Need Advice Concerning AP Chemistry

<p>Hello fellow CCers,</p>

<p>So, I'm an incoming Junior, and due to a few scheduling conflicts my school isn't offering AP Chemistry this year. Thankfully though, they still offer an Acc. Chemistry class. We're still on a block schedule though, so my class only gets 1.5 hours of class time every two days as compared to 2 hours on a regular schedule.</p>

<p>I was able to grab a Chem book before school ended, and have just started reading through it. My main question is how should I go about studying for Chem over the summer?</p>

<p>Should I be trying to read through the chapters as fast as possible to get a feel for the subject, or do the first few chapters indepth, answering the study questions and doing the chapter reviews before school starts?</p>

<p>I'm more inclined to option one, since I'll probably have to do the chapter review and questions as school work during the year, but I'm afraid I won't be able to retain all the info I learned over the summer during the school year.</p>

<p>Your input would be very much appreciated. This is going to be a crazy year for me, and I'd like to put myself at as much of an advantage as I can.</p>

<p>-Atarah</p>

<p>Google AP central and look up the old free response questions from previous years to get a feel for how info is tested on the exam. Testfrenzy has released mc questions to practice from. Also, textbooks are not useful for the AP exam, though Zumdahl has a few good chapters.</p>

<p>You should outline every chapter and be comfortable with every single type of problem. Next, you should take an AP practice test and not leave the house until you get a 5. After that, start memorizing the book word for word. After you’ve finished that, complete a 30 hr prayer vigil in which you cut off body parts and offer them to the god of examinations. Only then can you enjoy summer.</p>

<p>ENJOY SUMMER!!! Studying now will be almost useless because you’ll forget a lot of what you studied. Think it about this way: resting and having fun now will get you recharged for school. Don’t make the decision to burn out now and face getting unmotivated and lazy during school.</p>

<p>@tim739`: While I appreciate your response, I’m doing a fairly good job of balancing studying and enjoying my summer. I realize the importance of taking a break over the summer to recharge, it doesn’t mean I should just not study at all for 2 months. Currently I’ve allocated 2 hours to studying each day, and that still gives me plenty of time to hang out with my friends and family. I think I know my limits well enough to get enough studying in without being too tired for the school year.</p>

<p>@noreally: Thanks for that advice. I also have a Princeton Review for Chem, so maybe I’ll read a chapter out of the textbook, read what Princeton has to say about it, and then answer the Princeton questions.</p>

<p>Anyone else want to have a go at my summer philosophy?</p>

<p>I self-studied AP Chem and during the summer all I did was eat, sleep, look out the window, and Chem. (Of course I looked out the window a lot!) But I also did tons of studying when school started too. I got a 5. ;)</p>