INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this manual is not to teach you chemistry, but to outline the major
principles tested in the Advanced Placement curriculum and identify common mistakes
students make on the Exam. Each section will specify vocabulary students often use
incorrectly or show what they don’t understand when their exams are graded. Often, a
student will indicate he or she knows how to do the problem, but doesn’t know what the
question is asking. For instance, in an electrochemistry question, when asked the
direction the anion in the salt bridge would travel, the students might indicate where the
positive ion and negative ion travel but indicate they don’t know which is the anion.
Students should be able to do the demonstrations and labs identified. Labs will be limited
to those in the AP curriculum as suggested labs, although your course may be
supplemented with more than the required labs. A test subject correlation is included. The
correlation was done with the free response questions 2000 – 2007 that are on the College
Board website. Answer rubrics are also on the website. If you have passed the AP Audit,
the AP website also has a sample exam to use with your students.
All the resources provided by McGraw-Hill will help you prepare the students for
the AP Exam. The PowerPoint presentations are excellent and can be adapted to meet
your needs. I also highly recommend students use the Online Learning Center—utilize
the animations to increase their understanding. There are many questions that are similar
to the AP test and give additional practice. A section entitled “Interchapter” located
between Chapters 13 and 14 has a great review of key atomic properties, characteristics
of bonding, metallic behavior, acid-base behavior, redox behavior, physical states and
phase changes. I definitely suggest using this section as a review before the AP test.
The AP Test!
Starting in 2007, the AP test format will provide 50 percent of the possible points
to come from the multiple choice and 50 percent from the free response section. On
previous exams, students could earn up to 160 points in the exam. This equates to 80
points from the multiple choice and 80 points from the free response.
The first part of the AP test the students take is the multiple-choice portion with
the aid of a periodic table. The periodic table does not have the names of the elements on
it. They have 90 minutes to do 75 questions. This averages 1 minute and 12 seconds per
question, a rather fast rate. Several of the questions may involve calculations; however,
students are not allowed to use a calculator on them. The math usually involves simple
operations. The students earn 1 point for a right answer, lose ¼ point for a wrong answer,
and lose no points for a blank answer. The cumulative multiple-choice score is then
multiplied by a factor. If the total points available remain at 160, the factor will be 1.066.
[#right-(1/4 # wrong)]1.066 = MC score
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The multiple-choice (MC) test questions are divided by percentages of content:
20 percent of the MC or 15 questions will be from the structure of matter, which
includes material from several chapters. Topics include but are not limited to
isotopes, quantum mechanics, periodicity and trends, chemical bonding, structures,
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intermolecular and intramolecular forces, and nuclear equations. This material is
primarily found in Chapters 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 24.
 20 percent or 15 questions will come from states of matter. This includes gases,
kinetic molecular theory, and solutions. These questions primarily come from
Chapters 4, 5, 11, 12, and 13.
 35 to 40 percent or 28 to 30 questions will come from reactions. This is a huge
section and includes redox reactions, electrochemistry, acid-base reactions,
precipitate reactions, and all concepts associated with them including rates of
reactions (kinetics), equilibrium of reactions, thermodynamics, stoichiometry, mass
and volume relationships, net equations, and balancing equations. This includes
material primarily from Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21.
 10 to 15 percent or 7 to 10 questions are in descriptive chemistry. This encompasses
all areas of chemistry including environmental and societal issues, relationships
among elements, and organic chemistry. Chapters for some of this material can be
found in Chapters 14, 22, and 23.
 5 to 10 percent or 4 to 7 questions will be from lab. These questions may involve
techniques, safety, error analysis, or data interpretation. Often students are given a set
of materials and asked to explain how to use them in a certain lab. For this reason,
even if you do micro versions of labs make sure your students are familiar with
traditional equipment such as burets and volumetric flasks, etc.
Of the 75 questions, a score of 55 is excellent. Although the number changes from
year to year, a 55 on the MC will usually equate to a score of 5, 45 is a 4, 35 is a 3,
and 25 is a 2. This, of course, assumes the student performs to the same level on the
free response.
The free response has 6 questions, all of which are mandatory. The students are
provided a periodic table, reduction potentials page, and two pages of equations. The first
part of the free response involves mathematical questions 1, 2, and 3. The student will
have 55 minutes to work on all 3 questions. This is the only time students can use a
calculator. This equates to allowing 18 minutes for each of the questions. Time
management will be very important in this section. All calculations of points assume the
total point value of the exam is maintained at 160 points.
 Question 1 in the past has always been regarding equilibrium. This is a very broad
topic and can include other concepts as well. This question accounts for 20 percent of
the free response score or 10 percent overall, which equals 16 points. It is generally
scored out of 10 points and is then multiplied by 1.6 to make 16.
 Questions 2 and 3 have been on varied topics in the past but often are on
thermodynamics, electrochemistry, kinetics, or stoichiometry. Each question also
accounts for 20 percent of the free response score or 10 percent overall for 16 points
each. It is generally also scored out of 10 points and then multiplied by 1.6. A new
change allows that one of these questions can be a lab-based question.
 After the calculators are put away the student can continue to work on these
calculation questions by hand.
 Question 4 is predicting balanced net reactions. The student must do all three of the
reactions. The reactions need to be balanced and the students will also be asked a
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

question about each reaction. This section accounts for 10 percent of the free response
or 5 percent overall.
Questions 5 and 6 are worth 15 percent of the free response score or 7.5 percent
overall. Often the questions pertain to explaining forces, bonding, periodicity, or
drawing structures. It can also be a lab-based question. These are usually scored out
of 8 points and then are multiplied by 1.5.
The following chart summarizes the test format and assumes the test maintains the
160 total point value it currently uses.
Section
Multiple choice
Free response
Questions
75
1
2
3
4
5
6
Points
80
16
16
16
8
12
12
160
Total
Of the total points, the number needed for each overall score varies each year. A good
estimate out of the 160 points is 120 for a 5, 100 for a 4, 80 for a 3, and 60 for a 2.
To help you quickly find things in each chapter, the following icons have been used.
Major Concepts to Know:
Vocabulary to Know:
Math Skills Students Must Know:
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Suggested Problems:
Suggested Demonstrations or Labs:
The amount of time per chapter and the order of chapters depends on the knowledge base
of your students. Having students without any previous background makes a difference. I
suggest six weeks for students to learn all the basics (like moles, molarity, and
stoichiometry). In a course with second-year students this would not be necessary.
Silberberg has organized chapters so teachers can cover chapters in any order that meets
the needs of your class. The following is the order I use to cover the chapters and the
approximate amount of time spent per chapter.
First semester:
Chapter 1: 4 days
Chapter 2: 2 weeks
Chapter 24: 3 days
Chapter 3: 2 weeks
Chapter 15: 1 week
Chapter 4, sections 4.1, 4.5, and 4.6: 1 week
Chapter 17: 3 weeks
Chapter 4, section 4.2: 1 week
Chapter 19, sections 19.6 to 19.11: 2 weeks
Chapter 4, section 4.3: 2 days
Chapter 18: 2 weeks
Chapter 19, sections 19.1 to 19.5: 2 weeks
Second semester:
Chapter 4, section 4.4: 1 week
Chapter 21: 1 week
Chapter 20: 1 week
Chapter 6: 1 week
Chapter 16: 1 week
Chapter 5: 1 week
Chapter 7: 1 week
Chapter 8: 1 week
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Chapters 9 and 10: 1 week
Chapter 11: 1 week
Chapter 12: 1 week
Chapter 13: 1 week
Reading: Interchapter p. 541, and Chapters 14, 22, and 23.
An excellent source to use for reviewing lab procedures is the Cooperative Chemistry
Laboratory Manual, third edition by Melanie M. Cooper. The first section of this manual
is an in-depth look at how to do a lab write up and how to use laboratory equipment. This
book also contains several labs appropriate to the AP curriculum. In the chapters, labs
are mentioned that will fulfill the lab suggestions. In the case of labs 17 and 18, this
material is not specifically in the text but is covered in the supplemental lab book
suggested with the text.
AP Labs Suggested by the College Board:
1. Determination of the formula of a compound (Chapter 3)
2. Determination of the percentage of water in a hydrate (Chapter 3)
3. Determination of molar mass by vapor density (Chapter 13)
4. Determination of molar mass by freezing point depression (Chapter 13)
5. Determination of the molar volume of a gas (Chapter 5)
6. Standardization of a solution using a primary standard (Chapter 4)
7. Determination of a concentration by acid-base titration, including a weak acid or a
weak base (Chapters 4 and 19)
8. Determination of concentration by oxidation-reduction titration (Chapter 4)
9. Determination of mass and mole relationship in a chemical reaction (Chapter 3)
10. Determination of the equilibrium constant for a chemical reaction (Chapters 17, 18,
and 19)
11. Determination of appropriate indicators for various acid-base titrations; pH
determination (Chapter 19)
12. Determination of the rate of reaction and its order (Chapter 16)
13. Determination of enthalpy change associated with a reaction (Chapter 6)
14. Separation and qualitative analysis of cations and anions (Chapter 16)
15. Synthesis of a coordination compound and its chemical analysis (Chapter 23)
16. Analytical gravimetric determination (Chapter 4)
17. Calorimetric or spectrophotometric analysis (not covered in the text itself) (Paradis,
Jeffrey A. “Lab 14: Spectrophotometric Analysis: Phosphates in Water,” Hands On
Chemistry (McGraw-Hill, 2006).
18. Separation by chromatography (not covered in the text itself) (Paradis, Jeffrey A.
“Lab 4: Classification of Matter: Basic Separation Techniques,” Hands On Chemistry
(McGraw-Hill, 2006).
19. Preparation and properties of buffer solutions (Chapter 19)
20. Determination of electrochemical series (Chapters 4 and 21)
21. Measurements using electrochemical cells and electroplating (Chapter 21)
22. Synthesis, purification, and analysis of an organic compound (Chapter 15)
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The lab you choose does not matter as long as the concepts are covered. Labs can
be combined and if you have a two-year sequence, the labs can be spaced over the two
years. The labs listed in the chapters are suggestions only. This allows individual teachers
to work within their budgets, equipment, and lab constraints.
Good luck,
Marian DeWane
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