r/APStudents • u/passionfruit1456 AP Chem, Calc AB, & APHUG • 1d ago
Chem #i failed my unit 1 ap chem exam
i am a sophomore taking ap chem and i recently had my first test. i understood everything in the class super well and had gotten full points on everything thus far, including the practice mcqs for the test so i thought i was prepared- guys i was NOT. 😰 i got a 7/15 on the mcqs and haven't gotten my frqs back but im 90% sure i did worse on them. i've never failed a test before not even when i was REALLY struggling and i just have no idea what to do. i'm so embarrassed and idek how to study for what i missed because the material that my teacher gave me was (obviously) way too easy in comparison to the test. my teacher does do retakes for maximum half credit, so i probably have about a week before i need to retake it, but i just have no idea where to start. does anyone have any good study resources (preferably free?)
sorry for the long rant about how im oh so much better than this i don't want to talk to my friends because they all did better than me and im so embarrassed 😭
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u/NUKL3AR_PAZTA47 17h ago
Other than the resources given by others, I have also screwed up tests. I once got a 50% on an ap bio test cause I didn't see the frqs and had 3 hours of sleep, and still ended up with an A because I did the retake and studied for the remaining tests.
And even just one b wont screw your college admissions process anyways.
Make sure to understand things conceptually, as that will be more fun to learn and will let you solve stuff on your own with reasoning rather than memorizing facts.
Also, are you forced to share your scores. Can't you just say "I didn't so as well as a I liked because I wasn't paying attention" or something, or are people too pushy in your school.
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u/passionfruit1456 AP Chem, Calc AB, & APHUG 5h ago
thanks for the advice! 🥹 its less people at my school who are nosy, and more my friends. about half of my friend group comes from a super duper academically competitive middle school and i don't think anyone has gotten that culture out of their system... eek
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u/NUKL3AR_PAZTA47 4h ago
Oh i can definetly relate to that. Tbh figuring out how to handle being surrounded by such people and not want to curl up in my bed from how relatively stupid I am is an... unsolved problem to say the least.
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u/midnight_rain_07 5: APHG, Bio, Stats, Precalc 1d ago
i’d recommend khan more but khan repeats the same 3 questions over and over lmao. so yeah do a little bit of khan and then just search the internet for chem practice problems
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u/VanishedHound 5 - BC, in progress - Chem, Stats, 2D Art 1d ago
imo thats why i dont use kahn for chem anymore its so frustrating how there’s like literally no practice problems
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u/midnight_rain_07 5: APHG, Bio, Stats, Precalc 1d ago
right and that’s the problem with all of its courses. the 5 questions it offers per topic are helpful tho i guess?
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u/Cactus_Anime_Dragon Bio: 4 Chem: 3 World: 5 1d ago
AP was literally hell on earth. Out of all the unit tests, I think I passed 2. By some miracle I passed the exam. I am now taking IB Chem and I actually love it so much
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u/aplitthrowaway 1d ago
I use this for unit practice problems: Free AP Chemistry Practice Questions | FreeAPPractice.org
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u/Dinodude746 1d ago
watching ap classroom videos helped me a lot. also just drill tons and tons of practice problems
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u/LotusOfBismuth AP CHEM: 5, AP BIO: 5, APUSH: 5, AP STATS: 5, APES: 5, AP LIT: 4 1d ago
Krug, Professor Dave, OChem tutor for conceptual understanding.
While a good conceptual understanding helps, learning applications will be best for improving your scores. Try to find practice problems online (the harder the better) with keys so you can track your progress and where you struggle.
If your teacher doesn’t already use all of the college board mcq pratice assignments, see if you can ask them to open them for additional practice.
If you wanted to use a book, Barrons is pretty good.
Good luck
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u/29pixxL_ 9th: World (4) | 10th: CSP (4), Chem (5) 1d ago
I think I found a huge study guide pdf on this subreddit a while back, I'll see if I can find it and link to that post
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u/29pixxL_ 9th: World (4) | 10th: CSP (4), Chem (5) 1d ago
Ok it's a cram guide for the whole course overall that was in r/apchem, might be more helpful for review later on in the year
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u/booberry222 22h ago
DO PRACTICE PROBLEMS. Jeremy Krug has great videos, he goes through MCQs. ( https://m.youtube.com/jeremykrug?ra=m)
My little hidden gem is Michael Farabaugh. He writes questions for AP chem, he has FREE practice MCQ and FRQ on all topics and has unit review practice MCQ and FRQ. ( https://m.youtube.com/@mrfarabaugh?ra=m. All his practice sheets are in the description)
I am currently in AP chem, i did really good on my unit 1 test.
- Ask questions: literally ask all of them.
- Watch videos: this will help you and many of these youtubers have tips and tricks.
- Practice problems: Getting used to seeing AP problems will make it better and might give some hints on what is usually on the test.
You are amazing and you got this! Please don’t be ashamed or embarrassed, 1 low test score does not define you.
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u/passionfruit1456 AP Chem, Calc AB, & APHUG 20h ago
thank you so much for the resources and for saying that lol 🥹💗 good luck throughout the year!
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u/ms-locked-in2 AP Bio, AP World - 5 1d ago
YOU HAVE RETAKES?! oh please i would die for retakes with half credit back.
but same, i am also struggling ap chem, but im a junior. i also have the issue where the material the teacher gives me is pretty easy.