Customer Reviews

Chemistry (Cliffs AP)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I could go off and brag about how well I did on the exam and then say it was all because of this or that. I'm going to skip that and get straight down to it. It is like a formula sheet. This book is great if you understand what the equations are for. If you don't, you might consider another book. Currently I haven't found a book that contains a better description of the labs, so if you haven't had much experience in the lab before the AP test you might need this book. (BTW question 5 on free response is a lab question. It draws the questions from one of the 22 labs you were suppose to do in the course. If your school is anything like mine you won't do more than 14 or 15.) But again it is a bookl that focuses on the equations, which is silly seeing how the multiple choice section doesn't allow you to use a calculator. (Most of the questions on my test in the m.c. were concept. Those that were calculations were basic and the equations needed were so simple you'd shoot yourself if you didn't know them.) Buy the book for the labs if you need that review, otherwise don't buy it at all. In case you're curious i got a 4 on the test (i followed the crowd). It's always that equilibrium problem that gets you!

I got a 3 on the exam with a teacher and a chem program at school which had never had anyone even attempt the AP test. However, this book alone will not get you a 2. This book is excellent when it comes to teaching you how to do the math but horrible when teaching you concepts. The princton review is excellent at teaching you concepts, but horrible at teaching you how to do the math. So my suggestion is you do them together and with your college Chem book. I pretty much taught myself everything and am proudly probably the first student at my school to pass the Chem AP test. I've also been told Barron's is quite good so you could try that as well. So only accompanying princton review could this book be helpful, labs don't really help much unless you actually do them. Don't be mistaken, this book won't tell you how to do the lab specifically, only skims through them.

it has an awesome lab review section, but the review was nonexistant. I did not like how the book was put together or how it had a key terms section which did not explain the key terms. I am surprised that Cliffs would put out a book of this caliber. It's like the review was an afterthought compared to the lab section.

This book is not very good mainly due to the fact that it doesn't explain what it needs to when it comes to a topic. The book does not go as indepth as it needs to go to get the complete concept across. Instead I would request the REA AP Chemistry beceause it allows you to practice with 5 Practice Tests, and then goes over every answer individually to explain what you did wrong. It is a much better study aid.

This book is completely useless. Basically it is a formula sheet on recycled paper. Don't let fancy colors fool you, there is nothing in this book. Apart from the lab sections and the reactions sections, this book falls flat on its face when it comes to conceptual questions, (which the AP Exam deals a lot with). Not worth the money.

I would only buy this book to supplement the Barron's AP Chemistry prep book. It really doesn't have any reading material on any of the subjects. It presents everything in bullet form and just lists the equations and key words. No explanations here. Plus the answers and work to the practice problems are shown right below the question, which I did not like. I did use it as a quick reference guide for qualitative analysis stuff, and the effects of ions on the pH of solutions. I used it to review for electrochem also. Some people like the extensive lab chapter, but I didn't really look at it. If I ever forgot the equation for something or needed to look something simple up I would go straight to the Cliffs AP. But for more in depth studying or preparing for tests, I would use the Barron's. I got a 5 and owe it more to the Barron's book then the Cliffs.

This has to be the best AP Chem Prep book available. Problems are worked out where anyone can follow along. Shows you how to write good essays. ALL Labs are covered. Only book that does that. I got a 5 on the exam and it is because of this book!!

I have been teaching AP Chemistry for 10 years. I started using Mr. Thorpe's book when it came out. I recommend it to all my students. This year I had a 96% pass rate and a large number of A's. I think the book was instrumental in preparing my students for the AP exam. I highly recommend it to any student of Chemistry.

Don't use this book. The lab guy gives the wrong impression. First off, the lab questions on the AP test are the ones you need to least worry about, usually very straighforward since you can't do a lab in a written test. In terms of the rest of the stuff in the Cliffs book, we used some of it in class and it the book is so riddled with mistakes that we stopped using it. USE PRINCETON REVIEW. Awesome book, straightforward, clear, won't put you to sleep.

I bought this book to help me, as I'm not the best in the chemistry department. If you are in a similar situation, do not buy this book. It has an extremely minimal amount of actual study material, and even skips over some topics completely, even after listing them in the 'key terms' section at the front of the chapter. Shouldn't a study book actually define the key term rather than leave you to look it up and study it from other sources? You might buy it thinking it looks kind of good, but then the week before a big intermolecular forces test, find out that it doesn't mention so much as a sentence on the topic.