TEAS Chemistry Questions: What's Tested and 5 Worked Examples

You do not need a general chemistry textbook to pass the chemistry questions on the TEAS. The exam tests a much narrower band of concepts than a college chemistry course, and knowing where the boundary sits is most of the advantage.

Chemistry is one of four sub-areas in the TEAS 7 Science section, worth eight of the section's 44 scored items. That is a small enough number that over-preparing is a real cost: every hour spent on stoichiometry is an hour not spent on anatomy and physiology, which carries far more weight.

What chemistry is actually on the TEAS?

Chemistry is its own sub-area within Science on the TEAS 7, sitting alongside anatomy and physiology, biology, and scientific reasoning. The Science section runs 50 items in 60 minutes, of which 44 are scored, and chemistry accounts for eight of those. Anatomy and physiology is the largest sub-area by some distance, biology comes second at nine items, and chemistry is just behind it. Per ATI's official content blueprint, the chemistry items concentrate on a defined list of foundational concepts rather than on calculation. You are being asked to recognize a principle and apply it to a simple scenario, not to solve for an unknown.

What is tested:

• Chemical reactions (synthesis, decomposition, combustion, displacement)

• Atomic structure (protons, neutrons, electrons, isotopes)

• The periodic table (element properties and behavior patterns)

• Chemical bonding (ionic, covalent, hydrogen)

• Properties of matter (states of matter, physical vs. chemical properties)

• Acids and bases (the pH scale, neutralization)

• Solutions (solubility, basic concentration concepts)

What is not tested, and this list is worth more than the one above: stoichiometry, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, gas laws, and quantum mechanical models of the atom do not appear on the blueprint. If your study material covers them, you are working from a general chemistry resource rather than a TEAS-specific one, and you are spending time you do not have.

For how chemistry sits against the rest of the section, see our guide to TEAS biology questions, which covers the nine-item sub-area directly above it.

Five worked TEAS chemistry questions

TEAS chemistry items are conceptual. You will not balance complex equations or run multi-step calculations. The format is standard four-option multiple choice, and the five items below map to the five subtopics that generate the most questions. Work each one before reading the explanation.

Question 1: chemical reactions

Methane burns in oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water (CH₄ + 2O₂ → CO₂ + 2H₂O). What type of reaction is this?

A. Synthesis B. Decomposition C. Combustion D. Single replacement

Correct answer: C. Combustion.

A combustion reaction is a substance reacting with oxygen to release energy, producing carbon dioxide and water when the fuel contains carbon and hydrogen. Synthesis is wrong because a synthesis reaction combines reactants into a single product, and this one yields two. Decomposition is the reverse pattern, one reactant breaking into several. Single replacement requires an element displacing another from a compound, which is not what happens here.

A note on this reaction type. Watch for stems using hydrogen and oxygen forming water (2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O). That reaction is legitimately both combustion and synthesis, since two elements combine into one product while reacting with oxygen. If you see it with both options available, look for what else the item is asking, because a well-written item will not force you to choose between two correct answers.

Question 2: acids and bases

A solution has a pH of 2. What does this indicate?

A. Strongly basic B. Weakly acidic C. Strongly acidic D. Neutral

Correct answer: C. Strongly acidic.

The pH scale runs 0 to 14, with 7 neutral. Values below 7 are acidic and the acidity increases as the number falls, so a pH of 2 is strongly acidic. A is the opposite direction, D describes pH 7, and B would be a value nearer 6.

Question 3: atomic structure

An atom has 11 protons, 12 neutrons and 11 electrons. Which element is it?

A. Magnesium (Mg) B. Sodium (Na) C. Neon (Ne) D. Aluminum (Al)

Correct answer: B. Sodium (Na).

The proton count alone determines the element. Eleven protons is sodium, always. The neutron count identifies which isotope it is, and the electron count tells you whether it is charged, but neither changes what element you are looking at. The distractors are the neighbors: neon has 10 protons, magnesium 12, aluminum 13. Items in this subtopic are usually testing whether you reach for the right number.

Question 4: chemical bonding

Which substance is most likely to conduct electricity when dissolved in water?

A. Sugar (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁) B. Oxygen gas (O₂) C. Sodium chloride (NaCl) D. Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

Correct answer: C. Sodium chloride (NaCl).

Conductivity in solution requires free-moving charged particles. NaCl is ionic and dissociates into Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions in water, which carry current. Sugar dissolves readily but is covalent, so it disperses as intact neutral molecules and conducts nothing, which makes A the item's real distractor: dissolving and ionizing are not the same thing. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are covalent gases with minimal solubility and no ionization.

Question 5: solutions

What happens when a solution reaches its solubility limit?

A. The solute evaporates B. The solution becomes a gas C. No more solute dissolves and the solution becomes saturated D. The solute turns into a new element

Correct answer: C.

At the solubility limit the solvent cannot take up further solute, and any excess stays undissolved. That state is saturated. D is the giveaway distractor: dissolving is a physical change and never converts one element into another.

How to study TEAS chemistry in two to three weeks

The most common mistake is preparing from the wrong list. Hours spent on advanced chemistry that ATI does not test are hours taken from topics that carry more items, and the cost is invisible until score day. Start from the blueprint and work only what is on it. With eight scored items at stake, two to three weeks of focused 45 to 60 minute sessions is enough for anyone with a high school chemistry background, and the plan below fits that window.

Step 1: get the blueprint

Download the official TEAS 7 content blueprint and treat it as your checklist. If a topic is not on it, it is not on your exam.

Step 2: run a diagnostic

Take a 20 to 25 question Science practice set before studying anything. The point is to find which subtopics you already have, so your limited time goes to the ones you do not. Our free TEAS practice test guide covers what a realistic section looks like.

Step 3: study one subtopic at a time

Work the blueprint list in order. For each one, ask the question the exam actually asks: can I recognize this concept when it appears in a scenario? Not can I calculate it.

Step 4: practice immediately after studying

Answer targeted chemistry questions right after covering a topic, so you apply the concept in the format it will be tested in rather than in the format you studied it in.

Step 5: switch to timed mixed sets in the final week

Drop subtopic drilling entirely and run full mixed-Science sets under time. The Science section gives you 60 minutes for 50 questions, about 72 seconds each. If a chemistry item runs past 60 seconds, flag it, make your best guess and move on. Eight items are not worth losing anatomy questions over.

Frequently asked questions

Which chemistry topics are on the TEAS?

Chemical reactions, atomic structure, the periodic table, chemical bonding, properties of matter, acids and bases, and solutions. Check the current ATI blueprint before test day, since content outlines change between exam editions.

Is there a separate chemistry section?

Not a section, but chemistry is its own sub-area within Science on the TEAS 7, worth eight of the 44 scored items. The Science section is 50 items in 60 minutes and also covers anatomy and physiology, biology, and scientific reasoning.

How hard is it?

It tests conceptual understanding rather than calculation. Candidates who took high school chemistry or a college prerequisite generally find it manageable, and the topics that make general chemistry hard are explicitly off the blueprint.

Do I need stoichiometry?

No. It is not on the TEAS 7 blueprint. Neither are thermodynamics, gas laws or electrochemistry.

How long should I spend on it?

Two to three weeks with a chemistry background, four to six weeks without one. Run a diagnostic first either way, because eight items do not justify open-ended study time.

How does it compare to HESI A2 chemistry?

The topics overlap substantially: atomic structure, bonding, acids and bases, properties of matter. The structural difference is that the HESI A2 has a dedicated Chemistry section your school may or may not require, whereas the TEAS always includes chemistry inside Science. If you are sitting both, most of the preparation transfers.

The bottom line

TEAS chemistry is manageable, provided you prepare for the TEAS rather than for chemistry. Eight scored items, a fixed list of conceptual subtopics, and an explicit set of exclusions that includes most of what makes college chemistry difficult.

The candidates who struggle are almost always the ones who prepared from the wrong source: a full textbook, an outdated guide written against the previous exam edition, or a third-party topic list that never matched the blueprint. The ones who score well identified the right subtopics early, ran a diagnostic to find the weak ones, and spent the remainder on timed practice.

Work the five-step plan above, and keep the eight-item weighting in mind when you decide how much time chemistry deserves against the rest of Science. For full-length practice built to the current blueprint, start with TEAS 7 preparation.