Victoria JC 2023 H2 Chemistry Paper 2

This is the short summary of the Prelim Paper Review I've done for

VJC 2023 H2 Chemistry Paper 2

Download paper here

Prelim Paper Review on TikTok here

My 3 matrices:

Relevance: 2.5/10

Insightfulness: 7/10

Difficulty: 8/10

Overall: 4/10

Expectation: 60%

Key questions to consider:

Question 2 - Energetics, Atomic Structure

Question 5 - Organic Chemistry, Nitrogen Compounds, Isomerism

Short writeup:

The 2023 Victoria Junior College (VJC) H2 Chemistry Paper 3 immediately gives off a familiar impression — one common across many of VJC’s past prelims. The questions are deliberately tedious, layered with unnecessary unknowns, and often omit diagrams that could have helped students visualise information more clearly. This alone makes the paper time-consuming and mentally taxing. Most students will struggle not because of the chemistry itself, but because of the time it takes to unpack each question.

Yet, the difficulty of this paper does not arise from creativity or application. Instead, it stems from volume, structure, and the sheer cognitive load required to process the questions quickly.

A Paper That Deviates From A Level Style

One key weakness of this paper lies in its low relevance to the actual A Level format. The structure differs significantly from what students would expect in the real exam. There is little to no storytelling. No genuine application scenario. No contextual anchor. Instead, the paper swims between unusual question framings and technical demands that feel detached from typical A Level conventions.

However, this deviation — while a weakness from an exam-relevance standpoint — makes the paper useful in an entirely different way.

Insights From Unfamiliarity

Because the question style is so different, students are forced out of memorised thinking patterns. Every question requires something extra: deeper interpretation, sharper inference, tighter logic. Small traps are set everywhere, testing precision and situational awareness. This makes the paper a valuable shaping tool for students who want to challenge the way they read, reason, and approach unfamiliar problems.

In other words, this is not the kind of paper to rush through.It is the kind to slow down and think deeply about.

Certain questions contain unexpected insights simply because they are structured unlike other schools’ prelims. This forces students to process chemistry in a more adaptive way — a skill that becomes essential when facing the inevitable “never-seen-before” question in the actual A Levels.

How Students Should Use This Paper

Do not attempt this paper as a full timed run.The time pressure is artificially inflated, and the question style does not mirror the real exam closely enough to serve as a benchmark.

Instead, students should cherry-pick questions:

• Choose the ones that highlight unusual setups

• Tackle questions that feel foreign or uncomfortable

• Use each question as an exercise in adaptability and precision

  
  

The value of this paper is not in completion — it is in conscious engagement. Students who think carefully through these questions, ideally with guidance, will develop sharper instincts for analysis and interpretation.

Final Thoughts

The 2025 VJC H2 Chemistry Paper 3 is undeniably difficult, occasionally frustrating, and sometimes unnecessarily tedious. But it is also filled with opportunities for students to stretch their thinking in ways that standard prelim papers rarely demand.

For students who want to build real resilience and conceptual flexibility, the insights are worth the effort.

As you prepare for the 2026 A Levels, my new centre at 1102A Serangoon Road, Level 2 will be opening slots for students who want to learn Chemistry the way it should be learned — through clarity, logic, and understanding, not memorisation.

Join the waitlist to be the first informed when the free 2026 H2 Chemistry trial class opens.