The Best AP Chemistry Notes to Study With

The Best AP Chemistry Notes to Study With SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips It can be difficult to keep your notes organized throughout the school year, especially in a class that covers so much content. This article will give you links to notes on every topic included in the AP Chemistry curriculum. If you're missing some of your notes, or if you just want a more structured overview of what you need to know for the exam, you've come to the right place! I'll also give you some study tips so that you can use both these notes and the notes you took throughout the year to your best advantage. How to Use These AP Chemistry Notes The notes in this article can be used to study smaller portions of the curriculum or to review for the final AP Chemistry exam.There are six "Big Ideas" (main themes) that organize all the concepts in the course, so I’ve categorized these notes according to that framework.Topics should be listed in roughly the same order as you learned them in class. These notes will provide a ton of background information, but keep in mind that AP Chemistry is less about memorization of facts and more about the ability to apply your knowledge to a variety of experimental scenarios.Reading notes can only get you so far.Practice problems are essential(a point that I will emphasize again later in this article). Take a diagnostic test before you dive into these notes if you plan on using them to review for the full AP test. Based on your results,you can see which areas need the most improvement, and then you can focus on the notes that are most relevant. AP Chemistry Notes These notes come from two different sources, ScienceGeek (which is a site that has a lot of helpful practice exercises as well) and CourseNotes.I wanted to include both sets of notes in case you find one more helpful than the other. CourseNotes is primarily definition-basedwhileScienceGeek is better at actually explaining how to solve different types of problems related to each topic. I've also included a link to a document created by a high school AP Chemistry teacher that goes through all of the concepts in one place. Big Idea 1: The chemical elements are fundamental building materials of matter, and all matter can be understood in terms of arrangement of atoms. These atoms retain their identities in chemical reactions. ScienceGeek: Chemical Foundations Timeline of milestones in the history of chemistry Atomic structure and periodicity Mass spectrometry Spectroscopy Coulomb’s law Atoms, molecules, and ions Naming compounds CourseNotes: Units of measurement Classification of matter Significant figures Atomic theory Inside the atom Terminology for compounds and overall chemical nomenclature Electronic structure of atoms Wave nature of light Line spectra and the Bohr model Wave behavior of matter and quantum mechanics Orbitals and electron configuration Periodic properties of elements Effective nuclear charge and atomic size Ionization energy and electron affinities Metals, nonmetals, and metalloids Big Idea 2: Chemical and physical properties of materials can be explained by the structure and arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules and the forces between them. ScienceGeek: Chemical bonding Covalent bonding and its relationship to orbitals Liquids and solids Gases (and gas law practice problems) CourseNotes: Chemical bonding Ionic and covalent bonding Electronegativity and dipole moments Lewis structures and VSEPR Bond enthalpy Valence bond theory Molecular orbital theory Gases Gas laws Ideal gas law and partial pressures Kinetic molecular theory and gases Intermolecular forces/phase changes Types of intermolecular forces Phase changes and diagrams Liquids and solids Big Idea 3: Changes in matter involve the rearrangement and/or reorganization of atoms and/or the transfer of electrons. ScienceGeek: Stoichiometry Types of chemical reactions and solution chemistry Half-cell reactions Redox reactions and practice problems CourseNotes: Stoichiometry Chemical reactions and formula weights Moles and empirical formulas Balanced equations and limiting reactants Solution chemistry Aqueous solutions and precipitation reactions Redox reactions Solution concentration and stoichiometry Electrochemistry Oxidation-reduction Voltaic cells Batteries and corrosion Big Idea 4: Rates of chemical reactions are determined by details of the molecular collisions. ScienceGeek: Chemical kinetics Rate laws CourseNotes: Chemical kinetics Rate law and reaction order Half-life and the collision model Catalysts and activation energy Big Idea 5: The laws of thermodynamics describe the essential role of energy and explain and predict the direction of changes in matter. ScienceGeek: Chemical equilibrium Equilibrium constants Thermochemistry Spontaneity, entropy, and free energy All about the nucleus CourseNotes: Thermochemistry Energy and thermodynamics Enthalpy Calorimetry Le Chautelier’s principle Chemical thermodynamics Spontaneous reactions and entropy Gibb’s Free Energy Nuclear chemistry Radioactivity and stability Nuclear transmutation and decay Nuclear fission Big Idea 6: Any bond or intermolecular attraction that can be formed can be broken. These two processes are in a dynamic competition, sensitive to initial conditions and external perturbations. Science Geek: Properties of solutions Solubility and complex ion equilibria Overall chemistry of acids and bases Acid-base equilibria CourseNotes: Properties of solutions Solution formation Concentration Colligative properties Properties of equilibrium Acid-base equilibria Acids (types, properties) Bases (types, properties) Acid-base relationships and salts Buffers and titrations Common ion effect Buffers Titrations Solubility equilibria Overall Review Document This document was created by an AP Chemistry teacher. It'ssort of like a (long) crib sheet with all the concepts and formulas you need to know in one place! If you want a quick holistic review without going through every individual notes page listed above, you can take a look at this document to remind yourself of the most important concepts for each unit. Ah, the bliss of knowledge. Also, this guy should probably get to the ER immediately. This is what happens when you cram, everyone. Study Strategies for AP Chemistry Notes If you want to use these notes to your full advantage, you shouldn’t just read them all and consider yourself prepared.For chemistry, you need to dig deeper to understand the material fully.Here are some tips to keep in mind: Tip #1: Start at the Beginning If you’re studying for chemistry, you should work your way through concepts in the order of when they show up in the curriculum.You need to master the basics first, or more advanced problems will look like complete gibberish to you.If there are any topics in Big Idea 1 that you don’t feel comfortable with, start your studying with those.Everything else in the course builds on the concepts you learned in the first couple of months! Tip #2: Always Follow Up With Practice Problems Every time you read a set of notes, do a few practice problems to make sure you’ve absorbed the information.Reading through these notes is a waste of time if they don’t provide you with the background information and skills you need to solve relevant problems.If you find that you’re having trouble with practice problems after you read through notes, this should be a red flag that you need to modify your study strategy. Tip #3: Supplement With Other Resources Don’t forget about the notes you took in class, handouts your teacher gave to you, and any other resources you’ve accumulated throughout the year.It’s worthwhile to shop around and see whether certain explanations of concepts resonate more than others.You might decide that videos explaining concepts are more useful to you than notes, or you may choose tobuy a review book that provides more guidance in planning out your studying. Tip #4: Don’t Cram! It’s unwise to cram for AP Chemistry.You need to do plenty of practice problems to feel comfortable with the material, and, if you cram, you won’t be able to spend enough time on this.Don’t pull out your notes the day before the exam and expect to learn everything in one marathon study session.You won’t retain the information, and you’ll be exhausted for the test. Cramming is a lot like trying to hold a huge volume of water back with a really flimsy dam. It's not gonna work out well. Conclusion The notes in this article should help you review all the essential concepts you need to know for the AP Chemistry exam. Make sure you supplement your review with practice tests so you can assess your progress and see where your main strengths and weaknesses lie. Also, keep in mind the tips I went through in the last section: Start at the beginning of the course Follow up your studying with practice problems Supplement these notes with other resources Avoid cramming Keep this article on hand so that you can refer to the notes whenever you want to review specific concepts and/or start your end-of-year cumulative review! What's Next? Do you need notes for additional AP classes besides Chemistry? Check out our articles with notes for AP Psychology, AP Biology, and AP US History. Notes are all well and good, but when do you actually need to start using them to review for the test? Find out how early you should start studying for AP exams if you're aiming for a great score. Have you planned out your schedule for the rest of your time in high school yet? If not, this guide will help you decide which AP classes to take in the future! 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