ESAT preparation guide

ESAT Chemistry: all 17 official topics, and where the marks actually go

The official Chemistry specification for the ESAT is a flat list of seventeen topics. It is not divided into physical, inorganic and organic chemistry, and treating it that way is the single most common reason candidates walk into the test centre with three chapters they have never looked at.
The harder problem is not the chemistry. It is C4, Quantitative chemistry, worked without a calculator, inside twenty-seven multiple choice questions in forty minutes.
There is a second line in the specification that most candidates skim past: all modules assume knowledge of the content of Mathematics 1. Chemistry questions therefore draw on the C topics and the M topics at the same time, so moles, ratios and unit conversions are being assessed twice over.
The third thing is a convention the specification writes into a topic title. C2 appears as The Periodic Table (IUPAC conventions, Groups are labelled as 1-18). If you learned the table as Group I through Group VII plus Group 0, you will be converting under time pressure. Those three things are what this page is about.
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ESAT Chemistry at a Glance
Specification
Seventeen numbered topics, C1 to C17, in one flat list with no parent categories
Format
Twenty-seven multiple choice questions in forty minutes, one mark each, nothing deducted for a wrong answer
Calculator
No calculator and no dictionary; the centre supplies erasable materials
Hidden overlap
Mathematics 1 is assumed, so units, number, ratio and algebra are assessed twice
Scoring
One score per module, 1 (low) to 9 (high) to one decimal place, with no combined total

UAT-UK states there is no pass or fail score for the ESAT, publishes no grade boundaries and accepts no appeals against scores. The detailed statements sit in Appendix 1 of the specification, whose current version is stated as being for assessment in October 2026 and January 2027; copy your checklist from those pages line by line rather than from any third party summary, this one included.

In short
  • The official Chemistry content is a flat list of seventeen topics, not three families. Separation techniques, chemical tests and air and water are the three that a physical/inorganic/organic split leaves homeless.
  • The hardest part of the module is not the chemistry, it is quantitative chemistry done by hand. Train the arithmetic route you choose, not more content.
  • Chemistry assumes Mathematics 1, so units, number, ratio and algebra are assessed twice. Weakness in Mathematics 1 shows up disguised as chemistry mistakes.
  • The specification labels groups 1 to 18 under IUPAC conventions. Do not translate back into Group I, Group VII and Group 0 while the clock is running.
  • Chemistry is compulsory for Imperial Chemical Engineering and Life Sciences, and one of the free choices at Cambridge, Oxford Biomedical Sciences and UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Your modules lock when you book.
I

Part 1 of 3

Sections 01 to 04

01

First, work out whether Chemistry is even on your list

Four universities use the ESAT: Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and UCL. Chemistry appears in two different roles, either named by the course or offered as one of a free choice of two.
ESAT modules requiredWhere Chemistry sits
Imperial, Chemical EngineeringMathematics 1 + Mathematics 2 + ChemistryCompulsory
Imperial, Life SciencesMathematics 1 + Chemistry + BiologyCompulsory
Cambridge, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (H810)Mathematics 1 plus any two of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics 2Free choice
Cambridge, Natural Sciences (BCF0)As aboveFree choice
Cambridge, Veterinary Medicine (D100)As aboveFree choice
Oxford, Biomedical Sciences (BC98)As aboveFree choice
UCL, Electronic and Electrical Engineering (H600/H601)Mathematics 1 plus any two of Mathematics 2, Physics, Chemistry, BiologyFree choice

The UCL requirement is new: it applies from September 2027 entry (or September 2028 deferred entry), and it is three modules in total.

Oxford's other ESAT courses (Engineering Science, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Information and Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Physics and Philosophy) all specify Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Physics, so Chemistry never enters the picture there. The same is true of Cambridge Engineering (H100).
One warning about a page you may land on. Imperial's ESAT page lists Durham, LSE and Warwick under "ESAT for other universities", but in UAT-UK's own Course List for 2027 entry every course at those three is TMUA and none is ESAT. Go by UAT-UK's four.
Two rules to settle before you book. Modules are picked at booking and cannot be changed without cancelling and re-booking. And if you are applying to two or more courses that require the ESAT, where one gives a free choice of modules and another lists compulsory ones, your selection must be dictated by the course with the compulsory list. Register for the wrong set and your application to that course may be invalid.
02

The official Chemistry content is seventeen topics in one flat list

The appendix of the specification lists the Chemistry content as seventeen numbered topics, C1 to C17.

C1

Atomic structure

C2

The Periodic Table

The official title carries the bracket: IUPAC conventions, Groups are labelled as 1-18

C3

Chemical reactions, formulae and equations

C4

Quantitative chemistry

The topic that decides the module, worked without a calculator

C5

Oxidation, reduction and redox

C6

Chemical bonding, structure and properties

C7

Group chemistry

C8

Separation techniques

C9

Acids, bases and salts

C10

Rates of reaction

C11

Energetics

C12

Electrolysis

C13

Carbon/Organic chemistry

C14

Metals

C15

Kinetic/Particle theory

C16

Chemical tests

C17

Air and water

That is the whole structure. No parent categories, no weighting, and not one sentence anywhere saying which topics carry more questions. The familiar physical, inorganic and organic split is a teaching habit rather than anything the specification says, and the practical consequence of revising by it is that separation techniques, chemical tests, and air and water have nowhere to live and get quietly dropped.
The specification puts the detailed statements under each topic in Appendix 1, and the current version is stated as being for assessment in October 2026 and January 2027. Your revision checklist should be copied line by line from those pages, not from any third party summary, this one included.
03

A working grouping for revision, which is not the official one

Since the specification does not group anything, you need a grouping of your own just to sequence revision. What follows is our teaching habit, useful for spotting gaps, and it is not the official structure. Questions in the test will not announce which group they belong to.

One working grouping of the seventeen topics

A teaching habit for spotting gaps, not the official structure

Structure and periodicityAtomic structure fixes position in the table, position fixes bonding, bonding fixes bulk properties, and particle theory is the language for all of it
  • C1 Atomic structure
  • C2 The Periodic Table
  • C6 Bonding, structure and properties
  • C15 Kinetic and particle theory
The language and arithmetic of reactionsWords into equations, equations into numbers; the load-bearing wall of the module, borrowed from everywhere else
  • C3 Chemical reactions, formulae and equations
  • C4 Quantitative chemistry
  • C5 Oxidation, reduction and redox
Systems and conditionsAcids, bases and salts supply the reaction types, rates and energetics the response, and electrolysis is the case forced by an external supply
  • C9 Acids, bases and salts
  • C10 Rates of reaction
  • C11 Energetics
  • C12 Electrolysis
Families of substances and how they are madeGroup chemistry for trends, organic for functional groups, metals for extraction and reactivity, air and water for real systems
  • C7 Group chemistry
  • C13 Carbon and organic chemistry
  • C14 Metals
  • C17 Air and water
Laboratory craftProcedures and criteria, almost no arithmetic, marks that depend purely on complete recall
  • C8 Separation techniques
  • C16 Chemical tests

Tap a branch to unfold

Use it mechanically. Draw the seventeen topics as a table under those five headings and strike each one off as you cover it. Once all five are struck through, throw the table away. The thing worth keeping is the original list in Appendix 1.
04

The chapter that decides your score: quantitative chemistry with no calculator

The rule is blunt: no calculator and no dictionary. The centre provides erasable materials for working out. The official pages describe them variously as an erasable booklet, an erasable notebook and pen, and a whiteboard and pen, so the exact object is not pinned down; what is consistent is that the centre supplies it and you can raise your hand for a replacement during the test.
That turns C4 from a question of whether you know the relationship into a question of whether you can push the numbers through by hand. Moles and mass, concentration and volume, gas volumes, limiting reagents, yield, empirical formulae: none of the relationships are difficult on paper. The difficulty is which arithmetic route you take.
Cancel before you multiply
Write the whole question as one chain of fractions, cancel everything that will cancel, and do a single multiplication and division at the end. The habit of computing one step and writing down a decimal is the biggest time sink in this topic.
Drill unit conversion on its own
The factor of a thousand between cm³ and dm³ is the most reliable source of lost marks here. Get mol dm⁻³, g cm⁻³ and kJ mol⁻¹ to the point where the negative index tells you what is on top and what is underneath without thinking.
Use orders of magnitude to eliminate
A multiple choice question asks you to identify the right option, not to produce a full solution. An estimate to one significant figure will often knock out anything an order of magnitude away, and you can then be precise about what is left.
Know the common relative atomic masses cold
Calculators and dictionaries are expressly barred; whatever reference material the test itself supplies is a matter for the official pages and the specification, so check those before you book. Practising as though you have to work without looking anything up is the safe assumption.
Ten minutes of pure arithmetic a day
Two digit multiplication and division, common fractions to decimals and back, standard form. None of it is chemistry, and all of it decides how much time you still have for the chemistry.
One test of whether you are practising the right thing: if a calculator is within reach while you work through quantitative questions, you are not practising ESAT C4. Put it away from day one.
II

Part 2 of 3

Sections 05 to 08

05

Chemistry questions carry M tags too, so Mathematics 1 is the foundation

The specification states that all modules assume knowledge of the content of Mathematics 1. For this module specifically, the questions draw on the C topics together with the M topics. The MM topics that belong to Mathematics 2 do not come into Chemistry.
The seven Mathematics 1 topics are units, number, ratio and proportion, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability. In chemistry questions, it is the first four you use constantly.

Units

mol dm⁻³, kJ mol⁻¹, g cm⁻³

The specification expects the SI prefixes from nano to giga and units written with negative indices, plus moving between nanometres and picometres

Number

Standard form, and adding and subtracting indices

Everything at the scale of the Avogadro constant rests on this

Ratio and proportion

Equation coefficients are a molar ratio

Dilution, making up solutions, excess and limiting quantities, scaling up or down: all of it is proportion

Algebra

Rearranging a relationship for the unknown

Composition of mixtures frequently reduces to one equation, sometimes two

There are two consequences. The good one is that Mathematics 1 is compulsory anyway, so time spent on those four topics counts twice and is the best value work available anywhere in the ESAT. The bad one is that weakness in Mathematics 1 never announces itself as a maths error. It arrives on your list of mistakes looking like a chemistry error, you conclude you need to revise more content, and the real gap stays open.
A quick diagnostic: redo the quantitative questions you got wrong, this time with a calculator. If they all come out right the moment the arithmetic is handled for you, the problem is Mathematics 1, not Chemistry.
06

Forty minutes, twenty-seven questions, one mark each: what to give up

40 minutes

Per module, and each module is separately timed

27 questions

Multiple choice questions per module, one mark each

About 89 seconds

The average per question that works out to

120 minutes

The whole test for most candidates; Chemistry is one stretch inside it

Each module is separately timed, time saved on one does not carry over to the next, and there are no breaks between modules. The marking is just as simple: one mark per correct answer, nothing deducted for a wrong one, and each module reported separately. The official position is explicit: because nothing is deducted, it is worth attempting every question.
Put those two facts together and the conclusion is uncomfortable but firm. A quantitative question that takes three steps of hand arithmetic is worth exactly what a recall question on chemical tests is worth. Spend four minutes on the first and you have traded three questions for one.
01First pass

Answer everything you can settle inside a minute

Go straight through, flag anything that visibly needs a long calculation, and never fight a question.
02Second pass

Come back to the flagged ones

By now you know exactly how many minutes and how many questions are left, so you can choose which ones deserve the working.
03Last fifteen seconds

Fill in anything still blank

Go with your best reading of it, because a blank has an expected value of zero and a guess does not.
This has to become automatic before the day. That means timed forty minute runs rather than loose question practice. You will not acquire triage instincts on the morning of the test; you will only execute whatever you drilled.
07

The four topics that get skipped: group chemistry, separation, tests, air and water

These four have something in common. They involve almost no arithmetic, they reward completeness of recall, and in most curricula they turn up early and are never revisited on their own. Candidates therefore file them under "already know that", which by the time of the test is no longer true.

C7 Group chemistry

Trends down and across, and the reactions that characterise each family

Welded to the group numbering in C2, and getting the numbering wrong loses the mark outright

C8 Separation techniques

The choice of method always turns on which physical property differs between the components

Learn method and justification as a pair; memorising a list of method names on its own does very little

C16 Chemical tests

Identifying cations, anions and gases

What is assessed is the observation and the criterion, not the theory, so however well you understand it you still have to learn it

C17 Air and water

Composition of the atmosphere and the treatment of water

The topic that looks least like a chapter of a chemistry textbook and is likeliest to have no place on a revision plan

Worth adding C15, kinetic and particle theory. It gets skipped as assumed knowledge, but it is the language in which rates of reaction and changes of state are explained, and skipping it downgrades your qualitative work in C10 from confident to approximate.
The detailed statements for all of these sit in Appendix 1 of the specification. Go through those pages line by line before you start revising and write out separately anything you have never met. It takes under an hour and pays better than another set of calculations.
08

Groups are numbered 1 to 18, and the specification says so in the title

The official title of C2 carries the convention in brackets: IUPAC conventions, Groups are labelled as 1-18. Specifications rarely legislate notation, so when one does, it is telling you the notation will appear in the questions.
Which familyWhat you may have learned
Group 1Alkali metalsGroup I
Group 2Alkaline earth metalsGroup II
Groups 3 to 12The transition metal blockThe B groups
Groups 13 to 16Boron family through to the oxygen familyGroups III to VI
Group 17HalogensGroup VII
Group 18Noble gasesGroup 0

That table is ordinary chemical notation rather than anything the specification supplies. All the specification does is fix the numbering as IUPAC's 1 to 18; it prints no conversion table of its own.

Two places bite. The first is the noble gases, which older UK material calls Group 0 and many textbooks elsewhere label 0 as well, while the specification writes Group 18. Same elements, but converting between them at eighty-nine seconds a question is pure waste.
The second is Group 8. Under IUPAC that is the family iron belongs to, whereas in several older schemes a label containing VIII could mean the iron, cobalt and nickel triads, or, in the American convention, VIIIA could mean the noble gases. When Group 8 appears on screen you want exactly one reaction, and it should be the IUPAC one.
The fix is not to memorise a conversion table. It is to redraw the periodic table numbered 1 to 18 during revision and then attach every property, trend and reaction you learn to the new numbers directly. A conversion table is a transitional aid; two weeks out from the test you should no longer be reaching for it.
III

Part 3 of 3

Sections 09 to 10

09

How the score works, and why nobody can tell you what score is enough

You get one score for each module you sit, on a scale from 1 (low) to 9 (high) reported to one decimal place. There is no combined total, so your Chemistry score is simply your Chemistry score. Each ESAT module is equated and scaled separately, which is how results from different versions and different sittings are placed on a single scale.
On the question everyone actually wants answered, the official position is unambiguous: there is no pass or fail score for the ESAT, scores are used alongside the other information in your application, and UAT-UK does not publish grade boundaries. So there is no official basis for any claim about what Chemistry score is safe or competitive, and this page will not invent one. What you can rely on is only this: a number between 1 and 9, to one decimal place, reported module by module.
One university has published anything at this level of detail. Imperial's public dashboard reports scores and outcomes for 2025-entry applicants department by department, and the department that matters here is Chemical Engineering.

Chemical Engineering, mean among offer-holders

14.2

Chemical Engineering, mean (Overseas)

15.4

What the dashboard reports

A raw mark out of 27

Questions answered correctly, not the 1 to 9 scaled score; the page does not say whether it is a single module or an average across the modules a candidate sat

Status of the data

Historic, 2025 entry

Imperial states on the same page that a high score does not necessarily mean a place, a low score does not mean an unsuccessful application, and neither test has grade boundaries or pass marks

It gives you a sense of scale, not a target.
Results arrive approximately four weeks after the sitting. For 2027 entry the dates are 16 November 2026 for the October sitting and 8 February 2027 for the January one. They are matched course by course against your UCAS application and sent automatically to the institutions whose courses require the test; candidates cannot choose who sees them, and appeals against scores are not accepted.
Translated into revision terms: you cannot set yourself a target in the form of a boundary. You can only measure readiness by whether any of the seventeen topics are still unrevised and how reliable your calculator free quantitative work has become.
10

Putting it on a calendar: sittings, booking, and the steps you cannot undo

There are two test windows for 2027 entry: 12 to 16 October 2026, and 4 to 8 January 2027. Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau have fixed days within those windows, with the ESAT running on 12 or 13 October and on 6 January. The official explanation is that following reports in October 2024 of candidates attempting to obtain and sell test content without authorisation, the test is now offered on only two days in October and one in January in those territories.
2026 – 2027Timeline
Jun 26
Jul 26
Aug 26
Sep 26
Oct 26
Nov 26
Dec 26
Jan 27
Account creation, access arrangements and bursaries open
1 Jun 2026, 15.00
Account creation, access arrangements and bursary applications for 2027 entry open at this point, in UK time.
October booking window
20 Jul to 28 Sep 2026
Opens 20 July 2026 at 15.00 and closes 28 September 2026 at 18.00, UK time. Modules are picked at booking and cannot be changed without cancelling and re-booking.
Access arrangements deadline (October)
14 Sep 2026, 18.00
A hard deadline that falls earlier than booking closes. If you need access arrangements, count backwards from this date rather than from the booking deadline.
Bursary deadline (October)
21 Sep 2026, 18.00
The closing time for bursary applications for the October sitting, again earlier than the booking deadline.
October test window
12 to 16 Oct 2026
In mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau the ESAT runs on the fixed days of 12 or 13 October.
January booking window
26 Oct to 21 Dec 2026
Opens 26 October 2026 at 15.00 and closes 21 December 2026 at 18.00, UK time.
Access arrangements deadline (January)
7 Dec 2026, 18.00
The closing time for access arrangements for the January sitting.
Bursary deadline (January)
14 Dec 2026, 18.00
The closing time for bursary applications for the January sitting.
January test window
4 to 8 Jan 2027
In mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau the ESAT runs on the fixed day of 6 January.
Hard deadline Event WindowAll times are UK time. Fees are set by the location of your test centre rather than your nationality or home: £78 in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, £133 elsewhere.
You may sit each test only once per admission cycle, and the October 2026 and January 2027 sittings both belong to the 2027 cycle; registering twice, including under a second account, is treated as misconduct. Applicants to Cambridge or Oxford whose course requires the test will normally be required to sit in October, the exceptions being mature applicants to a Cambridge mature college with a January deadline and applicants to Oxford's Astrophoria Foundation Year. Applicants to other institutions can choose their sitting, and the official line is that there is no advantage either way.
01Before you book

Confirm the module requirement for every course

Because your modules lock at booking.
02Eight to ten weeks out

Go through all seventeen topics against Appendix 1

Work statement by statement and mark every one you have never met.
03Four to six weeks out

Concentrate on C3, C4 and C5

Entirely by hand, with the calculator put away.
04Two to three weeks out

Full forty minute timed runs

Practising the two pass approach.
05Final week

Recycle the recall material and redraw the table

Recycle C7, C8, C16, C17 and C15, and redraw the periodic table numbered 1 to 18 from memory.
On the day itself, plan to arrive thirty minutes before your appointment. Arrive more than fifteen minutes late and you may be refused entry with your fee forfeited, which is not a risk worth carrying.
Two things to state plainly. We are an independent preparation platform with no affiliation to, authorisation from, or partnership with UAT-UK, Pearson or any university. UAT-UK states that it does not endorse commercial preparation services and that all necessary preparatory materials are available free of charge to all candidates, so the official materials should be your primary source. And sharing or discussing test content after the event is expressly prohibited, which means any channel offering you "the real questions" is offering you a rule breach.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What does the ESAT Chemistry module actually cover?
The specification lists seventeen topics, C1 to C17: atomic structure, the Periodic Table, chemical reactions and equations, quantitative chemistry, redox, bonding and structure, group chemistry, separation techniques, acids, bases and salts, rates of reaction, energetics, electrolysis, carbon and organic chemistry, metals, kinetic and particle theory, chemical tests, and air and water. The format is twenty-seven multiple choice questions in forty minutes. The specification also says the test is deliberately designed to be challenging in order to differentiate between able applicants, including those who have achieved the highest possible grades at school.
Can I use a calculator in ESAT Chemistry?
No. Calculators are not permitted in either the ESAT or the TMUA, and dictionaries are barred as well. The centre provides erasable materials and a pen for rough work, and you can ask for replacements during the test, but you may not bring your own. This single rule determines how you prepare for C4: every quantitative question you practise should be worked by hand, or you are not practising this test.
My Cambridge course lets me choose freely. Chemistry or Mathematics 2?
First rule one thing out. If you are also applying to an ESAT course that names compulsory modules, your selection has to follow that course, and there is no decision to make.
If the choice really is free, note that no grade boundaries are published, so there is no basis for choosing the module you think scores higher; that reasoning has nothing to stand on. What you can compare is workload and fit. Chemistry is seventeen topics, Mathematics 2 is eight, and both assume Mathematics 1 on top. Weigh that against your current curriculum, the subjects the degree will actually lean on, and whether you have the weeks left to cover seventeen topics properly. And remember the choice locks when you book.
What is a good ESAT Chemistry score?
There is no official answer, and anyone quoting you a number is quoting something without a source. UAT-UK states plainly that there is no pass or fail score for the ESAT, does not publish grade boundaries, and describes scores as used alongside the rest of your application. What is fixed is only the form: one score per module you sit, on a scale from 1 (low) to 9 (high), to one decimal place, with no combined total and no appeals against scores. Imperial has published historic department-level figures for 2025 entry, but those are raw marks out of 27 and Imperial itself notes that a high score does not guarantee an offer and a low one does not rule you out, so they are not a boundary.
I already study Chemistry at A level. Do I need to revise for the module separately?
Yes, for three reasons, none of which is a gap in your chemistry knowledge. First, group chemistry, separation techniques, chemical tests, and air and water tend to appear early in a course and never get revisited, so without a deliberate pass over them you simply lose those marks. Second, quantitative chemistry without a calculator is a separate skill and has nothing to do with whether you can write the relationship down. Third, the specification assumes the content of Mathematics 1, so units, number, ratio and algebra are being assessed twice. The right first move is to check yourself line by line against Appendix 1 of the specification rather than to reread your course notes.
The specification says Group 17 and Group 18. Which groups are those?
Group 17 is the halogens and Group 18 is the noble gases. C2 states in its own title that IUPAC conventions apply and groups are labelled 1 to 18, so Group I becomes Group 1, Group II becomes Group 2, Group VII becomes Group 17, Group 0 becomes Group 18, and the transition metals occupy Groups 3 to 12. Be careful with Group 8: under IUPAC that is the family iron belongs to, and it should not be read through any of the older schemes that use VIII. Redraw the table with the 1 to 18 numbering during revision and learn the properties against the new numbers directly.
When can candidates in mainland China sit the ESAT?
Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau have fixed days rather than the full window: the ESAT runs on 12 or 13 October 2026 and on 6 January 2027. The official reason given is that following reports in October 2024 of attempts to obtain and sell test content without authorisation, the test is offered on only two days in October and one in January in those territories. Booking, in UK time, runs from 20 July 2026 at 15.00 to 28 September 2026 at 18.00 for October, and from 26 October 2026 at 15.00 to 21 December 2026 at 18.00 for January. You may sit only once per cycle and both sittings belong to the 2027 entry cycle; applicants to Cambridge or Oxford whose course requires the test will normally have to sit in October.
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