NY High School Chemistry Learning Standards
The first administration of the new NYS Regents chemistry exam, which assesses students on the performance expectations below, is planned for June 2026 (per the NYSED science implementation roadmap).
The performance expectations are listed as they appear on the chemistry course map for courses that culminate in a chemistry regents exam. There are a total of 21 performance expectations on the chemistry course map. The chemistry course map contains performance expectations that also appear on the physics and biology course maps, such as HS-PS1-8 and HS-LS1-5.
The performance expectations are listed in the exact order they appear on the chemistry course map. However, the chemistry course map notes that "instructional sequences are not assumed" and "student performance expectations (PEs) may be taught in any sequence or grouping within a course".
HS. Structure and Properties of Matter
HS-PS1-1 | Periodic table, valence electrons, properties of elements
Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
Clarification statement: Examples of properties that could be predicted from patterns could include reactivity of metals, types of bonds formed, numbers of bonds formed, and reactions with oxygen.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to main group elements. Assessment does not include quantitative understanding of ionization energy beyond relative trends.
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HS-PS1-3 | Intermolecular forces and bulk scale properties
Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on understanding the strengths of forces between particles in solids, liquids, and gases, not on naming specific intermolecular forces (such as dipole-dipole). Examples of particles could include ions, atoms, molecules, and network solids. Examples of bulk scale properties of substances could include the melting point and boiling point, vapor pressure, and surface tension.
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HS-PS1-8 | Nuclear Processes
Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on simple qualitative models, such as pictures or diagrams, and on the scale of energy released in nuclear processes relative to other kinds of transformations.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative calculation of energy released. Assessment is limited to alpha, beta, positron, and gamma radioactive decays.
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HS-PS1-9 | Combined Gas Law
Analyze data to support the claim that the combined gas law describes the relationships among volume, pressure, and temperature for a sample of an ideal gas.
Clarification statement: Real gases may be included at conditions near STP. The relationships of the variables in the combined gas law may be described both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to the relationships among the variables of the combined gas law, not the gas law names, i.e. Boyle’s Law.
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HS-PS1-10 | Solutions
Use evidence to support claims regarding the formation, properties and behaviors of solutions at bulk scales.
Clarification statement: Examples of physical properties could include colligative properties, degree of saturation, physical behavior of solutions, solvation process and conductivity. Examples of solution types could include solid-liquid, liquid-liquid, and gas-liquid solutions. Concentrations can be quantitatively expressed in ppm, molarity, and percent by mass.
Assessment boundary: Assessment of colligative properties is limited to qualitative statements of boiling point elevation and freezing point depression.
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HS-PS2-6 | Molecular Level Structure of Designed Materials
Communicate scientific and technical information about why the particulate-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the attractive and repulsive forces that determine the functioning of the material. Examples could include why electrically conductive materials are often made of metal, flexible but durable materials are made up of long chained molecules, and pharmaceuticals are designed to interact with specific receptors.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to provided particulate structures of specific designed materials.
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HS. Chemical Reactions
HS-PS1-2 | Simple Chemical Reactions
Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
Clarification statement: Examples of chemical reactions could include the reaction of sodium and chlorine, of carbon and oxygen, or of carbon and hydrogen.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to chemical reactions involving main group elements and combustion reactions.
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HS-PS1-4 | Total Bond Energy Change in Chemical Reactions
Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the idea that a chemical reaction is a system that affects the energy change. Examples of models could include molecular-level drawings and diagrams of reactions, graphs showing the relative energies of reactants and products, and representations showing energy is conserved.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total bond energy changes during a chemical reaction from the bond energies of reactants and products.
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HS-PS1-5 | Collision Theory and Rates of Reaction
Apply scientific principles and evidence to explain how the rate of a physical or chemical change is affected when conditions are varied.
Clarification statement: Explanations should be based on three variables in collision theory: number of collisions per unit time, particle orientation on collision, and energy required to produce the change. Conditions that affect these three variables include temperature, pressure, nature of reactants, concentrations of reactants, mixing, particle size, surface area, and addition of a catalyst.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to simple reactions in which there are only two reactants and to specifying the change in only one condition at a time.
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HS-PS1-6 | Le Chatelier’s Principle
Refine the design of a chemical system by specifying a change in conditions that would produce increased amounts of products at equilibrium.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the application of Le Chatelier’s Principle and on refining designs of chemical reaction systems, including descriptions of the connection between changes made at the macroscopic level and what happens at the molecular level. Examples of designs could include different ways to increase product formation including adding reactants or removing products.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to specifying the change in only one variable at a time. Assessment does not include calculating equilibrium constants and concentrations.
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HS-PS1-7 | Conservation of Atoms in Chemical Reactions
Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on using mathematical ideas to communicate the proportional relationships between masses of atoms in the reactants and the products, and the translation of these relationships to the macroscopic scale using the mole as the conversion from the atomic to the macroscopic scale. Emphasis is on assessing students’ use of mathematical thinking and not on memorization and rote application of problem-solving techniques.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include complex chemical reactions.
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HS-PS1-11 | Acids and Bases
Plan and conduct an investigation to compare properties and behaviors of acids and bases.
Clarification statement: Examples of properties could include pH values (concentration), neutralization capability and conductivity. Observations of behaviors could include the effects on indicators, reactions with other substances, and efficacy in performing titrations.
Assessment boundary: Reactions are limited to Arrhenius and Bronsted-Lowry acid-base reactions.
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HS-PS1-12 | Electron Transfer
Use evidence to illustrate that some chemical reactions involve the transfer of electrons as an energy conversion occurs within a system.
Clarification statement: Evidence could include half-reactions, net ionic equations, and electrochemical cells to illustrate the mechanism of electron transfer.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to completing and/or balancing oxidation and reduction half-reactions. Energy conversions are limited to qualitative statements.
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HS. Energy
HS-PS3-1 | Energy Transfer
Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on explaining the meaning of mathematical expressions for energy, work, and power used in the model.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to basic algebraic expressions or computations; to systems of two or three components; and to work, power, thermal energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, electrical energy and/or the energies in gravitational, magnetic, or electric fields.
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HS-PS3-5 | Forces and Energetics of Interacting Particles
Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.
Clarification statement: Examples of models could include diagrams, texts, algebraic expressions, and drawings representing what happens when two charges of opposite polarity are near each other.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to systems containing two objects.
Note: This is a performance expectation for both HS Physics and HS Chemistry. For chemistry, there is a focus on "atomic structure, interaction of subatomic particles, binding energy, bond formation, polarity, intermolecular forces, non-ideal gas behavior".
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HS. Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation
HS-PS4-4 | Absorption of Electromagnetic Radiation
Evaluate the validity and reliability of claims in published materials of the effects that different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation have when absorbed by matter.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the idea that photons associated with different frequencies of light have different energies, and the damage to living tissue from electromagnetic radiation depends on the energy of the radiation. Examples of published materials could include scientific journals, trade books, magazines, web resources, videos, and other passages that may reflect bias.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative descriptions.
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HS. Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
HS-LS1-5 | Photosynthesis
Use a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on illustrating inputs and outputs of matter and the transfer and transformation of energy in photosynthesis by plants and other photosynthesizing organisms. Examples of models could include diagrams, chemical equations, and conceptual models.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include specific biochemical steps.
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HS. Engineering Design
HS-ETS1-1
Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
HS-ETS1-2
Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
HS-ETS1-3
Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
HS-ETS1-4
Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.