Virginia SOL Resources
HELPFUL! Mr. Lee goes through each question on the released 2015 Chemistry SOL, explained question-by-question.
Too slow? Watch on 1.5x or 2.0x speed, or skip ahead.
HELPFUL! The 2009 and 2010 Chemistry SOLs, explained question-by-question
Below, watch Mr. Farabaugh go through each question on the released 2009 and the 2010 Chemistry SOL exams, and explain or remind you what to do.
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HELPFUL! Additional practice items are explained. This is highly recommended because they include examples of TEI (technology-enhanced) questions such as drag-and-drop.
What to expect on the chemistry SOL
Important Items for Success
You Absolutely Must Memorize Equations For:
Do you know the differences between...
Do you know when and how to use...
Are you able to...
- Percent Error (how far off is a measurement from the true value?)
- Percent Composition (of an element in a compound)
- Percent Yield
- Molarity and Dilution
- Boyle's Law (constant temperature)
- Charle's Law (constant pressure)
- Gay-Lussac's Law (constant volume)
- The Combined Gas Law (this is just #5, #6, and #7 together)
- The Ideal Gas Law: PV=nRT
- How to Calculate pH, pOH, [H+], and [OH-] for acids and bases
- How to convert moles of gas to volume of gas at STP (Remember that 1 mole of a gas has 22.4 L of volume at STP)
- Density (D=M/V) Units: g/mL
- Gas density (Gas D = Molar Mass / 22.4) Units: g/L
- Specific heat capacity (q=mcΔT)
Do you know the differences between...
- Accuracy and precision?
- Neutrons, protons, and electrons?
- Isotopes and ions?
- Mass number and atomic number?
- Endothermic and exothermic?
- Independent and dependent variables?
- A period and a group (family)?
- A cation and an anion?
- Polar and non-polar molecules?
- Naming ionic and molecular compounds?
- Inversely proportional and directly proportional?
- Heat and temperature?
- A real vs. an ideal gas?
- An acid and a base?
This includes their properties, their ions, and their characteristics. - Chemical and physical characteristics/properties?
- Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, and Bohr?
- Saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons?
- Fusion and fission?
- Alpha, beta, and gamma decay?
- An electrolyte and a non-electrolyte?
- The reaction types?
Synthesis, decomposition, double-replacement, single-replacement, combustion - The chemical formulas for nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, carbonate, hydroxide, and ammonium?
Do you know when and how to use...
- Avogadro's #? (6.02E23 particles/mole)
- Molar mass?
- "Nick the Camel -ate a Clam for Supper in Phoenix"?
- 22.4 L?
- ...the combined gas law (or any gas law) without breaking rules of math or physical laws?
- Roman numerals after a metal's name? (Hint: Only for transition metals!)
Example: iron(III) vs. iron(II)... or lead(II) vs. lead(IV) - Numerical prefixes when naming molecular compounds?
Example: mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, etc...
Are you able to...
- Use stoichiometry that includes conversions of mass, moles, and STP gas volume?
- Perform thermochemical stoichiometry?
This is stoichiometry that involves heat, such as kJ or kJ/mol - Determine the number of valence electrons in an atom?
Only representative elements, though... Not transition metals. - Determine the number of neutrons in an isotope?
- Go from name to formula for something like copper(II) phosphate?
- Go from formula to name for something like FeS?
- Read a reaction energy diagram to determine activation energy?
- Determine how to speed up (or slow down) a reaction?
- Explain how intermolecular forces relate to boiling and melting points?
- Fill in an orbital diagram with UP and DOWN arrows to represent electrons?