Tips for Studying Chemistry
Chemistry can be very difficult, even those of us who have made it through physical chemistry. I cried and I debated whether or not I should really be a chemistry major. Well here I am with a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry and I will be attending graduate school in the fall in hopes to obtain a Ph.D. in Organic and Analytical Chemistry.
-Here is my masterpost on chemistry resources as well as random life shit
-Physics resources because if you’re a chemistry major, you’ll need physics from study-well
-More chemistry resources from study-well
-And some biology resources from my biochemistry peeps out there from study-well
-Handwritten notes, I find, are the best way to learn chemistry. Writing everything out and drawing structures and diagrams provides a more thorough learning experience as opposed to typing things out.
-DO ALL OF THE PRACTICE PROBLEMS
-If you are unsure of a concept, PLEASE utilize your professor’s office hours. They are almost willing to help you out if you go to designated OFFICE HOURS.
-Read the lecture chapter before you come to lecture. This allows you to get a preview of what to expect. Take this time to familiarize yourself with topics you’re unsure of.
The unfortunate part of chemistry is the fact there are different branches of chemistry and you can’t always take study techniques you used, in say organic chemistry, and apply them to physical chemistry. Here is what I did for each chemistry branch:
I had MasteringChemistry with my lectures, so I had extra sets of homework problems to practice
I used the textbook a lot, since I was a freshman and this was how I studied in high school, which didn’t always work in my favor on the exams. However, using the problems at the end of the chapters helped me cement all of the concepts down.
I was a freshman when I took this, so I thought memorizing things could get me an A. BIG MISTAKE. If you’re a chemistry major or thinking of becoming a chemistry major, general chemistry concepts come back to bite you in the butt hard if you don’t get understand them the first time.
Honestly, this was about 5 years ago, so I cannot remember everything I did. Just practice!
Practice, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!! Rewrite and do as many reaction problems as you can.
The textbook helped me for concepts and problem solving strategies for the different types of reactions, but did not help me on the exam material. My organic chemistry professor, who is also my research adviser, is a natural product chemist and she loves the quirky, medicinal reactions that require enzymes.
I have been told to get this book for organic I and organic II. I didn’t use these books because I already had to spend a shit ton of money on books, but my friends swore by them and even my professors recommend it.
I started to use connections between the lab reactions and lecture reactions, which helped me understand rather than memorize.
If your professors post their old tests and quizzes, USE them! They may not be the exact questions, but at least you get to see how your professor tests you.
This is really broad because you generally have two types of analytical courses if you have an American Chemical Society-Certified degree which include Quantitative Analytical Chemistry *Quant Chem* (sophomore level) and Modern Analytical or Instrumental Analysis (senior level). Here is how to study:
Reread ACID-BASE REACTIONS and EQUILIBRIUM, SOLUBILITY EQUILIBRIUM, AQUEOUS CHEMISTRY, REDOX EQUATIONS, DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS, SIG-FIGS, and SOLUBILITY RULES OF IONS. These are reoccurring topics in Quant Chem and should be practiced if you’re a little rusty.
Do the homework problems.
There is a lab component to the analytical labs. Try to make a connection between the lecture theoretical questions and the lab, which has the practical applications. It does help when understanding homework problems in equilibrium.
READ the textbook and annotate.
Ask questions if ANYTHING is unclear.
To be honest, this is the hardest class to give tips in to help study since this is the class you either get it or you don’t. I struggled with this class. Thankfully the lab was 25% of my grade and I made A’s in the lab, but did so crappy in the lecture that the lab grade was the only saving grace I had to pass with a C. Here is what I did to survive:
Do EVERY SINGLE homework problem. I cannot stress this enough, especially with physical chemistry.
Buy the solution for this class. Trust me, it will help 8/10 times. Sometimes there are errors in the textbook or they leave out steps, but having this is muy importante in kinda understanding the topics and if your problem solving skills are heading in the right direction. Do not depend on this fully though, only if you need to check the answer afterwards or are unsure of how to approach the problem.
Know your basic general chemistry skills like orbitals and basic calculus skills like integration and derivation.
Read and reread the textbook. The textbooks for physical chemistry are dry, dull, and awful to read a majority of the time, but do read the chapter and reread it again to annotate chapters.
Look up old physical chemistry exams on the web and take practice exams. Its more practice with the material that may not be your professor’s style, but PChem professors love to throw wacky test questions your way.
Ask older students for copies of old tests and quizzes from the class from the same professor. I normally say, “do your own work and don’t ask for old tests”, but for this class I got the old study guides from the senior students which were the exact questions from the tests. Some professors don’t change their exams, some do. This to your discretion and this may be considered cheating, but I am not sure. If you don’t feel comfortable using old tests without the verbal and written say-so of your professor, don’t do it.
Ok, this class is memorizing EVERYTHING. Sugars, amino acids, metabolic cycles, and there is no way around it.
Write and rewrite everything out. Draw the structures with the stereochemistry, the abbreviation, the name, etc.
Read the chapters before lecture, it’ll help.
Do the homework problems, of course (see a theme?)
I used study groups in this class, but I had, at a max, 3 people in the study group including myself. It helps to quiz each other on everything to memorize.
Concepts are a big part of biochemistry. While there are parts to memorize, such as the amino acids, you have to understand how these amino acids will later form a protein and the processes involved. The metabolic pathways, which are useful for medicinal chemistry, requires more thought process and will later return if you pursue biochemistry as a major or Ph.D. study.
Have a good chemistry model kit (not the organic ones), especially if you cannot see 3D structures. You will need this for symmetry operation visuals, which help for solving spectroscopy problems
Read the text book and take a lot of notes prior to class
Do as much as the homework problems as you can after lecture
Go to office hours and ask questions if ANYTHING is unclear. Most of the topics towards the end are repetitive.
Stay on top of all your work for each section. Like I said, towards the end of Inorganic, things either come back to haunt you or you are doing the same type of problem over again.
There are other chemistry courses by each university, but here are the general branches of chemistry you can expect in any degree at any university. These tips are what helped me through my degree and I graduated above a 3.0. Hope this helps :)
prguitarman
germansingergirl
areudirty
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
romaincrisis
dailybridgerton
gamechangershow
