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Seven golden rules of Thermochemistry (for the AP Student)
I have been quite on a roll trying to work out these extremely complex chapters in your AP Chemistry curriculum and trying to reduce them into 5, 6 or 7 ideas without losing the complexity involved. Thermodynamics isn't a very hard chapter normally., but it can get...
Acid Base Neutralization in 5 points
This is Part 2 of Acids and Bases, with a detailed but very very short 5 point reveiw of the dreaded neutralization reactions. For Part 1, Click here. What is a titration? Very simply, it is a neutralization reaction between an acid and a base. What is a...
AP Chem Semi-solved Questions (Acids and Bases)
This is a semi- solved problem from the 2014 AP Chemistry Free Response section: Q2. The idea is to give the student (you) some clues to solve the problem without completely solving it for you. (a) learly, the acid is whatever loses a proton (or H+ or H3O+ in...
5 key concepts that make up AP Chemistry Acids and Bases
1. The importance of pH and the many ways to find it. 2. There are weak acids and strong acids. Strong acids dissociate completely. What’s that? This process is known as acid dissociation: This is what makes an acid acidic, i.e., release of an H+ Again, this means...
Catalysts and Intermediates
Reaction Mechanisms (the small steps that chemical reactions are broken down into) are a big part of Kinetics. And Catalysts and Intermediates are a small part of mechanisms. You may have heard that a catalyst speeds up a reaction, but is not used up during the...
Big Idea 1: Spectroscopy
Here is the much awaited (or so I hope) second part of Big Idea 1: Spectroscopy. Let’s go over a few key points first! Spectroscopy is the study of matter using light. Light is Energy. Light is not just visible, but the entire Electromagnetic Spectrum: you know -...
Big Idea 1: What’s the Idea?
You probably know that AP Chemistry is broken into Big Ideas: specifically six of them. My experience has been that in order to sustain your pace in AP Chem, it is really important to complete Big Idea 1 by October. Yes, I said October. But the good news is that Big...
Periodic Table and Trends: the start of your love for Chemistry
Summer is the perfect time to develop a love for Chemistry. Far away from deadlines and exams, this is when you can sit and savor some of the more beautiful ideas, concepts and visuals. Let's start with the periodic table. I have previously referred students to a...
The AP Chemistry Equation sheet: how to (and how not to) use it…
As you get so so close to the AP Chemistry exam, it is really important to know what resources you have handy during those intense 3 hours! So today, let's take a minute to examine the all important equation sheet. How do you use the equation sheet? Honestly, ideally...
AP Electrochemistry 2- What you need to know
AP Electrochemistry - what do you need to know... The formula list that is part of your AP packet is here: Yep, that’s it! Depending on the equation sheet to help you out in an exam is never the best idea. Do memorize these equations. You do need to know the...