Download the official 2025 PS:Chem Reference Tables (NYSED) →
How the tables are organized
The 2025 Reference Tables compile the constants, periodic information, equations, formulas, and lookup data students need to answer Physical Science: Chemistry questions. They are provided as a single multi-page document at the exam. The tables are organized by topic, so when you are working a cluster question, the relevant table is usually one section away.
The high-yield tables (the ones that appear in answers most often) are:
- Periodic Table of the Elements. The single most-used reference. Read every element box: atomic number, atomic mass, oxidation states, electron configuration, electronegativity.
- Physical Constants and Useful Equations. Speed of light, Avogadro's number, Planck's constant, gas constant. Plus formulas for combined gas law, energy, density.
- Solubility, Acid-Base, and Equilibrium Tables. Predict whether a salt dissolves, identify strong vs weak acids, look up K values.
- Properties of Common Substances. Densities, specific heats, boiling/melting points.
- Electromagnetic Spectrum. Wavelength and frequency ranges of regions of the EM spectrum.
- Standard Reduction Potentials. For redox cluster questions involving electrochemistry.
Habits that make reference tables faster
- Tab the high-frequency tables mentally. You should be able to flip to the periodic table without scanning. Same for solubility and acid-base tables.
- Practice with the tables open. Don't try to memorize values that the tables will give you. Practice using the tables as a tool, not as a backup.
- Verify units before using a constant. The 2025 tables use SI units throughout. If a problem gives kilojoules and the formula uses joules, convert.
- Read element boxes whole, not partial. The Regents likes to give you data from one element box (e.g., "the electron configuration of an unknown element is 2-8-8-2") and expect you to find the rest of that box. If you can read the whole box quickly, you save time.
Differences from the old tables
The 2025 Reference Tables differ from the 2011 Physical Setting/Chemistry tables in several ways that NYSED has signaled. Always verify against the official PDF, but expect:
- Reformatting for the NYSSLS framework, with more emphasis on data interpretation and modeling.
- Updated and expanded electromagnetic spectrum table (the new exam tests EM radiation as a topic area).
- Streamlined organic chemistry sections (the old exam tested organic naming heavily; the new exam tests it less).
- Engineering and computational sections may include conventions for representing systems and energy flow.
The substantive chemistry constants and data have not changed. Hydrogen still ionizes, water still has a specific heat of about 4.18 J/g°C, and chlorine is still atomic number 17.
Test-day move
Bring a printed copy of the 2025 Reference Tables to every study session for the next few weeks. Highlight, annotate, and flag the sections you use most. Then on test day, use the unmarked clean copy you receive at the exam. Familiarity with the layout buys you the time you need on constructed-response questions.