IB Chemistry Data Booklet: Contents, Papers and Tips

What it is and when you can use it

The Chemistry data booklet is published by the IB for the course first assessed in 2025. A clean copy is provided to candidates in the written papers, Paper 1A, Paper 1B and Paper 2, at both SL and HL, and a scientific calculator is allowed in those papers.

Older students may remember tighter rules about Paper 1 from the previous course. Do not assume those still apply. If you are unsure, check the assessment section of the current Chemistry guide or ask your IB coordinator.

The IB distributes the booklet to schools. Ask your teacher for the official copy instead of using unofficial copies, which may be an older version or have been annotated.

What is inside

The booklet is a series of numbered sections of tables and relationships. The periodic table sits in it, so you do not need to memorise atomic masses. It also includes physical constants, data on bond enthalpies and lattice enthalpies, standard electrode potentials, acid and base dissociation constants, solubility and other tabulated values, and spectroscopic data such as infrared and NMR ranges.

A few standard relationships are given too, for example in gases, equilibrium and kinetics. As in other IB data booklets, the equations are listed without worked explanation, so you must know what each symbol means and its units.

Because the booklet is organised by type of data rather than by question, learn its layout. Knowing whether you need the electrode potential table or the bond enthalpy table before the exam saves valuable minutes.

What you must still memorise

Data tables do not replace chemistry knowledge. Examiners expect you to supply the reasoning, and no table can do that for you.

• Definitions such as enthalpy of formation, activation energy and oxidation state rules.
• Reaction types, organic mechanisms and the conditions or reagents for each step.
• Trends and explanations, such as why ionisation energy changes across a period.
• Practical technique and the reasons for each step in a method.
• How to set up mole calculations, including balancing equations and limiting reagents.

HL and SL

Both levels use the same booklet, but HL covers more topics, so more of the data matters. Some tables will only be used by HL questions, such as extra material for additional equilibrium or organic topics.

Before an exam, check which parts of the booklet your own level actually uses. That focuses your practice on the sections you are likely to need.

How to practise with it

Practise with the clean booklet from the start. Pick a topic, work through questions, and each time you look something up, note which section it came from. After a week you will find things quickly.

Then move to whole papers under timed conditions with only the booklet and a scientific calculator. Mark yourself against the official mark scheme, and record whether each lost mark was a recall, calculation or data-lookup error.

PastPaperPrep lets you filter real IB Chemistry questions by topic, and whole papers are free to open without an account. Many questions also include a worked explanation.

IB Chemistry HL topic practice · IB Chemistry SL topic practice · Free IB Chemistry HL whole papers · Free IB Chemistry SL whole papers

Common mistakes

The most important one is using the wrong version. The current course has its own booklet, and booklets from the previous syllabus have different tables and numbering. Check that yours says first assessment 2025.

Others include taking a value from a nearby row of a table, mixing kJ and J when using enthalpy and entropy data, forgetting to convert temperature to kelvin, and leaving out units. Write the source row and units next to every value you use.