• 55 questions

AP Chemistry Bonding Practice Test

Unofficial multiple-choice practice for Unit 2 of AP Chemistry: bond types, solids, Lewis diagrams, resonance, VSEPR and hybridization.

Which kind of bond forms when two nonmetal atoms share pairs of valence electrons?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the College Board. Bank checked October 11, 2026.

Next step Unit before: atomic structureLater unit: AP Chemistry Unit 4

All 55 questions

Topic 2.1: Types of chemical bonds 9

  • A solid conducts electricity well and can be hammered into a thin sheet without breaking. Which type of bonding does it most likely have? Wikipedia, "Metallic bonding"; course topic 2.1
  • A white solid melts at a high temperature, shatters when struck and does not conduct electricity. When melted, it conducts well. Which type of bonding does it have? Wikipedia, "Ionic compound"; course topic 2.1
  • How does electronegativity change among the representative elements of the periodic table? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.1.A.1; course topic 2.1
  • How does the course description describe the line between ionic and covalent bonding? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.1.A.3; course topic 2.1
  • How does the course description treat the bond between carbon and hydrogen? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.1.A.2; course topic 2.1
  • In an O–H bond, which atom carries the partial negative charge, and why? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.1.A.3; course topic 2.1
  • Pauling electronegativities are H 2.20, C 2.55, O 3.44 and F 3.98. Which of these bonds is the most polar? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.1.A.3; course topic 2.1; Wikipedia, "Electronegativity"
  • Which kind of bond forms when two nonmetal atoms share pairs of valence electrons? Wikipedia, "Covalent bond"; course topic 2.1
  • Which pair of elements is most likely to form an ionic bond? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.1.A.4; course topic 2.1
Show all 55 questions (46 more)

Topic 2.2: Intramolecular force and potential energy 7

  • Compared with a nitrogen–nitrogen single bond, the nitrogen–nitrogen triple bond is: AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.2.A.2; course topic 2.2
  • In which compound is the attraction between the ions strongest? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.2.A.3; course topic 2.2; Wikipedia, "Lattice energy"
  • NaF and NaI both pair a 1+ ion with a 1− ion. Why is the attraction between the ions stronger in NaF? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.2.A.3; course topic 2.2
  • On a graph of potential energy against the distance between two bonding atoms, what does the lowest point of the curve mark? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.2.A.1; course topic 2.2
  • On the same graph, what does the depth of the minimum below the energy of the separated atoms represent? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.2.A.1; course topic 2.2
  • Two ions sit a fixed distance apart. If the charge on each ion is doubled, how does the force between them change, by Coulomb's law? Wikipedia, "Coulomb's law"; course topic 2.2
  • Which carbon–carbon bond is the shortest? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.2.A.2; course topic 2.2

Topic 2.3: Structure of ionic solids 5

  • A crystal of an ionic solid shatters when it is struck with a hammer. What is the best particle-level explanation? Wikipedia, "Ionic compound"; course topic 2.3
  • Magnesium oxide has a far larger lattice energy than sodium chloride. Which fact about the ions explains most of the difference? Wikipedia, "Lattice energy"; course topic 2.3
  • What does the formula NaCl tell you about solid sodium chloride? Wikipedia, "Ionic bonding"; course topic 2.3
  • Which particle model best represents an ionic solid? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.3.A.1; course topic 2.3
  • Why does solid sodium chloride not conduct electricity while molten sodium chloride does? Wikipedia, "Ionic compound"; course topic 2.3

Topic 2.4: Structure of metals and alloys 5

  • A copper wire carries a current, yet no copper atoms travel along the wire. What carries the charge? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.1.A.5 and 2.4.A.1; course topic 2.4
  • In many kinds of brass, zinc atoms take the places of some copper atoms in the lattice. What does that suggest about the two atoms? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.4.A.3; course topic 2.4
  • Steel contains carbon atoms sitting in the spaces between much larger iron atoms. Which kind of alloy is it? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.4.A.2; course topic 2.4
  • What does the sea-of-electrons model of a metal show? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.4.A.1; course topic 2.4
  • Why can a metal be bent or hammered into shape without shattering? Wikipedia, "Metallic bonding"; course topic 2.4

Topic 2.5: Lewis diagrams 8

  • How many lone pairs are on the oxygen atom in the Lewis diagram of water? Wikipedia, "VSEPR theory"; course topic 2.5
  • How many valence electrons are shown in a Lewis diagram of carbon dioxide, CO₂? Wikipedia, "Lewis structure"; course topic 2.5
  • How many valence electrons are shown in a Lewis diagram of the ammonium ion, NH₄⁺? Wikipedia, "Lewis structure"; course topic 2.5
  • How many valence electrons are shown in a Lewis diagram of the nitrate ion, NO₃⁻? Wikipedia, "Lewis structure"; course topic 2.5
  • Hydrogen cyanide is drawn H–C≡N. How many lone pairs does its Lewis diagram show? Wikipedia, "Lewis structure"; course topic 2.5
  • In a Lewis diagram, what do two dots drawn beside one atom, not between two atoms, represent? Wikipedia, "Lewis structure"; course topic 2.5
  • In the Lewis diagram of carbon dioxide, how is carbon bonded to the two oxygen atoms? Wikipedia, "Octet rule"; course topic 2.5
  • Which description fits the Lewis diagram of a nitrogen molecule, N₂? Wikipedia, "Lewis structure"; course topic 2.5

Topic 2.6: Resonance and formal charge 8

  • Carbon monoxide is drawn with a triple bond and one lone pair on each atom. What is the formal charge on carbon? Wikipedia, "Formal charge"; course topic 2.6
  • The carbonate ion is drawn with three contributing structures, each with one C=O double bond in a different place. What is true of the real ion? Wikipedia, "Resonance (chemistry)"; course topic 2.6
  • Formal charge is the atom's valence electrons, minus its lone-pair electrons, minus half its bonding electrons. The hydronium ion, H₃O⁺, has three O–H bonds and one lone pair on oxygen. What is the formal charge on oxygen? Wikipedia, "Formal charge"; course topic 2.6
  • In a Lewis diagram of ozone, O₃, the central oxygen has one lone pair, one single bond and one double bond. What is its formal charge? Wikipedia, "Formal charge"; course topic 2.6
  • In the nitrate ion, NO₃⁻, drawn with one N=O double bond and two N–O single bonds, what is the formal charge on nitrogen? Wikipedia, "Formal charge"; course topic 2.6
  • Nitrogen monoxide, NO, has 11 valence electrons. Why is it a hard case for the Lewis model? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.6.A.3; course topic 2.6
  • Two valid Lewis diagrams can be drawn for a molecule, and they are not equivalent. Which one is the better model? Wikipedia, "Formal charge"; course topic 2.6
  • When must resonance be included in the Lewis model of a molecule or ion? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.6.A.1; course topic 2.6

Topic 2.7: VSEPR and hybridization 13

  • Ammonia, NH₃, has three bonding pairs and one lone pair on nitrogen. What is its molecular geometry? Wikipedia, "VSEPR theory"; course topic 2.7
  • Boron trifluoride, BF₃, has three bonding pairs and no lone pairs on boron. What are its geometry and bond angle? Wikipedia, "VSEPR theory"; course topic 2.7
  • The carbon atom in carbon dioxide has two electron groups and a bond angle of 180°. What is its hybridization? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.7.A.3; course topic 2.7
  • Carbon dioxide's two C=O bonds are both polar. Why does the molecule have no dipole moment? Wikipedia, "Chemical polarity"; course topic 2.7
  • How do sigma bonds and pi bonds compare in strength? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.7.A.4; course topic 2.7; Wikipedia, "Sigma bond"
  • The oxygen atom in water has two bonding pairs and two lone pairs. What is the molecular geometry of water? Wikipedia, "VSEPR theory"; course topic 2.7
  • Sulfur hexafluoride, SF₆, has six bonding pairs and no lone pairs on sulfur. What is its molecular geometry? Wikipedia, "VSEPR theory"; course topic 2.7
  • The two carbon atoms of ethyne, HC≡CH, are joined by which set of bonds? Wikipedia, "Pi bond"; course topic 2.7
  • What are the molecular geometry and the bond angle of carbon dioxide, CO₂? Wikipedia, "VSEPR theory"; course topic 2.7
  • What is the basic premise of VSEPR theory? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.7.A.1; course topic 2.7
  • What is the molecular geometry of methane, CH₄? Wikipedia, "VSEPR theory"; course topic 2.7
  • Which of these molecules has a dipole moment? Wikipedia, "Chemical polarity"; course topic 2.7
  • Why can the two ends of a molecule not rotate freely about a carbon–carbon double bond? AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge 2.7.A.4; course topic 2.7; Wikipedia, "Pi bond"

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 2 (Compound Structure and Properties) of the College Board's AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, effective fall 2024, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-chemistry-course-and-exam-description.pdf, read 2026-10-11. Each fact was read on 2026-10-11 in the essential knowledge statement of the course description or the Wikipedia article named under its question; electronegativities are the Pauling values of the table in Wikipedia's "Electronegativity". Every electron count and formal charge was worked a second time from the numbers in the question. Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.

How it works

This AP Chemistry bonding practice test has 55 questions of our own on Unit 2, Compound Structure and Properties. It is unofficial: the College Board, which owns AP, neither wrote nor endorsed it.

Read the full guide

What Unit 2 covers

The College Board's course description, read October 11, 2026, gives Unit 2 seven topics and no weights among them, so the spread is ours: types of chemical bonds (9 questions), intramolecular force and potential energy (7), ionic solids (5), metals and alloys (5), Lewis diagrams (8), resonance and formal charge (8), and VSEPR and hybridization (13).

What is left out

The description names three things the exam does not assess, and none is asked here: specific crystal structures, hybridization that involves d orbitals, and molecular orbital diagrams. Where a central atom has more than four electron pairs, the question asks for the shape alone.

  • Count valence electrons before you draw a Lewis diagram, and add or remove electrons for the charge of an ion.
  • Find the arrangement of electron pairs first, then the shape. A lone pair takes a position but is not part of the molecular geometry.
  • Polar bonds do not always make a polar molecule. Check whether the bond dipoles cancel by symmetry.

Questions and answers

What unit is bonding in AP Chemistry?

Unit 2, Compound Structure and Properties, the second of nine units. It is 7 to 9% of the multiple-choice section, by the College Board's course page, and the description allows about 12 to 13 class periods.

Is this an AP Chemistry bonding and molecular structure practice test?

Yes. Topics 2.1 to 2.4 are bonding: covalent, ionic and metallic bonds, ionic solids and alloys. Topics 2.5 to 2.7 are molecular structure: Lewis diagrams, resonance, formal charge, VSEPR shapes and hybridization.

Which questions make an AP Chemistry covalent bonding practice test?

Topics 2.5, 2.6 and 2.7 hold 29 questions on Lewis diagrams, formal charge and molecular shape. Topics 2.1 and 2.2 add polar and nonpolar bonds, bond length and bond energy.

Does the AP Chemistry exam ask for hybridization?

Yes, as sp, sp² and sp³, with ideal bond angles of 180°, 120° and 109.5°. The course description says hybridization that involves d orbitals is not assessed.

Is this AP Chem bonding practice test made of real exam questions?

No. The College Board keeps its exam questions, and not one is printed or paraphrased on this page. The bank was written from the seven published topics of Unit 2, and each answer names where it can be checked.

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