PRIMARY SOURCES:

Basic Chemistry online course - requires registration
Chemistry Upper Secondary - 1 online course - continues from Basic Chemistry
Chemistry Upper Secondary - 2 online course - continues from Upper Secondary - 1
CK-12's Chemistry Textbook
CK-12's Chemistry Textbook - Teacher's Resource Guide
CK-12's Chemistry Workbook
CK-12's Chemistry Lab Demos
Chemistry Virtual Textbook
Chemistry Videos - 26 half-hour videos "to observe chemistry in action."


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Interactive Periodic Table
Key Tables - such as a chart of electron configurations
Chemistry online flashcards
Pink Monkey Chemistry Study Guide
SparkNotes Chemistry study guide
Audio Files - overviews of chemistry concepts, good for review before exams
CLEP Chemistry


TESTING PRACTICE AND FINAL EXAM:

Textbook companion site with self-assessment quizzes for practice.
Periodic Table Quiz - click on the link "Elements" under the "Science" category.
Chemistry sample tests and End-of-Course exam



CLEP Chemistry Exam Outline:

The following is a breakdown of the topics covered by the CLEP test for Chemistry. Keep this outline handy during your studies and make notes for each portion of the exam, for reviewing later

20 % Structure of Matter

Atomic theory and atomic structure

Evidence for the atomic theory

Atomic masses; determination by chemical and physical means

Atomic number and mass number; isotopes and mass spectroscopy

Electron energy levels: atomic spectra, quantum numbers, atomic orbitals

Periodic relationships, including, for example, atomic radii, ionization energies, electron affinities, oxidation states

Chemical bonding

Binding forces

1. Types: covalent, ionic, metallic, macromolecular (or network), dispersion, hydrogen bonding
2. Relationships to structure and to properties
3. Polarity of bonds, electronegativities

Geometry of molecules, ions, and coordination complexes: structural isomerism, dipole moments of molecules, relation of properties to structure

Molecular models

1. Valence bond theory; hybridization of orbitals, resonance, sigma and pi bonds
2. Other models, for example, molecular orbital

Nuclear chemistry: nuclear equations, half-lives, and radioactivity; chemical applications

19 % States of Matter

Gases

Laws of ideal gases; equations of state for an ideal gas

Kinetic-molecular theory

1. Interpretation of ideal gas laws on the basis of this theory
2. The mole concept; Avogadro's number
3. Dependence of kinetic energy of molecules on temperature: Boltzmann distribution
4. Deviations from ideal gas laws

Liquids and solids

Liquids and solids from the kineticmolecular viewpoint

Phase diagrams of one-component systems

Changes of state, critical phenomena

Crystal structure

Solutions

Types of solutions and factors affecting solubility

Methods of expressing concentration

Colligative properties; for example, Raoult's law

Effect of interionic attraction on colligative properties and solubility

12 % Reaction Types

Formation and cleavage of covalent bonds

Acid-base reactions; concepts of Arrhenius, Brønsted-Lowry, and Lewis; amphoterism

Reactions involving coordination complexes

Precipitation reactions

Oxidation-reduction reactions

Oxidation number

The role of the electron in oxidation-reduction

Electrochemistry; electrolytic cells, standard half-cell potentials, prediction of the direction of redox reactions, effect of concentration changes

10 % Equations and Stoichiometry

Ionic and molecular species present in chemical systems; net-ionic equations Stoichiometry: mass and volume relations with emphasis on the mole concept Balancing of equations, including those for redox reactions

7 % Equilibrium

Concept of dynamic equilibrium, physical and chemical; LeChâtelier's principle; equilibrium constants

Quantitative treatment

Equilibrium constants for gaseous reactions in terms of both molar concentrations and partial pressure (Kc , Kp)

Equilibrium constants for reactions in solutions

Constants for acids and bases; pK; pH

Solubility-product constants and their application to precipitation and the dissolution of slightly soluble compounds

Constants for complex ions

Common ion effect; buffers

4 % Kinetics

Concept of rate of reaction

Order of reaction and rate constant: their determination from experimental data

Effect of temperature change on rates

Energy of activation; the role of catalysts

The relationship between the rate-determining step and a mechanism

5 % Thermodynamics

State functions

First law: heat of formation; heat of reaction; change in enthalpy, Hess's law; heat capacity; heats of vaporization and fusion

Second law: free energy of formation; free energy of reaction; dependence of change in free energy on enthalpy and entropy changes

Relationship of change in free energy to equilibrium constants and electrode potentials

14 % Descriptive Chemistry

The accumulation of certain specific facts of chemistry is essential to enable students to comprehend the development of principles and concepts, to demonstrate applications of principles, to relate fact to theory and properties to structure, and to develop an understanding of systematic nomenclature that facilitates communication. The following areas are normally included on the examination:

Chemical reactivity and products of chemical reactions

Relationships in the periodic table: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal

Chemistry of the main groups and transition elements, including typical examples of each

Organic chemistry, including such topics as functional groups and isomerism (may be treated as a separate unit or as exemplary material in other areas, such as bonding)

9 % Experimental Chemistry

Some experiments are based on laboratory experiments widely performed in general chemistry and ask about the equipment used, observations made, calculations performed, and interpretation of the results. The questions are designed to provide a measure of understanding of the basic tools of chemistry and their applications to simple chemical systems.


Recommended Course of Study:

Complete the online courses. Download the CK-12 textbook and design a study schedule. Complete the workbook and as many of the lab demos as possible. (Many of them only call for simple, household ingredients.) Go through the virtual textbook and watch the chemistry videos. The additional resources are provided for extra practice and help. Finish the course by taking the sample tests and then the End-of-Course exam.



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