In high school (many, many years ago), I took honors chemistry with a great teacher at a great public high school. So why do I not remember a thing from that class today? I hope to spare my kids this fate by using the Apologia science courses! Dr. Wile developed the Apologia curriculum specifically for homeschoolers, knowing that many of us parents do not have the background to teach the type of rigorous science courses that we want to provide for our students. His textbooks are written in a conversational style that is easy to understand, and they are designed to be completed independently by the student. Apologia also provides excellent assistance by phone, Internet, mail, email, or fax to answer any questions your student may have about the material.

This review covers Advanced Chemistry in Creation and the accompanying Solutions and Tests Manual ($75 for the combined set). Advanced Chemistry is an advanced high school chemistry course that requires a high school chemistry class and Algebra II as prerequisites. Completing Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry provides the equivalent of one college-level chemistry course or Advanced Placement (AP) course. The 16 modules are intended to be covered in approximately two weeks of study each and include the following topics:

• Units, Chemical Equations, and Stoichiometry Revisited
• The Atom Revisited
• The Electronic Structure of Molecules
• Intermolecular Forces
• Solutions and Colloids
• Solutions and Equilibrium
• Acid/Base Equilibria
• More on Equilibrium
• Electrochemistry (two modules)
• Chemical Kinetics
• An Introduction to Organic Chemistry
• Functional Groups in Organic Chemistry
• Nuclear Chemistry
• Two review modules

Each module has several types of problems to solve, such as "On Your Own" problems (with the answers in the textbook), and review questions and practice problems (with the answers in the Solutions and Test Manual). There is also a test for each module in the Solutions and Test Manual. There are 22 labs included in the textbook. These would be easiest to conduct using the lab kit for the course (not part of this review, but available for purchase on the Apologia website) because of the variety of chemicals and some simple equipment required.

There is much to love about Apologia's Advanced Chemistry in Creation! Perhaps my favorite thing about all of these courses is that they are unashamedly Christian in content and focus. I also appreciate that the material is easy to understand so that it can be worked through independently--meaning that I can give my child an excellent chemistry course without having to relearn chemistry myself. The ample illustrations, charts, and diagrams are very helpful, although it would add some visual interest if some of these were in color. The design of the books is easy to follow and helps organize what the student needs to memorize. Please keep in mind that this 494-page book provides an advanced course that will require at least 45 minutes to an hour of study time per day for your student to master, but I think they will find it to be well worth the effort! The Solutions and Tests Manual is worth the few extra dollars, as it provides not only solutions for the review questions and practice problems (including explanations for why these answers are correct), but also module tests so you can document your student's progress through the course. If your student has completed a chemistry class and is ready for more, you would be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive, understandable, and helpful text than Advanced Chemistry in Creation!

Product review by: Dr. Anne Margaret Wright, Senior Product Reviewer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July 2008