APFIVE AP Chemistry Exam Info
Download PDFThe AP Chemistry Exam will test your understanding of the scientific concepts covered in the course units, as well as your ability to design and describe chemical experiments.
This is a hybrid digital exam. You’ll complete multiple-choice questions and view free-response questions in the Bluebook testing app. You’ll handwrite your free-response answers in paper exam booklets.
Calculators are permitted for this exam. See AP Exams Calculator Policy for the list of calculators approved for this course.
Reference materials, such as equations sheets and reference tables, are available for this course. Go to Reference Information for Specific AP Exams to find reference materials for AP Chemistry and exam day details.
AP Chemistry Exam
This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP Chemistry Exam.
Exam Components
Section I: Multiple Choice
The multiple-choice section includes individual, single questions as well as sets of questions that refer to the same diagram or data presentation.
Questions will test your ability to:
- Explain, analyze, and interpret models and representations of chemical properties or phenomena
- Design experiments and procedures to test a prediction or theory
- Solve problems using mathematical relationships
- Make or justify a scientific claim and support it with evidence and/or reasoning
- A scientific or graphing calculator is recommended for use on Section I
Section II: Free Response
The free-response section includes three long, multipart questions (worth 10 points each) and four short-answer, multipart questions (worth 4 points each).
Questions will test your ability to:
- Explain, analyze, and interpret models and representations of chemical properties or phenomena
- Design experiments and procedures to test a prediction or theory
- Represent data and chemical phenomena with graphs and diagrams
- Solve problems using mathematical relationships
- Make or justify a scientific claim and support it with evidence and/or reasoning
- A scientific or graphing calculator is recommended for use on Section II.
Skills You'll Learn
Designing experiments and procedures to test a prediction or theory
Creating graphs, diagrams, and models that represent chemical phenomena
Explaining how the microscopic structure of a substance determines its chemical properties
Writing chemical equations and using them to calculate quantities involved in reactions
Making a scientific claim and supporting it with evidence
Units
Unit 1: Atomic Structure and Properties
You’ll explore how atoms come together to create solids, liquids, and gases, and how forces between particles govern the properties of everything around you.
Topics may include:
- Intermolecular forces
- Solids, liquids, and gases
- Kinetic molecular theory
- Solutions and mixtures
- Properties of photons
- Spectroscopy
On The Exam
18%–22% of exam score
Unit 2: Molecular and Ionic Compound Structure and Properties
You’ll discover the range of chemical bonds and how their structure can affect the properties of the molecules created.
Topics may include:
- Types of chemical bonds
- Intramolecular force and potential energy
- Structure of ionic solids
- Structure of metals and alloys
- Lewis diagrams
- Resonance and formal charge
- VSEPR and hybridization
On The Exam
7%–9% of exam score
Unit 4: Chemical Reactions
You’ll learn how to differentiate physical and chemical processes, and how to measure and express chemical reactions via chemical equations.
Topics may include:
- Introduction for reactions
- Net ionic equations
- Representations of reactions
- Physical and chemical changes
- Stoichiometry
- Types of chemical reactions
On The Exam
7%–9% of exam score
Unit 5: Kinetics
You’ll explore various methods to observe the changes that occur during a chemical reaction, the factors that influence reaction rate, and how it relates to a series of elementary reactions.
Topics may include:
- Reaction rate
- Introduction to rate law
- Elementary reactions
- Collision model
- Introduction to reaction mechanisms
- Multistep reaction energy profile
- Catalysis
On The Exam
7%–9% of exam score
Unit 6: Thermodynamics
You’ll learn about energy changes in chemical reactions and how a transfer of energy can change a substance’s physical qualities.
Topics may include:
- Endothermic and exothermic processes
- Heat transfer and thermal equilibrium
- Heat capacity and calorimetry
- Energy of phase changes
- Introduction to enthalpy of reaction
- Enthalpy of formation
- Hess’s law
On The Exam
7%–9% of exam score
Unit 7: Equilibrium
You’ll chart how chemical reactions change over time, what causes substances to reach equilibrium, and how systems react when that equilibrium is disturbed.
Topics may include:
- Introduction to equilibrium
- Calculating the equilibrium constant
- Calculating equilibrium concentrations
- Introduction to Le Châtelier’s principle
- Introduction to solubility equilibria
On The Exam
7%–9% of exam score
Unit 8: Acids and Bases
You’ll learn more about pH, the qualities and properties of acids and bases, and how they interact in chemical reactions.
Topics may include:
- Introduction to acids and bases
- pH and pOH of strong acids and bases
- Acid-base reactions and buffers
- Molecular structure of acids and bases
- pH and pKa
- Properties of buffers
- pH and solubility
On The Exam
11%–15% of exam score
Unit 9: Applications of Thermodynamics
You’ll be introduced to the concept of “thermodynamic favorability” for reactions, meaning how likely they are to occur given energy changes and environmental factors, and how chemical reactions can be used to generate electricity.
Topics may include:
- Introduction to entropy
- Gibbs free energy and thermodynamic favorability
- Thermodynamic and kinetic control
- Free energy and equilibrium
- Free energy of dissolution
- Galvanic (voltaic) and electrolytic cells
- Electrolysis and Faraday’s laws
On The Exam
7%–9% of exam score