Diploma exam · Alberta
Science 30 Diploma Exam
Science 30 Diploma Examination
- Grade 12
- SCN3270
Dates and details can change. We do our best to keep this page up to date, but check the official sources before relying on it.
- Total time
- 3 h
- Marked questions
- 55
- Counts for
- 30% of the final mark
- Calculator
- Approved models
- Format
- Paper and computer
Science 30 Diploma practice test
The whole exam or the parts you choose, in its own format, on the clock.
The exam in the app
Its parts, and what you can use in each
A question, timed, with the exam’s tools
The marked result, part by part
A practice run of Saskatchewan’s Grade 9 math assessment.
Free with a MapleMind account
When
5 sessions this school year: November, January, April, June and August.
November 2026
- Friday, November 6, 20261:00–4:00 PM
January 2027
- Thursday, January 28, 20279:00 AM–12:00 PM
April 2027
- Wednesday, April 14, 20271:00–4:00 PM
June 2027
- Monday, June 28, 20279:00 AM–12:00 PM
August 2027
- Wednesday, August 11, 20271:00–4:00 PM
The dates are Alberta’s own, read on September 28, 2026. See the official schedule (alberta.ca)
What’s on it
6 topics. Acids, bases, organic compounds and chemical technologies and Conventional and alternative energy, viable biosphere count most, at 20–30% each.
- Circulatory and immune systems in human health10–15%GO A1, A2
- Heredity and molecular genetics applications10–15%GO A3
- Acids, bases, organic compounds and chemical technologies20–30%GO B1, B2, B3
- Field theory and electrical energy13–18%GO C1
- Electromagnetic radiation applications7–12%GO C2
- Conventional and alternative energy, viable biosphere20–30%GO D1, D2
The skills it tests · 79 skills
- AC vs DC
- Alternatives to chemical technologies
- An interconnected environment
- Autoimmune disease
- Autosomal vs sex-linked inheritance
- Biomagnification
- Blood vessels and blood flow
- Buffering capacity
- Chromosomes in mitosis, meiosis and fertilization
- Common uses of hydrocarbons
- Comparing field interactions
- Comparing power stations
- Comparing radiation to visible light
- Comparing the parts of the spectrum
- Components of blood
- Developing energy technologies
- DNA replication
- Electrical energy and cost
- Electrical safety technologies
- Environmental impact of energy sources
- Fission reactors and fusion research
- Fission vs fusion
- From DNA triplets to protein
- Fusion in the Sun
- Genetic engineering
- Gravitational and electric field strength
- Hazards of halogenated hydrocarbons and benzene
- Hess’s Law and heats of combustion
- How buffers resist pH change
- How pathogens enter and harm
- How transformers work
- How vaccines work
- Identifying acids, bases and salts
- Impacts of acid deposition
- Inducing a current
- Mass-energy in nuclear reactions
- Motors and generators
- Mutations and human disease
- Naming carbon compounds (IUPAC)
- Nuclear and geothermal energy
- Orders of magnitude of energy
- Organic pollutants
- Per-capita energy consumption
- pH and hydronium ion concentration
- Properties of vector fields
- Proton donors and acceptors
- Punnett squares and single-trait inheritance
- Radioactive decay and ionizing radiation
- Reflection, refraction, diffraction, polarization
- Renewable energy technologies
- Resistance in bacteria and viruses
- Risks and benefits of chemical processes
- Series and parallel circuits
- Smog and ozone depletion
- Solar energy converted and reconverted
- Spectroscopes and spectra
- Structures of the heart
- Sustainable development and efficiency
- Technologies for studying stars
- Technologies that reduce emissions
- Telescopes
- The atmosphere absorbs EMR
- The body’s barriers
- The chemistry of acid deposition
- The evolution of stars
- The growth of energy consumption
- The heartbeat and circulation
- The history of acid-base indicators
- The immune response
- The range of the EM spectrum
- The roles of proteins
- The source of tides
- The structure of DNA
- The universal wave equation
- Tidal energy
- What a field is
- Where solar energy goes
- Why AC for transmission
- Why living systems need constant pH
How it’s built
- Machine Scored (whole exam)
- Questions
- 55
- Marks
- 55
- Of the marks
- 100%
- Multiple choice
- Numerical response
- Questions in sets
Sets of multiple-choice and numerical-response questions around shared situations, where you read data, interpret investigations and predict relationships.
How it’s marked
- Below the acceptable standardUnder 50%
- Acceptable standard50% to 79%
- Standard of excellence80% and up
A computer marks every question. Your exam mark is 30% of your final Science 30 mark, and your school mark is the other 70%. You need a final mark of at least 50% for the credit; 80% meets the standard of excellence.
On the day
- Calculator
- Bring your own calculator from Alberta Education's approved list.
- Provided
- Science Data Booklet
One sitting of 3 hours, and everyone may take up to double the time, 6 hours. You get the Science Data Booklet with the exam.
Getting ready
1 official document to practise with, and 4 tips.
Official practice
Tips from the people who write it
- Science 30 mixes biology, chemistry and physics, and one set of questions can cross all three.
- Practise reading data tables and graphs: you'll interpret them throughout.
- Environmental chemistry, and energy and the environment, are the heaviest areas, 20 to 30% each.
- Use the Science Data Booklet whenever you practise.
The mark you need
Your class mark counts for 70% of the final mark, the exam for 30%.
You need
59% on the exam
With 75% in class, your final mark lands between 52.5% (0 on the exam) and 82.5% (100% on it).
After the exam
- Results
Your marks are posted on myPass: your school mark, your exam mark and your blended final mark. A final mark of 48% or 49% is raised to 50%.
- November 2026November 19, 2026
- January 2027February 12, 2027
- April 2027April 30, 2027
- June 2027July 16, 2027
- August 2027August 20, 2027
- Re-marking
Ask for a rescore on myPass by the deadline: November 26, February 25, May 6, August 3 or August 27, by sitting. It costs $35, refunded if your mark rises 5% or more. Teachers re-mark the written part without seeing the first marks; the machine-scored part isn’t rescored. The new mark stands, even if it’s lower.
- Writing it again
You can rewrite at any later sitting: register on myPass and pay $35 (Alberta students). An exam with two parts is rewritten whole. Every mark stays on your record, but only your highest exam mark goes on your transcript. Retaking the course for a new school mark doesn’t mean rewriting the exam.
- If you miss it
If illness, a death in the family or another emergency keeps you from writing, your school applies to Alberta Education: either an exemption, where your school mark stands in for the exam, or a later sitting. A planned trip or work isn’t a reason; you write at a later sitting. Without a passing school mark, an exemption doesn’t help you.
From General Information Bulletin 2026–2027, Diploma Examinations Program (alberta.ca), read on October 27, 2026.
More for you
Students
Start with the topics worth the most marks, then write full practice exams under the real time limit.
Practise itParents
Put the dates on the family calendar. The Parent Dashboard shows each practice exam’s result and the skills that need another look.
See the Parent DashboardEducators
The topic weights and the official practice above make a review plan. Students can practise each skill on its own in MapleMind, free with daily limits.
For schools
Questions about this exam
When is the Science 30 Diploma Exam in 2026–27?
The next sitting is January 28, 2027, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM. This school year it’s written in November 2026, January 2027, April 2027, June 2027 and August 2027.
How long is the Science 30 Diploma Exam?
It takes 3 hours in all, over 1 part.
How many questions are on the Science 30 Diploma Exam?
It has 55 marked questions.
Can you use a calculator on the Science 30 Diploma Exam?
Yes, a calculator from the approved list.
How much does the Science 30 Diploma Exam count?
It’s worth 30% of the final mark in Science 30.
How are Science 30 Diploma Exam results reported?
At 3 levels: Below the acceptable standard (under 50%), Acceptable standard (50% and up) and Standard of excellence (80% and up).
When do Science 30 Diploma Exam results come out?
For 2026–27: the November 2026 sitting on November 19, 2026, the January 2027 sitting on February 12, 2027, the April 2027 sitting on April 30, 2027, the June 2027 sitting on July 16, 2027 and the August 2027 sitting on August 20, 2027.
Where can I find practice tests for the Science 30 Diploma Exam?
Alberta publishes Science 30 released items + digital Practice Test. MapleMind also builds a full practice exam in its format, free with an account.
Practise for the Science 30 Diploma Exam
Every skill on the Science 30 Diploma Exam, taught one at a time, then practised on questions written like the real ones.
