<p>Here is a word of advice:
I took AP Chem last year and worked hard enough to get a 5 on the exam. What you need to do is practice, practice, practice. I did a practice FRQ each week from August until May. If we were learning Electrochemistry, for example, I would do at least one FRQ regarding that topic and some other FRQs from previous units we had covered. Also, timing is key for the multiple choice. Last year, we were NOT allowed a calculator on the exam, so be sure to be practicing Stoich problems quickly and accurately. Start early, and have plenty of Saturday study sessions. This is NOT an easy exam, but if you work hard, you’ll do fine! Good luck, guys!</p>
<p>no calculator on the free response? i think we have a ■■■■■ in our midst, jk.
do you mean multiple choice?</p>
<p>Sorry, I did mean multiple choice. Sorry for the scare, guys!</p>
<p>Also be sure to look at the college board website. They have plenty of practice exams with answers. I used the Zumdahl book last year, and found it relatively helpful. I don’t know if there are any other textbooks out there that do a better job, though. One thing you should always be practicing is writing and balancing chemical equations. On the exam, they will tell you two reactants are combined and react. Be sure you know your types of reactions so that you can write the products. You get a point for correct products, another for balancing and then a point (if I remember correctly) for the follow up question. This makes labs really helpful in this class. For example, a follow up question might ask you if a precipitate forms and what color it is, or what you might observe when the reaction takes place. This is one part of the exam that you will need more than just memorization to get by. Be sure you can reason your way through these. Also, a lot of kids struggled with the electrochem questions last year. I don’t know if college board has changed the electrochem curriculum or not, but if the haven’t, be sure to hit this unit hard when you are studying.</p>
<p>so which books would u guys recommend at the moment? looking at reviews from amazon it, seems like most companies aren’t adjusting well to the new test format (Princeton Review, 5 Steps to a 5, etc.). thoughts? suggestions? really need to get a 5 so i’m looking to prepare in the best way possible. thanks as always CC</p>
<p>My teacher recommended me Princeton Review but I did not like it that much. Then I got Barrons book whick O liked better.
Multiple choices without calculator will be rough. I had my first test last week in the school and It was pretty hard. Time exerted so much pressure on us.</p>
<p>I got a 5 on this last year. The only chapter that was hard for me was Acids-Bases buffers and it finally clicked me for the day of before our test, I ended up getting a 95 on it.</p>
<p>Really this class is not as hard as it is made out to be. Pay attention in class and you will do fine. I didn’t do homework once last year.</p>
<p>I got Barron’s just to be safe. PR is not aligned with the new curriculum. And I’m using Zumdahl in class. I like it. The class is interesting. I’m doing well, but I can tell that it is going to get much harder.</p>
<p>What my teacher did is she focused on free response mostly throughout the year until around March, where she starts prepping us with multiple choice practice exams. Honestly, I didn’t had a problem with the course and made a 5 easily (I think I even missed one or two of the equations on the FRQ lol). You’ll do fine if you pay attention to the courses and keeping things straight.</p>
<p>Just curious, but what chapter is everyone on? </p>
<p>I have a feeling my class is moving really slow. :/</p>
<p>my class finished periodic trends, atomic theory, stoichiometry, gas laws, and quantum mechanics (bohrs model, pauli exclusion etc)</p>
<p>we are now learning thermodynamics</p>
<p>We are on chapter four of Zumdahl, so stoichiometry, empirical and molecular formulas, and balancing equations.</p>
<p>We just finished gas laws and the portion of thermochemistry that my teacher wants to test us on now. Test is on Tuesday.</p>
<p>We haven’t started yet… :/</p>
<p>Just started thermo chem, test in a week</p>
<p>I took AP Chem last year and got a 5. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!</p>
<p>Any good study guides for ap chem yet? I heard the ones that came out recently didn’t follow the new guidelines that well.</p>
<p>Do you guys know how much the actual test is supposed to change (format-wise) this year? I’m trying to figure out if I’ll be alright studying with my brother’s Princeton Review book from 2011. I took the MC from the 1994 AP test for practice and got between what looks like a high 3 or low 4, so I really want to get that up as soon as I can.</p>
<p>Oh, and we’re finishing thermo on monday, I believe.</p>
<p>The best way to understand the new AP Chemistry curriculum is to read the curriculum framework: <a href=“http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/IN120085263_ChemistryCED_Effective_Fall_2013_lkd.pdf[/url]”>http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/IN120085263_ChemistryCED_Effective_Fall_2013_lkd.pdf</a></p>
<p>But long story short, the exam has become very analysis and skills driven instead of having you memorize facts and formulas. It’s a shifting of focus on scientific methods and concepts instead of just knowing things but not understanding why and how things work.</p>
<p>As far as I know, textbooks, teachers, and even review books are struggling to catch up since it is such a dramatic change in what students are expected to know.</p>
<p>One resource I did find that has practice questions tailored to the new curriculum is from Learnerator: [AP</a> Chemistry review](<a href=“http://www.learnerator.com/ap-chemistry]AP”>http://www.learnerator.com/ap-chemistry)</p>
<p>From what my teacher has said the main change in the test is from memorization to understanding. Last years class had to memorize many more scientist names and other basic (though important) things that have more to do with learning facts than understanding concepts of chem. in my opinion it’s tougher to understand these concepts and WHY things are happening than it is to just memorize things if you’re doing it without help. On the bright side if you already understand the concepts you should be able to use that to do better on the new test</p>