TOLC-I · section 3

TOLC-I Sciences section: basic physics and chemistry

Ten questions in twenty minutes on school physics and chemistry: few formulas, applied with care over units. It is the section where a good revision earns the most points per hour of study.

At a glance

Questions: 10
Minutes: 20
Average time per question: about 2 minutes
Scoring: +1 correct, 0 blank, −0.25 wrong

Where this section sits in the TOLC-I
Section	Questions	Minutes
Mathematics	20	50
Logic	10	20
Sciences	10	20
Reading comprehension	10	20
English	30	15

Each section has its own time limit: finishing early does not give minutes to the others, and you cannot go back to a closed section. Universities use the score with their own thresholds, so read the call of the degree you are applying to.

Structure and scoring from the official CISIA page: TOLC-I structure and syllabus (cisiaonline.it). Compared with the official page on 19 October 2026.

What this section measures

Sciences measures whether you can apply the basic laws of mechanics, thermodynamics, optics and electromagnetism, and the main ideas of general chemistry. The questions are short problems with numerical data, not theory questions.

Our bank has physics and chemistry questions, all with a guided solution: most points are lost on a right formula applied badly, not on an unknown formula.

Topics in the official syllabus

Mechanics: physical quantities and units, motion, force, work and power, Newton’s laws, gravitation, fluid mechanics.
Optics: geometric optics, reflection and refraction, lenses, mirrors, simple optical instruments.
Thermodynamics: temperature, heat, specific heat, thermal expansion, ideal gases, basic principles.
Electromagnetism: electrostatics, magnetostatics, Ohm’s law, electromagnetic radiation.
Chemistry: atomic and molecular structure, periodic table, ionic and molecular compounds, symbols and formulas, equations, the mole and simple stoichiometry, structure of simple organic compounds, acids, bases and pH, redox and combustion.

Summarised from the CISIA page above; the 2026 syllabus PDF has the exact wording.

Where points are lost

Stopping at work instead of power

Calculating the energy correctly and forgetting to divide by the time. The options always contain the «halfway» result: check the final unit, joules or watts, before marking.
Losing a factor in the powers of ten

In electrostatics and chemistry questions a wrong exponent gives a plausible option. Write the units with the data and simplify them: if they do not match, the calculation is wrong.

How to prepare

Make a one-page formula sheet with one formula per quantity and its units, then train reading the data.
For chemistry revise the mole, balancing and pH: they hold the most short questions.
Solve questions against the clock, at two minutes each: the section is short and leaves no room for second thoughts.
After every wrong exercise redo the calculation with the units written out in full.

Our bank holds 73 questions for this section.

A solved question from our bank

An average power: three steps and a unit to check, an example of this section’s most common mistake.

Topic: Fisica · difficulty 2/3

Un motore solleva a velocità costante una massa $m = 50 kg$ fino a un'altezza $h = 10 m$ in un tempo $t = 25 s$ (usa $g = 10 m/s^{2}$ ). Qual è la potenza media sviluppata dal motore?

A 20 W
B 100 W
C 200 W correct
D 5000 W
E 125000 W

Guided solution

La potenza media è il lavoro compiuto diviso il tempo impiegato.

Dati. - $m = 50 kg$ - $h = 10 m$ - $t = 25 s$ - $g = 10 m/s^{2}$ - velocità costante (il motore vince solo il peso)

Formula.

$W = m g h P = \frac{W}{t}$

Sostituzione.

$W = 50 \cdot 10 \cdot 10 = 5000 J P = \frac{5000}{25} = 200 W$

La risposta è 200 W. Il distrattore 5000 W corrisponde a chi calcola correttamente il lavoro ma si ferma lì, dimenticando di dividere per il tempo (confondendo energia con potenza: hanno unità diverse, joule contro watt). Il distrattore 20 W nasce da chi dimentica $g$ nel calcolo dell'energia ( $m \cdot h = 500$ , poi $500/25 = 20$ ). Il distrattore 125000 W viene da chi moltiplica invece di dividere per il tempo. Verifica sempre le unità: potenza = energia/tempo, non energia $\times$ tempo.

The question comes from our own TOLC-I practice bank, written on the CISIA syllabus: it is not a real exam question. The questions in our bank are in Italian, also on this English page.

The other TOLC-I sections

Five pages, one per section: each section has its own tactics.

FAQ

Questions about this section

What is in TOLC-I Sciences?

Physics (mechanics, optics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism) and chemistry (atomic structure, the mole, solutions and pH, redox), according to the CISIA list.

Do I need to memorise formulas?

A few basic ones: work, power, Ohm’s law, the gas law. Choosing the formula and checking the units matters more.

How much does this section weigh on the score?

Ten questions out of fifty: less than Mathematics, but each question is worth the same point and a good revision pays back the hours it costs.

Keep reading

Want to see where you lose points?

Take the full simulation for free with corrections, then book a free 30-minute introductory call: we go through the results together and build a plan.

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TOLC-I Sciences section: basic physics and chemistry

Topics in the official syllabus

Stopping at work instead of power

Losing a factor in the powers of ten

Want to see where you lose points?