INTRODUCTION: THE FIVE-STEP PROGRAM - 5 Steps to a 5 AP Chemistry (2015)

5 Steps to a 5 AP Chemistry (2015)

INTRODUCTION: THE FIVE-STEP PROGRAM

The Basics

Not too long ago, you enrolled in AP Chemistry. A curiosity about chemistry, encouragement from a respected teacher, or the simple fact that it was a requirement may have been your motivation. No matter what the reason, you find yourself flipping through a book, which promises to help you culminate this experience with the highest of honors, a 5 in AP Chemistry. Yes, it is possible to achieve this honor without this book. There are many excellent teachers of AP Chemistry out there who teach, coax, and otherwise prepare their students into a 5 every year. However, for the majority of students preparing for the exam, the benefits of buying this book far outweigh its cost.

The key to doing well on the Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry exam is to outline a method of attack and not to deviate from this method. We will work with you to make sure you take the best path towards the test. You will need to focus on each step, and this book will serve as a tool to guide your steps. But do not forget—no tool is useful if you do not use it.

Organization of the Book

This book conducts you through the five steps necessary to prepare yourself for success on the exam. These steps will provide you with the skills and strategies vital to the exam, and the practice that will lead you to towards the perfect 5.

First, we start by introducing the basic five-step plan used in this book. Then in Chapter 1, we will give you some background information about the AP Chemistry exam. Next, in Chapter 2, we present three different approaches to preparing for the exam. In Chapter 3, we give you an opportunity to evaluate your knowledge with a Diagnostic Exam. The results of this exam will allow you to customize your study. In Chapter 4, we offer you a multitude of tips and suggestions about the different types of questions on the AP Chemistry exam. Many times good test-taking practices can help raise your score.

Since the volume of the material to be mastered can be intimidating, Chapters 5 to 19 present a comprehensive review of the material that you will cover in an AP Chemistry course. This is review material, but since not all of this material appears in every AP Chemistry class, it will also help to fill in the gaps in your chemistry knowledge. You can use it in conjunction with your textbook if you are currently taking AP Chemistry, or you can use it as a review of the concepts you covered. At the end of each chapter, you will find both a multiple-choice and free-response exam for you to test yourself. The answers and explanations are included. This will also help you identify any topics that might require additional study.

After these content chapters, there are two complete chemistry practice exams, including multiple-choice and free-response questions. The answers and explanations are included. These exams will allow you to test your skills. The multiple-choice questions will provide you with practice on questions similar to those asked on past AP exams. These are not the exact questions, but ones that will focus you on the key AP Chemistry topics. There are also examples of free-response questions; there are fewer of these, since they take much longer to answer. After you take an exam, you should review each question. Ask yourself, why was this question present? Why do I need to know this? Make sure you check your answers against the explanations. If necessary, use the index to locate a particular topic and reread the review material. We suggest that you take the first exam, identify those areas that need additional study, and review the appropriate material. Then take the second exam and use the results to guide your additional study.

Finally, in the appendixes you will find additional resources to aid your preparation. These include:

• A tip sheet on how to avoid “stupid” mistakes and careless errors

• Common conversions

• How to balance redox equations

• A list of common ions

• A bibliography

• A number of useful websites

• A glossary of terms related to AP Chemistry

• A table of half-reactions for use while answering free-response questions

• A table of equations and abbreviations for use while answering free-response questions

• A periodic table for use when answering any exam questions

The Five-Step Program

Step 1: Set Up Your Study Program

In Step 1, you will read a brief overview of the AP Chemistry exams, including an outline of the topics. You will also follow a process to help determine which of the following preparation programs is right for you:

• Full school year: September through May.

• One semester: January through May.

• Six weeks: Basic training for the exam.

Step 2: Determine Your Test Readiness

Step 2 provides you with a diagnostic exam to access your current level of understanding. This exam will let you know about your current level of preparedness and on which areas you should focus your study.

• Take the diagnostic exam slowly and analyze each question. Do not worry about how many questions you get right. Hopefully this exam will boost your confidence.

• Review the answers and explanations following the exam, so that you see what you do and do not yet fully understand.

Step 3: Develop Strategies for Success

Step 3 provides strategies that will help you do your best on the exam. These strategies cover both the multiple-choice and free-response sections of the exam. Some of these tips are based upon experience in writing questions, and others have been gleaned from our years of experience reading (grading) the AP Chemistry exams.

• Learn how to read and analyze multiple-choice questions.

• Learn how to answer multiple-choice questions.

• Learn how to plan and write answers to the free-response questions.

Step 4: Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High

Step 4 encompasses the majority of this book. In this step, you will learn or review the material you need to know for the test. Your results on the diagnostic exam will let you know on which material you should concentrate your study. Concentrating on some material does not mean you can ignore the other material. You should review all the material, even what you already know.

There is a lot of material here, enough to summarize a yearlong experience in AP Chemistry and highlight the, well, highlights. Some AP courses will have covered more material than yours, some will have covered less; but the bottom line is that if you thoroughly review this material, you will have studied all that is on the exam, and you will have significantly increased your chances of scoring well. This edition gives new emphasis to some areas of chemistry to bring your review more in line with the revised AP Chemistry exam format. For example, there is more discussion of reactions and the laboratory experience. Each chapter contains a short exam to monitor your understanding of the current chapter.

Step 5: Build Your Test-Taking Confidence

In Step 5, you will complete your preparation by testing yourself on practice exams. This section contains two complete chemistry exams, solutions, and sometimes more important, advice on how to avoid the common mistakes. In this edition, the free-response exams have been updated to more accurately reflect the content tested on the AP exams. Be aware that these practice exams are not reproduced questions from actual AP Chemistry exams, but they mirror both the material tested by AP and the way in which it is tested.

The Graphics Used in This Book

To emphasize particular skills and strategies, we use several icons throughout this book. An icon in the margin will alert you to pay particular attention to the accompanying text. We use these four icons:

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This icon highlights a very important concept or fact that you should not pass over.

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This icon calls your attention to a strategy that you may want to try.

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This icon indicates a tip that you might find useful.

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This icon points to material that is not directly tested on the AP Chemistry exam but may be required by your teacher in high school and certainly by your college teacher. Although you won’t find this specific content on the AP exam, knowing it will improve your understanding of chemistry, helping you to better grasp the material that is directly tested on the exam.

Boldfaced words indicate terms that are included in the glossary at the end of this book.