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Study Guides for Every AP Chemistry Unit
5 min read•july 11, 2024
Dylan Black
Dylan Black
The AP Chemistry exam covers a ton of content. When I say a ton, I mean a TON. The course covers everything from quantum mechanics and atomic structure to properties of states of matter to acid-base titrations. By the time you've learned all of this, it's more than likely that your brain is filled with a chemistry-soup, with terms like "equilibrium", "orbital", and "redox reaction" floating around in an unorganized fashion. To help you organize information, we've put together this list of study guides for every AP Chemistry unit!
⚛️ Unit 1: Atomic Structure and Properties
Unit 1 is your first taste to chemistry and jumps right in with the foundation of every chemical reaction, molecule, and process: the atom. Atoms make up every single bit of matter in the universe and understanding their structure and properties will help you uncover how it all works. From orbitals to electrons, you'll learn the ins and outs to the quantum world and have a better understanding of why atoms do what they do!
1.2 Mass Spectroscopy of Elements
1.3 Elemental Composition of Pure Substances
1.5 Atomic Structure and Electron Configuration
1.6 Photoelectron Spectroscopy
1.8 Valence Electrons and Ionic Compounds
🧪 Unit 2: Molecular and Ionic Structure and Properties
Unit 2 takes you from learning about atoms into how molecules and compounds are structured. You'll learn about why chemical bonds occur, both energetically and through electromagnetic force in ionic compounds. Along with this, by the end of this unit, you'll be able to draw molecular structures and predict molecular geometries. This unit is typically one of the more fun and interesting ones, so enjoy it!
2.2 Intramolecular Force and Potential Energy
2.4 Structure of Metals and Alloys
2.6 Resonance and Formal Charge
2.7 VSEPR and Bond Hybridization
⚗️ Unit 3: Intermolecular Forces and Properties
In Unit 3, the focus is on the interactions between particles, specifically molecules. When molecules aren't perfectly symmetric and organized, they interact through intermolecular forces. Gasses and states of matter are also a topic of discussion, and being able to make calculations using the Ideal Gas Law is especially important.
3.3 Solids, Liquids, and Gases
3.6 Deviation from Ideal Gas Law
3.8 Representations of Solutions
3.9 Separation of Solutions and Mixtures Chromatography
3.11 Spectroscopy and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
💥 Unit 4: Chemical Reactions
Chemical reactions are what chemistry is all about. Now that you've learned about how substances work. you can start to uncover how they interact with each other. AP Chem has three specific types of reactions: precipitation, redox, and acid-base. These three types of reactions along with other details of how reactions work and proceed will help you understand what happens when two chemicals mix.
4.1 Introduction for Reactions
4.3 Representations of Reactions
4.4 Physical and Chemical Changes
4.7 Types of Chemical Reactions
4.8 Introduction to Acid-Base Reactions
4.9 Oxidation-Reduction (Redox) Reactions
📈 Unit 5: Kinetics
Kinetics is a field of chemistry all about the rate of a reaction. How quickly does a reaction proceed? How can we speed it up? Slow it down? Can we calculate how long a reaction will take, and how do we measure how far forward a reaction goes? These questions are all questions that can be answered using kinetics.
5.3 Concentration Changes Over Time
5.7 Introduction to Reaction Mechanisms
5.8 Reaction Mechanism and Rate Law
5.9 Steady-State Approximation
5.10 Multistep Reaction Energy Profile
🔥 Unit 6: Thermodynamics
Energy plays a huge role in AP Chemistry and in chemistry as a whole. When chemical reactions occur, a huge part of what happens has to do with energy entering or exiting a system, usually through heat. You'll learn about calorimetry, enthalpy, and bond energy and understand the role of energy in chemistry.
6.1 Endothermic and Exothermic Processes
6.2 Energy Diagrams of Reactions
6.3 Kinetic Energy, Heat Transfer, and Thermal Equilibrium
6.4 Heat Capacity and Calorimetry
6.6 Introduction to Enthalpy of Reaction
6.7 Bond Enthalpy and Bond Dissociation Energy
⚖️ Unit 7: Equilibrium
How far does a reaction go forward? In chemistry some (in fact most) reactions are reversible, that is to say, the reaction happens, but then the opposite also occurs. When the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equivalent, the reaction is said to be at equilibrium. In Unit 7, you'll explore reversible reactions and calculate concentrations at equilibrium.
7.1 Introduction to Equilibrium
7.2 Direction of Reversible Reactions
7.3 Reaction Quotient and Equilibrium Constant
7.4 Calculating the Equilibrium Constant
7.5 Magnitude of the Equilibrium Constant
7.6 Properties of the Equilibrium Constant
7.7 Calculating Equilibrium Concentrations
7.8 Representations of Equilibrium
7.9 Introduction to Le Châtelier’s Principle
7.10 Reaction Quotient and Le Châtelier’s Principle
7.11 Introduction to Solubility Equilibria
7.14 Free Energy of Dissolution
🍊 Unit 8: Acids and Bases
In unit 8, you'll be delving deep into the world of acid-base reactions. From the zest of citrus frutis to the relief of antacids, these reactions involve proton exchange between acidic and basic substances. You'll be learning all about these reaction mechanisms and how to apply your knowledge in the laboratory.
8.1 Introduction to Acids and Bases
8.2 pH and pOH of Strong Acids and Bases
8.3 Weak Acid and Base Equilibria
8.4 Acid-Base Reactions and Buffers
8.6 Molecular Structures of Acids and Bases
8.9 Henderson-Hasselbalch Equation
🔋 Unit 9: Applications of Thermodynamics
Welcome to the final unit of AP Chemistry! Over the last eight units, you battled stoichiometry, chemical reactions, quantum mechanics, intermolecular forces, acids and bases, kinetics, equilibrium, and so much more. There’s just one last beast waiting for you to conquer: thermodynamics.
9.2 Absolute Entropy and Entropy Change
9.3 Gibbs Free Energy and Thermodynamic Favorability
9.4 Thermodynamic and Kinetic Control
9.5 Free Energy and Equilibrium
9.7 Galvanic (Voltaic) and Electrolytic Cells
9.8 Cell Potential and Free Energy
9.9 Cell Potential Under Nonstandard Conditions
9.10 Electrolysis and Faraday's Law
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