AP Chemistry Reflective Essay

Until about 2 years ago I was not quite sure what path I would choose for my future career, let alone what path I would choose when I arrived at college. I tended to be adept at subjects such as science and mathematics throughout my high school life, however I was never particularly fond of any one subject in particular. However, that changed my senior year of high school when I enrolled in AP Chemistry. I was intrigued by chemistry when I attended the pre-AP Chemistry course, however I was not particularly interested at that moment. However, AP Chemistry came with a plethora of hands-on experiments and procedures that existed to illustrate basic concepts of chemistry. Although it may sound mundane, I was amazed at some of the concepts we learned being implemented in front of our eyes, and I was especially

Chemistry became the subject that I couldn’t wait to learn, and I often find myself getting excited over new discoveries in chemistry, such as the four new elements added to the periodic table that I texted multiple friends about. Since I want to be a teacher, I find the best way for me to combine teaching and chemistry is to help those in the school who need help learning the subject. My friend is a sophomore who currently takes level one chemistry, and for her, I serve as the person she can go to when she needs help with the subject, and I’m happy to help her whenever she needs

Accelerated Chemistry I is a demanding course that involves critical thinking and problem solving. Throughout the course you will be asked to analyze data, draw conclusions, process new information, and build your own understanding of chemistry concepts. Only after you have investigated new ideas will you discuss them formally. The model we will be using in class is - engage, explore, explain, evaluate. You will be asked to analyze common occurrences such as melting ice cubes and burning candles in order to understand the chemical processes that allow them to occur. You will analyze the relationship between macroscopic properties and microscopic structures, which in turn will help you to gain a better understanding of the world around you,

Science has become my favorite subject over the years, especially Chemistry. Taking AP Chemistry was the best decision I ever made because I instantly fell in love with chemistry. It was an interesting course that gave me insight on random things like why it rains. We did many cool labs, and I got to use tools and machines that I never would have used before in my life. For example, I got to use a spectrophotometer to record absorbtion of light in a solution. My favorite unit in chemistry was by far Intermolecular forces. They helped me understand the interactions between substances which explained why oil floats on water. Instead of getting an answer along the line of "it is denser", I understood that it was because the oil could not break

“What do you mean you’re not going to take science next year,” Mr.Turek sounded stunned. “You have to take a science next year.” “Physics isn’t my thing.” I confessed, “and I’ve taken all the others.” “Well,” He spoke obviously, “You could take AP Chemistry.” He read the indecision on my face. AP Chemistry was rumored to be intolerable, only the best of the best could tread in that class. “You can do it” he added

I am sitting here completely dumb founded as I think about chemistry. How does chemistry relate to me? How do I relate chemistry? It is such a subject that I am unsure of how it fits into my life other than a class I took in high school. As I dig deeper instead of just scratching the surface, I realize that I use and will be going to use chemistry more and more in my life.

As a kid, out of curiosity, I used to study the ingredients in household chemicals. A lot of dangerous substances had very useful applications. Chlorine, for example, is both a poison to humans and the thing that makes pools swimmable. This kind of paradox about common household chemicals and what they do to water is what led me to take rigorous science courses in high school, where I nurtured my passion for chemistry, as well as biology, and physics. I participated in chemistry league competitions and Olympiads as a way to build my knowledge piece by piece, like building lego. I studied atomic structure, covalent bonds and ionization energy asking myself: Why? How do molecules stick to each other? When would it be advantageous to unstick them?

In order to fully engage students and make personal connections/ownership to the content, it is vital to connect a topic to the student’s life. Unit II is the smallest chemistry unit that provides the necessary background knowledge students need for

Chemistry has sparked my interest since the first time I enrolled in a chemistry class my sophomore year in high school. The simple mixing of different chemicals could transform a solution from completely clear to a brightly colored solution once I witnessed this I was hooked. Due to this interest, I enrolled in chemistry for the next three years in high school completing first honors general chemistry, followed by advanced placement (AP) chemistry, and finally organic chemistry at a local community college my senior year of high school. After graduating high school I perused a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Louisville. My thirst for chemistry only further grew while at University of Louisville taking any chemistry class that I possibly could fit into my schedule, this included mainly chemistry labs as well as physical chemistry and quantum chemistry.

The topics learned in college algebra are detrimental to the success of a chemistry major, as much of the subject involves mathematical analysis and problem solving. Without this basic form of algebra, students are unable to move on to higher math classes, some of which are prerequisites to high level chemistry classes that are required for a degree in

The first day of classes took me by surprise. I typically received little to no homework, and what I did receive was not overwhelming. Reality hit me when my college economics teacher assigned reading the entire first chapter of the text book by next class. I realized that this year’s work would have higher expectations of me than my sophomore year. Although my college classes required chapters of reading at a time, I found myself understanding it easily and not questioning my ability to pass the class. However, this was not the case with AP Chemistry. During the reading, I understood the teachings for the most part, but chemistry not only

Out of all of the skin care products in the world, your bathroom cabinet needs to be filled with products researched and designed by me. When I entered high school, I discovered my passion for selecting lip sticks, lip glosses, lotions, perfumes, and makeup foundations. You name it. After learning about the connections between the information in my chemistry class and these items, a light bulb went off! I maintained an A average in chemistry throughout the whole year! Additionally, in 2014, I became a student in the Academy of Engineering and Technology, which also heightened my interests in chemistry. In a science fair at that academy, there was a chemistry course where we made colorful slime, and during that process, I learned that I get an adrenaline rush when I am mixing different chemicals together to see what the outcome is. Majoring in chemistry at Norfolk State University will definitely prepare me for a very successful future in chemistry! My ultimate goal is to conduct research and development for chemical cosmetics. I plan to obtain employment at the greatest companies in the world such as L'Oréal and Avon.

For the life of me I could not understand what was being taught in my AP Chemistry class. A big part of chemistry was memorizing important facts and equations and using those concepts in the comprehension of chemistry. I always failed grasping these important concepts and I was struggling in the class for a long time. I really wanted a tutor to educate me more on this subject, but due to financial issues there was no possible way we could manage to afford one. Another big part of taking an AP class is collaborating with your classmates but I was always shy. While my classmates were interacting, helping each other, and sending each other study guides and useful information, I would always be left in the dark.

Learning Chemistry, Maths and Physics never got me tired. I’ve started to experience enthusiastic feelings towards those subjects during my high school as I was acknowledged to proceed with my upper school in science stream. I couldn’t agree more that being a science student is very challenging as it involves critical thinking which relates with the theories and practical. However, after a couple of months of learning, I came to realize that I have been intrigued by those subjects despite the challenging parts of understanding. Hence, I really look forward to further my studies in Chemical Engineering which involves deeper understanding of those subjects.

Chemistry has been called the science of what things are. Its intent is the exploration of the nature of the materials that fabricate our physical environment, why they hold the different properties that depict them, how their atomic structure may be fathomed, and how they may be manipulated and changed.