SCH3U – Grade 11 Chemistry Online Course (Ontario)

SCH3U is the Grade 11 University-preparation chemistry course. Students study matter and chemical bonding, chemical reactions, quantities in reactions (the mole and stoichiometry), solutions and solubility, and gases and atmospheric chemistry. It’s the prerequisite for Grade 12 Chemistry (SCH4U), required by most health-science and engineering programs. This course has been developed based on the following Ministry of Ontario Curriculum for Grade 11 Chemistry.

SCH3U is widely considered one of the more challenging Grade 11 courses, mainly because of stoichiometry — the mole concept and multi-step calculations are new ways of thinking. Students who master the mole early find the rest falls into place. OES’s self-pacing plus free 24/7 chemistry tutoring helps exactly where students typically struggle.

The prerequisite for SCH3U is Grade 10 Academic Science (SNC2D). Comfort with algebra helps significantly, since stoichiometry and gas-law units involve regular calculation.

SCH3U itself isn’t listed in admission requirements, but it’s the only route to SCH4U — and SCH4U is required by most nursing, health-science, life-science, kinesiology, and engineering programs. If any of those are possibilities, SCH3U belongs in your Grade 11 plan.

SCH3U covers matter, chemical trends, and bonding; chemical reactions (synthesis, decomposition, displacement, combustion); quantities in chemical reactions (the mole, stoichiometry, limiting reagents); solutions and solubility (concentration, acids and bases); and gases and atmospheric chemistry (gas laws and their applications).

SCH3U experiments run through virtual labs and simulations that let you mix solutions, observe reactions, and collect data safely — plus guided at-home activities with household materials where appropriate. The analysis and lab-report skills you build meet the same curriculum expectations as in-person labs.

Yes. OES offers a dedicated Upgrade: SCH3U course built specifically for retaking SCH3U to raise your mark — Ontario universities and colleges use your highest grade. It’s self-paced and open year-round, so you can upgrade alongside your day school, a job, or a gap year and finish in as little as 4 weeks. See the Upgrade: SCH3U page for details.

Yes. Ontario students who started Grade 9 in the 2020–21 school year or later must earn at least two online learning credits to graduate, and SCH3U at OES — a Ministry-inspected online school (BSID #667186) — counts toward that requirement. An opt-out process exists through school boards, and specific provisions apply to students affected by the 2021 school closures.

SCH3U meets the Ministry of Education’s attendance and participation expectations through activities blended directly into the course. OES requires students to log in at least once per week for attendance, and participation activities appear throughout the course and are reflected in the grade book — preserving self-paced flexibility while satisfying the requirements for online courses.

Yes — science is one of Ontario’s STEM-related course groups (business studies, computer studies, cooperative education, mathematics, science, and technological education), from which students entering Grade 9 in 2024 or later must complete one credit. For math and science, the credit counts when earned in addition to your compulsory math and science credits, so SCH3U can double as your STEM-group credit.

Ontario’s Growing Success policy pre-determines the evaluation structure for every credit. Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, SCH3U is graded on classroom work completed throughout the course (65%) plus a Ministry-mandated final evaluation worth 25% for Grades 11–12, with attendance and participation also reflected in the final grade. A credit is granted at 50% or higher — and as an inspected private school, OES may administer final evaluations online, while school-board online courses generally require in-person exam sittings.