Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry Summer Assignment
Summer 2015
To the AP Chemistry Student:
Welcome to my AP Chemistry class!
The Advance Placement Chemistry experience is designed to provide a full year of college-level chemistry, so it
places heavy demands on the student, especially in terms of the time commitment required. In fact, the College
Board suggests that students devote a minimum of five hours per week for individual study outside of the classroom.
The ultimate objective, of course, is to prepare you to take the AP Chemistry test on May 4, 2015, and in order to
accomplish this, topics are covered very quickly. For this reason, most students take AP Chemistry after they
already completed a year of high school chemistry, since that provides them with a solid foundation. In order to
ensure the best start for you next fall, I prepared a Summer Assignment that reviews many basic chemistry
concepts. This is a required assignment, and your first assessment in September will be drawn from topics in the
Summer Assignment.
If you have already taken a high school chemistry course, you will find much of the material in the Summer
Assignment to be very familiar. It is important that everyone come to the first day of class well prepared! Extensive
remediation is not an option as we work towards our goal of becoming completely prepared for the AP Exam in
early May, so seek help early if you are struggling.
It is also important that you realize up front how your performance in this course will be measured. The course
grade will mainly depend on your assessment scores, although some lab reports will also be assigned and evaluated.
Do not expect any grade curves or ‘fluff’ assignments this year! Assessments will be graded as if they are AP
exams.
There is a vast amount of chemistry available on the Internet, including sources cited on my own website. With
ready access to these websites in your home, school or at the local library, I am confident that you will have
everything you need to learn chemistry at the AP level.
Finally, I recommend that you spread out the Summer Assignment, rather than trying to complete it in the final week
of the summer! It takes time for a student to process, practice and subsequently learn chemistry at the level
necessary for success in AP Chemistry. Remember, AP Chemistry is an equivalent course to an Introductory
Chemistry college course, a full year program. Taking a college level course in high school is difficult, and it
requires commitment, hard work and time, but completion of a class like this is a great investment in your
education. Prepare yourself and arrive ready to learn!
You may contact me by email over the summer, and I will do my best to respond quickly.
(ccumming@hatboro-horsham.org)
Have a great summer !
Mrs C Cummings
Summer Assignment:
Directions:
Your summer assignment is comprised of Reading and Problems from your textbook: Chemistry A Molecular
Approach. This material is a review of Honors Chemistry. The summer assignment is due on Friday, September
11. The assignment will be collected and graded. On this date, there will also be a quiz given on this material.
Please used lined paper , and neatly write and clearly number all answers. Also I expect to see work where
appropriate, and pay attention to units and significant digits in answers where appropriate.
Chapter 1 Matter, Measurement and Problem Solving
Carefully read the following Sections of your textbook:
1.1 Atoms and molecules, 1.3 the Classification of Matter, 1.4 Physical and Chemical Changes and Properties,
1.5 Energy: A fundamental part of Physical and Chemical Changes, 1.6 The Units of Measurement,
1.7 The Reliability of Measurement
Do the following Problems using the directions above:
Page 38: # 39-42, 48, 49
Page 39: # 59, 60, 69
Page 40: # 76, 77,80-82, 85, 88
Page 41: #105, 111
Chapter 2 Atoms and Elements
Carefully read the following Sections of your textbook:
2.6 Subatomic Particles: Protons, Neutrons and Electrons in Atoms, 2.7 Finding Patterns, The Periodic Law and
the Periodic Table, 2.9 Molar Mass: Counting Atoms by Weighing Them
Do the following Problems using the directions above:
Page 80: #58-60
Page 81: #61, 62, 63, 68, 69
Page 82: #83, 84, 87
Chapter 3 Molecules, Compounds and Chemical Equations
Carefully read the following Sections of your textbook:
3.1 Hydrogen, Oxygen and Water, 3.2 Chemical Bonds, 3.3 Representing Compounds: Chemical Formula and
Molecular Models, 3.4 An Atomic Level View of Elements and Compounds, 3.5, Ionic Compounds Formulas and
Names, 3.6 Molecular Compounds Formulas and Names, 3.11 Writing and Balancing Chemical Equations,
3.12 Organic Compounds
Do the Following Problems using the directions above:
Page 130: #27, 29, 31
Page 131: #33, 36, 37-41, 44, 45, 51, 52
Page 132: #59, 63, 65, 71, 79
Page 133: #99, 100
Page 134: #105, 106, 115