In 2021, the Quiz will be held on Thursday 28 July.
The ICQ is a unique chemical education activity. It provides a major focus for secondary school students on the relevance of chemistry in an exciting and stimulating way.
The ICQ aims to promote interest in chemistry and the role of chemists in our society. It is not a nationwide assessment of chemistry knowledge, but rather an opportunity to promote chemistry and for teachers to gauge the understanding their students have of the subject.
The Quiz consists of 30 multiple choice questions to be answered in 60 minutes, either in paper format or online.
There are four age levels at which students can compete:
- Junior – Years 7 & 8
- Intermediate – Years 9 & 10
- Senior – Year 11
- Final – Year 12
The ICQ is not a test of syllabus content. While some questions will rely on knowledge and understanding covered as part of studying the Australian Curriculum, we have endeavoured to make the quiz interesting and to promote chemistry and chemical thinking. Questions that go beyond what is covered in syllabus documents should be able to be answered by students applying their knowledge and understanding to stimulus material provided in the questions. Some questions that are designed to challenge more able students may be/will be included.
All students receive a Certificate of Participation and we typically 40% of all entrants will receive Certificates of Merit to acknowledge their efforts at Credit, Distinction and High Distinction levels. Students who obtain a perfect score of 30 out of 30 receive a Certificate of Excellence and a Lapel Pin. Students are encouraged to engage with the questions and are not penalised for incorrect answers. They will only be competing with other students from their country or state, in the same year level.
The ICQ is truly an international competition with papers translated into seven different languages. The Quiz attracts students throughout Australia and 20 other countries around the world, including India, Germany and China.
Please click here to purchase ICQ (ANCQ) Past Papers