Chemistry Study Hints

Use the Concept Focus Questions (CFQ) in the course Thinkbook to focus your thoughts on the most important concepts in a unit or chapter.  Here is what I have found to work best.

Before lecture:

• Read the CFQ for that unit.

• Scan the assigned reading for that unit.  Read the first page of the chapter(s), as well as the first few sentences of each section.  These usually introduce or summarize key concepts for the chapter.

• Read the corresponding Lecture Supplements.
  

• Take copious notes.

• Do not focus solely on what is written on the board.  Listen and copy down key verbal points as well. The lecture podcasts will make this easier.
  

• Read the CFQ again.

• Carefully read the assigned textbook reading.
  

• Write down the solution to each CFQ as it is encountered, even if you know it well.  Writing an answer helps you remember the concept.

• Expand and clarify your lecture notes based on the text reading.  Listen to lecture podcasts and discuss points that are unclear with your study group.

• Make flash cards for new vocabulary words, reactions, etc. as encountered.

• Do all of the problems the Thinkbook and textbook.

• Go through the stack of flash cards.

• Make copious use of office hours and discussion section.

• The index is a wonderful tool to help you find answers to your questions...learn how to use it!  It's easier even than sending an email.
  

• Read the text.  Understand the text, do not just skim the words.  Think about the text.  Challenge what it says.

• Do the text problems as you come to them.  The are placed so as to enhance your understanding and learning of the particular topic they accompany.

• Do not look at the answer key unless you have an answer or you are totally stumped.  Ask a study buddy for a clue first if you can.

• If you get a problem wrong, work through the answer on paper until you can reproduce it, and until your understand why each step occurs they way it does. Then try another problem of the same type right away!

• Study chemistry for at least one hour of every day of the week that ends in -day. An hour every day is much better than ten hours on Saturday alone.

• Do the assigned reading before attending lecture!

• Do not try to write down every word spoken during the lectures. Get the high points, and fill in the details later (see the next point).

• Rework your notes after each lecture. Work through the notes carefully, and make sure that you understand each concept. Redraw all of the structures. Have the text open, and expand upon each point covered in the lecture. Fill in blank spaces or abbreviated material in your notes. Make sure you understand all the material from every lecture. Expand and organize your notes. Making a fresh but neater copy of your notes without adding anything new is a waste of your valuable study time.

• Keep up with all of the reading. Read (not just skim) the scheduled material before you come to class, and read it again after the lecture.

• Organize the material that must be memorized. Make flash cards summarizing essential memory bank material, especially reactions. The goal is to minimize memorization.

• Work lots of problems. You should try to do every problem in every chapter. Get another text or other source of problems if you can.

• Do not scurry to the study guide, another student, TA, or instructor immediately after deciding that you cannot solve a given problem. Find an appropriate section of the text (use the index!) and read through it carefully. The study guide, etc., should be used as a last resort and not a means of avoiding a reexamination of the text. Getting the 'right answer' is not the main point of working the problems; becoming more intimately familiar with chemical concepts is. It is more important to focus on concepts and developing thought processes.

• Do not spend more than 15 minutes on any one problem. If you haven't solved the problem by that this time, you are probably missing something and further effort is a waste of valuable study time. A review of the text, your lecture notes, or another source of material (perhaps even another text) is called for. Go on to other problems, and return to these difficult ones when you have had a bit more practice.

• Do ALL the problems associated with the assigned reading, even if they seem irrelevant.  You must take responsibility for your own learning.

• Attend office hours. Listen to other student questions. Use the discussion board frequently. Students who use office hours regularly learn more chemistry and this get higher grades. In addition, if I don't know you, I will not write a letter of recommendation should you ask me for one.

• Form study groups. A small groups of students working together often exchange ideas and concepts to the benefit of everyone. Teaching each other is an ideal way to learn chemistry. However, do not allow these study sessions to turn into pizza parties and gossip sessions. Group study sessions should be all business.

• Think molecules. That is, think about what is happening on the molecular level. Consider where the electrons are, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. Chemistry is much more than equations. You will find this course difficult if you ignore this way of thinking.