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Upcoming Chemistry Exam? Here’s How to Prepare Effectively

Written by Jimmy Rustling

One of the most frustrating moments that students face is drawing a blank during an exam. You know that you studied, but when you need to recall information, it just disappears from your mind. Sounds familiar? Well, considering how often this happens, it’s no surprise.

Chemistry can be an extremely complex subject that many students have trouble with. It’s also unfortunate that most people aren’t really taught how to prepare for an exam. Everyone sort of finds their own way, with varying levels of success.

However, there are some steps you can take to prepare more effectively. Let’s explore three of them today.

1. Understand the True Purpose of Revision

Say you randomly get a question that asks you to draw the CH4 Lewis structure. Do you know what to do? Odds are that if you haven’t been revising regularly, you might have a vague memory of reading about it but can’t recall specifics.

Are you curious what the answer was to the sample question above? Proprep easily reminds us that it’s a single, central carbon atom surrounded by four hydrogen atoms. Even if you remembered one aspect, like the structure, you might still need to explain the steps you took to draw it. This is why understanding the topic from the ground up is so important.

Our brains are constantly being fed and taking in information. There’s a constant effort going in your mind, as it tries to figure out what information is worth storing on a long-term basis. This is why reading something a few times is not going to cut it.

Regular revision is powerful because constantly coming back to the same material sends a message to your brain. In a sense, it tricks it into thinking that the content is important enough to store in long-term memory. This is one of the fundamental goals of revision.

You can keep in mind the following acronym for how to revise effectively:

R.E.V.I.E.W.E.R

R- Review goals

E-  Engage actively

V-  Visualize concepts

I-   Integrate resources

E-  Evaluate understanding

W- Work on weaknesses

E-  Establish a schedule

R-  Regular breaks

2. Learn How To Actually Make Use of Previous Exam Papers

If you have access to old exam papers, there’s a chance you might not be taking advantage of them in the best way.

The first thing you want to do is organize the questions into topics. This allows you to look at all the potential questions that are likely to arise in a specific area. Try to keep an eye out for specific keywords and concepts. Often, a question may not be repeated, but a concept or specific topic will be focused on extensively.

The next thing you want to do is get a realistic picture of how you might score. The best way to do this is to pick a paper at random and complete it. Next, you want to score yourself as harshly as you can. If you find yourself getting wrecked, it’s time to improve the quality of your answers.

Thankfully, chemistry papers repeat often enough that you can benefit quite a bit from analyzing old exam papers.

3. Create Concept Hierarchies

With a subject like chemistry, one of the chief difficulties lies in the complexity that comes with any topic. It can feel like, no matter which chapter you turn your page to, there are hundreds of concepts that you need to understand.

In this context, one of the most underutilized techniques would be to form a sort of concept hierarchy. Think of it in terms of how the FBI uses evidence boards to keep track of an investigation.

The steps for creating a concept hierarchy are fairly straightforward. You would need to focus on one or more of the major branches of chemistry. For instance, let’s take organic chemistry. You would then focus on the major categories, such as hydrocarbons, functional groups, or reaction mechanisms.

Each of these would be further broken down into their key parts. So hydrocarbons would include alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, and aromatic compounds. Depending on how much time you have, you can keep getting more specific. You will also want to create links between each root structure to explain if any parallel connections exist.

The goal of creating such a concept hierarchy is to no longer feel like a deer in the headlights during an exam. If there’s a question regarding a specific concept, even if you don’t have the exact answer, you will have enough context to expand.

To sum it up, preparing for a chemistry exam is definitely not something most people are excited about.

It’s an important subject, and failure to put in the work will naturally lead to disappointment when you eventually get your results. Thus, try to proactively ensure you are spending some time on smart preparation.

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About the author

Jimmy Rustling

Born at an early age, Jimmy Rustling has found solace and comfort knowing that his humble actions have made this multiverse a better place for every man, woman and child ever known to exist. Dr. Jimmy Rustling has won many awards for excellence in writing including fourteen Peabody awards and a handful of Pulitzer Prizes. When Jimmies are not being Rustled the kind Dr. enjoys being an amazing husband to his beautiful, soulmate; Anastasia, a Russian mail order bride of almost 2 months. Dr. Rustling also spends 12-15 hours each day teaching their adopted 8-year-old Syrian refugee daughter how to read and write.