Preparing for the PRAXIS II Chemistry, Physics, and General Science Exam

Many states today require that educators who teach middle or high school chemistry, physics, and/or general science take and pass the PRAXIS II Chemistry, Physics, and General Science Exam in order to obtain licensure. Only those who already possess a bachelor’s degree may stand for this two-hour test, which consists of 120 multiple choice questions. The use of a calculator during the exam is prohibited.

Questions on the PRAXIS II Chemistry, Physics, and General Science Exam are distributed in this manner: 36 deal with chemistry; 36 pertain to physics; 24 regard major concepts in chemistry and physics; 12 have to do with Earth and space science, and 12 concern biology.

In order to prepare for the PRAXIS II Chemistry, Physics, and General Science Exam section on chemistry, test takers should review kinetics, acids and bases, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, biochemistry, oxidation, solutions, formulas, the mole, periodicity, organic and inorganic chemistry, and lab safety. To be ready for the physics portion of the exam, they should study fluid, kinematic and dynamic mechanics; fields, forces and laws of magnetism and electricity; conductors; circuitry; waves and optics; modern physics, and the ways physics and the environment are interrelated.

Questions on the PRAXIS II Chemistry, Physics, and General Science Exam also pertain to these major ideas in chemistry and physics: the scientific method, data collecting and interpretation, radioactivity, thermodynamics, atomic characteristics, molecular kinetics, matter, and physical and chemical transformations. Questions regarding Earth and space science deal with astronomy; geology; meteorology; oceanography; environmental issues; the solar system; galaxies; the universe; the investigation of space; rocks and minerals; weathering and erosion; topography; historical geology; climate and weather systems; the atmosphere; and chemical, physical, geological and biological characteristics of water. The biology section of the test poses questions regarding cells, ecology, and organisms as well as questions about the connection between life science and the environment.