How to Succeed in Chemistry (and all sorts of other subjects)

To succeed in this class, you will need to do all of the following:

• "Read" relevant material in the textbook in advance (see below for details).
• Come to class, take notes, and participate in the discussion.
• Work practice problems.
• Assess your understanding; practice topics that give you trouble. (This is also known as "studying.")
• Get help when you need it.

"Reading"

• Read a paragraph (or maybe a tiny fraction of a paragraph)
• Pause and summarize. Say (or write or think) "What they're saying here is...." You could write a sentence in the margin that gives you a quick summary of the contents of the paragraph. Or you could write it on a separate piece of paper, and build an outline of the chapter as you read. You could tell your pet goldfish about the contents of the paragraph. You could even tell a tape recorder, and then play back your summary the next time you're stuck in traffic.
• When you come to an example problem, try to do it without looking at the solution. Or work carefully through the printed solution, making sure you understand the process used. Then do the practice problem. Check your work. If you're stuck, take another look at the preceding material, call a classmate, come to office hours, call the instructor, or ask about it in class. Continuing to read if you're not understanding the material is probably not a good use of your time.
• While you're reading, make notes about questions and difficulties you have. Bring that list to class. If you get all the way through the reading assignment and have no questions, chances are you weren't paying enough attention!

Class time

We will often start class with an invitation to ask questions from the reading or homework. This is a great time to write down some answers on your question list. During class, ask yourself "does this make sense?" If it doesn't, ask about it right away! Perhaps I misspoke or perhaps I need to clarify a point. During the term I will almost certainly make some mathematical errors on the blackboard. Please stop me if you think I've made an error; you'll be doing me -- and your classmates -- a big favor.

Homework

Studying

Learning vocabulary terms or unit conversions:

• Use flash cards. The ideal flash card might say "0.01" on one side, and "centi" on the other. Or "proton" on one side and "subatomic particle with +1 charge" on the other side. The key point here is that you look at one side of the flash card, and think about what the other side should be. Then you flip the card over to check yourself. If you got it right, put the card in a separate pile. If you got it wrong, put the card into the back of the stack, and try it again at the end. Quizzing yourself with your flash cards only takes a couple minutes, so you do it whenever you have a few spare minutes during your day. (Waiting for the bus, before class, standing in line for espresso....) Shuffle your flash cards, do them backwards, do them forwards, keep it interesting! I especially like flash cards, because they're portable and allow you to add or remove cards as needed.
• Make a summary sheet. Write key points and information onto your summary sheet. This forces you to think about what material in the chapter was really important. Compare your summary sheet to a friend's and discuss differences. The useful part of the exercise is making the summary sheet and discussing it. Unless you're blessed with a photographic memory, staring at it is probably not an effective way to learn the material. Make flash cards or a study fold instead.
• Make a "study fold." Fold the edges of a sheet of notebook paper so that the edges meet in the middle. For each line, write a term on one side of the fold, and the definition on the other. (See the flash card examples.) Then unfold the right side, and try to write down the definitions on the inside. Check yourself. Unfold the left side, and try to write down the terms from memory. Some people learn best by writing. If you're one of these people, you may prefer to make study folds instead of flash cards.
• Listen to a tape. You might have already made a tape while reading the text. Play your tape while driving in the car, riding the bus, cooking dinner, walking the dog. Sing the polyatomic ions or metric conversion factors, if it helps make them stick in your head. If you learn well by listening, this is a great way for them to create extra study time.

• The best way to learn to do problems is to do problems. Assigned problems are only the start! Work practice problems in the text, extra problems at the end of the chapter, examples from class. Identify the types of problems that give you difficulties, and work those types of problems until you feel more confident.
• IMPORTANT: Just looking at solutions is not an effective way to study. Look at the solutions if you're stuck or to check your work, but don't make the mistake of just looking at the solution and saying "Oh yeah, I see how to do that."

• Do some writing. Write a chapter summary and compare it to the one in the book. Look for some good "why" questions, and write your answers.
• Do some talking. Explain the material to your houseplants, your cat, or the art major on the floor. Form a study group with your classmates and discuss the "why" questions together.