5 Steps to a 5 AP Chemistry 2019

What You Need to Know About the AP Chemistry Exam ❮ 5

While there may be some idealistic motivators, let’s face it: most students take the exam

because they are seeking college credit. This means you are closer to graduation before you

even start attending classes. Even if you do not score high enough to earn college credit,

the fact that you elected to enroll in AP courses tells admission committees that you are a

high achiever and serious about your education.

Questions Frequently Asked About the AP Chemistry Exam

What Is Going to Appear on the Exam?

This is an excellent question. The College Board, having consulted with those who teach

chemistry, develops a curriculum that covers material that college professors expect to cover

in their first-year classes. Based upon this outline of topics, the multiple-choice exams are

written such that those topics are covered in proportion to their importance to the expected

chemistry understanding of the student. Confused? Suppose that faculty consultants agree

that environmental issues are important to the chemistry curriculum, maybe to the tune

of 10 percent. If 10 percent of the curriculum in an AP Chemistry course is devoted to

environmental issues, you can expect roughly 10 percent of the multiple-choice exam to

address environmental issues. Remember this is just a guide and each year the exam differs

slightly in the percentages.

How Is the Advanced Placement Chemistry Exam Organized?

Table 1.1 summarizes the format of the AP Chemistry exam.

Table 1.1

SECTION NUMBER OF QUESTIONS TIME LIMIT

I. Multiple-Choice Questions 60 90 minutes

II. Free-Response Questions 105 minutes

Long Questions 3 20–25 minutes per question

Short Questions 4 3–10 minutes per question

The exam is a two-part exam designed to take about three hours. The first section has

60 multiple-choice questions. You will have 90 minutes to complete this section.

The second part of the exam is the free-response section. You will begin this section

after you have completed and turned in your multiple-choice scan sheet. There will be a

break before you begin the second section. The length of this break will vary from school

to school. You will not be able to go back to the multiple-choice questions later.

You will receive a test booklet for the free-response section of the test. You will have

105 minutes to answer seven questions. These questions may cover any of the material in

the AP Chemistry course. The free-response section consists of two parts. In both parts,

you may use a calculator. There will probably be two lab questions—one an experimental

design question and the other question an analysis of data or observations. There will be

two questions involving representations of molecules—one involving a conversion between