International Chemistry Quiz

Supporting Partner

Official sponsor for the International Chemistry Quiz

School of Chemistry

How to Enter

School Competitions & Initiatives

Contact Us

Key Information:

Time allowance: 60 Minutes

Registrations Close Date: 23 July 2025

Answer Sheets upload close: Midnight 8 August 2025

Register as a School Coordinator for ICQ

Once you've registered, and been approved by our team, you will have access to your teacher account where you can register and pay for your students, access quiz materials, guides, and student results.

If your school doesn't appear in the list, please contact us at icquiz@raci.org.au and we will assist you!

School Coordinator Login Portal

About the International Chemistry Quiz (ICQ)

The ICQ stands out as a unique chemistry education initiative, providing a dynamic and focused exploration of chemistry for school students between years 7 - 12. It aims to kindle interest in chemistry and underscore the crucial role of chemists in society. It serves as an opportunity for teachers to gauge their students' understanding of chemistry and acts as a platform to encourage students to pursue studies and careers in chemistry. Going beyond standard syllabus content, the Quiz is designed to be engaging and thought-provoking. With questions that encourage students to apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios, ICQ is truly an international competition, attracting participants from Australia and across the world. Come explore the world of chemistry!

Join the ICQ Teacher Mailing List

Our International Partners

Helpful tools and past papers

Want to stay updated on all things ICQ?

Ready to be part of the International Chemistry Quiz journey? Join our Mailing List ! We'll keep you in the loop throughout the year with details on each step of the ICQ quiz process.

We will send out a guide on how to register and purchase the Quiz on our platform. Through our platform you can access your teacher account, quiz materials, and student results.

International Partners

Connect with our International Partners

We have international partners all over the world. To learn more about the International Chemistry Quiz (ICQ) in your country, contact your local coordinator below.

If your country’s coordinator is not listed, don’t worry! Simply join our mailing list, and we’ll get back to you soon with the information you need.

Ready to embark on a global chemistry adventure? Connect with us and your in-country coordinator!

Asia, Europe, India, Africa & Middle East

ASDAN

Sri Lanka

Institute of Chemistry Ceylon

Quiz Format:

Online Quiz

Printable Quiz

The quiz comprises 30 multiple-choice questions to be answered within 60 mins.

Entry Categories:

Junior Division 1 (Ages 12 - 13 / Year 7)

Junior Division 2 (Ages 13 - 14 / Year 8)

Intermediate 1 (Ages 14 - 15 / Year 9)

Intermediate 2 (Ages 15 - 16 / Year 10)

Senior (Ages 16 - 17 / Year 11)

Final (Ages 17 - 18 / Year 12)

Tools Allowed:

For those participating in the quiz online, please await instructions from your teacher before proceeding. You have only one opportunity, so make it count! Further details can be found in the FAQs document; ensure to download it.

Online Quiz Instructions:

🚫 Internet Access Restriction:

Access to the internet is strictly prohibited during the quiz, except for accessing the online quiz site.

Once the results are ready, we'll be sending out an email to all coordinators.

What to Expect:

Individual School Report: Each school will receive a comprehensive report detailing their students' performance.
Student Certificates: Recognize your students' achievements with individual certificates.

All students receive an award according to the criteria below.

Excellent
Awarded to a student who has 100% correct answered.

High Distinction
Awarded to a student who is in the top 10% of their year and region.

Distinction
Awarded to a student who is in the next 20% of their year and region.

Credit
Awarded to a student who is in the next 20% of their year and region.

Participation
Awarded to a student who has participated in the competition and received no higher award.

Prize

Students who obtain a perfect score of 30 out of 30 receive a Lapel Pin.

The content of the quiz changes each year, but may be based on the the following topics:

Years 7 & 8: Mixtures and solutions; states of matter and particle motion; differences between elements, compounds, and mixtures; chemical change.

Years 9 & 10: Composition of atoms; chemical reactions and conservation of mass; significance of reactions in living and non-living systems; atomic structure and the Periodic Table; types of chemical reactions and reaction rates.

Year 11: Atomic models and bonding; enthalpy and energy changes; scientific inquiry in investigations; molecular structure and intermolecular forces; kinetic and collision theory.

Year 12: Characteristics of equilibrium systems; strength vs. concentration of acids; redox reactions and electrochemical cells; historical development of chemical theories; functional groups in organic compounds; synthesis processes and analytical techniques.

Across All Years: Designing, conducting, evaluating, and communicating scientific investigations into properties, behaviors, and reactions of substances.

What's the purpose of the ICQ?
The ICQ aims to foster an understanding of chemistry's essence and significance among high school students, nurturing an interest in further exploration of the subject and highlighting its pivotal societal role. Moreover, the questions are tiered in difficulty, ensuring accessibility for a wide range of students.

Does ICQ follow a specific curriculum?

ICQ is not your typical syllabus test. While some questions align with the Australian Curriculum, the quiz isn't handcuffed to it. The aim? To keep things interesting and promote chemical thinking. We want students to apply their knowledge beyond what's covered in syllabus documents.

How are certificate levels decided?
Achievement levels are determined by comparing student performances across participating countries within the same grade. Depending on their results, students may receive certificates ranging from Excellence to Participation, with those achieving a perfect score earning an ICQ Lapel Pin.

Do students win any prizes?
In addition to certificates corresponding to their achievement level, students who excel, including those with perfect scores, are rewarded with a gleaming ICQ Lapel Pin.

How does the Online Quiz work?
The Online Quiz is a timed event, completed within a span of 60 minutes. However, students should await their teacher's approval before diving in. The questions mirror those in the hard copy paper, with calculators permitted but mobile phones and internet-connected devices strictly prohibited.

Can schools choose a different quiz date?
Our quiz extends over a 3-day period, affording flexibility for students to participate at their convenience. This setup enables students across various year levels to undertake the quiz simultaneously, simplifying supervision for teachers.

How can I check the results?
Once the results are available, detailed instructions will be provided via email on how to access the results. Teachers can then log in to the ICQ Admin Portal to download school reports and student results.

How can my child participate if the school isn't involved?
If your child is eager to partake but the school isn't onboard, approach their teacher. It's plausible to arrange for a small group to undertake the online quiz during lunch breaks or after school hours.

How can a new school get involved?
Join our Mailing List to receive comprehensive guidance and step-by-step booklets, facilitating seamless participation in the ICQ.

The competition must be conducted in a controlled environment where students can be directly supervised in person. Provide a safe place to store student's mobile phones during the competition. The online competition has its own timer.

Each student must be provided with:

Their own desk and chair
Ample supply of pencils, erasers and scrap paper
A computer or tablet with internet access (for online competitions only).

Only teachers and staff at a verified school, homeschool, or coaching clinic can register students in RACI ICQ competitions.

To register as a coordinator for your school, please visit the ICQ Admin Portal.

Please note that your account requires manual approval by the RACI ICQ Coordinator. We appreciate your patience during this process, and kindly allow 1-3 business days for the approval to take place.

If you can't find your school in our admin portal, please email us at icquiz@raci.org.au to request adding a new school.

For existing coordinators, you can approve new users for your school.

Note: Competition updates and information will be emailed to the person who placed the order. If this person is not running the competition, they will need to forward any communications from us to the competition coordinator.

Detailed instructions on how to place an order are available for download.

How to Place Order

ICQ Teacher's Guide

Detail information for How to run ICQ : ICQ Teacher's Guide

Key points for ICQ online quiz

Teachers will need to log in to our ICQ Admin Portal before the competition to export and print usernames and passwords
Each username is unique and cannot be reused for different students.

Key points for ICQ printable quiz

Teachers will need to log in to our ICQ Admin Portal before the competition to generate, download and print student answer sheets and the quiz papers.
Answer sheets have unique QR codes and cannot be photocopied
Completed answer sheets should be uploaded to our admin portal for processing and grading by 31 August 2024.