IB Chemistry Tutoring
Work with an IB Chemistry tutor who scored 40+ IB points and knows the current Structure and Reactivity course, from mole calculations to organic mechanisms.
Online IB Chemistry tutoring for HL and SL, built around the course first examined in May 2025. Your tutor helps with Paper 1A multiple choice, Paper 1B data-based questions, Paper 2 calculations and extended responses, and your scientific investigation (IA), starting with the subtopics that cost you the most marks.
Quick answer: IB Doctor offers 1-to-1 IB Chemistry tutoring for course content, each assessment component and coursework. Lessons follow the syllabus and assessment criteria, and the work stays your own. Review tutor verification, student results and methodology before booking.
Matched in 24h
40+ point tutors
First session guarantee
4.8/5 Trustpilot
Chemistry tutoring prices
From £52.50 to £70 per hour, depending on bundle size. Each bundle covers one subject.
- Taster Bundle3 hours£210£70 per hour
- Starter Bundle5 hours£330£66 per hour
- Coursework Bundle10 hours£650£65 per hour
- Assessment Bundle20 hours£1,250£62.50 per hour
- Guardian Bundle50 hours£2,900£58 per hour
- Ultimate Bundle100 hours£5,250£52.50 per hour
What You Get with IB Chemistry Tutoring
Comprehensive support designed to help you achieve your target grade
Paper 1 and Paper 2 Technique
- Paper 1A: fast, accurate multiple-choice answers across all six Structure and Reactivity topics
- Paper 1B: reading unfamiliar data, processing results, handling uncertainties and judging methods
- Paper 2: multi-step calculations and extended responses set out so method marks are not lost
- Command terms such as 'explain', 'deduce' and 'evaluate', practised on past-paper questions and markschemes
Scientific Investigation (IA)
- Turning a broad idea into a focused research question you can test in a school lab
- How to plan variables, method and data collection, shown on other investigations
- Processing data with uncertainties and clear graphs for the data analysis criterion
- Conclusion and evaluation practised on example reports within the 3,000-word limit, while your IA stays your own
Concept Building
- Organic mechanisms and functional groups broken down into the electron movements behind them
- Equilibrium, acid-base and redox calculations practised until they feel routine
- HL content: entropy and Gibbs energy, Born-Haber cycles, rate equations, buffers and electrode potentials
- A study plan built around your weakest subtopics and your exam date
Real student results
Students Improving Their Chemistry Grades
4 → 7
"Organic chemistry finally clicked after my tutor explained mechanisms visually. The past paper practice was invaluable."
E
Emma R.
Chemistry HL, May 2024
5 → 7
"My IA went from average to excellent with structured feedback on my data analysis. Really happy with my final grade!"
D
David M.
Chemistry HL, May 2024
3 → 6
"Stoichiometry used to confuse me completely. Now I can solve complex problems confidently."
A
Aisha K.
Chemistry SL, Nov 2023
How It Works
Simple steps to get started with IB Chemistry tutoring
1
Buy a Bundle
Choose 3 to 100 hours based on your needs. Split across subjects if needed.
2
Complete Onboarding
Tell us your course and level, weak areas, goals, and scheduling preferences.
3
Get Matched & Start
Matched within 24 hours. Schedule your first session immediately.
Chemistry HL vs SL: What's the Difference?
Understanding the requirements at each level
Aspect
Standard Level
Higher Level
SL
HL
Teaching Hours
150 hours (110 syllabus + 40 experimental programme)
240 hours (180 syllabus + 60 experimental programme)
Teaching Hours
150 hours (110 syllabus + 40 experimental programme)
240 hours (180 syllabus + 60 experimental programme)
Syllabus
21 of the 22 Structure and Reactivity subtopics
All 22 subtopics plus additional higher level content
Syllabus
21 of the 22 Structure and Reactivity subtopics
All 22 subtopics plus additional higher level content
HL-only Content
None
Reactivity 1.4 Entropy and spontaneity, plus Born-Haber cycles, rate equations, buffers and electrode potentials
HL-only Content
None
Reactivity 1.4 Entropy and spontaneity, plus Born-Haber cycles, rate equations, buffers and electrode potentials
Paper 1 (1A + 1B)
1 h 30 min, 55 marks: 30 multiple-choice questions + 25 marks of data-based questions
2 h, 75 marks: 40 multiple-choice questions + 35 marks of data-based questions
Paper 1 (1A + 1B)
1 h 30 min, 55 marks: 30 multiple-choice questions + 25 marks of data-based questions
2 h, 75 marks: 40 multiple-choice questions + 35 marks of data-based questions
Paper 2
1 h 30 min, 50 marks
2 h 30 min, 90 marks
Paper 2
1 h 30 min, 50 marks
2 h 30 min, 90 marks
Scientific Investigation (IA)
20%, up to 3,000 words, 24 marks
Same task, criteria and weighting as SL
Scientific Investigation (IA)
20%, up to 3,000 words, 24 marks
Same task, criteria and weighting as SL
IB Chemistry Topics We Cover
The current syllabus has two strands, Structure and Reactivity, split into six topics and 22 subtopics. SL students study 21 of them; HL students study all 22 plus additional higher level content inside many shared subtopics. Your tutor can work through any of them, in the order your school teaches them.
Structure 1: Particulate Nature of Matter
- S1.1-S1.2 Particles, states of matter and the nuclear atom
- S1.3 Electron configurations and emission spectra
- S1.4 Counting particles by mass: the mole
- S1.5 Ideal gases
Structure 2: Bonding and Structure
- S2.1 The ionic model
- S2.2 The covalent model (formal charge and resonance at HL)
- S2.3 The metallic model
- S2.4 From models to materials: alloys and polymers
Structure 3: Classification of Matter
- S3.1 The periodic table and periodic trends
- Transition elements (HL)
- S3.2 Functional groups and naming organic compounds
- Stereoisomerism (HL)
Reactivity 1: What Drives Reactions?
- R1.1 Measuring enthalpy change
- R1.2 Energy cycles: Hess's law and bond enthalpies (Born-Haber cycles at HL)
- R1.3 Energy from fuels
- R1.4 Entropy and spontaneity (HL only)
Reactivity 2: How Much, How Fast, How Far?
- R2.1 The amount of chemical change: equations, yield and limiting reactants
- R2.2 Rates and collision theory (rate equations and the Arrhenius equation at HL)
- R2.3 Equilibrium and Le Chatelier's principle
- Equilibrium calculations and the link to Gibbs energy (HL)
Reactivity 3: Mechanisms of Chemical Change
- R3.1 Proton transfer: acids, bases and pH (pKa, buffers and indicators at HL)
- R3.2 Electron transfer: redox and electrochemical cells (standard electrode potentials at HL)
- R3.3 Electron sharing: radical reactions
- R3.4 Electron-pair sharing: nucleophiles, electrophiles and reaction mechanisms
Assessment breakdown
IB Chemistry Assessment Structure
Since May 2025, IB Chemistry has been assessed through Paper 1 (Paper 1A multiple choice and Paper 1B data-based questions, 36%), Paper 2 (short-answer and extended-response questions, 44%) and the scientific investigation (IA, 20%). There is no Paper 3 and no option topic any more. The weightings are the same at SL and HL; HL papers are longer and include additional higher level content.
Paper 1 (1A + 1B)
External AssessmentSL: 36%
HL: 36%
Paper 1A is multiple choice. Paper 1B has data-based questions and questions on experimental work. You sit both booklets in one session, with a calculator and the chemistry data booklet.
SL: 1 hour 30 min | HL: 2 hours
SL: 30 multiple-choice questions + 25 marks of data-based questions (55 marks) | HL: 40 multiple-choice questions + 35 marks of data-based questions (75 marks)
SL: standard level material | HL: standard and additional higher level material
Paper 2
External AssessmentSL: 44%
HL: 44%
Short-answer and extended-response questions across the syllabus. Working is credited, so a clear method earns marks even when a final answer is wrong.
SL: 1 hour 30 min | HL: 2 hours 30 min
SL: 50 marks | HL: 90 marks
SL: standard level material | HL: standard and additional higher level material
Scientific Investigation (IA)
Internal AssessmentSL: 20%
HL: 20%
An open-ended investigation of your own research question, written up as a report of up to 3,000 words. Your teacher marks it and the IB moderates the marks.
Four criteria, 6 marks each: research design, data analysis, conclusion, evaluation (24 marks)
About 10 hours of class time; the same task and criteria at SL and HL
Key Assessment Notes
- This structure applies to every exam session from May 2025, including November 2026, May 2027 and May 2028
- Paper 3 and the option topics (such as Biochemistry and Energy) were removed; some of their content moved into the main syllabus
- The collaborative sciences project is a required part of the course but is not one of the assessed components
- Grade boundaries are set for each session, and boundaries from the pre-2025 course do not apply to this one
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about IB Chemistry tutoring
Yes. Tutors teach the current course, first assessed in May 2025, which applies to November 2026, May 2027 and May 2028 candidates. It is built around Structure and Reactivity, with two exam papers (Paper 1A and 1B, and Paper 2) and a scientific investigation of up to 3,000 words. Paper 3 and the options were removed, so older past papers still help with content but are not a model for Paper 1B.
Yes. HL adds Reactivity 1.4 (entropy and spontaneity) and extra higher level content inside shared subtopics, such as Born-Haber cycles, rate equations and the Arrhenius equation, pKa and buffers, and standard electrode potentials. HL papers are longer too: Paper 1 is 2 hours for 75 marks and Paper 2 is 2 hours 30 minutes for 90 marks. Your tutor plans sessions around that extra load.
Yes. Paper 1B gives you data from experiments you may not have seen and asks you to process it, describe trends, deal with uncertainties and comment on the method. It is worth 25 marks at SL and 35 at HL, within Paper 1. A tutor works through 1B-style questions with you, shows what markschemes reward and links each question back to the practical skills you use in the lab.
Yes. The scientific investigation is your own open-ended investigation, written up in up to 3,000 words and marked on four criteria worth 6 marks each: research design, data analysis, conclusion and evaluation. A tutor can help you test whether a topic is workable, explain the chemistry behind a trend and practise uncertainty propagation on other data, but the investigation and report must be your own, and feedback on your draft comes from your teacher.
Tutors break each mechanism into the electron movements behind it, drawn step by step with curly arrows, then connect it to the reaction types in Reactivity 3 and the functional groups in Structure 3.2. Practising with unfamiliar molecules helps you spot patterns, so you can predict products instead of memorising every reaction separately.
Yes. Most students are matched with a tutor within 24 hours, so you can start quickly. Close to the exam, sessions can focus on timed Paper 1 and Paper 2 practice, the subtopics where you drop the most marks, and the calculation and command-term mistakes that cost marks. Your tutor helps you decide what to prioritise in the time you have left.
HL is longer and deeper: 240 teaching hours against 150, an HL-only subtopic plus extra content in many others, and longer papers. That does not mean HL results are lower. In May 2026 the HL mean grade was 4.9 and the SL mean was 4.5, but different students choose each level, so pick the one that fits your strengths and university plans.
In May 2026, 15.1% of HL candidates and 10.5% of SL candidates received a 7, according to the IB provisional statistical bulletin. The mean grade was 4.9 at HL (20,748 candidates) and 4.5 at SL (18,475 candidates). Both means rose from May 2025, when they were 4.8 at HL and 4.3 at SL.
Every tutor scored 40 or more IB points and is verified. All sessions are online, so you can work with a tutor wherever you study. You are matched with a tutor for your level, HL or SL, and most students are matched within 24 hours, so you can book your first session straight away.
We offer a first session guarantee. If you're not satisfied after your first session, we'll rematch you with a different tutor or give you a full refund.
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