier’s principle
Reactions to REDOX
The process of oxidation and reduction.
Agents that make things worse or better.
Redox equations
Electrochemical cells
Standard electrode potential
Drawing a diagram of a cell and writing down the e.m.f. of the cell;
Electrochemical cells are used to do things.
Electrolysis
Electrolytic cells
The basic ideas behind electrolysis
Factors that affect the release of species;
Faraday’s laws
How it works in real life
Metals can rust.
Carbon Compounds and Their Chemistry
Classification
Groups that do things
Organic compounds are separated and cleaned.
Petroleum/crude oil
Getting organic compounds’ empirical and molecular formulas and molecular structures.
Organic compounds have the following general traits:
Similar stories
Isomerism.
Alkanes
Sources, properties
Uses.
Alkenes
Properties and sources
Uses
Detection in the lab.
Alkynes
Sources, unique qualities, and uses
Chemical changes happen.
Benzene
Structure and how things work;
Properties of chemicals
Alkanols
Sources, names, and organization;
Classification
Properties of matter
Properties of chemicals
Test in the lab
Uses.
Alkanoic acids
Sources, naming, and structure; Physical characteristics
Properties of chemicals
Test in the lab
Uses of alkanoates as derivatives of alkanoic acids: sources, nomenclature, preparation, and structure;
Properties of matter
Properties of chemicals
Uses
The environment, industry, and chemistry
Chemical business
Pollution of the air, water, and soil
Biotechnology
Biochemistry 101 and Man-Made Polymers
Where proteins come from and what they do
How protein is used
Amino acids
Fats/oils
Sources and assets;
How fats and oils are made in general
Getting soap ready
Uses for fats and oils.
Carbohydrates
Origins and names; Properties
Carbohydrates are examples of polymers;
Uses
Properties of man-made polymers;
How polymers are used
WAEC Practicals in Chemistry
Skills and rules that apply to everyone
Candidates will need to know how to do the following things and understand these ideas:
Measurements of mass and volume; Making standard solutions and diluting them;
Filtering, re-crystallizing, and figuring out the melting point;
Temperatures of neutralization and solutions are measured;
Using colorimetry to figure out the pH of different solutions;
How to use concentration versus time curves to figure out how fast a reaction is happening;
How to figure out the constants of equilibrium for a simple system.
Analysis of numbers
Titrations of acid and base
Using standard solutions of acids and alkalis and the indicators methyl orange, methyl red, and phenolphthalein to find out:
How much acid or alkaline a solution has;
The molar masses of acids, bases, and water at the point where they crystallize.
How well acids and bases mix with water;
How pure acids and bases are in terms of percent;
Analysis of a mixture of Na2CO3 and NaHCO3 using two indicators (Ghanaians only).
Stoichimetry of reactions.
Titrations of Redox
To solve analytical problems, titrations can be done on the following systems:
Acidic MnO4– with Fe2+; Acidic MnO4– with C2O42-; I2 in KI vs. S2O32-.
Analysis of quality
There is no need for a formal plan of analysis.
With diluted NaOH(aq) and NH3(aq), the following cations were tested for their properties: NH4, Ca2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Al3+, and Zn2+.
Tests that prove the above cations.
The typical reaction of dilute HCl on solids or solutions of solids in water and concentrated H2SO4 on solid samples of: The ions are Cl–, SO32-, CO32-, NO3-, and SO42-.
Tests to see if the above ions are true
Study of the differences between the halogens; displacement reactions.
Tests for H2, NH3, CO2, HCl, and SO2 to find out what they are like.
The functional groups in alkenes, alkanols, alkanoic acids, sugars (using Fehling’s and Benedict’s solutions only), starch (using the iodine test only), and proteins (using the Ninhydrin test, Xanthoporteic test, Biuret test, and Millon’s test only) all react in the same way in a test tube.
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WAEC Textbooks for Chemistry
Here is a list of the books that the WAEC recommends for Chemistry;
Ababio, O. Y. (2009). New School Chemistry for Senior High Schools (Fourth edition),
Africana FIRST Publishers Limited is in Onitsha.
High School Senior Chemistry, Bajah, S.T.; Teibo, B. O., Onwu, G.; and Obikwere, A. Book 1 (1999), Books 2 and 3 (2000). Lagos: Longman.
Understanding Chemistry for Schools and Colleges, by G. O. Ojokuku (2012, Revised Edition), Zaria: Press-On Chemresources. Essential: Chemistry for Senior Secondary Schools, by I. A. Odesina (2008), 2nd Edition, Lagos: Tonad Publishers Limited.
Countdown to WASSCE/SSCE, NECO, and JME Chemistry, Uche, I. O.; Adenuga, I. J.; and Iwuagwu, S. L. (2003). Ibadan: Evans.