<p>so i've been talkin w/ ppl bout which prep books to buy for chem...but they r all contradictory. they either suggest barron's or princeton...according to some ppl princeton is rather choppy while barron's has too many insignificant details...is this true? what is the best prep book for ap chem?</p>
<p>My rule has been to only get Barron’s on the non-math/science subjects like history and english. Barrons tends to be much more difficult than the actual thing. This is great on history and english, which are tougher for me, and many times have obscure questions and such. However, math and science tests are relatively predictable so i would suggest princeton for ap chem. It was a good book, and was pretty useful. In the end however, as long as you get SOME sort of book and spend time studying, you’ll be ok. (I got a 5, btw)</p>
<p>I used princeton review and had honors chem, got a 5 on the AP test. However, Princeton does not cover some of the information that was on the AP test that I took in 2008, such as Xenon bonds, and it was sometimes confusing. PR tends to leave out important information, where as Barron’s puts a lot in. But I got a 5 with PR so I’m not complaining.</p>
<p>As for what the person said above, I would have to disagree about the science part. I used Barron’s for Physics C, and it was much much much better than PR. I have only used Barron’s for Physics C and loved it.</p>
<p>5 Steps to a 5…You won’t regret it :)</p>
<p>I really disliked them both to be honest. In fact, I was so dissatisfied that I didn’t even really use a prep book. Chem is the only test where I never actually finished a prep book or a practice test. Still a 5 though.</p>
<p>The moral of the story: Buy both and skim for the good parts.</p>
<p>I second five steps to a five. I am the only person at my school to get a five on Chem under our current teacher, and it is because of that book.</p>
<p>definitely princeton review.</p>
<p>I used 5 steps to a 5, not very strong on information but the practice problems were great. , I’m not sure of my AP score yet but I got a 740 on the SAT Chem test, if that means anything.</p>
<p>Princeton is a good review as long as you have a base understanding of whats going on its really valuable, Barrons is only good if you have no idea whats going on and need a complete review, but it has way too much unneeded information</p>
<p>Had a ‘C’ in AP chem because I was uber lazy and didn’t bother trying to understand anything. Spent 3 days with PR, doing all the MC, and ended up with a 5. </p>
<p>So, PR.</p>
<p>Princeton Review, but you’ll probably fail like the majority.</p>
<p>i third 5 steps to a 5; i used it and most likely got a 5 on the test.
for princeton review, i’ve never seen the chem prep book, but the bio prep book was kind of un-organized and choppy as you said in your post. barrons is always over-kill, it’s only good for exams like bio where the more info you write, the better.</p>
<p>PR works fine, even with minimal studying.</p>
<p>When I was self-studying AP Chem, I used 5 steps tp a 5, Fast Track to a 5, Barrons, Petersons, Princeton, and REA. Out of these, I thought REA gave me the most practice and PR was the best review.</p>
<p>on a slightly unrelated topic, does anybody know the difference between the regular and AP version of “Chemistry: The Central Science” by Brown, Lemay, etc.?
also whats the deal with the red cover vs. yellow cover for 10th ed.?</p>
<p>(im taking chem next year, not sure which book to buy)</p>
<p>PR for sure</p>