HESI A2 Chemistry study guide
HESI A2 Chemistry · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The HESI A2 Chemistry test is one of the subject-area modules in the HESI Admission Assessment (A2), a battery of tests that many nursing and health-science programs in the United States use as part of their admissions review. Candidates are typically prospective nursing students, transfer applicants, or pre-nursing students who must demonstrate readiness in core science before enrolling in a program's science sequence. The chemistry module is delivered in multiple-choice format and is usually taken alongside other A2 subjects such as biology, anatomy and physiology, mathematics, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. Because individual schools choose which modules to require and how to weight them, the chemistry content you see will generally stay within introductory, first-semester general chemistry: classifying matter and its properties, measurement and significant figures, atomic structure and electron configuration, periodic trends, ionic and covalent bonding, formula writing and nomenclature, balancing equations, mole and stoichiometry calculations, and solution concentration. The HESI A2 Chemistry study guide has 4 sections and about 1,575 words.
01Matter, Measurement, and Chemical Foundations
This domain tests how chemistry describes matter and how measurements are made and reported. Expect classification of matter, physical versus chemical properties and changes, states of matter, density, metric conversions, scientific notation, significant figures, and temperature scales.
423 words, about 2 min02Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
This domain tests the structure of atoms, how isotopes and ions differ, electron arrangement, and periodic trends. Questions often use nuclear notation and ask you to predict properties from group and period position.
396 words, about 2 min03Chemical Bonding, Formulas, and Nomenclature
This domain tests how atoms combine, how to write formulas from ion charges, and how to name ionic compounds, covalent compounds, and common acids. Expect electronegativity differences, polyatomic ions, and oxidation numbers.
374 words, about 2 min04Chemical Reactions, Stoichiometry, and Solutions
This domain tests balancing equations, classifying reactions, mole calculations, limiting reactants, and solution concentration. Expect questions that combine a balanced equation with molarity or mass-to-mass conversion.
382 words, about 2 min