The College Board has created AP Central for Advanced Placement professionals. It requires a free registration in order to access any of the resources. An AP Chemistry page is available for students with past AP Chemistry exam questions from 2001 to 2004.

The American Chemical Society publishes ChemMatters which is now online and provides exceptional background information on chemistry topics.
 
Steven Haderlie has taught Advanced Placement Chemistry for the past twenty-nine years at Springville High School.  For five years he was a reader of the AP Chemistry Exam for the College Board. He has presented AP Chemistry Workshops (both morning and afternoon sessions) in Salem, OR; Spokane, WA; Denver, CO; and Provo, UT.  At those workshops he provided handouts which he uses with his own AP Chemistry students to help prepare them for the AP Chemistry Exam.  Many of these handouts are a simple analysis of past AP Chemistry exams which can help students understand the structure of the exam and the types of questions which appear in each section.

You may use these handouts in your own AP Chemistry program.  They are available as pdf files which can be read using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Reader installed on your computer, you can download the latest version.

Please give credit if you use these resources in your class or in other presentations.

The following handouts are available and updated to include the 2004 exam:

1. Course Description.  This resource is for new AP Chemistry teachers.  I use Chemical Principles by Masterton and in this resource list the topics which I cover each class period.  This is useful for new teachers to see the pace of an AP Chemistry course and the topics covered.  At Springville High School we have an 80 minute period every other day for 180 days.

2. Texts. I often receive email from new AP Chemistry teachers regarding recommendations of a text. I have used numerous editions of Chemistry: Principles and Reactions authored by Masterton, Hurley. The text is smaller than most but just as rigorous and my experience with it for thirty years is that students can read it and learn chemistry.

I have just completed authoring eighty laboratory problems using Virtual ChemLab that are included in the 10th edition of Chemistry: The Central Science, Brown, LeMay, Bursten published by Pearson/Prentice-Hall. The inclusion of Virtual ChemLab would persuade me to choose this text in my next adoption.

The link for texts provides information about a variety of texts that I have encountered over the years. You will need to obtain examination copies and judge for yourself. I have not included web addresses since the publishers are purchasing each other every year and the URL changes. Just Google with the name of the text and author and you should be able to find the website. I have included the ISBN for the newest edition that I am aware of. If you have a favorite text that would like included please email me.

2. Chart of Polyatomic Ions.  I provide this to students who use it for homework and exams.  It includes monatomic ion names, polyatomic ion names, and a few common acid names.

3. Solubility Rules.  I have collected solubility rules from several texts and organized them so that the salts which are generally soluble are listed first and those that are generally insoluble listed next.

4. Keys to Passing the AP Chemistry Exam.  From my experience as an exam reader, I have suggestions for students to help in preparing for the exam.

5. Multiple Choice Analysis.  This is an analysis of the 1984, 1989, and 1994 AP Chemistry exams which breaks down the multiple choice questions by topic and provides a per cent of questions for each topic.

6. Questions 1, 2, and 3. Questions 1, 2, and 3 are all problem oriented.  The student is required to complete question 1 which is always equilibrium.  The student may choose between questions 2 and 3.  This resource provides analysis of the exam from 1981 to the present.

7. Question 4.  Question 4 is the reaction question where students must answer five of eight.  The reactants are provided in words and the student must write a complete unbalanced reaction.  This resource provides analysis of the exam from 1981 to the present.

8. Questions 5-8.  These questions allow a student the opportunity to express his knowledge about a variety of topics.  This resource provides analysis of the exam from 1984 to the present.


Chemistry Resources
As resources become available, I will make them available on this page.  If you have AP chemistry resources that you have found on the Internet, please notify me and I will post them for others to use.  If new AP Chemistry teachers have questions, please feel free to email me at the address below.

Please send comments and corrections to: steven.haderlie@nebo.edu

  Back to Springville High Home