Silberberg and AP Chemistry

Test Preparation
1

<p>You guys, I'm not dumb...I 5'ed ap bio and got 800 bio m/e but seriously i am dying in ap chem. i have an A but its just grade inflation. seriously, chapter 11 in silberberg with the covalent bonding theory stuff like sigma and pi bonds and that stuff is just tripping me up. the diagrams look like figures the chemistry clown blew up with some balloons. im not terrible at chem and i understand most of the stuff besidies this quantun theory and hybridization and orbital stuff. what is an sp orbital or whatnot? is this hard stuff really tested on th ap chem exam? is the exam really that hard? i remember in like 8th grade i was taught in the first orbital there are only 2 electrons, then there can be 8 on every higher one. well i guess its wrong now cause im learnin about sharing d-orbitals and resonance structures that break rules and stuff. honestly im just trippin out cause im a little lost, how do i need to go about thinking about this structure of matter stuff? answers to any/all of these questions will win you 30 cool points.</p>

<p>-Ty</p>

2

<p>Okay, guys... I don't think I'm dumb, either. I mean, I've been accepted to Harvard EA, I've got decent AP scores, I can hold my own... But AP Chem... Well... Shiite!</p>

<p>Mine and Ty's situation is HORRIBLE. Our teacher pretty much has no idea what he's doing... He never lectures... We're basically self-studying with our buddy Silberberg... And he's not that great of a friend, let me tell you. Resonances? Balloon drawing dealies that vaguely resemble chromosomes? Whaaa?</p>

<p>We really need help, CC. Our academic reputations are on the line... I do not want to suffer from vasovagal syncope after getting my AP Chem score over the phone. Please help. (Cool points from me, as well...)</p>

3

<p>if you can find a zumbdahl book it's awesome! I am rocking a B in AP Chem b/c i did not do a project but we use the aforementioned book and it's very good. I don't know about prep books but I am sure someone on cc does.</p>

4

<p>anyone else to help us?</p>

5

<p>Thanks... I guess we could try out the Zumdahls...</p>

6

<p>My AP Chem class last year was complete BS. Our teacher came to class 20 MINUTES LATE and some time's just didn't show up (he was "special" because of his "high" status and our school system sucks so he never got in trouble). My first semester grades were A, A, C (<- exam grade!!). Anyway, my point is, I never learned anything about chem. But, I self-studied from Barron's. When I took the test, I was COMPLETELY LOST. I though I was going to get a 2. I actually got a 4, which I guess shows you just how hard chem is not for just me, but everyone in general. A 4 isn't half bad, though :]</p>

7

<p>ya you need around 50% correct to get a 5 on the ap chem test... yes zumdahl is a VERY good book, many colleges actually use it and has some excellent explanations, however, i would recommend the teacher's edition since it has explanations (but very expensive and by very i mean $500). or you could just get an ap prep book... they are much more concise and only tell you what's needed on the ap test</p>

8

<p>What exactly are you having trouble with? You listed some items in your post, but I'm not sure if you were asking about them or just mentioning what you learned. I might have a few links that could help you out.</p>

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<p>Dont worry about it the first two posters. The smartest kids in my school are having trouble in AP Chem too, they told me its the hardest class theyve ever had in their life.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys! 50% for a 5...I can get 50% right but I mean this stuff is really tripping me out. Especially the covalent bonding theory stuff (i.e. pi and sigma bonds and that stuff)</p>

11

<p>my teacher let me borrow a 1999 AP Chem exam released by the college board. I used my handy dandy calculator and found out you need:</p>

<pre><code> - 36 % for a 3
- 51.25% for a 4
- 62.5 % for a 5
</code></pre>

<p>and keep in mind these are the minimum scores. </p>

<p>Chem is frustrating. u have to remember way too much to do anything</p>

12

<p>I'm not postive but I think it has to do with the interaction of the elections in the 2 ddifferent orbitals forming a new orbital. I can tell you more tomorrow or sunday when I feel like reading htat chapter in my zumdahl</p>

13

<p>k thanks vtran</p>

14

<p>I was in a similar situation for the first semester of last year. My teacher knew the subject, but could not control the class or put together any kind of a lesson plan. Not to mention, we had an old book that really wasn't that good at all. It sounds like, at least, your teacher is attempting to teach the class, so that's good.</p>

<p>Then I switched into the only other AP Chem class taught at my school for the second semester (I had done a few chapters on my own to catch up to where they were). The class realized that the book was terrible, so everyone, themselves, bought "Chemistry, 6th ed." by Zumdahl. Not only is this book incredibly clear (most of the time), but it's also incredibly thorough. If you're willing to, I would suggest purchasing and using that book to study for the exam -- although, maybe your book is just fine; I'm not sure.</p>

<p>Another suggestion of mine is to purchase the AP Chem cram book by ARCO. It's less of a cram book than another source for you to learn about the material. Chemical Bonding (including Hybridization) was something that I had skipped, so my teacher (2nd semester) allowed me to read the chapter corresponding to that in the ARCO book. It wasn't too much reading and it was fairly straight-forward. Your book may be over-complicating stuff like sigma and pi bonds. From what I remember, it's just as simple as the fact that the first bond (in either a single bond, double bond or triple bond) is a pi bond, and then any following bonds (such as the second bond in a double bond, or the second and third bonds in a triple bond) are sigma bonds.</p>

<p>Also, when it comes time, I recommend using the Princeton Review cram book. It won't really teach you the material, but if you need to patch some holes and remind yourself of things, it does that job perfectly. Also, the book gives you an idea of how much of each section is on the test. Stuff like Chemical Bonding really isn't that important to have a complete understanding of...</p>

<p>I felt the same way around this time last year: completely overwhelmed by the myriad of information you need to cover and understand in AP Chem, but when the test starting coming around (after we had done just about everything we needed to in the Zumdahl book, which was up to Chapter 18 and a little bit of Organic Chem), I started feeling extremely confident going into the exam and, then, out of the exam (I got a 5).</p>

15

<p>thanks zach</p>

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<p>Personally, I feel that Zumdahl is a horrible book. I have it and find it to be no help at all.</p>

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<p><a href="http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/blb/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/blb/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>TRy this website its pretty helpful. I have a 87% in AP chem at the moment</p>

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<p>That site does help, thanks for it.</p>

19

<p>I love Silberberg!!! It is a great book, you just have to read it carefully and follow the examples, then do tons of the problems that have answers in the back. Silberberg gets you to critically think in terms of AP Chem and is much harder than the AP Chem Exam. If you can master Silberberg, the AP Chem exam is like a walk in the park, you can take naps during sections. </p>

<p>I personally don't like Zumdahl either, the explanations aren't great and the problems are a bit on the easy side. </p>

<p>Also buy Arco's Master the AP Chem book, its a good supplement to Silberberg.</p>

20

<p>zach447, i think you got the 2 bonds mixed up. the first bond (in single bond, double bond, or triple bond) is always sigma bond, and any bonds to follow are pi bonds.</p>

<p>don't worry too much about the shapes of these quantum chemistry stuff. i find it easier to just memorize the basics (for example, molecular structure and what hybrid goes with it, quantum numbers, etc.). The AP won't ask too many questions on it, and if you memorize the basics, you should be able to at least narrow down your choices to 2 or 3, if not 1.</p>