It’s almost time to register for classes at the Ridge, and with that students must decide which science path to take for their next school year at Shadow Ridge.

For students looking to gain an advantage at their college of choice, AP Chemistry is a great choice. AP Chemistry is different from the normal and honors chemistry class offered at Shadow Ridge. 

AP Chemistry teacher, Rebecca Cleveland, says, “AP Chemistry is very different from Honors Chemistry because it is a college level course that covers at least 5 times the amount of material that honors chemistry does and in much more detail.  There are 9 units with many topics in each unit and therefore we cover a lot of standards. In total we cover 91 different standards but many are similar concepts and therefore learned at once.  Of those 91 standards that AP Chemistry covers honors looks at maybe 18 of those standards and doesn’t cover them in nearly as much detail.”

AP Chemistry is a double blocked class, this means that students who take AP Chemistry will have it on both their A days and B days. Cleveland explains the reasoning behind why AP Chemistry is double blocked, stating. “AP Chemistry covers a lot of material and is a challenging class. Having the class be double blocked gives the students time to learn and practice what they learned in class to be able to get help when they struggle during school rather than always having to come and get help after school, being double blocked means they may only need to come in after occasionally.”

Due to covering college level material, AP Chemistry is inherently one of the harder science classes offered at Shadow Ridge. Because of this reason, students should make an informed decision when choosing to take it.

“AP Chemistry is a very good class to take if a student wants to do anything medical or science research related.  Chemistry in college is usually one of the first science classes that students really have a hard time keeping up with because there is so much new material,” states Cleveland. “AP Chemistry is also a very hard class that requires extra time at home and lots of effort in class, especially if there is something students are struggling to understand they may need additional help after school for that topic.”