Developing Mastery Through Practice

The value of working problems in chemistry cannot be overemphasized!  The only way to develop a mastery of chemistry is though persistent efforts at understanding and applying the material we introduce in the classroom.  A proven approach to developing mastery is through working practice problems.  It is not unusual for a chemistry student to spend 2 hours studying and working problems outside of class for every hour of class time.

The end of each chapter presents a host of problems.  These are broken down into “Exercises”, “Integrative and Advanced Exercises”, “Feature Problems” and “Self-Assessment Exercises”.  It is expected that you will work the problems in the “Exercises”, “Integrative and Advanced Exercises”, and “Feature Problems” with the red numbers (these problems have answers in the back of the book).  Ideally, you should be able to complete each of the “Exercises” in less than 5 minutes, without looking in your text for explanations.  The “Integrative and Advanced Exercises”, and “Feature Problems” often incorporate multiple concepts and may take somewhat longer to work (~7-10 minutes).  I will not collect these problems, but our weekly quizzes and portions of the exams will draw heavily on these problems.  If there are sections that we have emphasized heavily in class, particular attention should be paid to the corresponding problems.

If you get stuck on a problem, note it as one to ask about or return to, and then go to the next one (this is also a good test-taking strategy!). If you get through a problem, but do not get the correct answer, first look to see if it is a simple math error or something similar. If it is, then you probably have a reasonable grasp of the material, you just need to be careful about the details. If you can’t find your mistake, don’t spend more than five minutes looking for it; ask a study partner about, see me in office hours or stop by C³ to ask another faculty member.

Forming a study group can be a great way to learn, provided it functions correctly.  A study group does not work if only one person is actually working through the material, while the others spend most of their time nodding and smiling and saying “that makes sense”.  A study group should be relatively small (3-4 people) and be a support system to aid in the struggle through challenging material.  As you move through a topic or a problem, ask yourself the question: “Could I explain this correctly to someone else?”  if the answer to the question is yes, you probably have a handle on the material, if not, discuss the material with a partner and hash things out until you get a better understanding.

Suggested Problems:  You should be able to do all of the end of chapter problems, those listed below have answers in the back of the book and pertain most closely to the material we cover in lecture.