The FRQ section has 3 long and 4 short question sets which you will have 105 minutes to complete.
The FRQ section has 3 long and 4 short question sets which you will have 105 minutes to complete (0:52). Past free response questions are available on the College Board website. (1:32) Make sure you carefully read the question and answer directly with precise language. (2:59) For calculations, make sure you show all your work, use units throughout and report your answer with the correct number of significant figures. (6:16)
True or False: You are not allowed to bring a highlighter to mark information in the exam booklet.
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Hi and welcome to the APsolute Recap: Chemistry Edition. Today’s episode will focus on FRQ Annotations.
Let’s Zoom out
In just a few weeks you will be taking the AP Chemistry Exam - Congrats! You’ve made it! All of your hard work is about to pay off. The final piece you need is strategies for Multiple Choice and FRQs. We already recapped Multiple Choice questions in episode 44, so today we are focusing on the free response questions.
Let’s zoom in:
The FRQ section has 7 questions consisting of several subquestions. 3 sets are long free-response questions, which are each worth 10 points and 4 are short free-response questions, which are worth 4 points each. It is suggested to take 23 minutes for each long FRQ and 9 minutes for each short FRQ, adding up to 105 minutes. Timing is, similar to the multiple-choice questions, something that has to be practiced. But how to practice? Good news: The free-response questions from 2014 - 2018 are publicly available on the College Board homepage. And not just the questions: You can also access the scoring guidelines and sample responses with commentary. Why is that good news? Because it allows you to practice, practice, practice! And not just by answering them, but also by scoring your own work and even checking out other student’s work and seeing where they got points and where they lost points. Why would you want to do that? Because it will REALLY help you to work through the scoring guidelines and examples to better understand what you are getting points for.
Let’s briefly take a look at the setup of the FRQ section: It starts with the Periodic Table and the equation sheet. You cannot remove them from the package, you will have to go back and forth. Familiarize yourself with the setup of the equation sheet BEFORE exam day so that you know where to find the equations you might need during the exam and you don’t waste time searching. On exam day you will, however, see one difference in layout compared to the FRQs from 2014 - 2018: Starting in 2021 there will be a blank space after each subquestion for you to answer. The past exam questions had lined space at the end of the long or short question set.
So let’s zoom further in and talk about the key points of HOW to answer the FRQs. First and foremost: RTFQ - read the freaking question! I know that sounds a bit trivial and you might be: “Well of course I’m reading the question”, but I mean really READ. What is it asking for? In what format? Example: If it asks you to write the electron configuration of an element, DO NOT write the noble gas configuration! You will only get points on the full electron configuration! And that leads already to the second part: ATFQ - Answer the freaking question! Let’s look at two aspects specifically: answering with a written response and using calculations.
Generally, all FRQ subquestions can be answered in 5 sentences at the most - many of them in two or three sentences. Do not write a paragraph like you would for English class. Answer the question. Period. You can use the CER approach to stay on track: make a claim, which is a one sentence statement. Some questions specifically ask you to agree or disagree; yes or no. Then you have to start your claim with “I agree” or “I disagree”. E - Evidence. Now you have to support your claim. When you go through the past FRQs you can see that you often have data provided. Use that data or graph to support your claim. That also doesn’t have to be more than one sentence. And then lastly, when asked to explain or justify your answer, write a short “reasoning”: within a sentence or two define the chemical concept, for example Coulomb’s Law, and then describe how the concept connects your data with the claim. This takes some practice, but it will allow you to fully answer the question!
Let’s take a closer look at the writing itself: Use your words and vocabulary to be as specific as possible. Do not write, “and then “it” will dissociate…” What is IT? Name the compound you are referring to. You may use common abbreviations. These include, for example, IMFs for intermolecular forces or LDFs for London Dispersion Forces. Don’t make up your own abbreviations.
In some questions you are asked to support your answer with a calculation. Good news: You are allowed to use a calculator for the free response question. Please make sure it is charged! For all calculations, show your work! My advice beyond that is also: INCLUDE UNITS! As we all know, UNITS ARE FRIENDS! Including units helps us to double-check our calculation setup and our calculated values. Be careful again to read closely if the answer is supposed to be in a specific unit! The question itself can also help us in that regard, for example, when you are asked to calculate the change in Enthalpy in kJ per mole, you know you have to divide by mole! While we are speaking about enthalpy: another great example for the importance of units is the calculation of Gibbs Free Energy using Enthalpy, temperature and Entropy. Enthalpy is reported in kJ/mol, Entropy in J/mol K. You need to make sure to a) have your temperature in Kelvin and b) to either convert enthalpy to J or Entropy to kJ! Also, be very careful with your variables: lowercase k, the rate constant, and uppercase K, the equilibrium constant, are two completely different variables! Make sure you are not sloppy when writing your variables!
Last, but not least, a word about significant figures: In the past, one question has been scored with respect to significant figures. You won’t know which one, so make sure to always use the right number of significant figures! Do NOT just copy seemingly endless numbers, like 1.23456789, from your calculator!
When in doubt and struggling with determining significant figures, my tip: report your answer with three significant figures.
To recap:
The FRQ section has 3 long and 4 short question sets. You will have 105 minutes to answer the questions. Past free response questions are available on the College Board website. Make sure you carefully read the question. To answer the question, you shouldn’t need more than a few sentences and can use the CER format. Use precise language. For calculations, make sure you show all your work, use units throughout and report your answer with the correct number of significant figures.
Coming up next on the APsolute RecAP Chemistry Edition: Test Taking Tips 2021.
Today’s Question of the day is about annotations.
True or False: You are not allowed to bring a highlighter to mark information in the exam booklet.