AP Chemistry Textbook Recommendations

Hello everyone!

I am a homeschooled student who is interested in self studying AP Chemistry. What textbooks do you recommend? I am looking for a text that is particularly good for independent study and has a companion site. I have looked into several textbooks, but I would like some input. Here is what I have found so far:

Zumdahl (8e; has companion site): Most popular text; great problems; explains concepts decently

Brown (11e; no companion site): Second most popular text; decent problems; explains concepts well

Chang (10e; has companion site): Third most popular text; style of writing fluctuates (e.g. “flowery” in one section, straight facts in another); not recommended for self studying

Silberberg (5e; has companion site): Not very common; builds from the ground up; recommended by science majors

Tro (1e; has companion site): Not very common; problem solving method is excellent; high rating on Amazon

Atkins (5e; has companion site): Commonly used for Chemistry Olympiad; rigorous; includes optional calculus

Timberlake (3e, no companion site): “General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry: Structures of Life”; popular text for GOB courses; not sure if it qualifies for AP Chemistry

McMurry (5e; has companion site): Not common; author is known for his organic chemistry texts; clean; clutter free

I find that McGraw Hill has decent companion sites (e.g. Chang, Silberberg), but Pearson has high quality sites (e.g. Tro, McMurry). Because of this, I am leaning towards Tro and McMurry (especially McMurry), but I would like some more opinions. If you have used any of these texts, I would appreciate it if you could rate and review them. Please feel free to recommend a text that is not included in the above list. Thank you all in advance!

Don’t worry too much about those companion sites…they are not of much use.

This is the textbook my school uses:

http://www.amazon.com/General-Chemistry-Edition-John-Hill/dp/0131402838

along with a workbook for practice problems:

http://www.amazon.com/General-Chemistry-Workbook-Daniel-Tofan/dp/0557537487

I’d say those two books are the best, especially the workbook. The textbook may be a bit old, but its extremely useful and highly rated on Amazon as well.

Also, check this link out for a formidable textbook list from CollegeBoard:

http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/courses/chemistry_textbook_list.html