Chemistry Merit Badge

The eight requirements, with requirement 1 drawn as the three-edge safety gate it states itself to be, and the four ungated requirements drawn where they can actually start.

9 steps (16 parts inside them). 7 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 13 August 2026 · About Chemistry Merit Badge

No questions answered

This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the 2 questions at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.

Which of this applies to you

You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering 2 short questions will take out the parts that are not for you.

Answer the questions

The steps

Stage 1 of 5

2 steps

1. Chemistry and safety, and this gates three requirements Often forgotten Requirement

Four parts, all of them discussed with your counselor. It is not paperwork: the three chemicals it names are the three the rest of the badge uses, and requirements 2, 3 and 4 all wait on it.

Do this first, and mean it. Requirements 2, 3 and 4 each say they come after requirement 1, and the three chemicals whose safety data sheets it asks for (sucrose, isopropyl alcohol and a waterproofing spray) are exactly the three that requirements 2, 3 and 4 put in your hands. Reading it as paperwork and leaving it until last is doing the badge backwards.
4 parts
5. Chemistry against single-use plastic Task

How chemistry can be used to reduce the environmental impact of single-use items: water bottles, bags, straws, batteries. Not gated by anything: you can do this on day one.

Stage 2 of 5

2 steps

2. Chemistry and first aid Requirement

Three parts, after requirement 1. This is where the isopropyl alcohol from requirement 1(a) gets used.

Usually comes after 1. Chemistry and safety, and this gates three requirements.
3 parts
6. Five fields of chemistry, and how they touch you Task

Identify five, describe each briefly, say how each applies to your own life, and how they interact with one another. The last part is the one people forget.

Stage 3 of 5

2 steps

3. Chemistry and cooking, both parts, no choice Requirement

After requirement 1. The badge says EACH of the following, so unlike requirements 4 and 8 there is nothing to choose here.

Usually comes after 1. Chemistry and safety, and this gates three requirements.
2 parts
- 3(a). Run a browning reaction, then say what changed
- 3(b). Make red cabbage indicator and measure five liquids
7. Three government agencies that govern chemicals Task

Agencies overseeing or guiding chemical use (personal, pharmaceutical, commercial or industrial), and a discussion of each one's history and responsibilities.

Stage 4 of 5

2 steps

4. Chemistry and camping, two of four Requirement

After requirement 1. TWO of the four below, and two of the four need an adult present.

Usually comes after 1. Chemistry and safety, and this gates three requirements.

Two of these four need your counselor present, or a knowledgeable adult your counselor approved IN ADVANCE: 4(c), the flame tests, and 4(d), the nylon synthesis. Approval in advance means before the day, not on it. If that is hard to arrange, 4(a) and 4(b) are the pair that needs no special supervision.
4 parts
- 4(a). Compare two kinds of waterproofing Optional May not apply
- 4(b). The four fire classes and the four extinguisher classes Optional May not apply
- 4(c). Flame tests of five elements Optional May not apply Often forgotten A kitchen or propane torch, and five elements. The supervision is part of the requirement, not a precaution added here: your counselor, or an adult they approved beforehand, has to be there.
- 4(d). Synthesise nylon Optional May not apply Often forgotten The same supervision rule as 4(c) applies, kit or no kit.
8. A visit, or the careers research Requirement

ONE of three. Two need somewhere to go and somebody to talk to; the third does not.
3 parts
- 8(a). Visit a research laboratory Optional May not apply
- 8(b). Visit a company or plant Optional May not apply
- 8(c). Research three chemistry careers, then one in depth Optional May not apply

Stage 5 of 5

1 step

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Usually comes after 4. Chemistry and camping, two of four and 8. A visit, or the careers research.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.

This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.