Preparing for the Advanced Placement Chemistry Exam
2013 AP Chemistry Exam: Monday, May 6
This is one of the few opportunities you will have to compete academically on a national basis.
Last year, over 121,000 students sat down on the same day and faced the same questions in
schools from Miami to Anchorage and everywhere in between. Your score will depend on how
well you do as compared to the performance of your peers from all over the country. You will be
placed in one of five categories: 1 (no recommendation), 2 (possibly qualified), 3 (qualified), 4
(well qualified), or 5 (extremely well qualified). Therefore, a score of 3 or better is considered
“passing”. However, colleges do interpret (& reward credits) differently. Generally, a score of 3
will reward you with a credit for the first semester freshman chemistry course and lab. This
would give you a 4 college credit head start. A score of 4 or 5 could reward you with both
semesters of lecture and lab for a total of 8 college credits. That is an excellent return on your
investment of time & effort this year. This is your time to shine……let’s make it happen for you.
Overall Study Strategy:
1. Start reviewing early. The sooner you break through the natural tendency & barrier of
procrastination the better you will feel.
2. Look over the units of study below
3. Skim entire course to remind yourself (in general) of the concepts, labs, and order of ideas.
Hopefully, this will relax you by “jogging” your memory as to the major parts of the course
without getting into the small details.
4. Compile quiz and test bank (including notebook coversheets and thermodynamics review sheet)
5. Review bank
6. Become familiar with equation list provided on exam
7. Review old AP Exams - just read them first. Read lots of them. Become familiar with the
format, time allowances, and types of questions asked. There have been changes in the
format over the years so some of the older exams may be slightly different. Major changes
were made for the 2007 exam. Make notes of the types of problems that reappear, personal
weak points, things to remember, etc. Spend most of your studying time here.
8. Students have also found commercial study guides to be helpful. This is the one they have
most frequently recommended: “Cracking the AP Chemistry Exam” – The Princeton
Review, by Paul Foglino………but I would highly recommend reading the reviews written on
Amazon.com before choosing a guide to purchase.
Something to Ponder:
Students who prepare:
10 years from now, you will remember getting a 5
on the AP exam because:
1. It helped you get admitted to a fine university.
2. It gave you confidence in your ability to
succeed at that fine university.
3. It gave you a head start in your education at
that fine university.
4. It saved you (or your parents) money.
5. It improved your self-esteem.
6. It made your parents happy.
7. It made your teacher happy!!
Students who do not prepare:
10 years from now, you probably will have no
recollection of all the different ways in which you
chose to idle your time away. The TV shows you
watched, the computer games you played, the
texting, the tweets, etc. will not provide any
lasting value.
Moral of the story: Study!
Moral of the story: Major accomplishments have
lasting value!
Chemistry II
Cary Academy
W.G. Rushin
1
Quote from the AP Handbook (we will discuss this statement more in class):
"Teachers should not try to prepare students to answer every question on a test of this kind.
In order to be broad enough in scope to give every student who has covered an adequate
amount of material an opportunity to make a good showing, the test must be so comprehensive
that no student should be expected to make a perfect or near-perfect score."
Units of Study:
Unit 1 (Chapters 4 and 5): Aqueous Chemistry
Unit 12 (Chapter 12) Part I: Brief Introduction to Kinetics
Unit 2 (Chapter 6): Thermodynamics – Part I: Heat Energy
Unit 2 (Chapter 7): Thermodynamics – Part II: The Driving Forces
Unit 3 (Chapter 8): Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
Unit 4 (Chapters 9 and 10): Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure
Unit 5 (Chapter 14): The Properties of Gases
Unit 6 (Chapter 15): The Condensed States
Unit 7 (Chapter 16): The Properties of Solutions
Unit 8 (Chapter 13): The Equilibrium Condition
Unit 9 (Chapter 17): Acid-Base Chemistry
Unit 10 (Chapter 16): Solubility and Complex Ion Equilibria
Unit 11 (Chapter 18): Electrochemistry
Unit 12 (Chapter 12) Part II: Kinetics
Library of AP Exams:
I have copies of exams dating back to 1981. Please do not mark on exams. You’re welcome to
make a personal copy to use as you wish. Multiple choice sections are only released every 5
years or so. These are the most recent complete exams that I have:
 Entire 2002 exam with answer key and scoring guidelines
 Entire 2008 exam with answer key and scoring guidelines
Free response questions (section II) from 2002-12 as well as scoring guidelines for 2004-2012
can be found on the College Board web site: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com. You can find lots
of good resources here.
Thermodynamic Units in the 2012 Chemistry Exam
In past exams, the practice for writing units associated with changes in thermodynamic quantities
in given reactions has been to use kJ/mol and kJ/mol· K forenergy and entropy changes,
respectively. Starting in May 2012, the use of the term "molrxn" (read aloud as "mole reaction" or
"mole of reaction") in thermodynamic units will be phased in as a move toward a standard
practice in the AP Chemistry Exam. Specifically, the term "molrxn" will be used in the denominator
when quantities such as changes in enthalpy, Gibbs free energy, and entropy are given in the
context of given reactions. For example; consider the following reaction:
2Al(s) + 3Cl2(g)  2AlCl3(s)
For this reaction: H° = -1411 kJ/molrxn G° = -1260 kJ/molrxn and S° = -505 J/molrxn K
In each case, the values given are for the reaction that occurs as written, specifically with the
coefficients referring to numbers of moles of substances (not individual atoms or molecules).
Changes to the Exam Beginning in 2011 (from Course Description):
Beginning with the May 2011 AP Exam administration, there will be a change to the way
AP Exams are scored. Total scores on the multiple-choice section will be based on the number of
questions answered correctly. Points will no longer be deducted for incorrect answers and, as
always, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions.
Changes to the Exam Beginning in 2007 (from Course Description):
Starting in May 2007, the AP Chemistry Exam will have a new format. The two parts of
the exam, Section I and Section II, will contribute equally (50 percent each) toward the final
grade. Section I (90 minutes) will still consist of 75 multiple-choice questions with broad
coverage of topics.
Chemistry II
Cary Academy
W.G. Rushin
2
Teachers should not try to prepare students to answer every question in Section I of the
exam. To be broad enough in scope to give every student who has covered an adequate amount
of material an opportunity to make a good showing, the exam must be so comprehensive that no
student should be expected to make a perfect or near-perfect score.
There will be several changes in Section II of the exam starting in May 2007. The first
change is that students will no longer choose between alternative questions. All students will
answer the same six free-response questions. A second change relates to Question 4 of the
exam, in which students are asked to write chemical equations for five reactions chosen from
eight given sets of reactants. In the new Question 4 format, all students will write balanced
chemical equations for several different sets of reactants. In addition, students will answer a
short question about each reaction.
A third change in Section II relates to the timing of Part A (calculators permitted) and
Part B (no calculators permitted). In Part A students will have 55 minutes to answer three
problems—one problem involving chemical equilibrium and two other problems, one of which
may involve quantitative analysis of data in a laboratory-based problem. In Part B students will
have 40 minutes to answer a reactions question (Question 4, described above) and two essay
questions, one of which will be based on laboratory in the case that no laboratory-based problem
appears in Part A.
Format of Exam:
185 minute exam divided into two parts
Part I: Multiple Choice Section
 75 multiple choice questions
 90 minutes
 50% of final score
 no calculators and no equation table for this section
 From the handbook: “The purpose of the multiple choice section is to assess the breadth of
the students’ knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts of chemistry. The multiple
choice questions emphasize conceptual understanding as well as qualitative and simple
quantitative applications of principles. Many chemical and physical principles and relationships
are quantitative by nature and can be expressed as equations. Knowledge of the underlying
basic definitions and principles, expressed as equations, is a part of the content of chemistry
that should be learned by chemistry students and will continue to be assessed in the multiple
choice section. However, any numeric calculations that require use of these equations in the
multiple choice section will be limited to simple arithmetic so that they can be done quickly,
either mentally or with paper and pencil. Also, in some questions the answer choices differ by
several orders of magnitude so that the questions can be answered by estimation.
Since there is variation among AP Chemistry courses, the exam is designed to cover a greater
breadth of material than most students would find in their individual courses. Thus, it is
expected that you may encounter some topics that are unfamiliar to you.”
Part II: "Free Response" Section
 3 components: problems / chemical equations / essays
 95 minutes total
 50% of final score
 you will have use of a calculator for only the first 55 min. (the problem section). You will have
use of the equation table for all of part II. You will have 40 min. for the equations and essays.
A. Solve three problems. One will be an equilibrium problem and one will likely be laboratory based.
B. Answer a question on chemical reactions and two essays. One essay will be laboratory based if no
laboratory-based problem appears in part A.
Chemistry II
Cary Academy
W.G. Rushin
3
Info and Strategies:
Part I:
 beginning in 1996, the use of a calculator is no longer permitted on this section. Also,
equation tables will be provided for part II, but not for part I.
 make sure you read all the multiple choice and answer the ones you are confident about
first!! Work quickly and skip the ones you can’t immediately answer. The questions at the
end of the section are not necessarily the hardest.
 you might want to try a rating system in this section. Those that you rate “familiar’ should be
done immediately. Those that you rate “somewhat familiar” you can circle and come back to
if you have time. Make sure you answer them all since there is no longer a penalty for
incorrect answers.
Part II Problems:
 one of the problems will be an equilibrium problem
 you will have your calculators and the equation table
 partial credit is awarded. Clearly showing your work will pay big dividends with the graders
(however, don’t go too far and work at a snail’s pace which will prevent you from finishing).
 clearly define all unknowns and show formulas/equations, steps, and units used to get
answer. An incorrect answer (due to a mistake in entering numbers in the calculator for
instance) is only a small deduction as long as the steps are correct.
 since very little is deducted for arithmetic errors or for not calculating out an answer, I would
set up all your equations and steps and save the calculator arithmetic for after you have
completed the section. If you don’t have time to calculate your answers, just fill in the units
for the answer and write the number of sig figs which should be reflected in the answer. This
way you will get maximum points for time spent since all the time spent punching out the
actual answer will earn you very little additional points.
 sig fig errors result in small deductions.
 if you can’t solve part a and you need the answer (if you have time - see above) for the
other parts, make up a reasonable number and use it to solve the remaining parts. You will
only lose points in part a if you can do the rest.
Part II Equations:
 you are asked to write net ionic equations and most of the reactions occur in solution. You
will not have your valence table nor your solubility rules. Substances which exist as ions in
water must be written as ions: thus you must know which acids are strong/weak and which
compounds have low solubility in water (precipitates). Look at the bottom of your toolbox
concerning this.
 it might help to try and classify the reaction as one of the main types: acid-base, oxidationreduction, or precipitation.
 look over several of these sections including the answer key to see what is expected, but I
would not spend time studying for this section.
Part II Essays:
 be sure to leave yourself enough time for these essays because you have 40 minutes for
both the equations & essays and you will have to keep track of your own pace.
 the graders will be impressed if you explain gas behavior on the level of kinetic energy,
motion, collisions, and force per area. They would also be impressed if you discuss bonds or
intermolecular forces on the level of electrostatic forces (everything that attracts is + and – ,
some are full charges and some only partial).
Time:
 bring a watch with a countdown function or write the time down when they say go. You may
not be able to see a clock! Every year there are students who know a lot of chemistry yet
they make a poor showing because they do not manage their time well. You will not have
time to do everything that you want to do on this test so accept that fact and prepare a
panic-free strategy to get points for everything you know well.
Chemistry II
Cary Academy
W.G. Rushin
4