1.

2006 format Duchesne, Derek 07-13-2006 21:11

I was pleased with the questions on the 2006 free response. I thought the Equilibrium question was easy and
suprised that it did not include some of the tougher components such as titrations/buffers. Despite this, the
college board has been creative the last two years asking questions concerning solubility rules, which turns out
to be a weak point in my curriculum. Other than memorizing the rules does anyone have any great ways of
constantly reviewing/ ingraining them in students' heads?

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2. Grading Koch, Brennan 07-12-2006 09:26

I too, finished the problems and found most of the calculations to be fairly straight forward. Predicting a
couple of them was a challenge, and I know that my students would agree. One of the ways that I plan to help
my students with the format of the questions is by using a system very similar to this one. We have an internet
portal for our school. On that portal, I like to post practice problems on one page and another page with a
scoring rubric. I have used this method with chemistry and physical science classes. I find that it is a good tool
for them to use. Especially when they can see the problem worked out and how they would have been scored
had it been a real test. I think that this will be very beneficial for my AP students as well.

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3. Grading Questions St Clair, Robert 07-11-2006 12:35

I just finished answering all the free response questions for 2006. My biggest problem was in the predicting
reactions section. Mainly part f I am not sure how I would decide to predict that answer. I am looking forward
to week 3 when we go over these types of questions. This is the part that my students seem to have the biggest
problem with. I know that part of it is that they are not studying as much as they should but I am also doing a
poor job of explaining these concepts. So I am looking for ideas to present this better. The calculations were
fairly easy and could be completed by my students in Chemistry II. As an aid to students I would try to write
test questions and practice problems in the same style as the Free Response Questions. In order maximize points
I would tell students to show all work, include units and round off to correct significant figures. Also I would
explain and give examples of how to justify the answer and explain an answer. I feel that some preparation into
how to determine which questions to answer would be a good idea. Since the test is timed wasting time
answering parts of a question that you may omit doesn't make sense. A help to the student would be to use the
same kind of rubric for grading tests in class would help them to practice responding in the right way. Also
giving them the general time budget ideas for each question will help them to not spend too much time an a
given question and neglect others.

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4. I'm a little rusty Roamos Quevedo, Lourdes 07-17-2006 00:19

As I went through the multiple choice section and free response, I had to resort to my college textbook to
refresh my memory. Since I teach regular and honors chemistry in CA, we are not required to teach certain
concepts. And like the saying goes, "out of sight, out of mind." I would have to tailor my teaching to better
prepare my students for the AP exam. I would have to include more content so that the second year of chemistry
is truly a review and not a year for learning new concepts. How do you fit it all in??

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5. I'm not worried about the students Mccabe, Ann 07-15-2006 11:23
I finally worked on the exam questions. I tend to procrastinate if I am concerned about my ability and I am
not worried about what my students will do or not do, I am worried about what I can do. I do not have a
problem with students showing their work. On every assignment and on every test, they must show their work.
We do alot on completing reactions, they must memorize eleven or twelve different types of reactions. I know I
will have to do more on connecting laboratory results to the chemical topics or how lab results illustrate the
topic we are covering. I will be teaching AP chem for the first time this next year and in my 10+ years of
teaching regular chem we do not cover thermodynamics, net ionic equations, buffers, electrochemistry or
precipitates (you gotta love the California State Standards). So, I have not gone over this stuff in over 10 years
and frankly I am worried. I would love to hear from other first time AP Chem teachers as well as veteran
teachers on how they deal with this.

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6. More AP Questions the better! Asbury, Felicia 07-13-2006 15:45

After doing several old AP questions over and over again, you'll start to see and predict what type of
questions will be on the exam. From year-to-year, they are asked in a similar fashion and sometimes they put a
little twist on it to keep students on their toes. My students and I do all of the Free Response questions from
1999-present. We sometimes even do all of the Form B's too. It helps them practice their skills and have a better
understanding of what they will be asked to do on the real exam. I personally felt the questions on the 2006
exam weren't too difficult and I didn't have any problems working through them. I was even happy for myself
that I got all of the predicting reactions question correct because this was something I've been working on for
the past 3 years. The new exam format for 2007 has me worried a little bit. The time especially. The students
really have to know their stuff and work on the problems efficiently. Some students are just slow test-takers. In
order to prepare them for the time allocation, I'm going to give them timed quizzes for the various free-response
questions and hopefully this will prepare them enough. Any other suggestions?

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7. Not a question of difficulty but of form Raines, Butler 07-12-2006 09:43

The problems are very straightforward and I believe most of the accelerated chem students at my school
could handle it. Fortunately we spend a great deal of time on reactions. I find demonstrating as many of these as
possible whether in front of the room or in labs really impresses the students. The problem I have is that
students want to just give the answer. They don't want to take the time to show steps and train of thought. I
definitely need to start grading in more of a rubric style. How does this play out though if the overall answer is
correct?

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8. Predicting Reactions Rules Attached Briley, Emmely 07-13-2006 14:12

Here is a heckuva handout that I got at another AP institute. It contains more than anyone could want to know
about predicting reactions.

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9. Re: 2006 format Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 09:56

Memorization and Practice are the keys to success with the solubility rules. I do have some mnemonics I use
with the students (I am going to teach them in my summer school class today.) We will see them Week 3. --Paul

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10. Re: 2006 format Bronk, Tina 07-15-2006 11:14

Try to include information you have taught in the past by including it in a quiz or a warm up problem. I do
this with my general chemistry class and it works great. If they want to do well they will take the time to review
all old informtion before a test or a quiz. Tina
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11. Re: Grading Groves, Paul 07-13-2006 06:12

Your idea of posting questions and also the scoring rubric is great. I do that quite a bit. I figure that problems
I post are learning tools, so the answers are available for feedback. You need to be a little careful with posting
AP questions since the copyright is owned by College Board. I post one every once in awhile and have had no
problem so far.

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12. Re: Grading Balan, Irina 07-14-2006 08:55

I like the idea of having a web page with practice problems and scoring rubrics. I think a lot of students might
find this beneficial so I will definitely have to speak to our computer experts and try something like this at my
school-site. Irina

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13. Re: Grading Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 09:18

Be careful of copyright issues. It is OK to post your own questions and AP-like scoring rubrics, but the
College Board goes after people who post their materials. Besides, other teachers use AP Free Response
questions on their exams (my students are solving one of the 2006 questions as part of their Chapter 4 Test
while I write this). If the answers are posted, it messes things up for others. I have seen teachers who give them
out to students and have even seen teachers who burn a CD for their students... however I suppose the burning a
CD will also violate copyright. --Paul

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14. Re: Grading Questions Groves, Paul 07-12-2006 05:54

Your ideas are terrific. I hope the newer teachers make a list of what you state here. There is no need,
however, to help students make the correct choices on questions because all the choices have been eliminated.
Read about the format of the exam for 2007. As for question (f) in the predicting reactions section, this is a
Lewis Acid-Base reaction. Boron had an empty orbital and phosphorus has a lone pair. They make a bond by
sharing the two electrons from phosphorus. The product is PH3BCl3. We will see this again in Week 3.

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15. Re: Grading Questions Butcher, Brad 07-14-2006 22:07

When I taught AP Bio, I did a lot of what you are saying here (exams in AP format, grading by AP standards,
etc.). I think it really helped. I also figured out how to structure my one hour exams so that students received the
same minutes per question for multiple choice. For free response, I started the year giving the students rubrics
and having them jigsaw grading each other's papers. It wasn't until they were comfortable with the AP grading
standards that I started grading their free responses. This eliminated a lot of repeat common errors and cut back
on them including non-useful info. I think I will use this way again. I like your ideas.

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16. Re: Grading Questions Groves, Paul 07-15-2006 05:33

I like the jigsaw idea for training about grading. I think I will use that myself. --Paul

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17. Re: I'm a little rusty Groves, Paul 07-17-2006 05:36
This is a place where others need to chime in. My classes are unique in that it is a one year (3-semester)
course, not a two year course. In any case, I think the 2nd year is not so much review as revisiting ideas and
increasing the depth of the material. For example, in general chemistry we learn about how to write electron
configurations using the Aufbau Hotel analogy. In AP, we learn what orbitals ARE. In general chemistry we do
shapes that involve up to four repelling species around a central atom, in AP we do up to six. In any case, the
way to get everything in begins with making a teaching calendar so you know how much time you have for
each idea. Your calendar will be different than mine. If you look on AP Central, you can find at least two sample
syllabi that can help you plot out your course by giving examples of how others do it. You can see how much
time I spend on topics by looking at my daily schedule available through a link on chemmybear.com.
http://sphs.spusd.net/groves/apchem06.html --Paul

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18. Re: I'm not worried about the students Bronk, Tina 07-15-2006 11:51
I'm worried too. I haven't looked at "real" college level chemistry in 10 years. I hope to get at least 20 lessons
ready before I start back this fall. That way I won't be staying up till 2am working on AP Chemistry problems
for the next day. Tina

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19. Re: I'm not worried about the students Engstrom, Harold 07-15-2006 21:56
Last year was my first teaching AP chem. Trust me, you can look up how to work the problems in your text. I
found it fun to be challenged. I realized I was getting paid to figure out chem problems. Cool.

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20. Re: I'm not worried about the students Groves, Paul 07-16-2006 16:17
Now you are making me think back 23 years to my first year of teaching AP chemistry. Unfortunatly, I didn't
have many resources to help me back then. I did stay up late working problems before my lessons. It was a lot
of fun to learn. However, I am STILL learning new things. I read the chapter over and realize things that
perhaps I should have realized a long time ago... or I finally see the BIG picture. One piece of advice, however,
if you are in front of your students and suddenly realize that you simply do not quite understand what you are
talking about, just say... you know what... let's leave this off until tomorrow and I will go home and study this
some more. I think students understand that you are learning this just like they are and respect you for all the
work you put in. When I try to explain something that I don't really understand, it starts sounding very
complicated. When I really understand it, I can usually explain it in simple terms. Also, not everything in AP
chemistry is explained... there are things that simply are memorized. For example, students ask why the strong
acids are strong and all the others are weak. I don't really know... I just memorized the strong ones. I tell them
that when they go to college, if they find this out in some advanced class, email me back so I will sound smarter
next time. :-) --Paul

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21. Re: Im not worried about the students Roamos Quevedo, Lourdes 07-17-2006 00:01
As a rookie to AP Chem, I am dusting off my college chem book and looking for resources myself. It's
coming back to me little by little and I'm glad I'm taking this course before teaching the class. It's nice to have
the answers, so when you get stuck you can look back and say "Oh, that's how you do it." You're not alone. I'm
okay with not knowing everything... as long as I continue to practice and learn.
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22. Re: More AP Questions the better! Duchesne, Derek 07-13-2006 21:16
I time all of my quarterly and mid quarter exams to the point of collecting certain portions at different
intervals during the class period. All of my end of topic quizzes are timed as well. I'm already dreading the
complete rewrite of all of my tests and quizzes to include more questions to prepare the student.

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23. Re: More AP Questions the better! Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 09:53
I agree about the time component. Some students are slower and will take as much time as is given them.
However, they do have a limited time. I allow them all the time the need on a free response question in the
beginning. Later in the year, I say, See how many point you can earn on this question in 25 minutes. Later, we
cut it down to 15 minutes. They don't have to earn ALL the points on a question. Even the slow students need to
learn to get the points they can and then move on with the exam. --Paul I totally agree that you have to do LOTS
of problems to learn how to do problems. No pain, no gain.

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24. Re: More AP Questions the better! Butcher, Brad 07-14-2006 22:22
I did the same for AP Biology and it really worked well.

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25. Re: More AP Questions the better! Harley, David 07-15-2006 11:11
This may be a completely irrelevant question, but if you have an IEP student who requires extra time as
written into his or her educational plan, how might that factor in? Has anyone ever had that happen? I have had
some very bright students on an IEP (for whatever reason) and could conceivably see them doing very well with
the chemistry concepts, but their methods and systematic approach may be quite different that what is expected
from an AP Exam timing perspective. This may be a "what if?" kind of reach, but I was wondering... David

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26. Re: More AP Questions the better! Engstrom, Harold 07-15-2006 21:57
I enjoyed reading your comments. Thanks.

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27. Re: More AP Questions the better! Engstrom, Harold 07-15-2006 21:59
Do you ever let students help write questions?

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28. Re: More AP Questions the better! Asbury, Felicia 07-16-2006 13:15
My regular chapter tests and quizzes are not timed, but as we get towards the end and prepare more for the
AP exam I usually have timed quizzes that are not collected for points. When time is up, I have students score
their quizzes with the rubric and get a feel for how many points they were able to get. For any IEP student in AP
Chem is quite an accomplishment and I would just keep encouranging this student to do his/her best. You can't
really penalize an IEP student for needing for testing time. Felicia

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29. Re: More AP Questions the better! Groves, Paul 07-16-2006 16:07
This is a great question. If school were in session, I would ask the AP coordinator. I know there are
accommodations made for the exams. There are large type exams and I had to read some exams where all the
answers were word-processed. I don't know if they were communicated orally to someone who typed them or
typed by the student. My chapter exams are untimed. I limit the time on AP questions as we practice. --Paul

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30. Re: More AP Questions the better! Duchesne, Derek 07-17-2006 07:44
Really, did the questions turn out to be AP quality? Did the students buy-in?

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31. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Groves, Paul 07-13-2006 06:19
Your idea of demonstrating as many of the predicting reactions problems as possible is great. You can turn
this around, too... any time you do any kind of demonstration or lab involving a chemical reaction, you can say,
How would this look as a predicting reaction problem? For example, on the first day of school I place a pre-
1982 penny in concentrated nitric acid. What if that were a predicting reaction problem? A piece of copper is
added to a solution of concentrated nitric acid. They've seen the reaction and we can work on predicting that the
nitric acid changes to NO2 gas and water while the copper metal turns into copper(II) ions. Getting students to
show work is always a challenge. I appeal to their vanity a little. I say that some students work very slowly and
methodically and need to show every step (I am this way). For them, solving problems is more difficult, but
showing work is easy since it is the way they work. The tough part is going to be for you guys who are intuitive
and simply know what to do when you see a problem. Your challenge will be to slow yourselves down and
show work. This may not be how you solve the problem, this is simply showing why your solution is the correct
solution. We start early with this and pound on it all year. --Paul

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32. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form St Clair, Robert 07-13-2006 09:17
I have had some problems with students not showing their work. I take care of this by instructing students to
show all work for full credit. I will take off points if their work is not shown. I also teach this by showing all
steps when going over problems with them. It takes a little longer to review homework but they will start to get
the idea of showing their work.

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33. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Harley, David 07-13-2006 09:33
My experience has been that with constant hammering and doing some of the ideas that have been discussed
here already, the majority of students will (grudgingly or not)learn the importance of showing their work. Those
who don't will pay the price - one way or another - eventually. David

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34. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Raines, Butler 07-13-2006 09:55
I actually went through a spell where i did not allow an answer. they set up the problem to the point at which
they put it into the calculator. this is why i am in search of multiple choice problems that leave the answers in
simplified terms and not calculated answers.

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35. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Huebner, Verena 07-13-2006 14:58
I actually go so far as to not give any credit for the problem if no work is shown... just the answer is put down
(even if the answer is correct). They must show their work! Even this way, though, the clarity of their work
leaves something to be desired. It sometimes takes (too much!) time for me to figure out what they were doing.
I'm going to work on this with my AP and regular chem students this next year.

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36. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Balan, Irina 07-14-2006 08:55
I have noticed the same problem students dont want to show their work. And which is worst they do all of
the math using the calculator without writing down anything. I see that as a problem since the grading for the
AP exam is pretty strict when it comes to significant figures. I model for my Chem kids the right way to solve
problems and show their work, I explain to them that my grading procedure implies certain numbers of points
for each step correctly shown and in time they get the idea, but I still have a few that seem to be forgetting about
it. What I think is more frustrating is that these students usually get the right answer. Irina

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37. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 09:25
My rule of thumb about showing work is that IF they had the wrong answer, I should be able to tell where
they went wrong. I tell my students that it is the job of the student to get the correct answer, but also
demonstrate that they know WHY it is the correct answer. This is where showing work clearly is important. It is
not the job of the readers to figure out what the student is thinking, the student must put it out there... again, not
to solve the problem, but to prove that they know how the problem is solved. One of the questions this past year
was especially bad... students would list several answers with no work (because they did it all on their
calculators) and they received NO credit. I always threaten my students with that idea, but it really happened
this past year. --Paul

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38. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Butcher, Brad 07-14-2006 22:17
I too make showing work a vital part of chemistry. NO Work, No Credit is the slogan on my tests. And i try
my very best to never cut corners when doing problems in front of the class. I even make sure to show every
unit while working a problem since if you can follow the units, it can guide you to making the right steps and
avoiding "stupid" mistakes. I noticed that several of the problems stated that units need to be shown.

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39. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Butcher, Brad 07-14-2006 22:18
I like that. I think I'll use that too

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40. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Harley, David 07-15-2006 11:00
I saw a former student at the movies last evening and he shared with me how he struggled this year (1st year
at college) in getting credit from the TA and on assignments and exams by showing his work thoroughly. He
was someone that I always had to really twist his arm to show his work and steps and he always argued that "as
long as you get the right answer that should be all that matters" - well, he learned otherwise this past year! A
great example that I will certainly share this year. David
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41. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Bronk, Tina 07-15-2006 11:37
I do the same and give no credit even if the answer is correct. If the student can't show me how they got their
answer when I have requested it, then they deserve zero points. I go as far to give no credit if they are missing
units and/or have incorrect significant figures as well. Maybe I'm a little tough on my general chemistry class?
Tina

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42. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Groves, Paul 07-16-2006 16:01
I take off a 1/2 point for lack of units or incorrect significant figures. A 1/2 point rounds up. If they make one
little mistake somewhere, the 1/2 point is kind of a slap on the wrist. If they do it more than once, it affects their
score. --Paul

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43. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Roamos Quevedo, Lourdes 07-17-2006 00:10
I used to do that with my general chem students and honors students, but they would leave off so many units
and ignore sig figs, their scores would wind up being negative!! I gave up. I've thought about awarding extra
credit for those students that do remember to include units and sig figs.

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44. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Roamos Quevedo, Lourdes 07-17-2006 00:13
How about a role reversal? Have you ever tried giving the students a problem, pretending to think it out in
your head (or press numbers on the calculator) and then just writing your final answer on the board. NO steps
included. See how many students ask, "How did you get that?" It's a great way to begin discussing the
importance of showing your work.

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45. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Bronk, Tina 07-17-2006 04:42
I like that! I will try it in class this fall. Tina

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46. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Groves, Paul 07-17-2006 05:23
Me too. Role reversal might begin a good discussion.

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47. Re: Not a question of difficulty but of form Groves, Paul 07-17-2006 05:28
It IS frustrating and sometimes it just doesn't seem like it is worth the effort. AP students are usually more
willing to be careful since they do not want to lose points for something easy like significant figures or units.
--Paul

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48. Re: Predicting Reactions Rules Attached Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 06:04
This looks great. Thanks for sharing the resources. --Paul
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49. Re: Predicting Reactions Rules Attached Engstrom, Harold 07-15-2006 22:05
Thank You

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50. Re: Some thoughts Groves, Paul 07-13-2006 06:27

David, You make a great point that the more familiar students are about the look and format of the exam, the
more easily they will put away those calculators. Specifically which question were you referring to about the
significant figures. I can look at it and we can talk about missing the sig fig point. I think it would help everyone
to have a good example to see. Talking about labs is also going to be an important topic. I freely admit that my
laboratory program is the weakest part of my course and I am working to improve it over the next year. --Paul

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51. Re: Some thoughts Harley, David 07-13-2006 09:28

One example is with question #3(a)ii: the student who scored a 9 got an answer of .3564 g N as compared to
the student who got a 4 with .356 g N. I realize that the second student had other errors in the problem which
certainly contributed to the score of 4, I guess I am wondering that since the rubric has the answer solved at .
3564 g N, is this an example of a point deduction for student 2 because of significant figures? Thanks - David

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52. Re: Some thoughts Raines, Butler 07-13-2006 09:58

The reactions predictions are difficult. I know its my weakest part of chemistry and to be honest, one that
college really don't stress. I taught at a major university for man years. Not even quite sure why it is stressed so
much on the AP test. Anyway.... It might be fun and fruitful for us to discuss reactions and demos and
experiments that stress these reactions. I have plenty of microscale labbooks that stress the double , single
replacement reactions. Maybe Ill start that thread in the teachers lounge.

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53. Re: Some thoughts Asbury, Felicia 07-13-2006 14:42

Paul, I too feel that my lab program is the weakest part of my course. Our school is on a traditional 6-period
day and class periods are just too short to do labs. I hate to drag labs on for a couple of days because we need to
get through content. It's difficult to get students to show up in the evenings or weekends because of other extra-
curricular activities. What's your take on incorporating virtual labs? Felicia

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54. Re: Some thoughts Balan, Irina 07-14-2006 08:56

David, you brought up the issue of labs Flinn scientific has a new lab manual for the AP Chemistry course
that I will try to purchase for our school they seem to be the experts in this matter and I hope that their
suggested labs are going to help. I dont know how the labs get to be selected though. Also, I can also see the
no calculator portion as a challenge just like you said. Irina

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55. Re: Some thoughts Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 09:32

 I don't mind doing virtual labs on labs that I cannot or will not (equipment, safety, etc.) do anyway. However,
during the AP audit coming up this year, they want to know how much time students are spending doing hands-
on labs... not virtual labs... not demonstrations. They expect one double-period per week as ideal (certainly not
the norm). Flinn Scientific sells the Vonderbrink book that has labs that fit into 50 minute periods. I am also a
proponent of single-topic lab activities that I call Labettes. (Handboiler Labette, Alka-Seltzer Labette, etc.) We
will talk about these. --Paul

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56. Re: Some thoughts Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 14:27

No, the student with a 4 did not lose any points for their significant figures. The proper answer was 0.3564 g
so 0.356 g is acceptable as would 0.35638 g. The student needs to be more than one significant figure off to lose
points. The student with a 4 made several other mistakes. --Paul

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57. Re: Specific Scoring Questions Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 09:46

1(a)(iii) What if the work is shown correctly, but the student wrote down something like 8.0 x 10-9 instead of
8.8 x 10-9? The student would lose a point, for a math error (rounding). You only lose a maximum of 1 math
error point in a problem. 2(b) shouldn't the unit be J K-1 and not J mol-1 K-1 since you have to multiply by the
number of moles in the problem so they cancel? The standard entropy change would be J mol-1 K-1 because it
is the value PER MOLE of CO. That is why you must make certain you are using an equation that involves only
one mole of CO... more make that correction to your value. 2(c) same thing. Answer in KJ? Same answer, the
value you determine is generally applicable... per mole of chemical, not just for this specific instance. 4(a) How
is it scored when there are extra products given along with the correct ones? My products were:
Cl2,O2,K2O,and KCl You will lose points for chemicals that appear that are not really products of the reaction.
Also, you must eliminate spectator ions. 7(b)(ii) How would a grader score the answer: sp3d2 ? sp3d2 is the
correct answer. It would earn the student one point. I don't think I understand your question here. 8(c) The
rubric said the answer had to refer to electron shells. What if that concept was left out, but the student said,
"Shielding makes the outer electron able to be far from the nucleus." Our thinking would be... WHY does
shielding make the outer shell farther from the nucleus? Where does the shielding come from? It comes because
there are more electron shells between the nucleus and the outer electron. You need to talk about electron shells
to really EXPLAIN why.

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58. Re: Specific Scoring Questions Briley, Emmely 07-20-2006 10:53

2006 2)a)and b) Is it per mole of chemical because it is at standard state? 2006 7)b)ii) I meant to ask, how
would the answer be scored if the student reversed the hybridization to d2sp3? Thanks for the feedback!

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59. Re: Specific Scoring Questions Groves, Paul 07-21-2006 09:52

The answer is not per mole because it is at standard state but rather because that is how you define delta H
and delta S... per mole. As for d2sp3, readers would accept it. We look for the correct idea realizing that people
might write it different in different areas or that students might get it a little mixed up. --Paul

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60. Re: Specific Scoring Questions Paul's ans Engstrom, Harold 07-15-2006 22:02
Paul, I am impressed with the quality of your answers-very helpful
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61. Re: Test questions Groves, Paul 07-13-2006 06:22

During Week 3, we will develop a list of rules for how to approach the predicting reaction problems. It gets
pretty easy after awhile. You might have downloaded the Form B questions which are given overseas and in
Hawaii (I think). They don't want to give the same test in time zones that are different enough so students can
inform other students of the questions. --Paul

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62. Re: Test questions Asbury, Felicia 07-13-2006 15:16

I agree with Paul about the predicting reactions section. They do get easier with more practice. The more you
do, the better. I tell my students to do them over and over and over again. I'm looking forward to Week 3. The
new format for question 4 has me worried a little bit. The students really have to know their reactions because
they have to do all of them instead of choosing. Felicia

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63. Re: empirical formula problems Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 09:26

I agree. However, as a reader, we will follow the work to see if the student is doing the right thing (so we can
award credit) when the answer is close, but not exactly correct. --Paul

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64. Re: free response questions Harley, David 07-12-2006 11:19

Significant figures - I mention these in my covering of the exam - great question as to needing guidance. I
think Paul mentions he instructs his students to think 3 - just to be safe! And getting kids to show work...one of
the great challenges for students of all abilities. Just seeing the necessity of showing work on the exam will do
wonders I am hoping. David

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65. Re: free response questions Groves, Paul 07-13-2006 06:10

When you say written guidelines, do you mean handouts to help students sort out significant figures or do
you mean College Board materials that spell out for students the significant figure policy? --Paul

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66. Re: free response questions Balan, Irina 07-13-2006 08:03

I mean some College Board materials to explain the policy, but your 3 figures rule seems to be working out
well. Irina

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67. Re: sig fig policy Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 06:06

Good question. I know the policy from the Reading and from institutes. I will do a little researach on the AP
Central site and see if it is written anywhere. --Paul

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68. Re: sig fig policy Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 14:43
I have searched through AP Central and the only place I can find any mention of significant figures is in the
instructions before the questions in Part A (the mathematical questions). The directions simply state that
Attention should be paid to significant figures. Learning the idea that students can be off by one significant
figure is something you only pick up in AP workshops. --Paul

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69. Re: sig fig policy Harley, David 07-15-2006 10:54

Thanks Paul for addressing this and clarifying that on the question I referenced above. David

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70. Re: sig fig policy Balan, Irina 07-15-2006 16:12

Thank you for clarifying that. Irina

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71. Re: students scoring own work Asbury, Felicia 07-13-2006 14:31
I also do test corrections and the students find it very valuable.

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72. Re: students scoring own work Huebner, Verena 07-13-2006 14:55
I've had students do test corrections in a similar way, they need to explain what they did incorrectly, and then
answer the question correctly in detail. I give them the night after I hand out the tests to return the corrections.
Most students find them to be really helpful, and it helps bring up (albeit slightly) their test scores.

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73. Re: students scoring own work Groves, Paul 07-14-2006 09:14
This is a great idea... so students can't simply say... that bad question is in the past, let's forget it. Besides, the
AP test keeps coming up with similar questions. --Paul

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74. Re: students scoring own work Butcher, Brad 07-14-2006 22:12
I agree. Test corrections are good. My pitfall is that it is so easy for me to assign test corrections and assume
that my students have actually corrected them. This is a personal battle to stay on top of them and myself.

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75. Re: students scoring own work Asbury, Felicia 07-15-2006 08:17
Instead of assigning test corrections homework or use class time, I make my students come in after school to
do them. That way I know they are the ones doing the test corrections. Felicia

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76. Re: students scoring own work Bronk, Tina 07-15-2006 11:24
I was thinking about the whole cheating situation. I fight daily with cheating and have stopped with test
corrections completly. A student that wants to learn and correct their work would learn from their mistakes. By
eliminating test corrections I am only hurting those that want to improve. I like the idea of afterschool
corrections. Tina

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77. Some thoughts Harley, David 07-12-2006 11:15

I tried to approach the questions as I worked them and gathered my thoughts - with as much of a mindset of a
typical student as I could - but still had that teacher mentality cranking out thoughts along the way! Part A - As
has already been stated in some earlier posts, the questions do seem pretty straight forward, and I really think
that most students would be very comfortable with starting on an equilibrium question and build confidence
from there through the next couple. I did find the student examples helpful for comparison against the rubric,
although I am a still a little unsure about the deductions (outside of the obvious incorrect answers) and how the
scorer decides a missed sig fig or explanation results in a lost point - I look forward to exploring this further.
Part B - Ouch! The reaction completions are challenging and I will definitely give a lot of practice and
instruction here! This will certainly get my attention in the next few weeks. Does anyone know if students have
tended to favor certain types of reactions over others when choosing which ones to do? This also (along with
#5) emphasizes the lab component. I am very interested in learning from all of you how labs get selected and
used as a study tool(?) for the exam. Question 7 and the student answers were interesting - and their somewhat
varied understanding of bond angles. Now that I have become acquainted with the format of the exam, I can see
why calculators are not necessary in Part B, and also think most chem students (when they know the structure of
the type of questions asked) will feel more at ease putting that little black device away for this portion - I hope I
can convey and instill confidence in them regarding the "no calculator" use portion. David

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78. Specific Scoring Questions Briley, Emmely 07-13-2006 14:26

1(a)(iii) What if the work is shown correctly, but the student wrote down something like 8.0 x 10-9 instead of
8.8 x 10-9? 2(b) shouldn't the unit be J K-1 and not J mol-1 K-1 since you have to multiply by the number of
moles in the problem so they cancel? 2(c) same thing. Answer in KJ? 4(a) How is it scored when there are extra
products given along with the correct ones? My products were: Cl2,O2,K2O,and KCl 7(b)(ii) How would a
grader score the answer: sp3d2 ? 8(c) The rubric said the answer had to refer to electron shells. What if that
concept was left out, but the student said, "Shielding makes the outer electron able to be far from the nucleus."

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79. Test questions Huebner, Verena 07-12-2006 09:53

I had somehow downloaded a different version of 2006 free response questions from AP central(?)than the
version linked to this classes website and as a result, ended solving two different sets of free response questions!
Nevertheless, the practice was good for me! I noticed that in taking the two tests, that the concepts covered were
fairly similar between the two - nice to know. I was also surprised that the depth of the questions wasn't way
beyond what is covered in our regular/honors chemistry classes ... not to say our students could do these easily,
but with a second year of practice behind them they shouldn't have too much difficulty. That said, I agree with
the others that the "reactions" questions were the most difficult. They require a certain amount of "chemical
intuition" that I imagine will be difficult for students with 1-2 years of chemistry behind them to acquire. I'd like
to make a list of "rules" for looking at reactions to help them predict reaction products - and am looking forward
to the discussions about this later in the course. Also significant figures... I noticed in the % composition
problem, the elemental molar masses used were carried out much further than I would normally have my
students do them(because of the accuracy of the mass measurements of the solids, I imagine). I'm not sure my
students would have picked up on this. I also think that focusing on clear, concise answers is something that I
will need to do next year. Showing all their work and clearly representing the process for solving the problem is
still an issue for many of my students in first-year chemistry!
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80. Watch for B, Al and the N group Briley, Emmely 07-13-2006 13:58
I tell my students to watch for this combination, as usually it is this type of synthesis reaction.

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81. empirical formula problems Briley, Emmely 07-13-2006 14:09

a helpful rule - never round until the end

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82. free response questions Balan, Irina 07-12-2006 09:20

I have solved all of those free response problems and I can see several aspects that might be somewhat
confusing - one of them would be predicting the reaction products - question 4 f was really challenging. I guess
a lot of practice would help students with this type of questions. A second aspect I would like to mention would
be the significant figures. I can see why you have suggested to your students to go for an answer with 3
significant figures. Speaking of which - are there any written guidelines when it comes to that that are available
for students/teachers? Lastly definitely showing all of the work is a must it shows their reasoning, it counts
towards the grade and it also helps students review their answers. It should be easier if they see all steps of the
solutions outlined clearly.

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83. good idea Briley, Emmely 07-13-2006 14:05

I posted some MC problems in the discussion forum for assignment D.

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84. sig fig policy Briley, Emmely 07-13-2006 14:01

Telling students the AP sig fig policy really helps them. I find otherwise they get overly worried about it. I
only found out about it at another AP institute. Is it in their course description?

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85. students scoring own work Briley, Emmely 07-13-2006 14:03

I think it is a huge help. I do something I call "test corrections" in which students use the rubric to "fix"
incorrect test questions to earn back half credit. They must also use their own words to explain their error and
the correct logic. They seem to learn a lot from it.

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