Module 2 runs through Dec 20 · Levels 2, 3 & 4 — join live now, or start from session 1 on recordings

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Curriculum

What your student learns at each level

Every level runs the same 3 modules, from late August to late February. Each week has a live class with Dr. Chen and a staff session: a weekly 60-minute problem-solving session with our staff. What changes from level to level is the topics and their depth, the exam the year aims at, and the hours each week.

The levels side by side

Not sure which column is yours? Try Find Your Level or take a Placement Test. When in doubt, start at Level 2. You can change level between modules at no cost. Want to change partway through a module? Contact us and we will arrange it.

Start here if
Level 2

1+ year of solid chemistry, from a class or self-study

New to chemistry? Begin with Level 1: Chemistry Foundations, studied on your own.

Level 3

Completed AP Chemistry or equivalent with distinction

Not sure your record counts as “with distinction”? The Level 3 Placement Test settles it.

Module 3 also needs the Summer Orgo Intensive, live or as a recording packet.

Level 4

Local Exam 50+ or National Exam Part I 30+

Module 3 also needs the Summer Orgo Intensive, live or as a recording packet.

Aims at
Level 2

Excel at the USNCO Local Exam

Level 3

Honors (top ~200) and beyond on the National Exam

Level 4

High Honors (top 50), Study Camp, and beyond

Hours each week
Level 2

4–5hrs/week

  • live class 1.5
  • homework 1–1.5
  • staff session 1
  • review 0.5–1
Level 3

5.5–7hrs/week

  • live class 1.5
  • homework 2–3
  • staff session 1
  • review 1–1.5
Level 4

7.5–10hrs/week

  • live class 2
  • homework 3–5
  • staff session 1
  • review 1.5–2
Versus the level below
Level 2

Entry level

Level 3

Homework roughly doubles

Level 4

Homework doubles again

Live classes
Level 2

Fridays, 8:30–10 pm ET (5:30–7 pm PT) with Dr. Chen

Staff session: Saturdays, 7:30–8:30 pm ET (4:30–5:30 pm PT)

Level 3

Saturdays, 8:30–10 pm ET (5:30–7 pm PT) with Dr. Chen

Staff session: Sundays, 7:30–8:30 pm ET (4:30–5:30 pm PT)

Level 4

Sundays, 8:00–10 pm ET (5–7 pm PT) with Dr. Chen

Staff session: Fridays, 7:30–8:30 pm ET (4:30–5:30 pm PT)

Textbooks
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Enroll
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4

Can’t make the live times? Recording packet: the same module as the live class, with 1-year access. Every recorded lecture and staff session, lecture notes, problem sets with solutions, and the module exam (including the proctored sittings). Questions by email or WeChat are answered within 48 hours. Not included: attending live and asking questions in class.

Live classes have 20+ students, varying a little by level and year; staff sessions have about 10 students live. Prices and class dates on Programs →

What each level covers, session by session

The same 3 modules at every level, 8 sessions each; each level goes one step deeper on the same themes. Open a cell to see its sessions.

Level 2Local Prep

M1Structures & Propertieslate Aug – mid Oct

Atomic structure, periodicity, bonding, molecular geometry, intermolecular forces, gases, and solutions — the structural backbone of every USNCO exam.

Level 2, Module 1: Structures & Properties: 8 sessions
  1. 1Bohr's Atomic Model
  2. 2Orbitals and Electron Configurations
  3. 3Periodic Table and Periodic Trends
  4. 4Bond Types and Lewis Structures
  5. 5Resonance and the VSEPR Model
  6. 6Intermolecular Forces and Phase Changes
  7. 7Gas Laws and Solutions
  8. 8Review & Integrated Module Exam

M2Chemical Principleslate Oct – late Dec

Thermochemistry, kinetics, and the full arc of equilibrium chemistry — from Le Chatelier to buffers, titrations, and solubility.

Level 2, Module 2: Chemical Principles: 8 sessions
  1. 1Thermochemistry
  2. 2Chemical Kinetics 1
  3. 3Chemical Kinetics 2
  4. 4Chemical Equilibria and Le Chatelier's Principle
  5. 5Acid-Base Equilibria
  6. 6Buffers and Titrations
  7. 7Solubility and Complex-Ion Equilibria
  8. 8Review & Integrated Module Exam

M3Orgo, Lab & Descriptiveearly Jan – late Feb

Electrochemistry, thermodynamics, fundamental organic chemistry, and the descriptive/laboratory topics that decide Local Exam scores — finishing right before the Local Exam with mock practice.

Level 2, Module 3: Orgo, Lab & Descriptive: 8 sessions
  1. 1Redox Reactions and Galvanic Cells
  2. 2Nernst Equation and Electrolysis
  3. 3Spontaneity, Entropy, and Free Energy
  4. 4Applications of Thermodynamics
  5. 5Fundamental Organic Chemistry 1
  6. 6Fundamental Organic Chemistry 2
  7. 7Descriptive Chemistry & Laboratory 1
  8. 8Descriptive Chemistry & Laboratory 2Module 3 closes with a comprehensive Local and National Exam mock in NCT format, in place of a module exam. About the NCT format ↗
Level 3Nat'l Prep

M1Structures & Propertieslate Aug – mid Oct

Advanced structures beyond AP: orbital nodes, periodic exceptions, Bent's rule, molecular orbital theory, solid models, and coordination compounds.

Level 3, Module 1: Structures & Properties: 8 sessions
  1. 1Advanced Atomic Structures
  2. 2Periodic Trends, Exceptions, and Nuclear Chemistry
  3. 3Advanced Molecular Structures and Bonding
  4. 4Hybridization and Molecular Orbital Theory
  5. 5Solutions and Solid Models
  6. 6Isomerism and Crystal Field Theory of Coordination Compounds
  7. 7Laboratory and Reactions
  8. 8Review & Integrated Module Exam

M2Chemical Principleslate Oct – late Dec

Integrated chemical principles at National depth — kinetics, equilibrium, electrochemistry, and thermodynamics as they appear in National Part I and II.

Level 3, Module 2: Chemical Principles: 8 sessions
  1. 1Advanced Thermochemistry and Kinetics 1
  2. 2Advanced Kinetics 2
  3. 3Advanced Topics in Equilibrium 1
  4. 4Advanced Topics in Equilibrium 2
  5. 5Advanced Topics in Electrochemistry 1
  6. 6Advanced Topics in Electrochemistry 2
  7. 7Advanced Topics in Thermodynamics
  8. 8Review & Integrated Module Exam

M3Orgo, Lab & Descriptiveearly Jan – late Feb

Applications of thermodynamics, descriptive & laboratory chemistry as tested on USNCO, and a three-stage organic sequence from fundamentals to advanced structures and reactivities.

Level 3, Module 3: Orgo, Lab & Descriptive: 8 sessions
  1. 1Applications of Thermodynamics 1
  2. 2Applications of Thermodynamics 2
  3. 3Descriptive Chemistry & Laboratory 1
  4. 4Descriptive Chemistry & Laboratory 2
  5. 5Fundamental Organic Chemistry
  6. 6Intermediate Organic Chemistry
  7. 7Advanced Organic Chemistry
  8. 8Review & Integrated Module ExamModule 3 closes with a comprehensive Local and National Exam mock in NCT format, in place of a module exam. About the NCT format ↗
Level 4Camp Prep

M1Structures & Propertieslate Aug – mid Oct

Coordination chemistry, analytical chemistry, reaction writing, and explanation questions — the free-response skills National Part II demands.

Level 4, Module 1: Structures & Properties: 8 sessions
  1. 1Advanced Atomic Structures and Periodicity
  2. 2Advanced Molecular Structures and Bonding
  3. 3Molecular Orbital Theory
  4. 4Coordination Chemistry
  5. 5Descriptive Chemistry and Laboratory
  6. 6Summary of Reactions
  7. 7Reaction Writing
  8. 8Review & Integrated Module Exam

M2Chemical Principleslate Oct – late Dec

IChO-level chemical principles with a relentless focus on problem solving — every session is integrated practice across kinetics, equilibrium, electrochemistry, and thermodynamics.

Level 4, Module 2: Chemical Principles: 8 sessions
  1. 1Integrated Problem Solving in Kinetics 1
  2. 2Integrated Problem Solving in Kinetics 2
  3. 3Integrated Problem Solving in Equilibrium 1
  4. 4Integrated Problem Solving in Equilibrium 2
  5. 5Integrated Problem Solving in Electrochemistry 1
  6. 6Integrated Problem Solving in Electrochemistry 2
  7. 7Integrated Problem Solving in Thermodynamics 1
  8. 8Integrated Problem Solving in Thermodynamics 2

M3Orgo, Lab & Descriptiveearly Jan – late Feb

IChO-level integrated organic chemistry — a systematic tour of reaction chemistry from substitutions and eliminations through enolates, conjugate additions, and SNAr.

Level 4, Module 3: Orgo, Lab & Descriptive: 8 sessions
  1. 1Advanced Topics in Thermodynamics
  2. 2Review and Extension of Fundamental Organic Chemistry
  3. 3Nucleophilic Substitutions and Eliminations
  4. 4Chemistry of Alkenes and Alkynes
  5. 5Advanced Topics in Aromatic Substitutions
  6. 6Nucleophilic Substitution at C=O: Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
  7. 7Chemistry of Enols and Enolates
  8. 8Conjugate Addition and SNArModule 3 closes with a comprehensive Local and National Exam mock in NCT format, in place of a module exam. About the NCT format ↗

Together the levels cover all 10 topic blocks of the USNCO multiple-choice exam. Where each block is taught →

How a week runs

The same rhythm at every level; the hours above are what it adds up to.

  1. 1.Before class — do the pre-reading listed at the top of that week’s lecture note.
  2. 2.Live class with Dr. Chen — on time. (Recording students: watch promptly, don’t let them stack up.)
  3. 3.Before the staff session — complete and submit your homework.
  4. 4.Staff session — worked explanations of those problems, plus extensions beyond the live class.
  5. 5.After both — corrections and review, while it’s fresh.
What Level 2 asks of you, in Dr. Chen's words

Level 2 is our local-prep track, and it sits at “AP plus.” We move harder and faster than a strong AP Chemistry program, and we go into advanced topics that sit beyond the AP syllabus entirely. That’s the point — the USNCO Local Exam rewards depth AP alone doesn’t reach. It also means the class only works if the week around it works.

What Level 3 asks of you, in Dr. Chen's words

This is more than Level 2 asks, and deliberately so — HL material rewards time spent wrestling with problems far more than time spent listening. The live class points the way; the problem sets are where the level is actually earned.

What Level 4 asks of you, in Dr. Chen's words

Level 4 works at National Part II and IChO depth, where problems are long, multi-step, and unfamiliar by design. Most of the hours are yours rather than mine: the live class opens the door, and the problem sets are what carry you through it. Students who cannot protect this time reliably are better served by consolidating at Level 3 first.

Before and after the year

Short programs that prepare for a level or follow it. They are not part of the level itself.

  • Before Level 2

    Level 1: Chemistry Foundations

    The year before Level 2 — at school or by self-study · ~1 school year · self-paced

    Strongly recommended before Level 2. Level 2 is not a zero-prerequisite course — it moves harder and faster than AP from the first week, and this foundation is what that first week assumes.

    Level 1 textbook & self-study guide →

  • Before Level 3 and Level 4

    Summer Orgo Intensive

    Late July, before the fall term · 7–8 hrs/day · 5 days

    Prerequisite for Module 3 at Levels 3 and 4, for students who completed AP Chemistry or Level 2. Module 3 is where organic chemistry arrives — complete this week first (live or recording) and January starts from a foundation already built.

  • Before Level 3

    Local Problem Solving

    Early August, immediately before the fall term · ~4.5 hrs/day · 5 days

    Strongly recommended before Level 3. Builds the timing and accuracy the 60-question multiple-choice format demands, so Level 3 can start from problem-solving fluency instead of building it.

  • Before Level 4

    Nat'l Problem Solving

    Early August, immediately before the fall term · ~4.5 hrs/day · 5 days

    Strongly recommended before Level 4. Level 4 assumes you can already move quickly through Part I material — this week is where that speed gets built, before the level starts asking for Part II depth.

  • After Module 3, Level 3 and Level 4

    Nat'l Exam Bootcamp

    Early March to mid April (tentative for 2027), after the Local Exam · 2 hrs/session · 10 sessions

    For students finishing Level 3 or Level 4 who are sitting the National Exam.

Dates and prices on Programs →

Session order and emphasis may be fine-tuned during the year based on class progress and the latest USNCO exams.