How to Get a 5 on the AP Chemistry Exam!

MEK’s Advanced Placement Course & Exam Prep classes are opening in January 2024. We’re offering small group virtual and in-person classes and private tutoring designed to give students the strategies and skills to ace their challenging AP classes and earn a 5 on the AP exam in May.

This Spring, we are offering AP Calculus taught by expert instructor Mr. Nicholas Lang.

Mr. Lang is an enthusiastic teacher devoted to helping students reach their academic goals and enjoying learning along the way. He teaches School Support math and science tutoring, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, AP Physics, and MAPC – Competition Math.

Read on to find out Mr. Lang’s top 3 tips for scoring a 5 on the AP Calculus exam in May!

Tip #1: Mistakes from first part of the Free Response Questions do not carry over into the second part.

Many AP calculus FRQs are multi-parts in a way that requires your answer from previous questions to be used on future questions. While this might be very stressful to some students, rest assured- your mistakes do not carry forward! This has a few different consequences.

1-    If you make a mistake on a problem, let’s call it part A, then you need to use your answer from A on part B, then as long as you use your (incorrect) answer correctly by applying the right technique, you will still get full credit on Part B. Keep your chin up, and keep doing your best on each question, and everything will be fine.

2-    If you don’t understand part A, but you understand part B, make up an answer for Part A. State something like “If my answer from Part A were ____this value, here’s what we would do” and continue there after. Don’t let one question hold you up too long- you have so many more problems to do, go earn the rest of the credit on the test!

Tip #2: To do well in your AP Calculus class and on the exam, be consistent and learn to recognize patterns.

More than anything, a student should aim for consistency and pattern recognition. The phrasing of problems of a certain type are consistent. If you can recognize the type of problem just from the wording, then you should have a list of steps to execute on that question type.

These checklists/problem approaches are what you should practice the most. Know the step-by-step for Related Rates problems if they give you rates of certain variables, understand that if given an initial condition you have to execute upon your integration skills, things of that nature. If you can associate a question’s phrasing with a certain technique or plan, you will do very well on the test.

Tip #3: During your study sessions, make sure you work on understanding how all of the concepts build on one another.

Calculus is fundamentally about the analysis of functions. Knowing how the big three topics interconnect (that’s Limits, Derivatives, and Integrals) can assist you in answering large, multi-part questions.

Calculus especially is not a series of independent lessons or topics that you add to your toolbox. Instead, it can best be described as one continuous year-long lesson that you continue to build on.

If you’re regularly asking yourself questions like “What does the derivative have to do with this problem?” or “How do I know which operation to even start with?” then you should be focusing primarily on the bigger picture. A lot of students end up with a myopic view of learning each little topic, but fail to put it all together within context. Overcoming that hurdle is key to doing well!

Next Steps

Although AP courses are tough and may seem intimidating at first, a solid study plan and good study habits can help students get high grades and ace the exams.  

Many AP teachers focus on only the course material, leaving students underprepared for the actual 2-3 hour exam. At MEK, we take a two-pronged approach to AP Prep. Through providing students with both lectures by experienced teachers and practice exams, students gain a solid understanding of the material and learn test-taking skills to maintain their performance under time pressure.

Click here to learn more about our AP Course offerings for Spring 2024!

Interested in registering for AP courses with MEK? Fill out our Registration Form to get started.

Or if you have questions, contact us! We look forward to hearing from you.