So I’ve recently found out that our school doesn’t allow multiple AP sciences junior year, which is when I would’ve taken AP Chem with AP Physics. Instead of taking Chemisrry this year, I’m jumping straight into AP Chem, and I’m pretty nervous. The teacher is the same for both classes, and I had her for physical science in 8th grade. I went in to ask her the major differences between AP and regular, and she just said AP is faster paced with a little different homework. Then I discovered out of the 14 that took the AP Exam, only 2 passed (we only have 1 AP Chem class that started last year). The teacher isn’t exactly the best, but I don’t know how her grading has changed. I maintained a 98-99% throughout biology taught by the most difficult teacher at my school in biology, and my algebra is pretty decent. Do I have any hope in passing the exam?? I’ve been reviewing chemistry using the textbook (same for ap and reg) and I think I’ve got the hang of stoichiometry. Does anybody have any tips to help a poor me survive? Should I buy a test prep book already?
My advice is to take AP Physics 1. It’s meant to be an introductory physics course for good students. There is less material and less memorization in the course too.
If you do decide to take AP Chem, just try to learn the first few chapters really well and practice a ton. AP Chem is very fast paced, so be prepared, and yes get a prep book now. Get the Barrons AP Chem book (the release date should be 2016). It is, by far, the most thorough prep book for new learners.