AP Chemistry 7-Day Cram Plan

A full week is enough time to rebuild fluency in every major AP Chemistry topic and walk into the exam confident on every question type. This plan is roughly 3-4 hours per day with a final timed mock on Day 7.

If you only have 3 days, jump to our 3-day cram plan instead.

Day 1: Atomic Structure and PES (3 hrs)

Why it matters: PES interpretation is a guaranteed question type. Know how to rank binding energies and read a spectrum.

Day 2: Molecular Structure and IMFs (3 hrs)

• Lewis structures (including formal charge and resonance).
• VSEPR theory and molecular geometry.
• Hybridization ($sp$, $sp^2$, $sp^3$).
• Intermolecular forces (London, dipole-dipole, hydrogen bonding).
• Ranking IMF strength and predicting physical properties.

Practice: 25 structure MCQs + 1 FRQ on drawing Lewis structures with formal charge and predicting IMF-based trends.

💡 Score booster: Master formal charge: Formal Charge $= V - (B + \frac{L}{2})$ where V = valence electrons, B = bonding electrons, L = lone pair electrons.

Day 3: Gas Laws, Solutions, and Kinetics (4 hrs)

This is a combination day to prep for multi-concept FRQs.

• Ideal Gas Law, partial pressures, Dalton's Law.
• Molarity, molality, mole fraction, percent composition.
• Colligative properties (freezing point depression, boiling point elevation).
• Rate laws from initial rates experiments.
• Rate constant, half-life, first-order and second-order kinetics.

Practice: 20 MCQs (gas laws + solutions + kinetics) + 1 FRQ on determining a rate law from experimental data.

⚠️ Common trap: On initial rates experiments, students forget to use the ratio method: $\frac{\text{Rate}_1}{\text{Rate}_2} = \left(\frac{[A]_1}{[A]_2}\right)^n$. Don't plug numbers straight into the rate law.

Day 4: Equilibrium Deep Dive (4 hrs)

Equilibrium is ~25% of your exam. Spend time here.

• $K_c$ vs $K_p$ and the conversion: $K_p = K_c(RT)^{\Delta n}$.
• ICE tables (both concentration and pressure versions).
• Le Chatelier and predicting shifts.
• $K_{sp}$ and solubility equilibria.
• Calculating $\Delta G$ from $K$: $\Delta G = -RT \ln K$.

Practice: 1 full FRQ on equilibrium + ICE table (the classic FRQ). Then 2-3 more ICE problems.

🎯 Exam pattern: Every single AP Chem exam has at least one FRQ that is purely equilibrium with an ICE table. If you nail this, you earn 7-9 points automatically.

Day 5: Thermodynamics (4 hrs)

• Calorimetry: $q = mc\Delta T$, $q = n\Delta H_{\text{fusion}}$, $q = n\Delta H_{\text{vap}}$.
• Hess's Law and calculating $\Delta H_{\text{rxn}}$.
• Entropy ($\Delta S$) and entropy change for phase changes.
• Gibbs free energy: $\Delta G = \Delta H - T\Delta S$.
• Spontaneity and temperature dependence.

Practice: 20 thermodynamics MCQs + 1 FRQ on calculating $\Delta H$ from Hess's Law or determining spontaneity at different temperatures.

Day 6: Acids, Bases, and Buffers (4 hrs)

• pH, $pOH$, $K_a$, $K_b$, and the ion product of water.
• Weak acid and weak base equilibria.
• Henderson-Hasselbalch equation: $pH = pK_a + \log \frac{[A^-]}{[HA]}$.
• Titration curves and equivalence points.
• Salt hydrolysis and polyprotic acids.

Practice: 25 acid-base MCQs + 2 FRQs (one on buffer pH, one on titration curve).

💡 Highest leverage: Buffers appear on ~60% of AP Chem FRQs. If you drill 5 buffer pH problems, you'll recognize the pattern instantly on exam day.

Day 7: Electrochemistry, Redox, and Full Mock (4 hrs)

Morning (2 hrs): Electrochemistry cram

• Redox reactions and balancing in acidic/basic solution.
• Galvanic cells, standard reduction potentials, cell potential.
• Nernst equation: $E = E° - \frac{0.0592}{n} \log Q$ (formula sheet).
• Electrolysis and faraday's laws.
• Connecting $\Delta G$ to $E$: $\Delta G = -nFE$.

Afternoon (2 hrs): Full timed mock exam

• 60 multiple-choice questions (calculator + no-calculator sections).
• Score honestly with the official rubric.
• Review only your weakest 3 topics — don't cram new material.

Daily habits throughout the week

• Spaced repetition flashcards for polyatomic ions and $K_a$ values — 5 min/day.
• One FRQ per day minimum from past College Board exams.
• Track missed problems by unit in a single notebook. Review daily.

Calculator routine (build into Days 2–7)

• Stoichiometric calculations with significant figures.
• Graphing titration curves and solving for equivalence point.
• Using nSolve for solving ICE table quadratics when approximations fail.
• Matrix operations for Hess's Law (if your calculator supports it).

The night before

Open the last-minute review → for formula sheet and trap checklist. Sleep 8+ hours.

Recap: one week to peak

• 2 days on structure + molecular properties.
• 2 days on equilibrium (the heavyweight).
• 1 day on thermodynamics.
• 1 day on acids/bases/buffers.
• 1 day on electrochemistry + full mock.

Start now: browse AP Chemistry topics →.