AP Chemistry: Summer Assignment
Preface
Despite what I might actually say to you, the purpose of this assignment is not to weed people out. My vision for this
class is to challenge you to think abstractly about chemistry – not just to have you be able to do the things that I show
you how to do – and to help you learn the content that is on the AP Chemistry exam and in most first-year college
Chemistry courses. These are both very difficult tasks. If you understood what I was trying to do with Regents
Chemistry, you know that my approach is to teach you what is on the test but to put those ideas and skills in a larger
context of the big questions that face us as a society and as individual human beings. I am going to be working hard this
summer to make sure that we can do that in a fun and provocative way and I’m asking you to do a bit of work to make
this difficult task a little easier. Thanks.
Part 1
There are some important chemical questions that you need to think about over the summer. You need to write down
your thoughts on these issues after you have considered them thoroughly (notice that I did not ask you to give me
“answers” – think about it!). These are not Regents questions so a response just to get it done is not what I am looking
for here and cutting and pasting from the good ol’ internet will just irritate me and cause me to question your interest in
learning. To be a little clearer, there are no right answers, only better answers.
1. Why do chemicals react?
2. Why are some substances denser than other substances?
3. Why do some reactions involve more energy than other reactions?
4. In this crazy mixed up world filled with suffering, inequality and greed, why should we bother with chemistry?
You need to turn in your answers to these questions on the first day of class. You should start thinking about it now!
Part 2
Without bonding, there are no compounds. Without compounds, there are no chemical reactions. And guess what?!
Without chemical reactions, there is no chemistry. So I need you to understand a few concrete things to make sure that
we are starting on the same page in the Fall. Keep in mind that fundamentally both of these topics require you to
understand chemical bonding and compounds, which I am pretty sure that I just made a good case for being the basis of
everything that you have and ever will learn about chemistry!
If you need me to help you know things about chemistry, then you should have stopped at Regent’s Chemistry. I will
help you understand chemistry and knowing these things going in will help. You can find information about these in this
packet or online.
1. Naming and Formulas: You should be able to name all chemical compounds. That means knowing polyatomic ion
formulas and charges, rules for oxidation numbers, organic compounds, and rules for acids in addition to the normal
ionic/covalent naming that most of you should already know. But it all comes down to compounds, bonding,
chemistry…
2. Moles: How do we measure the amount of a compound? Moles! That wonderfully quantitative but zoologicallynamed unit comes back to the idea of compounds (and molecules) and what those are all about. Still, as hard as it
might be to believe, you may not know how to do mole conversions. Now is the time to learn if this eluded you in
the past or if you cannot do the conversions using only a periodic table.
Do you have to do all these problems? Of course not. Do you need to know how to do these things? Yes. You will be
tested on these the first day of class. Did I stutter? That is the first day. Be ready. Do what you need to do to be
prepared.
Want to make sure that you’ve got this right? If you need the confirmation of a teacher, you should check the AP Chem
website first (mialky.typepad.com/ap) and then email me (mialkyk@dansvillecsd.org) if you do not see the answers
posted. I will get to it sometime before the first week in August so try to relax for that first month of summer vacation
(even if you are working on these questions).
Part 3 (sort of optional)
I’ll be honest with you – I’m still not sure what to do about the AP component of this course. The fact is that none of you
have to take the AP Chemistry Exam although I am sure that a few of you really do want to. I want you to challenge
yourself – that is the whole point of this class. I know that you are capable of more than you think you can do. But I also
think that there is also a pretty strong argument against the AP exams being relevant to real, long-term success in
science. In the end, the most I can do is to challenge you as much as possible but the real choice is yours in terms of
how far you go with this. But if I feel like people are setting the bar too low for themselves, I will raise it – if you get my
drift…
With that spirit, here are some things that you will need to know specifically for the AP Exam. I will throw some extra
credit questions on the first day quiz about these topics so if you do learn this stuff, you will be rewarded!
Solubility Rules: Most reactions are aqueous and so solubility is important both in terms of reactants and products.
Know what dissolves and doesn’t. This is more or less knowing Reference Table F for the Regents Exam.
Unit Conversions: We’ll do more of this in a slightly different way, but if you get it now it will be easier. For you
overachievers, look up dimensional analysis…
Lewis Structures: Again, bonding is important. The more you know, the better. Especially if all the organic stuff still
makes sense to you.
Moles/Atoms: We did a ton of moles-grams and even some moles-moles problems but can you use Avagadro’s Number?
Remember that there are 6.02 x 1023 atoms/ions/molecules per mole!
Part 4
Why would you do all of this during the precious and fleeting days of summer? Why do you want to take this class in the
first place? I think that those are good questions for you to consider.
Part 5
Go ride a bike. Walk in the woods. Listen to some Otis Redding. Write a poem.
Drop me an email if you have questions (or answers for that matter!).
Solubility Rules
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
All compounds containing alkali metal cations and the ammonium ion are soluble.
All compounds containing NO3-, ClO4-, ClO3-, and C2H3O2- anions are soluble.
All chlorides, bromides, and iodides are soluble except those containing Ag+, Pb2+, or Hg2+.
All sulfates are soluble except those containing Hg2+, Pb2+, Sr2+, Ca2+, or Ba2+.
All hydroxides are insoluble except compounds of the alkali metals, Ca2+, Sr2+,and Ba2+.
All compounds containing PO43-, S2-, CO32-, and SO32- ions are insoluble except those that also contain
alkali metals or NH4+.
Inorganic Naming Flowchart
Common polyatomic cations, arranged by charge. Alternate names are given in italics. Select the name of the ion for
information about its occurrence, uses, properties, and structure.
+2
-1
Hg22+ mercury(I) or mercurous C2H3O2- acetate
-2
CO32-
carbonate
ClO3-
chlorate
CrO42- chromate
ClO2-
chlorite
Cr2O72- dichromate
NH4+ ammonium
CN-
cyanide
HPO42- hydrogen phosphate
H3O+ hydronium
H2PO4-
dihydrogen phosphate
O22-
HCO3-
2hydrogen carbonate or bicarbonate SO4
HSO4-
hydrogen sulfate or bisulfate
OH-
hydroxide
ClO-
hypochlorite
+1
peroxide
sulfate
SO32-
sulfite
S2O32-
thiosulfate
-3
NO3-
nitrate
PO43-
NO2-
nitrite
ClO4-
perchlorate
MnO4-
permanganate
SCN-
thiocyanate
You can also look here: http://www.adriandingleschemistrypages.com/apions.pdf
phosphate
Organic Review
Rules for Determining Oxidation Number
Oxidation Number: A number assigned to an atom in a molecular compound or molecular ion that indicates the general distribution
of electrons among the bonded atoms.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
The oxidation number of any uncombined element is O.
The oxidation number of a monatomic ion equal the charge on the ion.
The more electronegative element in a binary compound is assigned the number equal to the charge it would have if it
were an ion.
The oxidation number of fluorine in a compound is always –1
Oxygen has an oxidation number of –2 unless it is combined with F, when it is +2, or it is in a peroxide, when it is –1.
The oxidation state of hydrogen in most of its compounds is+1 unless it combined with a metal, in which case it is –1.
In compounds, the elements of groups 1 and 2 as well as aluminum have oxidation number of +1, +2, and +3, respectively
The sum of the oxidation numbers of all atoms in a neutral compound is O.
The sum of the oxidation number of all atoms in a polyatomic ion equals the charge of the ion.
Here are some compounds that you should be able to name for fun and/or practice. Guess what? You can also
find the oxidation numbers for these. You need to in some cases. That’s a hint.
28. HCl
1. CuSO4
2. Al(OH)3
3. NH4NO3
4. SbCl3
5. HNO3
6. CaCO3
7. KClO3
8. H2SO4
9. Na2SO4
10. Ag2S
11. NH3
12. KMnO4
13. Na2C2O4
14. MgO
15. CO2
16. H3PO4
17. P2O5
18. SO2
19. FeCl3
20. CCl4
21. NaHCO3
22. Ca(OH)2
23. Pb(C2H3O2)2
29. SO3
30. CoCl2
31. Cr(NO2)3
32. PCl5
33. CdS
34. FeO
35. H2CO3
36. K2Cr2O7
37. HNO2
38. Na2S2O3
39. TiO2
40. NaClO
41. Fe(NO3)3
42. HgCl2
43. N2O4
44. CS2
45. NaOH
46. H2SO3
47. H2S
48. H3PO4
49. NH3
50. HCN
24. Cu(NO3)2
51. Ca(OH)2
25. ZnCl2
52. Fe(OH)3
26. LiOH
53. H3P
27. BaSO4
Here are some compounds that you should be able to write the formulas for based on the names. Same
idea.
1. diethylamine
2. dinitrogen trioxide
3. nitrogen
4. methane
5. lithium acetate
6. phosphorus trifluoride
7. vanadium (V) oxide
8. aluminum hydroxide
9. zinc sulfide
10. silicon tetrafluoride
11. silver phosphate
12. 2-ethyl-2-pentene
13. hydrofluoric acid
14. hydroselenic acid
15. carbonic acid
16. lithium hydroxide
17. nitrous acid
18. cobalt (II) hydroxide
19. sulfuric acid
20. beryllium hydroxide
21. hydrobromic acid
MOLES!
Kindly convert the following amounts of moles into grams:
1) 4.56 moles of B
2) 2.915 moles of CuF2
Cleverly convert the following amounts of grams into moles:
3) 0.84 grams U
4) 77.7 grams Mn2O7
Carefully convert the following numbers of particles into moles – ( 1 mole = 6.02 x 1023 particles):
5) 3.4 x 1022 atoms of Na
6) 1.03 x 1021 molecules of H2O
Fastidiously convert the following numbers of moles into particles:
7) 3.47 moles Zn
8) 0.0000025 moles NaF
Cautiously convert the following between liters of gas and moles (1 mole gas at STP = 22.4L):
9) 2.4 L of gas at STP into moles
10) 3.4 moles of gas at STP into liters
Meticulously convert the following number of grams into particles (a two-step process!):
11) 38.4 grams C
12) 0.00035 grams P
Angrily convert the following numbers of particles into grams (a two-step process!):
13) 2.34 x 1023 atoms S
14) a trillion atoms of Pb
Find the molar mass (also known as molecular weight) of the following. Include units.
1) H2SO4
4) Mg(NO3)2
2) PbCl2
5) sodium chloride
3) ammonia (NH3)
6) potassium oxide
Convert the following:
7) 45.21 grams of carbon into moles
13) 6.8 liters of oxygen gas (at STP) into moles
8) 3.45 moles of sodium into grams
14) 32.29 grams of Zn into atoms
9) 27.7 moles of He gas (at STP) into liters
15) 0.50 moles of Ca(OH)2 into grams
10) 0.34 moles of Pb into particles
16) 1.00 kilograms of Al2(CO3)3 into moles
Molar Mass is the mass in grams of 1 mole of a substance.
When dealing with elements, some people call it atomic mass or atomic weight.
When dealing with compounds, some people call it molecular mass, molecular weight, or gram-formula
weight.
10) C6Se3
1) Ti3(PO4)4
11) Mg(ClO3)2
2) F2Cl
12) Cu(OH)2
3) H2SO4
13) Al2(SO3)3
4) Cs3P
14) P4O10
5) SnS2
15) potassium phosphide
6) Co2(CO3)3
16) dinitrogen tetrabromide
7) Au(NO3)3
17) phosphoric acid
8) UO2
18) gold (I) oxide
9) CaF2
19) sodium fluoride