AP® Chemistry Crash Course, 2nd Ed., Book + Online: Get a Higher Score in Less Time (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course)

From the perspective of an AP student: This book is fantastic in preparing you for the exam, or for tests in an AP chemistry class. I used it for both, and it did it's job well for both. I will update with my AP score (I am more than confident that I earned a 5) later. This book is to the point on all topics. It tells you exactly what you need to know to solve the problems and explain the concepts (the topic and test aren't all math-based, after all) on both the MC and FRQ sections of the test, and IT MAKES SENSE. This book is perfect for learning and/or reviewing the content, and I would recommend it to someone who's already on track for a 5 who wants to review to ensure their score, or someone who is facing the threat of a 1 and needs to learn as much as possible as efficiently as possible. It has a few practice problems at the end of (almost) each chapter (the extent of these problems depends on how much content was covered in the chapter) that are great for checking your understanding. HOWEVER, this book does not offer enough practice problems to be sufficient alone for anyone self-studying (or anyone intent on improving their score through lots of practice rather than only reading to understand the content). STILL BUY THE BOOK; just pair it with lots of practice problems. Learnerator.com offers a great multiple choice question bank that's FREE for easy and medium questions (difficult questions cost $10 I think: you can complete some of the free questions before deciding whether or not to pay for the difficult questions) ( [...]. Also FREE, college board's apcentral website with released FRQ portions of past AP chemistry exams with grading keys and more. This is the best resource for FRQs because they are all written by the company that writes the test you will take: same difficulty and representations of different topics. Use the current test format questions ( [...] as well as old test format questions ( [...], as they are very similar. They test almost all the same content with minor exceptions (the new exam covers a little less breadth of material, so don't stress when you don't understand organic chemistry or other topics like that on the old questions). For other paid materials and books check out the Princeton Review book; it has good explanations of the topics (a little wordier than Crash Course, but still easily understandable), and it has *lots* of good problems after each chapter and 2 full-length tests, so that's a strong contender. The D&S marketing AP chemistry book has good practice problems that reinforce the concepts well and provide thorough repetition (although you must buy in quantities of 10+ so it should only really be purchased by teachers for classes). I would not recommend the 5 steps to a 5 500 practice problems book, as it is plagued by errors. I have not seen the Sterling test prep book, but it is dedicated to questions and answers, so that may be a good bet to pair with the mostly content-dedicated Crash Course book. Overall: BUY THIS BOOK for AP chemistry: it's the best book out there for content-learning. Just remember to pair it with some extra practice.

Superbly helpful! I know REA's crash course books tend to fall flat when it comes to math and science subjects, but this one was well done. I did my research before purchasing this book, and the author, Adrian Dingle, is a highly trustworthy source and always in the know when it comes to what is/isn't on the AP Chem Exam, and what college board wants from us (just check out his blog). Many things he emphasized in the book (like CB's obsession with coulombic attractions in a ton of the questions) was reflected on the AP Exam today. And he's right about how the questions are generally fluffy and context hardly matters—just figure out the chemistry concept they're looking for. It can be the case that you have a brilliant teacher (as I did), but you might not really know how to approach Chemistry in College Board's world. Between Dingle's free blog and this relatively cheap book, if you supplement this with released practice exams and paying attention throughout the year you can feel really good coming out of this typically intimidating test. Not sure what I got (I'll update this in July), but I'm hoping for a 4 or 5.

I'm an AP Chemistry teacher and I highly recommend it. I've been teaching AP Chemistry for 8 years and have a higher than the national average pass rate. I first got it to help some of my students who were in CP chemistry catch up to the honors chemistry kids in AP. I saw definite improvements in those students in class test scores. It was so well loved that within weeks almost every student bought a copy. What's nice is they actually read it. I honestly have never had such a positive response on a study aid. The students took notes in them and quite a few put it on the things to take to college list. It really is a great no nonsense quick read that establishes/re-establishes foundational knowledge on all AP topics. The students also used it to help them focus while I was teaching, since many AP books can have chapters so thick, it's hard for the students to get a grip on the main concepts. I actually bought the AP Physics and AP Calc editions for my daughter.

Smaller size than the other AP Chem Exam Prep Books but still mighty in its content though on the concise side. Such thoughtful examples and insightful questions that you want more of them, unfortunately, this book is smaller and feels like those Sparknotes study guides - perhaps reflecting the "Crash Course" in its title. It is 4.5 out of 5 stars for me! The knowledgeable author may want to write a longer but still meaningful version. Bravo!

Great study book it helped so much in studying for the AP chem exam! I find the amount of information to be less overwhelming than some other study books I've used for other subjects. The chapters are short, but have just about everything you need to know with a few practice questions at the end of each chapter with explanations. I did find it a little strange that there was not a section about electrochem, but there was only one question on that topic on the AP exam this year that I can remember. I would definitely reccomend this book to anyone and I will be purchasing books of this brand for other subject from here on out.

This book was super easy to follow along with. Questions that are placed at the end of each chapter help to make sure you are leading or know what you need to know for the exam. The book gives you a code for an online practice exam which is nice. I felt a lot more prepared the day of the AP test having read this book and having done the questions from the book.

This book was a good (overall) review of AP Chemistry, but it lacked details of course content. Many bullet points and phrases were repeated (word for word) throughout the book. The book could have been condensed to half its size if repetition was eliminated. At the end of this book, it would have been nice if the labs went in to further details. It asks several questions but gives no guidelines towards the answers. I wish the examples would have been more challenging and detail specific (in the format that the college board asks the questions). Also, I noticed an error in one of the questions. When balancing one of the equations, the answer was not in its most simplified form (question 6 on page 109-- 3 and 6 could have been 1 and 2). Good, not great.

Although I am just working my way through the book, it is a wonderful resource written by a very successful AP Chemistry teacher. And yes, it is full of particulate diagrams, graphics, and illustrations which reflect the newly revised content of the course and exam. This is actually the first prep book I have been able to see which fully reflects the revised course and at least hints at what or how exam questions may appear in just a few months (May.) My only regret is that it took publisher REA a week to link my copy of the book (and its access code) to the correct on line exam material. Originally it linked me to a previous edition with the old format questions. It took repeated calls and emails to customer service to get it straightened out. The problem apparently was resolving the triangle between their IT department, customer service, and me (the customer.) Today all was resolved and I will now spend some quality time reading the new questions.