Welcome to AP Chemistry

AP Chemistry

Introduction

AP Chemistry is a course that is designed to be equivalent to a first year college chemistry course. At the end of this year long course, students have the opportunity to take a national exam administered by The College Board, with the potential to earn college credit. AP is a trademark of the College Board. All courses using this label are required to participate in the AP Course Audit, a process through which AP teachers' syllabi are reviewed by college faculty. The approved GAVS AP Chemistry Course Audit Links to an external site. is available to download. 

Module Lessons Preview - Six Big Ideas

The College Board has revised the AP Chemistry standards to focus on a model of instruction which promotes enduring, conceptual understandings and the content that supports them.   This approach enables students to spend less time on factual recall and more on inquiry-based learning of essential concepts. It helps them develop the reasoning skills necessary to engage in the science practices used throughout their study of AP Chemistry. The standards are centered on six "big ideas."

  1. The chemical elements are fundamental building materials of matter, and all matter can be understood in terms of arrangements of atoms. These atoms retain their identity in chemical reactions.
  2. The structure and the arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules and the forces between them can explain the chemical and physical properties of materials.
  3. Changes in matter involve the rearrangement and/or reorganization of atoms and/or the transfer of electrons.
  4. Details of molecular collisions determine rates of chemical reactions.
  5. The laws of thermodynamics describe the Essential role of energy and explain and predict the direction of changes in matter.
  6. Any bond or intermolecular attraction that can be formed can be broken. These two processes are in a dynamic competition, sensitive to initial conditions and external perturbations.

A detailed description of these big ideas and the complete list of learning objectives can be found here:

AP Chemistry Course and Exam Descriptions Links to an external site.

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