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How to study for chem

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studybuddy7777:
Hi onepunchboy! Although i have only done Chemistry in Year 11, I have done bio and senior science and learned that studying for a science subject is universal amongst all the sciences. What i have below are just some general ideas on how to make good study notes but I cannot emphasise how important it is to use more than just past papers and pages of notes!! Surely, these are important but you will not be able to complete a past paper unless you know content, and knowing content does not easily come (for me at least) from staring at pieces of paper.

Having said that, it is absolutely essential that you know your BOSTES verbs. You cannot expect to get full marks by outlining in a describe question, or discussing in a evaluate question. Some definitions (pls correct me if i am wrong but i dont think i am) are shown below.

Outline - sketch in general terms
Describe - provide characteristics and features
Identify- name and label
Do we know the difference between these? How about the differences between Assess, Evaluate and Discuss? (In all of them you have to make a judgement)

notes should not just be page after page on paper- you will not remember slabs of information as well as key dot points and words (its scientifically proven ;D) Consider some of these ways if you just want to use paper:

-Diagrams
-Pictures
-Flow Charts
-Colour Code

However, you may be like me and simply cannot stare at a wad of paper all day and expect to learn something from it. Try these creative ideas and see if one works for you :)


-challenge friends via kahoot or have some sort of competition- really fun way to learn as noone wants to come last! Jeopardy, fill in the blank, 60 seconds are all great games to play!
-flash/palm cards (these are great for definitions or terminology)
-mnemonics(my personal favourite- just make sure you can remember them- it could be about a teacher you dont like, a friend you make fun of or something just so absurd it sticks in your head) Consider this: I am in Year 3 learning my colours of the rainbow and a way to remember it that I've never forgotten is Ran Over Your Garbage Bin In Vegas (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). Needless to say 9 years later I can still remember it with pin point accuracy
-Don't want to study? Don't then! Just stick post it notes all around the house, on your door, your desk, your phone cover, the shower, your mirror anywhere that you can think of! Youll be surprised how much you can recall from this. I'll use another example (oh here you go you're thinking but ill promise itll relate eventually :p). There is only one way to get to the bathroom from my room and thats down a long corridor/hallway. I tend to read things and like 99% of the population, don't get up until the sun is well and truly up so it is light. I put each paragraph of my essay on that wall leading down the hallway, and my exam was 3 weeks away. I only wrote it out once to see if I could in the time limit and hey presto! I get in the exam and remember it word for word.
-My final one ( yes, last one I promise) is not to have any notes at all but key terms and a container/hat. Negotiate with yourself how many you will pull out of a hat (one at a time and make it more than 3 ;)) and spend 3 or so minutes writing down everything you know that will relate to this. This is actually a really effective way to study as you don't know what will be asked next, and you will know immediately if you dont know something. I also kept a tally on how many times a card got drawn out so I knew if it was higher than the rest its time for a good shuffle but you dont have to do that :)


Finally rant over! Thank goodness I wasn't writing this out on paper otherwise half of NSW's koalas wouldve had to migrate ;D. There is just a few options up there for studying so try and think of some more. Sure everyone has to study but why not make it fun? Anyway, just my input. Take it or leave it :)

xorichard:
Hi guys,
Just wondering what sort of study should i do in one week before trials? I'm screwed up the butt because i'm only in first topic for chem and i dunno what to do
Thanks

willy-boy:
If you have to study it all in two weeks, I have a few suggestions:

Look over 2 or 3 past HSC/Trial papers and make a dot-pointed list of the things you aren't clear on. For example,
THings to revise in Chem
-Combustion reaction of petrol
-Fermentation of glucose to ethanol
-Haber Process
-Nuclear decay
-SO4 calculations w stoich
-Understanding indicators
-Equations for oxides in the air
-Charges on ions
-esters/erifcation
-creating standard solutions // naming equipment

This makes it easier to address specific things (rather than poring over and trying to memorise chunks of knowledge without context) in the reference frame of a question. Good luck comrade

jakesilove:

--- Quote from: xorichard on July 25, 2016, 05:28:40 pm ---Hi guys,
Just wondering what sort of study should i do in one week before trials? I'm screwed up the butt because i'm only in first topic for chem and i dunno what to do
Thanks

--- End quote ---

Firstly, everything will be okay. You'll learn everything you need to learn, you'll adapt in the exam, you'll bullshit your way through question, and you'll be okay. Plus, you'll be more prepared when you get to the HSC. For now, check out some articles that I wrote earlier in the year. I think they could seriously help you out!

How to procrastinate

My pre-Trial process

Hope they help :)

Jake

jakesilove:

--- Quote from: m_chan98 on August 13, 2016, 09:57:12 pm ---Since chem is such a content-heavy course, are there any particular dot points that you would suggest to spend the LEAST amount of time on? I always find in exams that the things that I've studied the most aren't usually in the exam...

--- End quote ---

I think the only way you can really tell which dotpoints you should be focusing on, and the types of questions asked with regards to each dotpoints, is doing a billion past papers. This gives you the best idea of where you should be focusing your attention! If there are particular questions you can't answer, or don't even understand, then you know that those are the dotpoints you need to address in your study. Also, take note of common 6-8 mark questions, as they come up fairly often

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