The Chemistry Placement Exam at Wayne State University

This page is designed to answer some common questions about the Chemistry Placement Exam at Wayne State University. The following questions are addressed below.

• Why is there a Chemistry Placement Exam?
• What is the function of the Chemistry Placement Exam?
• What do we assume about you and your goals?
• What do we assume about your knowledge of chemistry?
• How should you prepare for the Placement Exam?

For information on the location and dates for the next placement exam, click here.

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 students are those who score below the "pass level", Group II students score above the pass level, and group III students 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 1220, 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 1220 unless and until they complete CHM 1040 with a grade of C or better.

Group II students may register for CHM 1220 and 1230 in any of the next four semesters.

Group III students having shown a superior knowledge in chemistry are invited to enroll in an Honors course, CHM 1410. CHM 1410 is the first course in a two course accelerated sequence (CHM 1420 is the second course), which covers three normal semesters of chemistry in two consecutive terms.

No examination is perfect. We cannot guarantee that students who are placed into CHM 1220 or 1410 will succeed. Nor can we be sure that those who failed the placement exam would not pass CHM 1220 if they tried. We only know that students who pass the placement exam do succeed in CHM 1220 at a significantly higher rate than those who fail the Chemistry Placement Exam. We also know that students who fail the exam or fail CHM 1220 and then complete CHM 1040 with an A, B, or C also pass CHM 1220 at a higher rate than those who do not successfully complete CHM 1040.

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 you 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 1220 assumes some prior knowledge of chemistry. To complete the course goals in the 14-week term we need to begin CHM 1220 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:

• types of matter, such as mixtures and pure substances
• types of pure substances, such as compounds or elements
• physical and chemical properties and changes
• measurements and units used in chemistry for mass or volume
• conversion of measured values form one unit to another
• the definition and units of density, heat, and temperature
• heat transfer
• a basic understanding of atoms and molecules
• chemical formulas and simple nomenclature of compounds and ions
• formulas of ionic compounds
• atomic weight, formula weight, molecular weight and moles
• derivation of formula weights from % composition and vice versa
• the meaning of chemical formulas
• the nature and stoichiometry of chemical reactions
• calculations based on reactions, yields both actual and theoretical
• the limiting reagent concept
• where metals, nonmetals and metalloids are found on the periodic table
• the kinds of data included on the periodic table
• solutions and reactions which occur in solutions, concentration
• the definition and use of oxidation numbers
• combination, decomposition and displacement types of oxidation-reduction reactions
• metathesis reactions, simple solubility rules

How should you prepare for the Placement Exam?

You should review the topics listed above using any good high school or college-level, general chemistry text as a guide and resource. Only review of the material you covered in high school is recommended. Attempting to learn this material for the first time may get you through the placement exam but it won't satisfy your future needs in chemistry.

The exam is in a multiple-choice format. Questions are distributed through the various topics listed above and include a few more advanced questions. If you have learned the topics on the earlier list and review for a few hours you should do well on the Chemistry Placement Exam.

Make sure that your calculator works in scientific notation. Be familiar with your calculator's functions so you can do simple algebraic calculations quickly. You may use your own calculator during the exam. A periodic table will be provided.

Some sample questions are listed below. These questions are presented to give you the flavor of the exam but cannot, nor are they intended to, cover the range of topics the exam covers.

1. The symbol for the element iron is
   1. Ir
   2. In
   3. S
   4. Fe
   5. I
   
   
2. Which of the elements is a metalloid?
   1. H
   2. F
   3. Si
   4. Ar
   5. Ca
   
   
3. How many moles of nitric oxide, NO, can be produced from the decomposition of 4 moles of N₂O₂Cl₂?
   The decomposition of N₂O₂Cl₂ follows the reaction is N₂O₂Cl₂ ---> 2NO + Cl₂
   
   1. 1
   2. 2
   3. 4
   4. 8
   5. 16
   
   
4. Room temperature is 68 °F . What is room temperature on the Celsius temperature scale?
   1. 20°C
   2. 25°C
   3. 30°C
   4. 68°C
   5. 86°C
   
   
5. How many moles of sodium are there in 4.828 g of sodium?
   1. 0.1
   2. 0.12
   3. 0.20
   4. 0.21
   5. 0.25
   
   
6. Which of the following sets of stoichiometric coefficients correctly balances the reaction
   ___ UO₂ + ___ HF ---> ___ UF₄ + ___ H₂O ?
   1. 1, 1, 2, 2
   2. 1, 2, 1, 2
   3. 1, 2, 1, 4
   4. 1, 4, 1, 2
   5. 2, 1, 2 1
   
   
7. A compound is composed of 52.1 % carbon, 13.1 % hydrogen, and 34.7 % oxygen. The simplest formula for this compound is:
   1. CH₂O
   2. CH₂O₂
   3. CH₃OH
   4. C₂H₆O
   5. C₂H₄O₂
   
   
8. What is the mass percentage of sulfur in K₂SO₄?
   1. 18.40
   2. 23.72
   3. 25.40
   4. 36.79
   5. 47.42
   
   
9. The correct name for the compound, CoCl₃ is
   1. cupric chloride
   2. cuprous chloride
   3. cobaltous chloride
   4. cobalt(III) chloride
   5. cobalt trichloride
   
   
10. What type of reaction is 2H₂O --> 2H₂ + O₂ ?
    1. metathesis
    2. replacement
    3. combination
    4. decomposition
    5. acid-base