What concepts should I know before taking AP Chemistry?

I am a junior considering to take AP Chemistry my senior year. I was wondering about the topics I should know before I take AP Chemistry. I like chemistry but I’m scared of failing the class especially during senior year. If anyone who has taken AP Chem or someone who knows about the class could tell me what I should go over (stoichiometry, dimensional analysis?) to be able to do well in class or if you guys have any tips on how to be well prepared and do well in the class and the AP exam. Thank you.

If you’ve already taken chemistry or pre-ap chemistry, you’ll most likely be fine. You might have to refresh some concepts, but most of AP Chem is covered within the course. Make sure you know how to do dimensional analysis(mols to grams, liters to mols, nothing crazy), know how to calculate the molar mass, and basic naming. From my recollection, everything else was pretty much covered, but that was what my school did. The best thing you can do for yourself in preparing for the AP test and your class is to read the textbook(or AP prep book) and do lots of practice problems. Good luck!

Whatever your school lists as a prerequisite, which is probably regular high school chemistry.

The AP Chemistry Exam has been pretty much the same for 20 years now. Before each test I find past AP exams and do the problems that are relevant to my current unit. It’s really easy to find which ones are relevant and there’s usually one FRQ for each topic on every AP exam. I do 2010-2019 before each test and by the 6th or 7th one you finally understand everything. Most teachers even use past AP exam questions on their test.

If you’ve taken Honors Chemistry before, you’ll be fine. Those concepts are all you need before going into AP chem. Also, my D didn’t take any chem before AP chem and she did fine.

“nothing crazy” - the the beauty of dimensional analysis is that nothing is “crazy” if you just go step by step :slight_smile:

A lot will depend on your teacher/school culture. If you are expected to have had a previous chemistry course and you didn’t you will need to make sure you understand a lot of the basic terminology and basic skill that others have mentioned (moles, mole conversions, naming, atomic structure, etc). You school may expect more or less (something like significant figures) but if you have taken a chemistry course you should be fine. I would just brush up on things like stoichiometry and be able to do it without even thinking.

@echsgaucho21 You may be able to find your answer in this recent article from College Confidential, which covered how to prepare for AP exam in depth. You can read it here: https://insights.collegeconfidential.com/how-to-prepare-for-ap-exams

You will most likely need to know Honors or CP chemistry concepts for AP chemistry. If your school has a summer assignment, those concepts will most likely be in there. Concepts like stoichiometry, a little thermodynamics, names of ions, and things like that will need to be known.