Competitions · Chemistry · YBTC
YBTC, the You Be The Chemist Challenge.
For students in grades 5 to 8 who have not studied chemistry yet - and that is the point. Sixty thousand students enter each year, in teams of four, and the challenge is explicitly not built to test what they already know.
At a glance
What the challenge is, and who it is for.
The Chemical Educational Foundation was established in 1989 and is a leading American body in youth chemistry education. This challenge is the central activity of its young chemists programme, and has run for around 35 years.
- Organiser
- The Chemical Educational Foundation (CEF), founded 1989
- Scale
- More than 60,000 students a year - one of the largest youth science activities in the United States
- Who can enter
- Students in grades 5 to 8
- Chemistry required
- None. It is designed for students who have not yet studied chemistry systematically
- Team size
- Four students
- How it is assessed
- A written multiple-choice paper, a live quiz round, and a chemistry experiment and research presentation
- Progression
- A qualifying stage, then further rounds toward a national final
- Language support
- Preparation materials are supplied in Chinese, so the background reading is accessible
- In China since
- 2019, through a partnership between CEF and ASDAN China
- What it is for
- Sparking interest in chemistry and encouraging students toward science, rather than measuring existing knowledge
What makes it different
A competition that assumes you know nothing.
Almost every other chemistry contest here tests what a student has already learned. YBTC is built the other way round, and that changes who should enter.
No prior chemistry assumed
The challenge is aimed at students who have not studied chemistry systematically. Everything needed comes from the preparation materials rather than from a school course.
And the materials are in Chinese
The pre-competition study material is supplied in Chinese, which removes the language barrier from what is otherwise an American competition.
Three ways of being assessed
A written paper, a live quiz round, and an experiment and research presentation. A student who freezes in a written test may be the one who shines in the presentation.
Interest is the stated goal
The organisers describe the aim as introducing chemistry and encouraging students toward becoming future scientists. The competition is a vehicle for that rather than a filter.
The three formats
What a team actually has to do.
Because the assessment spans three quite different activities, building a team of four is more than picking the four strongest students.
The written paper
Multiple-choice questions drawn from the supplied study material. This is the part most like a conventional contest and the most straightforwardly prepared for.
The live quiz round
Answering aloud, under time pressure, in front of others. It rewards recall speed and composure rather than working - a different student often does best here.
The experiment and presentation
A practical investigation presented to judges. This is closest to real science and the furthest from an exam, and it needs preparing as a project rather than as revision.
Which argues for a mixed team
Four students who are each strong in a different format will usually outperform four who are all strong at the same one. Team composition is a real decision.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares a YBTC team.
With no chemistry assumed and materials supplied, preparation is about working through the source material and rehearsing three different performances.
The supplied material is the syllabus
CEF provides the study material and the questions come from it. Working through it systematically is the most direct preparation available, and it is available in Chinese.
Rehearsing the live round
Answering aloud under pressure is a performance skill. Teams practise it as one, because meeting it for the first time on the day is where composure fails.
Building the experiment early
The practical presentation is a project rather than a revision task, and it needs weeks. Starting it once the written preparation is underway is the usual sequence.
Choosing four complementary students
The three formats reward different strengths. A team is built to cover all three rather than to maximise one.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for YBTC at Hanlin is taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course length for YBTC is set after a placement paper. The gap between where a student is and what the paper asks for is what the course has to close, and that gap is not the same for two students in the same year group.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Past papers and preparation pack
The same material our own YBTC students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFPast papers, every year the organiser has released
- PDFWorked solutions, where the organiser publishes them
- PDFThe syllabus on one page - every topic, and how heavily it is examined
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Dr Li
A Fudan postdoctoral researcher with a PhD in organic chemistry from HKUST, a master's in medicinal chemistry and nano-engineering from East China University of Science and Technology jointly with Myongji University, and a first degree in pharmaceutics. College Board-accredited.
Qiu
PhD in organic chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, after materials physics at East China University of Science and Technology. College Board-accredited, with published papers on organic small-molecule catalysis in internationally recognised journals.
Shi
Master's in water science and engineering from TU Dresden - one of Germany's TU9 institutes - after environmental engineering at Ocean University of China. A researcher in environmental chemistry at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, a DAAD scholarship holder, and College Board-accredited.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for YBTC, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
Or call +86 21 6352 6630FAQ
YBTC, briefly answered.
What students, teachers and families ask before entering.
Do we need to have studied chemistry?
No, and that is the design. The challenge is aimed at students in grades 5 to 8 who have not yet studied chemistry systematically, and the preparation material supplies what is needed.
Who can enter?
Students in grades 5 to 8, competing in teams of four.
How is it assessed?
Three ways: a written multiple-choice paper, a live quiz round answered aloud, and a chemistry experiment with a research presentation.
Are the materials in English?
Preparation materials are supplied in Chinese, which makes the background reading accessible to students entering from China.
How large is the competition?
More than 60,000 students take part each year, making it one of the largest youth science activities in the United States.
How does the progression work?
From a qualifying stage through further rounds toward a national final. Confirm the exact structure for the current cycle with the organiser.
Is it really a chemistry competition?
It is, but its stated purpose is sparking interest and encouraging students toward science rather than measuring what they already know. Treat it as an introduction rather than a test.
What should we prepare first?
The supplied study material, since the written questions come from it. The experiment presentation should be started early, because it is a project rather than revision.
Related
Where students go next.
Chemistry contests for students who enjoyed this one.
YBTC enquiries
The competition for students who have not met chemistry yet.
YBTC assumes no background, supplies its material in Chinese, and assesses three different ways. Tell us the year group and how many students you have, and an advisor will map the entry and the team.