HS-PS1-6 | Chemical Equilibrium · NYS standard · Regents questions
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.
Note: this performance expectation integrates traditional science content with engineering through a Practice or Disciplinary Core Idea.
Regents Exam Questions
Released New York State Regents exam questions that assess HS-PS1-6 are listed here by exam and question cluster. Each link opens the question with its answer key.
| Exam | Cluster | Question |
|---|---|---|
| August 2026 Chemistry Regents | Pool Water Chemistry | Question 24 |
| June 2026 Chemistry Regents | Equilibria in the Blood | Question 14 |
Performance Level Descriptions
Every Regents exam question on HS-PS1-6 is written to match one of the performance level descriptions (PLDs) below.
Vocabulary
Terms from the Chemistry Glossary that come from this standard or from the released exam questions that assess it.
- chemical reaction
- chemical reaction system
- chemical system
- concentration
- criteria
- design solution
- dynamic equilibrium
- equilibrium
- equilibrium constant
- evidence
- Le Chatelier’s Principle
- macroscopic level
- molecular level
- optimize
- particle
- product
- reactant
- reaction
- reverse reaction
- system
- variable
- catalyst – June 2026
- claim – Aug 2026
- dilute – Aug 2026
- equilibrium shift – Aug 2026
- forward reaction – June 2026
- gas – June 2026
- investigation – June 2026
- mole – June 2026
- pressure – June 2026
- stress (on an equilibrium system) – June 2026
- volume – June 2026
- reversible reaction – implied by "balance between a reaction and the reverse reaction"
Resources
Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-PS1-6.
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NGSS Dimensions
Performance expectation HS-PS1-6 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:
- Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
- Refine a solution to a complex real-world problem, based on scientific knowledge, student-generated sources of evidence, prioritized criteria, and tradeoff considerations.
- PS1.B: Chemical Reactions
- (NYSED) In many situations, a dynamic and condition dependent balance between a reaction and the reverse reaction determines the numbers of all types of particles present.
- EST1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution
- Criteria may need to be broken down into simpler ones that can be approached systematically, and decisions about the priority of certain criteria over others (tradeoffs) may be needed.
- Stability and Change
- Much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable.