Customer Reviews

Cracking the AP Chemistry Exam, 2008 Edition (College Test Preparation)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been through countless AP review books; I'm a junior and I've taken 4 AP exams, and I'm set to take 5 more in the next two weeks.
I feel my knowledge is very intimate on AP books and prep.
I say this because I think the people on Amazon tend to rate negative reviews poorly and positive reviews nicely, and I'd like to boost my credibility. Well folks, face it: some of these big name books just don't cut it, and I'm telling you that Princeton Review's AP Chemistry does not cut it.

While it is a good review, it does not have enough content nor explanations to be considered a premier test prep book. The explanations are brief, as if they assume that you have adequate knowledge on the topic already. They leave some holes, leaving you implying at best.
Equilibrium, by far the most complex and difficult subject on the AP Chemistry exam, is way undercovered. The chapter covers nothing that shows up on their practice problems, and the explanation is hurried and concise.

On the flipside, The Princeton Review does an outstanding job of boxing all of the important formulas and explaining the variables. It is a good idea to put these formulas on flashcards.
Another positive is the teenage-friendly words, which may go far in explaining concepts in ways that a college textbook may not.

While the Princeton Review delivers on some concepts, it falls tremendously short on others. It's exactly what it advertises to be: a review.

I believe the best time to review a book, especially one that is a test/AP Exam prep book is when the test is actually over; this way, the reviewer can make comparisons as to what was effectively covered.
Princeton Review has helped me very much in the past, so I have absolutely nothing against the company; however, this book was dissapointing. The actual AP exam's questions were much more challenging than the ones in the book. This really game me a false sense of security. 97% of BOTH practice tests (two are provided in the PR AP Chem. book) were no where similar to the questions on the actual AP exam. Not to mention the FRQ's in the book were entirely different than those on the actual AP exam.
What this book lacked were the lab questions, which (in this year's AP Exam) was tested quite heavily. In fact, a whole 5-6 part FRQ was devoted solely on. Thus, my advice to you, if you are looking for a good practice book. Don't get one. Go to the College Board's website, find the AP Chemistry site, find their old posted Exams. Practice those. The questions there, in retrospect, are the ones you will probably see in future AP Chem Exams. And, if you REALLY know how to use [...] search engine tools, you can probably find a plethora of old AP exams on other Chemistry AP teachers' websites.

So far I've used this book as a study guide and as an extra source of practice problems for my AP chem class. It's really helpful and helped me on my tests. It also seems good to review for the AP test. It explains concepts in a simple way. The problems and answers provided are clear and very similar to real AP questions.

This book is great if you're just trying to survive the class and pass the AP Test (barely). But I - like most AP students - plan on doing much better than that, and this book is just too weak. The review is not thorough enough, and the practice problems are way too easy (compare them to the released AP Chem Essays). It's okay for quick brush ups on topics you are already very familiar with, but you can master this book, know everything cover to cover, and you still need a lot more to get a 5.

There is no better book to score a 5 with than the Princeton Review.It's not there to teach you chemistry; it's there to review for you the tough year of all the material covered, and then some. I did well in the AP Chemistry class, but the book definitely came in handy close to the exam. It very easily condenses the plethora of knowledge one should achieve in the course and condenses it into easy-to-understand chapters. The sample tests and full length exams prepare you for the most challenging of questions, with complete, fully-developed answers. This book was the light at the end of my ending tunnel. Without it I probably would've only gotten a 4 on the exam; but come exam day, with the help of PR, I was so prepared that two months later I received my 5. Good luck to anyone brave enough to take the course; it is challenging, but definitely worth it in the end. I recommend this book to everyone planning on taking the AP Exam. Good luck and have fun

I teach AP Chemistry, and I recommend this book to my students. It's strength is that it doesn't try to be a chemistry textbook. Rather, it focuses primarily on strategies and techniques for recalling what you learn in the classroom. It is well-written in a very understandable and user-friendly style. This is a great resource for students and teachers.

My teacher uses this book to reinforce what we learn in class. Each time we have a test, the respective chapter of this book is due as homework. It's a great way to practice and keep your skills honed for the AP test.

The really great thing about Cracking is that there are practice questions after every chapter, and there are detailed solutions (not just answers) to those questions. There's a multiple choice, problem and essay section, just like on the AP test.

Don't rely on this book alone to get a 5, because it's mostly intended for review, but it's a great tool to have handy when you're working/studying. Everything is very clear.

Nice review. My performance was pretty bad in the Chemistry class I was in. I prepped for the AP test for about a week or a half a week with this book, and then did very well on the AP test (the score earned college credits for Chemistry 1 and 2).

I wouldn't give ALL the credit to the book (my teacher was pretty bad which is more why CLASS performance was down), but I do remember it being nice to brush through things as well as to know what I really need to know for the test (versus chemistry knowledge which is not covered on the test)

Another review here stated that this review book is very basic and assumes that you already know the material. I agree, but that's actually the point of an AP review book--it helps you review the major parts of a subject that you already know so that you can do well on the AP exam, it is not supposed to TEACH you chemistry from scratch. I actually view this aspect of Princeton Review books as a plus because most of us love explanations that are concise. They are clear and the charts are quite helpful. Not only that, but Prince Review is written with a lot of witty humor that you don't find in other books, which makes the process a lot less painful.

Although review books are not intended to teach a person a subject from scratch, I sort of used it for this purpose. I took AP Chemistry my sophomore year, having taken no chemistry class any previous year, and unfortunately for me, the teacher was brand new that year. Needless to say, she was very, very bad at teaching it, and I learned very little from her. However, one week before the AP exam, I started using my Princeton Review book to study for it--I highlighted, wrote notes on it, and took the practice problems. The night before the exam, I managed to finish the entire book, but did not take a single practice test, though I think my teacher might have administered one of her own. I managed to pass with a 3! And that's saying a lot because only 4 people, including myself, passed the AP exam that year (no doubt, thanks to her poor teaching), and I'm one of the 4 thanks to Princeton. (:

I took AP Chemistry last year and had this book, and now im not longer in the class but I still look over it from time-to-time when I need to brush up on Chemistry (for my UIL competitions) this book is a wonderful tool for the AP Exam, or any chemistry class for that matter. It explains each comcept and even tells you how much of the exam will be over it.