What formulas are on the HSC Chemistry data sheet?

The NESA formulae sheet carries eight expressions, printed with no names attached: n = m/MM, c = n/V, PV = nRT, q = mcDeltaT, DeltaG = DeltaH - TDeltaS, pH = -log10[H+], pKa = -log10[Ka], and A = elc = log10(Io/I). Six constants sit alongside them: the Avogadro constant, the molar volume of an ideal gas at 0 and 25 degrees Celsius, the gas constant, the ionisation constant for water, and the specific heat capacity of water.

Do you get a formula sheet in the HSC Chemistry exam?

Yes. NESA prints a formulae sheet, a data sheet and a periodic table at the back of the paper. The catch is how little the formulae sheet contains: eight expressions in total. Around twenty-five relationships across the eight modules are not printed anywhere and have to be memorised, including the equilibrium constant expression, pOH, the dilution formula and the cell potential equation.

What is the difference between the HSC Chemistry formula sheet, data sheet and reference sheet?

Students use all three names for the same document, and NESA uses two of them. The single four-page insert is officially the "Chemistry formulae sheet, data sheet and periodic table". The formulae sheet is page one, the eight expressions and six constants. The data sheet is the reference tables: solubility constants, infrared absorption data, carbon-13 NMR shifts, UV absorption and standard reduction potentials. The periodic table is page four. "Reference sheet" is not NESA wording for Chemistry, though it is what NESA calls the shared mathematics sheet.

Which HSC Chemistry formulas do I have to memorise?

The big ones by module: percentage composition and weighted relative atomic mass in Module 1; the dilution formula, the combined gas law and N = n x NA in Module 2; the cell potential equation in Module 3; Hess's Law, the bond energy method and DeltaH = -q/n in Module 4; the Keq and Ksp expressions in Module 5; pOH, pH + pOH = 14, Kw = [H+][OH-], the Ka expression and the titration mole-ratio relation in Module 6; the homologous series formulae and percentage yield in Module 7; and gravimetric analysis, calibration curves and the solubility rules in Module 8.

Does this cover Year 11 Chemistry as well as Year 12?

Yes. It covers all eight modules: Properties and Structure of Matter, Introduction to Quantitative Chemistry, Reactive Chemistry and Drivers of Reactions in Year 11, then Equilibrium and Acid Reactions, Acid/Base Reactions, Organic Chemistry and Applying Chemical Ideas in Year 12. Year 11 content is examined again in Year 12 through the assumed knowledge in every module, so it is worth keeping in front of you.

Is this formula sheet up to date with the NSW Chemistry syllabus?

Yes. It matches the NESA Chemistry Stage 6 Syllabus (2017), which is examined through to HSC 2028, and the formulae and data sheet as printed at the back of the most recent HSC Chemistry examination paper. NESA has published a replacement, the Chemistry 11-12 Syllabus (2025), which is first taught in 2028 and first examined in 2029. Every student currently in Year 11 or Year 12 sits the 2017 syllabus.

Is there a PDF download of this HSC Chemistry formula sheet?

There is no gated download and no sign-up form. Use the print button, or Ctrl+P on Windows and Cmd+P on a Mac, and save it as a PDF. The page is styled so the site navigation and buttons drop away and only the formulas print.

HSC Chemistry Formula Sheet

Name: LearnCore Tutoring
Price range: $$

Every formula for NSW HSC Chemistry, Modules 1 to 8, covering both Year 11 and Year 12. Each one is marked with whether NESA prints it on the sheet you get in the exam or whether you have to know it cold, because that is the difference that actually costs marks. Print it and stick it on the wall: there is nothing to download and no sign-up.

Free to print and share, no sign-up needed.

What NESA actually gives you in the exam

NESA supplies a formulae sheet, a data sheet and a periodic table at the back of the HSC Chemistry paper. Students assume that covers them. It does not. The formulae sheet carries eight expressions, and it prints them bare, with no names attached.

n = m / MM · c = n / V · PV = nRT · q = mcΔT · ΔG° = ΔH° − TΔS° · pH = −log₁₀[H⁺] · pK_a = −log₁₀[K_a] · A = εlc = log₁₀(I_o / I)

Alongside them sit six constants:

Avogadro constant, N_A: 6.022 × 10²³ mol⁻¹. NESA calls it the Avogadro constant, not Avogadro’s number, and does not print N = n × N_A.
Volume of 1 mole of ideal gas: 22.71 L at 0 °C and 24.79 L at 25 °C, both at 100 kPa, not 101.3 kPa.
Gas constant: 8.314 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹. The label is just “Gas constant”: the symbol R never appears beside it, only inside PV = nRT.
Ionisation constant for water at 25 °C, K_w: 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁴. The value is given. The expression K_w = [H⁺][OH⁻] is not.
Specific heat capacity of water: 4.18 × 10³ J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹. Per kilogram, not per gram. This is the most common unit slip in Module 4 calorimetry, because textbooks quote 4.18 J g⁻¹ K⁻¹.

The data sheet adds five reference tables you do not need to memorise: solubility constants (K_sp) for 32 compounds, infrared absorption data, carbon-13 NMR chemical shifts, UV absorption, and 30 standard reduction potentials, plus the periodic table.

Eight formulas given. Around twenty-five you have to bring with you. Those are marked below.

Module 1: Properties and Structure of Matter

Percentage composition by mass Memorise this% by mass = (mass of the element in one mole ÷ molar mass) × 100
Relative atomic mass from isotopes Memorise thisA_r = ∑ (isotope mass × fractional abundance)

Module 2: Introduction to Quantitative Chemistry

Moles from mass On the NESA sheetn = m / MM
Concentration (molarity) On the NESA sheetc = n / V
Ideal gas law On the NESA sheetPV = nRT
Number of particles Memorise thisN = n × N_A
Dilution Memorise thisc₁V₁ = c₂V₂
Combined gas law Memorise thisP₁V₁ / T₁ = P₂V₂ / T₂
Empirical formula Memorise thisDivide the mass (or %) of each element by its molar mass, then divide every result by the smallest
Limiting reagent Memorise thisDivide each reactant’s moles by its coefficient; the smallest quotient is limiting

Module 3: Reactive Chemistry

Standard reduction potentials On the NESA sheetA table of 30 half-cells, written as reductions with fractional coefficients (½Cl₂, not Cl₂)
Cell potential Memorise thisE°_cell = E°(reduction) − E°(oxidation)
Spontaneous redox reaction Memorise thisE°_cell > 0

Module 4: Drivers of Reactions

Heat transferred (calorimetry) On the NESA sheetq = mcΔT
Gibbs free energy On the NESA sheetΔG° = ΔH° − TΔS°
Molar enthalpy from calorimetry Memorise thisΔH = −q / n
Hess’s Law Memorise thisAdd or reverse known equations so they sum to the target equation; reversing an equation reverses the sign of ΔH
Bond energy method Memorise thisΔH = ∑(bonds broken) − ∑(bonds formed)
Spontaneity criterion Memorise thisΔG < 0 is spontaneous
Kelvin conversion (needed for ΔG) Memorise thisT(K) = T(°C) + 273.15

Module 5: Equilibrium and Acid Reactions

Equilibrium constant, aA + bB ⇌ cC + dD Memorise thisK_eq = [C]^c[D]^d / ( [A]^a[B]^b )
Solubility product, A_xB_y(s) ⇌ xA^y+ + yB^x− Memorise thisK_sp = [A^y+]^x [B^x−]^y
Predicting a precipitate Memorise thisCompute the ionic product with the same expression; precipitate forms when it exceeds K_sp
K_sp values at 25 °C On the NESA sheetA table of 32 sparingly soluble compounds

Module 6: Acid/Base Reactions

pH On the NESA sheetpH = −log₁₀[H⁺]
pK_a On the NESA sheetpK_a = −log₁₀[K_a]
pOH Memorise thispOH = −log₁₀[OH⁻]
Water ionisation product Memorise thisK_w = [H⁺][OH⁻]
pH and pOH at 25 °C Memorise thispH + pOH = 14
Reversing a pH Memorise this[H⁺] = 10^−pH, [OH⁻] = 10^−pOH
Acid dissociation constant, HA ⇌ H⁺ + A⁻ Memorise thisK_a = [H⁺][A⁻] / [HA]
Titration (mole ratio) Memorise thisc_aV_a / n_a = c_bV_b / n_b

Module 7: Organic Chemistry

Homologous series Memorise thisAlkanes C_nH_2n+2, alkenes C_nH_2n, alkynes C_nH_2n−2
Molar heat of combustion Memorise thisΔH_c = −q / n, with q from q = mcΔT
Percentage yield Memorise this(actual yield ÷ theoretical yield) × 100

Module 8: Applying Chemical Ideas

Beer-Lambert law (unlabelled on the sheet) On the NESA sheetA = εlc = log₁₀(I_o / I)
Infrared absorption data On the NESA sheetWavenumber ranges for nine bonds, including the broad O–H of alcohols and the very broad O–H of acids
Carbon-13 NMR chemical shifts On the NESA sheetTen carbon environments with their δ ranges in ppm
UV absorption On the NESA sheetλ_max for six chromophores, with NESA’s own note that the list is approximate
Gravimetric analysis Memorise thisMass of precipitate → moles of precipitate → moles of analyte → concentration
Calibration curve (colourimetry, AAS) Memorise thisPlot absorbance against known concentrations, then read the unknown off the line of best fit
Solubility rules for qualitative analysis Memorise thisNo solubility-rules table is provided, only K_sp values

Four traps worth knowing before the exam

There is no proton NMR table. The data sheet carries carbon-13 chemical shifts only, even though proton NMR is explicitly in the syllabus. If a question needs ¹H shifts, NESA must supply them in the question itself.
There is no bond energy table. Bond energy data is a Module 4 dot point, but the values are not on the sheet. They will be given in the question or not at all.
There is no solubility rules table. You get K_sp values, which is not the same thing. Qualitative analysis still needs the rules memorised.
Read the state symbols in the potentials table. NESA distinguishes ½Br₂(l) from ½Br₂(aq), ½I₂(s) from ½I₂(aq), and ½Cl₂(g) from ½Cl₂(aq). They carry different values, and picking the wrong row is a silent, expensive error.

Three things on other formula sheets that are not in this course

Plenty of chemistry sheets online are written for a generic syllabus. Revising these wastes time you do not have:

The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. Buffers are in Module 6, but only qualitatively: prepare one, describe its properties, explain why buffers matter in natural systems. There is no buffer calculation in the NSW syllabus.
Rate laws and the Arrhenius equation. Module 3 treats reaction rates entirely through collision theory. There is no rate = k[A]^m[B]ⁿ and no activation-energy calculation.
K_b and pK_b. The syllabus names K_a and pK_a. It does not name their base counterparts.

One terminology note as well: NESA writes the equilibrium constant as K_eq. Most textbooks and tutoring sites write K_c. They mean the same thing, but K_eq is the one used in the syllabus and in exam questions.

Which syllabus this matches

This sheet matches the NESA Chemistry Stage 6 Syllabus (2017), which is examined through to HSC 2028. NESA’s replacement, the Chemistry 11–12 Syllabus (2025), is first taught in 2028 and first examined in 2029. Every current Year 11 and Year 12 student sits the 2017 syllabus.

The formulae and data sheet reproduced above is the one printed at the back of the most recent HSC Chemistry examination paper.

How to actually use this

Knowing a formula and recognising the question that needs it are different skills, and the HSC tests the second one. Two habits that work:

Learn the memorise list by module, not as one list. Module 6 alone carries eight relationships you are not given. Drilling those with acid/base past questions beats reading the whole sheet again.
Practise with the real sheet in front of you. Print the official NESA formulae and data sheet, do past papers with only that, and notice every time you reach for something that is not there. That list is your revision plan.

If the gap is in applying them under time pressure rather than remembering them, that is what a HSC Chemistry tutor is for.