Study Tips for Chem 31A/B
So you’re spending lots of time studying and you’re still struggling on exams. What now? First, know you’re not alone. Some of the most successful students in this course struggled at first, so keep with it!
Remember that learning chemistry takes time
Just as you need to take time to practice a sport or learn a foreign language, you need to take time to regularly practice chemistry. You’re not expected to get everything right away; in fact, many students have to wrestle with the material before really understanding everything. Make sure you allocate enough time to review the course material and practice problem solving on a regular basis.
There is a reason Chem 31 A/B is not a directed reading: all the parts—practice problems, reading, lecture, section, office hours, studying on your own or with friends, tutoring—work best when you use them together.
Do the reading and pre-lecture problems before lecture
If you have already had an introduction to the material at your own pace before lecture, then you can use lecture time more productively to solidify and practice these concepts. The more times you hear and practice the material (i.e., PLPs, lecture, section, self-study, group study, etc.), the more sense it will make.
Dig deep on practice problems
Just doing lots of practice problems will not necessarily make you a better problem solver. You will never see an exam problem that looks exactly like a practice problem, so doing every problem possible is not a good strategy. Instead, when you work out a practice problem, make sure that you can explain why and when you would make each step in your solution. Be able to explain:
- Why certain information is useful to you or might be unnecessary
- What conversions you need to make so that you can use information correctly
- Why you are using a specific formula
- How you can rearrange a formula to find a new parameter
- Why you need to consider a particular reaction
- When would you be able to make any assumptions you are making
It’s easy to fall into the trap of reading through a solution key and thinking it makes sense. But unless you can justify each step with more than a “just because” statement, it will be difficult to apply those skills to another problem.
Ask lots and lots of questions
Scientists ask questions all the time. Especially why! Instructors always appreciate when students ask questions because it shows they are listening and really thinking about the material.
- Ask “what does that really mean?” each time you read a new section of a new chapter.
- Ask “why” as you’re deciding what a problem is asking and how to solve it.
- Ask questions about the lecture and section material. If you are reviewing material on your own, write these questions down. If you can answer them on your own, great! If you get stuck, take them with you to office hours or a study group. That way, you won’t forget, and you’ll make sure to get a more thorough understanding of everything.
Lab sections really do matter
Sections are constructed to highlight and guide you through particularly important concepts and chemical phenomena. Make sure that you can apply the main concepts of each section before the next exam. A good way to see if you are applying concepts rather than memorizing them is by checking to see if you can explain why you’re taking specific steps to solve a problem. Also, make sure to finish any extra practice problems offered in section and on the lab write-ups.
Use office hours
Office hours are not just for problem sets. Questions on anything in the course—lecture, lab section, the textbook, study tips, etc.—are all fair game. Office hours are available to help you. It’s a good idea to keep a running list of questions as you read or work through problems. If you can’t justify a certain step in a solution, that’s a great question for office hours. You’ll get more out of office hours when you come prepared with your own questions.
Use a study group
Lots of research tells us that students who regularly participate in study groups end up with higher grades. When studying with classmates, take advantage of this opportunity to explain and discuss concepts or problem solving strategies with others.
When you review problem sets together, instead of just understanding how to approach that specific problem, see if you can come up with several different ways your instructor could have asked other questions about that system. Is there a different parameter you could be asked to solve for? How would the problem change under different conditions? This will help you to think about and practice different problem solving strategies.
Don’t have a study group? Connect with students in office hours, section, Canvas, or tutoring, or check out our handout on effective virtual study groups.
Study more efficiently—not just more
One of the first steps in coming up with an efficient study strategy is to assess what, out of all you are doing to study, helps you the most. If there are some concepts you’re already comfortable with, perhaps spend less time reviewing those and more time on concepts that are still challenging.
Take some time to assess where are you having difficulty on the exams. Retry all of the problems you missed on the most recent exam (before looking at the solutions, if you haven’t already). Do you get farther than you did during the exam? Are you really able to finish them with more time or in a less stressful environment? Do you get stuck on concepts or definitions, on math, or on starting the problem?
Debriefing the exam helps you identify the conceptual gaps that you need to re-learn. It also helps you figure out whether your errors may have resulted from test anxiety or stress, such as misreading a question. If you can start to identify where and how you are struggling with the exam, then you can think about how to make better use of your study time as you prepare for the next one.
Take advantage of study tips from CTL
- Our Tips and Tools page has useful quick tips on exam taking, note taking, study strategies, etc. that might help you to think about how you want to organize your study time more efficiently.
- When you read through the chapter or lecture notes, constantly ask and answer questions for yourself as you go. Our Reading Efficacy and Cornell method handouts might help you dig deeper into the reading, see relationships between new concepts, and structure your reading or lecture notes in a more useful way.
- You can also set up a personal academic coaching session at academicskills.stanford.edu.
Above all, keep trying
Everyone learns at different speeds and in different ways. There are lots of resources here for you because we know you can do it with the right tools. If you don’t know where to start, just ask. Meet with one of the TAs, tutors, or professors. They are here to help you succeed!
Remember: Failure doesn’t mean Game Over. It means it’s time to learn a different way. Meet with an Academic Coach to explore strategies that can work better for you.
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Study Tips for Chem 31A/B
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