***AP Chemistry Thread 2015-2016***

@harmon2 you must be a genius

lol we just started bonding. We are going over lewis structures right now on the brown lemay book.

we’re sooooooooo behindddd

Does anybody else’s teacher scale tests ridiculously? Not complaining here or anything, but I made a 130 out of 100 on a test today lol. 12 AP-style multiple choice counting .5 point each and 3 FRQ from past AP Exams (each section/letter of the FRQ being 1 point), and it was scaled so if you hit 21 total points you got a 100. I feel like we’re behind – test today was on electrochemistry/redox reactions with some net ionic stuff thrown in there. We were doing all of Adrian Dingle’s stuff for Unit 0 (PreAP/Honors review), Unit 1 (Atomic Structure/Coulomb’s Law/IE/etc), and Unit 2 (Chemical Bonding and gas laws). Not sure if we’re still doing Adrian or not because we didn’t get his note packets or worksheets this unit.

@jwn9917 We’re currently covering Lewis dot structures and covered waves last class. Our teacher hasn’t shown us AP problems under the assumption that none of us are taking the AP exam.

We finished the semester with Lewis Dot structures and forms of molecular geometry. Although we have taken notes, we still have to cover Hybridization.

@ObitoSigma We ended on the same thing. Minus hybridization.

I think my class has a different curriculum from you guys. We studied molecular geometry and Lewis for structures last month and we finished the term with organic chemistry.

Quick question: What minimum % is needed to get a 4?

And what reason is the curve so high? Are the tests questions itself tough? Is timing the problem? Or having to know all the material combined rather than for a single subject?

@Summahh The percentage varies each year. Last year it was 15.2% while the year before that it was 16.6%.

As for your second question, I don’t really know the answer but my guess is that it’s because the questions are very difficult. I’ve had friends who took the exam last year and they said that the biggest problem was that many of the questions were too conceptual.

My semester of AP Chem has finished! As for you guys and your concern of being behind, I would predict you should be on Intermolecular Forces, Solids, Liquids.

Unit 1 - Aqueous & Thermodynamics
Unit 2- Chemical Structure & Bonding
Unit 3 - Intermolecular Forces, Solids, Liquids
Unit 4 - Kinetics & Equilibrium
Unit 5 - Acids and Bases & Buffers
Unit 6 - Electrochemistry

My class if finishing up Kinetics and Equilibrium. He gave us a study guide on Chapter 14 of the Zumdahl book which introduces Acids and Bases. He said that the last thing we will cover is Electrochemistry and maybe a little bit of Organic/Biochem since they really aren’t covered on the test.

Did any of your classes have you know the Integrated Rate Law? My teacher is saying that it got removed from the AP exam but I want to be sure.

@ObitoSigma I definitely had to use Integrated Rate Law on my test. I don’t think it got removed because my teacher didn’t say anything about it being removed, plus it was a big portion of our test.

my teacher goes so fast I’m dying

We be over here doing Thermodynamics… it’s probably the hardest topic we’ve covered so far. The problems can become extremely difficult and confusing, and IMO harder than Acids and Bases, Equilibrium, and Electrochemistry.

Wow I screwed myself over after procrastinating each chapter…I’m left with literally not getting chemistry at all. We’re on acid-base equilibria, but I barely even understood the previous chapters; I’m kicking myself for letting it get so far. My midterm (and now that I think of it pretty much every test I’ve taken to-date) was disastrous. Anyone have any tips or a plan that I could follow?

I feel unfixable -.-’.

We just finished IMFs, heating curves, and phase diagrams. We’re on kinetics now.

@zenith99 If you have a Zumdal textbook, then look at the Guided Questions in each chapter and figure out what they did. Then do the associate “Challenging” blue questions at the end of each chapter. Slader is your friend if you need answers for even answers. You might be able to find a Solutions Manual for official explanations for each question.

We took our Thermodynamics test today to wrap up Thermochemistry and I’m realizing that this course is starting to get rough.

@ObitoSigma We actually use a different textbook (Brown, LeMay) but I might check it out at a library and see if it’s clearer. Thanks!

Any other tips are greatly appreciated!