Official NYSED exam booklet, scoring key, rating guide, and conversion chart
Open the exam booklet first if you are working on paper, or launch the interactive exam in All Regents to practice cluster by cluster. Confirm that the cover reads Physical Science: Chemistry—NYSED also administered a separate legacy Physical Setting/Chemistry paper during the August 2026 exam period.
Exam booklet Complete 48-question booklet and response spacesOfficial NYSED PDFScoring key Multiple-choice key and NYSP12SLS standard alignmentsOfficial NYSED PDFRating guide Acceptable responses and scoring rules for all 19 CR itemsOfficial NYSED PDFConversion chart Raw-to-scale score table for August 2026 onlyOfficial NYSED PDF
Open the 2025 Edition Reference Tables (PDF) · NYSED Physical Science: Chemistry archive
All 11 clusters in the August 2026 Chemistry Regents
Every cluster groups its questions around a shared phenomenon, reading, data table, or model. This table is generated directly from the validated August 2026 exam records in the All Regents corpus.
| Questions | Cluster & Topics | Format | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | Electricity Generation in New York StateNatural gas, nuclear fission, and fusion power: chemical vs nuclear energy, gas stoichiometry at STP, and nuclear decayNuclear chemistry · Thermochemistry · Stoichiometry and conservation (HS-PS1-8, HS-PS3-1, HS-PS1-7) | 3 MC, 2 CR | Practice cluster |
| 6–9 | The Fruit Industry in New York StateGrowing grapes and apples and making jelly: soil pH, photosynthesis and conservation of mass, and boiling pointsAcids and bases · Photosynthesis · Stoichiometry and conservation · Solutions (HS-PS1-11, HS-LS1-5, HS-PS1-7, HS-PS1-10) | 2 MC, 2 CR | Practice cluster |
| 10–13 | The Great American Solar EclipseEclipse glasses and sunscreen: the electromagnetic spectrum, emission spectra, and molecular structure and functionElectromagnetic radiation · Engineering design · Materials and structure (HS-PS4-4, HS-ETS1-2, HS-PS2-6) | 2 MC, 2 CR | Practice cluster |
| 14–17 | SemiconductorsBand gaps in Group 14 elements and doped silicon: periodic trends, ionization energy, and valence electronsPeriodic patterns · Bonding and formulas · Materials and structure (HS-PS1-1, HS-PS1-2, HS-PS2-6) | 3 MC, 1 CR | Practice cluster |
| 18–21 | Go With the FlowVacuum bottles and hot and cold packs: heat transfer, heats of solution, and attractions between ions and waterThermochemistry · Polarity and molecular structure (HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-5) | 3 MC, 1 CR | Practice cluster |
| 22–25 | Pool Water ChemistryClearing cloudy pool water and keeping it sanitized: precipitates, Le Châtelier's principle, and pH indicatorsBonding and formulas · Acids and bases · Equilibrium (HS-PS1-2, HS-PS1-11, HS-PS1-6) | 3 MC, 1 CR | Practice cluster |
| 26–29 | The ABCs of Ultraviolet RadiationSunburns and ozone alerts: UV wavelength and frequency, parts per million, and balancing an equation from a modelElectromagnetic radiation · Solutions · Stoichiometry and conservation (HS-PS4-4, HS-PS1-10, HS-PS1-7) | 3 MC, 1 CR | Practice cluster |
| 30–33 | Catalytic Converter in CarsGasoline cars and the Clean Air Act: catalysts and rate, potential energy diagrams, and grams of CO₂ per liter of fuelReaction rates · Stoichiometry and conservation · Thermochemistry (HS-PS1-5, HS-PS1-7, HS-PS1-4) | 3 MC, 1 CR | Practice cluster |
| 34–38 | Get a Whiff of That!Extracting essential oils and making perfume: polarity, intermolecular forces and evaporation, and percent by massSolutions · Intermolecular forces · Reaction rates (HS-PS1-10, HS-PS1-3, HS-PS1-5) | 2 MC, 3 CR | Practice cluster |
| 39–43 | Parade of BalloonsHelium parade balloons and a weather balloon: helium's electron arrangement, gas laws, and uranium decayPeriodic patterns · Engineering design · Gases · Nuclear chemistry (HS-PS1-1, HS-ETS1-1, HS-PS1-9, HS-PS1-8) | 2 MC, 3 CR | Practice cluster |
| 44–48 | Safe Transport of Drinking WaterLead pipes, steel alloys, and a lead-removing filter: half-reactions, alloy structure, and reaction rateEngineering design · Oxidation and reduction · Materials and structure · Bonding and formulas · Reaction rates (HS-ETS1-3, HS-PS1-12, HS-PS2-6, HS-PS1-2, HS-PS1-5) | 3 MC, 2 CR | Practice cluster |
Inside the August 2026 paper: notable clusters and question designs
The August 2026 administration (48 questions across 11 clusters) reinforced the patterns introduced in June 2026 while showcasing cross-topic phenomenon storylines:
- Cluster 1: Electricity Generation in New York State (Q1–5): Uses a background table of NY State electricity sources to anchor nuclear fission modeling (Q4, drawing nucleus X from a particle key), thermochemistry, and combustion stoichiometry.
- Cluster 4: Semiconductors (Q14–17): Supplies a data table of Group 14 elements at 300 K, asking students to relate electrical conductivity to periodic properties (Q14) and network covalent bonding without 2011 Table S.
- Cluster 6: Pool Water Chemistry (Q22–25): Combines hypochlorous acid equilibrium and bonding with a full pool test report in Q25, where students complete a 4-sample indicator color table using supplied indicator ranges.
- Cluster 9: Get a Whiff of That! (Q34–38): Connects essential-oil volatility to intermolecular forces (Q36 checkbox claim + evidence) and a structured mathematical setup for percent composition by mass (Q38).
- Cluster 10: Parade of Balloons (Q39–43) & Cluster 11: Safe Transport of Drinking Water (Q44–48): Parade of Balloons bridges Group 18 properties, urethane vs. vinyl engineering criteria (Q40), gas laws, and uranium-238 alpha decay (Q43). Safe Transport of Drinking Water ends with Q46’s stainless-steel alloy diagram, where students use supplied atomic radii (ignoring an untested ionization-energy column) to identify interstitial carbon and explain how it alters the metal’s structure and function.
August 2026 conversion chart and Performance Level cutoffs
Every question on the August 2026 exam is worth 1 raw credit, for a maximum raw score of 48. NYSED’s official August 2026 conversion chart maps total raw credits to a 0–100 scale score and five Performance Levels:
| Performance Level | Scale Score Range | Raw Score (out of 48) | Key Benchmarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 5 (Mastery) | 85–100 | 36–48 | 36/48 = 85 · 41/48 = 91 · 48/48 = 100 |
| Level 4 (Proficient) | 78–83 | 31–35 | 31/48 = 78 · 33/48 = 81 · 35/48 = 83 |
| Level 3 (Passing) | 65–77 | 21–30 | 21/48 = 65 · 25/48 = 70 · 30/48 = 77 |
| Level 2 (Safety Net) | 55–63 | 16–20 | 16/48 = 55 · 18/48 = 59 · 20/48 = 63 |
| Level 1 | 0–53 | 0–15 | 15/48 = 53 · 10/48 = 39 · 0/48 = 0 |
In All Regents, multiple-choice items are graded automatically against the stored scoring key, while constructed responses use rubric-guided self-review. Self-scored practice helps you spot missing units, incomplete explanations, or model errors, and is not a predicted Regents scale score. Because conversion charts are equated separately for each test form, use the August 2026 chart only with a complete August 2026 attempt.
How to practice with the August 2026 paper
- Work one complete cluster or sit the full 48-question paper. Keep each cluster’s questions together so you use the shared passage, table, and figures the way the exam intends.
- Keep the 4-page 2025 Reference Tables open. Check whether a needed value is on Pages 1–4 or supplied inside the cluster stimulus.
- Write complete constructed responses. Include mathematical setups, substituted values with units, particle or Lewis electron-dot diagrams, and evidence-backed explanations where requested.
- Audit every missed credit with the Rating Guide. After submitting a cluster, compare your written work against the acceptable responses in the August 2026 Rating Guide and note whether an error came from reading the stimulus, selecting an equation, converting units, or applying a chemical principle.
Want to try the workspace first? Open a free official NYSED sample cluster → Or compare with the June 2026 Physical Science: Chemistry exam →
Frequently asked questions
- How many questions and clusters were on the August 2026 Physical Science: Chemistry Regents exam?
- The August 2026 Physical Science: Chemistry Regents exam (administered Wednesday, August 19, 2026) contained 48 questions across 11 phenomenon clusters: 29 multiple-choice questions and 19 constructed-response questions, each worth 1 raw credit (48 raw credits total).
- What was the conversion chart curve for the August 2026 Chemistry Regents?
- On the official NYSED August 2026 conversion chart (48 raw credits maximum): Level 5 Mastery (scale score 85–100) required 36–48 raw credits; Level 4 Proficient (scale score 78–83) required 31–35 raw credits; Level 3 Passing (scale score 65–77) required 21–30 raw credits; Level 2 Safety Net (scale score 55–63) required 16–20 raw credits; and Level 1 (scale score 0–53) was 0–15 raw credits.
- Where can I practice the August 2026 Chemistry Regents clusters interactively?
- All Regents (https://newregents.com/chemistry/august-2026) is the only platform where you can work all 11 clusters of the August 2026 Physical Science: Chemistry exam interactively with the 2025 Reference Tables, print-faithful booklet view, automatic multiple-choice key checking, and official NYSED Rating Guide rubrics.