AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) Chemistry (XI-XII): syllabus, papers and marking
AKU-EB HSSC Chemistry across twenty-two topics: fifty MCQs, a 35-mark written paper and a practical, marked to the board’s specification table.
Chemistry HSSC Syllabus 2025 · Annual and September series · grades A++ to U (IBCC scale)
AKU-EB HSSC Chemistry: where the marks go
AKU-EB Chemistry at HSSC is a 100-mark qualification sat at the end of each class: Paper I is 50 compulsory MCQs on an OMR sheet, Paper II is 35 marks of constructed and extended responses in the answer booklet, and Paper III is a 15-mark practical held separately. Papers I and II share a three-hour sitting. The syllabus fixes the marks topic by topic in a table of exam specifications, and the cognitive weighting is Remember 0 to 15%, Understand 45 to 60% and Apply and beyond 25 to 40%. Marks are won on balanced equations, mole-based working and stating the reason behind a trend or property, not on naming facts.
AdmitPortfolio builds Chemistry papers to that table, with MCQs written as applied and data-based items and constructed responses that ask for the working or the reason. Paper I scores automatically; Paper II is marked question by question as each rubric is released, with the concept behind each lost mark named. The practical is not marked on the platform.
Paper structure and what we mark
| Paper | Time | Marks | Weight | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper I — Multiple Choice | 3 h (Papers I and II) | 50 | 50% | 50 compulsory four-option MCQs on an OMR sheet, 1 mark each |
| Paper II — Constructed and Extended Response | — | 35 | 35% | CRQs and ERQs in the answer booklet; each ERQ is either/or. 35 marks in each class |
| Paper III — Practical | Separate | 15 | 15% | Practical exam with journal, from the practical activities in the syllabus |
Syllabus outline
- Stoichiometry
- Atomic Structure
- Theories of Covalent Bonding and Shapes of Molecules
- States of Matter: Gases, Liquids and Solids
- Chemical Equilibrium
- Acids, Bases and Salts
- Chemical Kinetics
- Solution and Colloids
- Chemical Energetics
- Electrochemistry
- s- and p-Block Elements
- Transition Metals
- Organic Compounds
- Hydrocarbons
- Alkyl Halides and Amines
- Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers
- Carbonyl Compound I: Aldehydes and Ketones
- Carbonyl Compound II: Carboxylic Acid and Functional Derivatives
- Biochemistry
- Industrial Chemistry
- Environmental Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
How each paper is marked here
- Paper I (50 MCQs) is scored automatically against the key and reported by topic against the syllabus table.
- Constructed responses are marked for the specific point or step asked for, and extended responses are marked for completeness of the explanation, diagrams and examples.
- Practical marks come from the school’s practical examination and journal and are outside the written marking.
Where AKU-EB HSSC Chemistry candidates lose marks
- Unbalanced equations and missing state symbols — Right formulae with wrong coefficients lose the mark, and every stoichiometry step that follows inherits the error.
- Mole calculations that skip the mole step — Going straight from mass to mass hides the method. Show n = m/M and the ratio taken from the equation.
- Trends stated with no reason — Periodic and bonding trends need the cause, such as nuclear charge, shielding or intermolecular forces, not just that a value increases down the group.
- Organic names and structures written loosely — Wrong chain length, missing locants or carbons drawn with the wrong number of bonds are marked wrong even inside an otherwise sound answer.
- Either/or extended answers that run across both options — Each extended response is either/or. Writing half of each leaves neither complete and leaves the examiner with nothing full to credit.
Sample papers, mark schemes and marked reports for AKU-EB HSSC Chemistry
See a real handwritten script marked by eight examiners at admitportfolio.com/examiners.
Questions teachers ask
- Which sittings are examined?
- AKU-EB examines the syllabus in both the Annual and the September sessions.
- How is Paper II split?
- Paper II carries 21 CRQ marks and 14 ERQ marks, each ERQ either/or, with marks fixed topic by topic in the exam-specification table.
- Is the grading scale the IBCC 10-point scale?
- Yes. Grades run from A++ to U on the IBCC scale, with 40% as the pass line, from the 2026 annual exams for Part I and 2027 for Part II.
- Is this official AKU-EB marking?
- No. Aga Khan University Examination Board marks the real exam. This is examiner-style marking of mocks and homework for AKU-EB HSSC Chemistry. Only you see the marking, and you decide what reaches the student.
- Do you reproduce past-paper questions?
- No. Every XI-XII paper here is original and written to the chemistry hssc syllabus 2025, in the same structure as the real papers shown above.
- Which papers are marked?
- None yet are marked question by question; Paper I are scored instantly. Practical exams sat at the centre are not marked here.
- How is the next paper chosen?
- From the marks a student lost: the concepts behind them are ranked by marks dropped, and the new paper weights those topics. It is the same syllabus and structure, with new questions.
- When are the exams?
- Annual and September series. Grades A++ to U (IBCC scale).
Other AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) courses
- AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) Biology (XI–XII)
- AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) Physics (XI-XII)
- AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) Computer Science (XI-XII)
- AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) Mathematics (XI-XII)
- AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) English Compulsory (XI-XII)
- AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) Urdu Compulsory (XI-XII)
- AKU-EB HSSC (Intermediate) Islamiyat (XII)