AP Chemistry - Summer Fun
Congratulations! You’ve signed up for what will probably be the most challenging and definitely one of the most interesting
courses you’ll take in high school: AP Chemistry. To be ready for next year’s class, there’s a little preparatory work for the
summer. Our first exam is on Friday, Sept. 9 (the third day of class). This exam will be on the material from your summer
packet, so it behooves you to prepare accordingly.
Students who have taken Chemistry or Honors Chemistry:
You should have four handouts: this sheet, the Summer Homework Packet, the Flash Card Suggestions,
and the version of the Periodic Table used for the AP exam. Start using that version of the Table, and only that version,
immediately. It’s what we’ll be using all year long.
Your main job over the summer is going to be reviewing and keeping fresh all the Chemistry that you’ve already learned, so
you can hit the ground running in September. To help you do this, I’ve put together a packet of questions that includes
problems on significant figures, the atom, the periodic table, nomenclature, reactions, and stoichiometry. The Summer
Homework Packet will be worth one lab grade and will be due your first day back to school.
If you have questions about any material in the packet, there are a number of good resources available to help you: the
Chemistry Class Website with all the info from the first year class, your classmates, the textbook from the first year course
(both hard copy) the textbook we’ll be using for the AP course, and you’re welcome to attend any of the summer mini-sessions
listed below that I will be holding for the students who haven’t taken 1 st year chemistry yet.
In addition to completing the Summer Homework Packet, you’ll be making a set of Polyatomic Ion Flash Cards and a set of
Solubility Flash Cards to help you memorize some common polyatomic ions and solubility rules. You should have received a
set of suggestions for these in addition to this sheet and your Summer Homework Packet. We’ll be sharing our cards with each
other when we return, so bring them to class the first day! Some extra credit points will be available for the best sets of flash
cards.
Recommended timeline: work on making your flash cards immediately and practice with them all summer. Start on your
question packet early to mid-August.
Students who have not taken a first year Chemistry course:
You should have five handouts: the four listed in the section above plus the packet for Summer Mini-Session 1.
Huzzah! Your decision to challenge yourself is commendable. We’re going to be meeting for 3 summer mini-sessions to get
caught up on the material covered in the first year course that will be most helpful for you in tackling the AP Chemistry course.
The summer mini-sessions will be from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm on the following dates:
Friday, Aug 9th; Friday, Aug 16th; and Monday Aug 19th.
At each mini-session, we’ll go over the worksheets from the previous mini-session, introduce the new material, and pass out
worksheets on the new material to practice. The material to be completed before the first session includes measurement,
conversion, and significant figures. At that session we’ll be learning about the atom and periodic table. At the second
session, we’ll be looking at nomenclature and chemical reactions. At the third session we’ll be going over the mole and
stoichiometry.
As you complete each mini-session, you should be able to complete some more of your Summer Homework Packet.
Important: the Summer Homework Packet will be due the first day of school, and there will be an exam on the information
covered in it on the third day of school. Also, the Polyatomic Ion Flash Cards will make a lot more sense to you after the
second or third mini-session as well.
Recommended timeline: work on making your flash cards immediately and practice with them all summer. Start on the
sections of the Summer Homework Packet that correspond to your mini-sessions as you complete the worksheets for each
mini-session.