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East Greenwich School District Summer Work: AP Chemistry

Work students from Cole Middle School and East Greenwich High School are expected to complete over the summer, prior to school opening.

AP Chemistry Summer Reading Requirements

Welcome AP Chemists!  

The AP Chemistry exam has two parts 

  • 60 multiple-choice questions takes 1.5 hours and is done without a calculator
  • 7 free-response questions which takes 1.75 hours and is done with a calculator
  • The free-responses are divided into 3 long multi-part questions and 4 short questions


I’m looking forward to working with you this upcoming school year.  I love teaching AP Chem and I enjoy working with students who elect to push themselves through one more year!  To keep your brains fresh and your scientific mind in gear, there is a three-part AP summer assignment for you to tackle.  


Keep in mind that my teaching motto is “Learned is better than done.”  I know everyone likes to do summer work crammed in at the last possible second where you pride yourselves on reading 3 books (spark noted) completing 87 math problems, (half copied), and my chem assignment all in two days with no sleep, but I’m trying to get you to learn this content so you retain it all the way to May.  Cramming, copying, and all-nighters as fun as they might be, are not the most effective way to keep this stuff in your brain. Short regular bursts of work allowing you to digest and remember will serve you better going forward. I call it the 20 minutes of chemistry everyday rule.    


This work is due on Monday, September 12th, 2022, unless you get in touch with me earlier about extenuating circumstances.  I am available during the summer through email if you have questions. I check in about once a week.  Once we’re back to school, I will set up a place to turn in these assignments via Google classroom. 

Mrs. Woulfe

Required Summer Assignment - AP Chemistry Part 1

Part 1:  Why are you doing this to yourself?  

 

You will turn in:

A document containing a brief written response to the following two questions:  Why did you choose to take this course and what do you hope to get out of this class?  

Please do not tell me what you think I want to hear.  It will not “score you points” going forward. I just want to know my students a little better and make sure that you’re getting the experience you expected as much as you can.  Room 242 is a judgment-free zone. Honesty is the best policy.

Required Summer Assignment - AP Chemistry Part 2

Part 2: How much chemistry do you remember?  

The list below represents the content with which I expect you to be familiar. It’s taken from the chapter titles in the Chem 1 book.  Some may know a little more, others a little less, but this is the baseline.  

  1. Atomic Structure
  2. Electrons in atoms
  3. The Periodic Table
  4. Ionic, Covalent, and Metallic Bonding
  5. Chemical Names and Formulas
  6. The mole
  7. Reactions
  8. Stoichiometry
  9. Thermochemistry
  10. Gases

The AP exam is structured around 9 content units that break down into enduring understandings and learning objectives.  These are the things you need to know and be able to do on the exam. I would ask you to do the following:

  • Choose three of the above topics (one that was easy, one that was hard, and one you think was important is one way to decide)
  • Research resources that would help you review these topics (this will save you time next year because you’ll have some good sites bookmarked) 
  • Find (ok) or create (even better!) three short answer/problem questions about this topic that could be used for review.  Answer the questions.  

You will turn in:

  • A document containing your three topics
  • 3 review questions for each topic. (9 total)  Keep the answers
  • A link for at least one website you used to research this topic (3 links for 3 topics)

Required Summer Assignment AP Chemistry - Part 3

Part 3: Why is this important?  

Science Literature Review

While the curriculum is fairly consistent, scientific research changes every day.  We want to get out of our comfort zone of a textbook and a study guide to learn about how this material is being applied and expanded upon in the research community.   Find one article that seems interesting from one of the following websites: 

Choose a research-based article rather than an editorial piece.

You will turn in:  

  • A document summarizing the article that addresses the following:  
  • Author’s name and affiliation.
  • What was the claim being made by the article? 
  • What was the evidence for this research?
  • Who sponsored this research?
  • Why might this study be valuable?  
  • What are two questions you have after reading this piece?

*Include a link to your article in the document