Introduction The AP Chemistry exam is one of the most notoriously difficult AP exams for high school students across the years, and 2024 is no different.

That is why today, regardless of your chemistry abilities, we will be guiding you through exactly what you should do in order to score a perfect 5 on the exam.

What is AP Chemistry?

Should I Even Take the Exam?

AP Chemistry is an exam taken by students typically as an upperclassman, and gives college credit for most universities except those at the top like MIT, Caltech, Yale, etc.

However, if those universities were in your aspirations, don't fret!

Taking AP Chemistry not only strengthens your foundation in a subject matter relevant to both STEM majors and people of all different pursuits alike, but succeeding in the class is commendable to a degree where almost any university would be impressed by it.

Thus, it can't hurt your application, and will likely give it some further credibility on top of any other AP classes that you take.

As for the class itself, it covers a wide variety of topics incorporating but not limited to: Atomic Structures and Properties Molecular and Ionic Compound Structure and Properties Intermolecular Forces and Properties Chemical Reactions Kinetics Thermodynamics Equilibrium Acids and Bases Applications of Thermodynamics AP Chemistry

- What is On the Exam?

So, you're planning on taking the AP Chemistry exam.

What exactly will be covered on the exam?

More specifically, a question that should be preying on your mind is: what is the format of the exam?

Understanding distributions, how much time you will have, and what will be extracted out from the pallet of items served to you in class to actually be catered on the exam date are all quintessential for the formation of your studying patterns.

Here is the format, according to College Board (who hosts the exam): Section I: Multiple Choice60 Questions | 1 Hour 30 minutes | 50% of Exam Score Questions are either discrete questions or question sets, in which students are provided with a stimulus or a set of data and a series of related questions.

Section II: Free Response7 Questions | 1 Hour 45 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score There are 3 long-answer and 4 short-answer questions.

Long-answer questions are worth 10 points each; short-answer questions are worth 4 points each.

The questions assess all 6 of the course skills: models and representations, question and method, representing data and phenomena, model analysis, mathematical routines, and argumentation.

As for what will be on the exam?

Well, part of the reason why AP Chemistry is considered one of the most difficult AP classes and exams out there is because unlike most other AP tests, the material on the exam mirrors pretty much EVERYTHING that is taught in the class.

From the topics jumping from deep within a solution to out of the system and into the whole atmosphere's surrounding to the concepts being difficult to wrap one's mind around, you better get studying.

How to Study for the AP Chemistry Exam But how should you actually go about studying for it?

Well, the answer is simple: practice, practice, practice.

But not just any practice

- you must employ a specific practice routine that ensures success.

First thing’s first, you MUST ensure that you understand ALL the material at hand.

If you don’t understand a specific topic or subtopic, ask your chemistry teacher for help or watch videos through Khan Academy or YouTube that help clarify the topic.

Then, for all of these specific topics, do not broaden your scope and just prioritize completing problems on the exact issue you are facing.

For example, if you understand how buffer solutions work but don't understand how to identify an amphoteric substance, don't waste your time reviewing and doing all types of titration problems until you notice the trends.

Instead, it would be much more time-efficient and favorable if you FIRST practice problems employing the skillset that you are struggling with (in this case, practice identifying amphoteric substances) and THEN move towards looking at the bigger picture and weaving everything together.

This way, if let’s say you are struggling with BOTH identifying buffer solutions and amphoteric substances, you don’t find yourself overwhelmed trying to alleviate multiple problems at the same time and instead take things step-by-step.

Benefits can also come from finding a multitude of different problems, practicing identifying the first step that you should take in order to solve them, and then moving on to the next problem.

Typically, students struggle with figuring out the general outlines or first steps that they need to take, so once that foundation is solidified the rest of the question comes easily.

Next, once you’ve done this for all of the topics that were not lucid to you, take as many practice tests as you can.

Once again, if past college board practice tests aren’t doing the trick for you, seek out practice exams in Khan Academy or ask your chemistry teacher for some.

You could even make your own or generate some with AI (although I will warn you, it is not always the most accurate so this should be a last resort).

Only after you feel confident with what you’ve practiced and are so incredibly mind-numbed that you can calculate proportions of rates of effusion in your sleep should you take a break.

It will be hard, it will be painful, but trust me it will be worth it.

As renowned chemist Marie Curie had said, Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.

Final Thoughts: What to Do on Exam Day You made it to exam day.

You're ready, and now is not the time to second guess your abilities.

You have done everything in your power until this day to ensure success, and even if you haven't, it is not the time to start and give yourself a miniature heart attack.

Instead, the morning of the exam, focus your attention on ensuring that all of your materials are ready.

This includes MULTIPLE pencils, MULTIPLE erasers, and a scientific or graphing calculator that you are comfortable using and that is approved by college board.

Ensure that your calculator has a working battery and make sure to check if it is allowed IN ADVANCE, or you better hope that your chemistry or math teacher has an extra.

On top of that, try packing a snack for before the test to supply you with that last minute energy boost.

Now, as a student myself, I know that you may be groaning at that piece of advice.

I personally have a knot formed in my stomach every time before a critical exam, one that even the most fibrous of granola bars doesn't make it through.

However, if you are ALSO like me, food that doesn't necessarily have to be healthy, when consumed at periodic moments throughout the day, delivers massive rushes of dopamine to the brain.

That dopamine, coupled with a few deep breaths and moments of closing one's eyes and resting one's mind before the exam, is what pumps people up and gets them hyper-focused for an exam.

Capitalize on that.

Additionally, if at any point before the exam, you realize that you forgot how titration works or how to balance a redox equation in base, don't fret!

You caught yourself before the test, and should be relieved!

Just calmly find a YouTube video online and watch a tutorial on how to do that specific concept.

In most cases, it would be something that you already knew how to do that nerves drained out of you, and recognition of how to do it will come almost instantly.

Finally, if you still have waves of anxiety flowing through your body, try to put things into perspective.

If you don't get the score that you want, you don't have to send it to colleges.

It's not the end of the world, and will not significantly affect your admissions chances anyways!

Besides, everybody knows that AP tests aren't the best measure of your intelligence anyways, as they are often skewed by College Board and are ultimately just a ploy to make money.

So relax

- you've got this!

Go get that

5. Go show yourself what you've got left inside of you.

Let's do some chemistry.

Resource: Interested in Science?

If you made it to the end of this article, then chances are you are a student who is either a) extremely dedicated and wants to succeed in life, b) passionate about STEM and wants to pursue it in some shape or form, or c) all of the above.

Regardless, if you want to test your scientific thinking process and take what you learned in AP Chemistry and beyond to the next level, then the science fair is THE PLACE for you to look to.

Want a head start?

Check out this science fair masterclass by International Science and Engineering Fair Winner Rishab Jain below: https://www. rishabacademy. com/stem.