hey peeps,
i’m taking chem rn and just had my unit 1 test last monday…any my teacher gave us free response questions-real ones from past college board chem exams. i feel like i totally bombed it and i was wondering if any of u have had experience with that…what i’m really asking is that if this is normal? would it get easier as i dive into chem more?
I’m taking AP Chem now and I feel ya. We had our first unit test on Thursday and all of us walked in feeling like we knew it really well, but after the test, we weren’t so sure. I talked to my friend who took the class last year, and they said that you always feel like that in the class, but it isn’t that bad because there are so many other grades like labs and other tests. The first and second unit are most important as they are the foundation for the of AP Chem, so it’s important to make sure to spend a lot of time on them. Also make sure to utilize all resources your teacher provides. The class probably isn’t going to get any easier, but what you’re feeling is totally normal.
AP chem at the very beginning can be a hot mess, especially if your teacher doesn’t explain it well. Moreover, you shouldn’t be that great at free response yet, so what you did is quite normal. There will be other grades to bring you up. For now, you should go back over that unit and try to understand it as best you can again. Now that you’ve finished it, you should have a good grasp of it all. If anything, anything at all is confusing, write it down and try to have someone explain it to you. Ask your teacher, a former student, or look up a CrashCourse/ KhanAcademy video on the subject. Unit 1 is particularly important to thoroughly understand, but you likely will have an easier time with it the second time around. You should also invest in the AP Prep book now, as it has more concise explanations to wrap up the chapter.