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*AP is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. © 2008 by René McCormick. All rights reserved.
Improving Your Free Response Score
René McCormick
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©2010 René McCormick, National Math & Science Initiative.
Improving Your AP Chemistry Free Response Score
Days Before Exam Day
Become “One” With Your Calculator!
1. Sit with the official AP Chemistry Formula Sheet and program constants into your calculator. PUT IN A FRESH SET OF BATTERIES BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER! Why program your calculator? It’s way faster to type am to recall the letter “R” (look at your TI calculator and see the alpha letter above the “MATH” key) under which you have stored Avogadro’s number, than to type 6. 02`,23 to get 6.02 × 1023 pasted on your screen! Also you minimize transposing letters, pressing a key twice or not at all, that sort of thing. How? Press C to clear your home screen. Next, type in the constant (number) in its entirety you wish to store. Double check your typing! Press =a a and whatever letter of the alphabet you wish to use (A for Avogadro, R for 0.821, E for the energy R, 3.31, etc. and finally press e to store the number as that letter. It is wise to then recall your stored number and do something simple to test your skills like multiplying it by “2”. To use your stored value in a calculation simply press a and the key that corresponds to the letter you used for that value.
2. Master the `_ keys to paste your last hairy calculation “answer” into the subsequent calculation that uses that “answer”. Again, this is faster and minimizes misfires on the keyboard of your calculator. Resist the urge to round numbers between steps of a calculation! The test writers write the questions to lead you…try not to put up a fight!
3. Master the `e keys to scroll back through your last several (10 maybe? I’ve not tested the limits of this function—no calculus pun intended.) maneuvers. It’s often quite the timesaver and avoids misfires on the keyboard of your calculator.
4. Master the use of tables and batch transformation calculations if you are faced with repetitive calculations like finding the number of moles of several elements in an empirical formula calculation, etc.
Practice your gluteus maximus off! Analyze your mock exam results for the MC section. NMSI has made diagnostic sheets for your to use, just ask your teacher for it if they are holding out on you! It lets you know how your score in a given topic compares to the national averages for that topic the year that exam was given. Remember if you are average on all topics (score wise, that is) you are in danger of making a 5!
1. Study the topics you tanked on the mock exam. There are some pretty good quick review materials on various topics at : http://apchemistrynmsi.wikispaces.com/AP+Chemistry+Exam+Review+Tools
2. Ask for additional (real) mock exams. Your teacher has about 4 with which to torture you. Also check out the practice exams (not real AP questions but pretty darned good imitations) available at http://apchemistrynmsi.wikispaces.com/AP+Chemistry+Exam+Review+Tools
3. Get very, very good at what we know for sure is going to be present within the FR: #1 is equilibrium (stoich, gas law, etc. is often woven in as well). It will be general, gas, solubility, acid-base and/or buffer. #4 is Net Ionic Equations—come on, NMSI provides 36 sets to practice throughout the year—no excuses! There will also be a Page 1
©2010 René McCormick, National Math & Science Initiative.
lab-based question we just don’t know if it will be calculator or non calculator. Guess where there is a lab review? Huh? Huh? Go on; guess!…You’ll never get it. It’s at : http://apchemistrynmsi.wikispaces.com/AP+Chemistry+Exam+Review+Tools
4. Study the heavy hitting topics well: Equilibrium, Kinetics, Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry & Intermolecular Forces well. Learn to love Lewis electron-dot structures as well.
On Exam Day
1. EAT but don’t carb load!! Take socks (if you live in a flip-flop footwear environment) and a sweater or sweatshirt in case the testing room is cold. Take your favorite pens, pencils and highlighters and your lucky-ever-so-programmed calculator. If the proctor tries to clear the memory, be polite and ask them to double check the testing manual…they are not instructed to clear your calculators!! Get your teacher if you must…but whatever you do—don’t let them clear your programmed calculator!
2. As soon as you break the seal on the MC booklet, number your periodic table with the 1-8 or so down the side that corresponds to the principle quantum energy level, n, for the s and p block elements AND number 1-8 across the top of the representative elements to remind you how many valence electrons are present and the relative Zeff values. While you’re at it, label the s1 through p6 to also speed you along. It’s a 30 second investment that translates into quick points!
3. At the break between the MC and FR, contemplate what was not heavily tested in the MC section…it’s about to hit you harder in the FR section, so gather your thoughts. The test is balanced according to the percentages published on the course outline…if thermo was conspicuously absent in MC, it’s coming in FR. Gather your thoughts! Prepare for attack mode!
4. Repeat the periodic table labeling process as soon as you break the seal on your FR booklet (unless you were charming enough to get to keep your already pristinely labeled periodic table from the MC section).
5. Make your fast pass…survey the main topic each of the 3 FR calculator questions deals with and start with your favorite (hopefully that’s equilibrium since you KNEW that was coming). Keep an eye on the time…don’t spend more than 15 minutes on that first question…know when to “fish or cut bait!”
6. LET THE PROBLEMS LEAD YOU!! Expect some easy parts—it really isn’t a trick. Sometimes the easiest part is at the bottom. Expect “kitchen sink” moments where stoichiometry, gas laws, Lewis structures and any other topic are woven into a nice chemical “story”. Rarely does a modern problem stick to a single topic.
7. Double check your units and sig. figs. No calculator vomit allowed!
8. Once the calculator has been wrenched from your grasp, it is time for the net ionic equation question—10 minutes max! Watch the clock and for the Love of God, write something reasonable and balance it so you get at least 3 points!! You want 12+ points on this 15 point question.
9. Examine both of the remaining FR questions prior to simply starting on #5…you might just like #6 better!
10. Be aware that energy concepts are most likely going to be involved in these questions.
BEST of LUCK…May the force be with you…Live long and prosper…And always remember, when in doubt, calculate the moles of something, anything!
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©2010 René McCormick, National Math & Science Initiative.
Once you’ve practiced enough FR questions, you’ll be able to anticipate what is coming. This is a very, very good thing…it calms your nerves, slows your breathing and makes you a lean-mean-point-gathering machine!
1. Start by examining the chemical system or data that is often presented. Try to “write the question”…
2. Next, identify any data as a variable in a beloved relationship often found on the formula sheets you get in the FR section.
3. Underline, highlight, circle, box, etc. any pertinent information so you aren’t constantly reading the stem of the question over and over again as you deftly maneuver from part (a) to part (b), etc.
Shall we give this a try? We should probably start with a survey of the past few FR Q1 questions regarding equilibrium since we know FR Q1 will be an equilibrium question!
Equilibrium Calculator FR Examples 2009
List at least 3 things you anticipate being asked to calculate, compare, or explain: (Feel free to dazzle me by listing more than 3 things!)
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2009 B
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©2010 René McCormick, National Math & Science Initiative.
2008B
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2007B
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2003B
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©2010 René McCormick, National Math & Science Initiative.
FR Calculator Question Examples 2009
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2006
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Free Response NO Calculator Questions (“Essays”)
2009
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2007
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2006
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2005
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GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
INFORMATION IN THE TABLE BELOW AND IN THE TABLES ON PAGES 23-25 MAY BE USEFUL IN ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION OF THE EXAMINATION.
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